Black Cocoa Halva Israeli Swirl Cookies

For Chanukah this year, I was mulling over what to bake, probably some kind of rugelach? Or maybe I’d try black-and-white cookies finally? But then Shannon Sarna’s Modern Jewish Comfort Food arrived, and all of that went right out the window because her beautiful new book includes a recipe for “Israeli Swirl Cookies” with two […]

Chocolate-Halva Babka

As much as I love contemporary baking like layer cakes, cupcakes, and pastries, there are few baked goods that conjure childhood nostalgia like babka. Aside from my mom’s birthday cakes shaped in the number of my age each year, the most memorable and most loved cake that she made (and the most labor-intensive) was her “ugat-sh’marim”, or yeast […]

Come to the Dark Side: Oreo Cupcakes

I am generally pretty adamant (some might say… a tad snobby) about using the best possible ingredients in my baking: high-quality chocolate, European butter, organic eggs… Although I shy away from over-processed and artificial foods, I have to admit that there are a few exceptions to this rule, most notably the crown jewel of the […]