VANILLA MUFFINS

Makes about 15 muffins.
2 eggs
2 deciliters sugar
50 grams butter
3 deciliters plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 deciliter water

Set oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Melt butter and let cool. Mix flour with baking powder and vanilla. Add this mix and the water to the batter, a little at a time. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake for about 15-20 minutes in the middle of the oven.

You might also want to try this recipe with some cocoa powder or chocolate, berries, citrus zest...

EASY VICTORIA SPONGECAKE - OF HAJERA BEGUM-GAZA

175g unsalted Butter
175g caster sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour

Filling
3 tbsp strawberry jam
500ml double cream

1. Set the oven to 180C/gas 4. Lightly butter two sandwich tins, each with a diameter of 20cm.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and then slowly add the beaten egg.
3. Fold in the sifted flour and spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tins.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool and then remove from the tins.
5. Whip the cream until thick and use it to fill the sponge with the jam.
6. Dust liberally with icing sugar to serve.

Serves: makes one cake Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min

HREESA OR BASBOSAH - SEMINOLA CAKE

Semolina cake (Hreesa or Basbosah in the Middle East ) variant


eggs
1 + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 + 1/4 cup semolina
1 + 1/4 cup yogurt
1 + 1/4 cup flour
2 pack baking powder
Tinny grated lemon shell
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil

For Syrup:
2 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp granulated sugar
2 + 1/2 cup water
Juice of 1/2 lemon

# Boil 2 cup sugar with 2 cup + 1 tbsp water, then add lemon juice, boil for 5 minutes together and wait for cooling down.
# While it cools down prepare the dough.
# Mix the sugar and eggs by a blender.
# At first add yogurt and oil, then flour, baking powder, semolina, grated lemon shell, and mix.
# Pour the mixture on a oven tray which you greased too much.
# Bake for 25 minutes in 175 C (F 347) oven.
# Pour the cold syrup on the hot cake.
# Rest it 5 hours at least, cut into squares and serve.

idea:
-You could always add raisins, almonds etc in the dough!
-sprinkle shreded coconut over the top of the cake once baked

NUTELLA CAKE

see, this is how it will end up with you if this world was made of nutella ;) & of course a caloriefree " u wish "

1 Cake Mix (store bought) chocolate or vanilla works well but feel free to be creative!
1 Jar of Nutella
1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Pint Strawberriesor any fresh fruits in season ( noway you are thinking watermelon ok ;)
2 tsp Sugar

Prepare the cake according to the manufactures directions for 2 circular layers. Allow cake to completely cool before moving on to the next steps. Doing this a day ahead works really well.

Whip cream and vanilla on an electric mixer or use a hand mixer. When it has formed soft peaks you can add 2 tsp liqueur as well  Godiva or Frangelico works great!
Slice strawberries saving several whole berries to put on top of the cake. Mix sugar with the berries.

Ice both tops of the cake layers with Nutella
Place a big dollop of whipped cream in between the layers, on top of the strawberries.

DATE AND ALMOND TART OF YVONNE MAFFEI

This is a recipe from Yvonne Maffei she is a writer and wanted to share this recipe with us..this is her website http://www.myhalalkitchen.com/2009/08/bring-on-the-dates-fruit-that-is/comment-page-1/#comment-330

The original recipe calls for a homemade pastry dough. I have improvised, however, by suggesting you use a pre-made pie crust (preferably the Trader Joe’s brand) in order to save time. I’ve also made more specifications on the types of ingredients used.

Filling Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crust, defrosted in the refrigerator and kept chilled until just before use
½ cup whole-milk, unsalted butter
7 Tb. caster sugar or brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup ground almonds
2 Tb. white whole-wheat flour
2 Tb. orange flower water (orange blossom water)
12-13 fresh dates, stoned and cut in half long ways
4 Tb. apricot jam

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F/200ºC. Place a baking sheet in the oven.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light, then beat in the egg.
3. Stir in the ground almonds, flour and 1 Tb. of the orange flower water, mixing well.
4. Roll out the pie crust onto a glass baking dish. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of the pie crust.
5. Arrange the dates, cut side down, on the almond mixture.
6. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350º F/180ºC. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until light golden and set.
7. Transfer the tart to a rack to cool.
8. Gently heat the apricot jam, then press through a sieve. Add the remaining orange flower water.
9.Brush the tart with the jam and serve at room temperature.

Bismillah and Buon Appetito!

OREO ICECREAM PUDDLE

Oreo icecream puddle , my friend's Scrumptious Sweets

This is sis hajar's creation ,and she was kind enough to share it with us , thx hajar .... :))

1 regular package of Oreos
1 half-gallon ice cream (she used natural Vanilla Bean flavour ), softened
1 cup hot fudge ( dr dr oetker ready made syrup )
Caramel sauce for garnish ( Mrs. Richardson’s
springform pan so u could make it more cake-like.

First, use a food processor to finely grind 16 oreos (filling included). its pressed into the bottom of the springform pan.
Next, spread half of the ice cream over the crumb base. I think the best way to do this is to dollop the ice cream over as much of the surface as possible, and then gently smooth it. That way, you’ll avoid spreading the crumb base all over as well.

coarsely crush12 Oreos in a large plastic bag and then sprinkled that over the first layer of ice cream. drizzle the cup of hot fudge over the top of the Oreos and gently spread it with a spatula to form an Oreo-fudge center. Then, top everything with the rest of the ice cream, again dolloping and spreading gently.

put the springform pan on a baking sheet, covered it with foil, and let the cake set in the freezer until firm, about 2 hours. Then, run a hot knife around the outside of the cake and released the side of the pan. (just left the base underneath – wasn’t going to attempt a platter transfer with a loose crumb crust.) coarsely crush 10 more Oreos and then press the pieces into the outside of the cake. (Dr. O called it an Oreo mosaic!)
the recipe was taken from oreo's recipes in canadian saveur magazine, thznk you hajar for sharing it with us :)

SWEDISH TENDER STICKS - FINGER COOKIES

Actually in Swedish these are called tender sticks... They are quite easy to make and will keep well in airtight container either in room temperature or in freezer.

5 deciliters all purpouse flour
200 grams butter or margarine
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
Caster sugar for rolling cookies in

Blend flour, butter in pieces and vanilla sugar in blender or try to mix it quickly by hand. Form a dough, wrap in cling film and let rest in fridge for about 15 minutes. Set oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Make dough into long rolls, about as thick as a finger. Cut rolls in pieces, about 7 centimeters (3 inches). Place on baking trays covered with baking sheets. Bake in middle of oven for about 12 minutes. Roll cookies in caster sugar while still hot.

NECTARINE PIE

I should of course have tried to make a nice pic, with fresh nectarines and such surrounding the pie, but I was in such a hurry preparing everything for dinner when I made this... It is nicer than it looks though!

Crust:
3 deciliters all purpouse flour
100 grams butter
1-2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water

Filling:
4-5 fresh nectarines
4 eggs
2 tablespoons all purpouse flour
1 deciliter sugar
2 deciliters sourcream (crème fraice)

Cut cold butter in pieces and add flour. Use a blender or mix quickly by hand. Add sugar and blend, then add water and form a dough quickly. Let the dough rest in fridge about 30 minutes. Set oven to 225 degrees Celsius.

Place dough in mould, approx. 28 centimeters across. Prick dough with a fork and place a strip of aluminium foil over the edges to keep them from sliding down while baking. Bake at bottom of oven for about 10 minutes.

Prepare filling: Remove pits and slice nectarines. Place slices in crust. Separate egg whites from yolks. Mix yolks, flour, sugar and sourcream (crème fraiche). Beat the egg whites until stiff. Carefully add the whites to the yolk mixture, using a spatula to fold them in. Do NOT whisk! Spread mixture on top of fruit. Bake at bottom of oven for about 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn it, place a piece of aluminium foil in top of the pie towards the end if it gets too dark, but be careful not to let it stick to the filling.

Let the pie cool a little (or prepare it in advance and heat it a bit before serving) and serve with for instance vanilla icecream or lightly whipped cream.

DATE BISCUITS

1 cup of softened butter ( around 200 grams )
2 eggs+ vanilla 2 3/4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar ( powdered sugar )

filling :
dates+ mahlab (cinamon- cardamom-honey and butter )

add butter to sugar and mix then add eggs and vanilla then add flour , leave it in th efridge torest for an hour

layer the dough then add the filling then add another layer of dough and press ( make a sandwitch like layers ) then cut forming smaller biscuits and bake

LEBANESE BISCUITS FLAVOURED WITH MAHLAB

This is the recipe for a traditional Lebanese biscuit that's flavoured with Mahlab (ground sour cherry stones).

220g sugar
240ml oil (or melted butter)
2 eggs
720g flour
240ml milk
1 tbsp mahlab powder
3 tsp baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together. Add the oil and mix into the flour mix then add the milk until a stiff dough is formed. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Roll the dough on a floured surface until it's about 0.5cm thick. Cut into circles, placed on an oiled baking sheet and back in an oven pre-heated to 180°C for about 15 minutes (until the biscuits are a golden brown in colour

DECONSTRUCTED CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARK COOKIES

As we are ready to the back to school season ,it will be a gr8 idea to spread the smile around , presenting cookies to your kid teacher in a jar and wrap it with a nice card will be a nice way to teach your kid how to be friendly and encourage him/her to celebrate eid and begining of school year , encourage your kid to b creative and let him.her help out baking cookies with you ,this is a simple recipe if you are not a middle eastern cookie fan ,if you prefer chocolate chips cookies you can try this one

yields about three dozen
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
5 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and peppermint. Beat on medium until mixture has a light and fluffy appearance.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Pour into mixer bowl, a little at a time, mixing on low until just incorporated. Add white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and crushed candy canes and mix on medium until combined.
Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet.
Cook in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until set.

Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool

CHOCOLATE BASKETS WITH NUTS

1 container of concentrated milk ( nestle )
chocolate
nuts

put the container of milk in boiling water till its caramalized , for around 45 minutes
melt the chocolate
use the oven paper ( special paper for baking formed as basket wrap )
add one spoon of melted chocoalte and one spoon of concentrated milk melt and your choice of nuts ( almond- pistachios or hazlenut or other ) and use the paper wrap forming as a half circle basket as u can see in the picture
this presentation is very colorful you can use a couple of chocolate baskets in between the cookies and biscuits to serve or present it to the one you love

AKAWI CHEESE MA 'AMOUL

4 cups of coarse semoulina + 1 cup of soft semouline ( farkha )
1/2 kilo of butter ( soft )
akawi cheese ( soft cheese without saly ,sliced)

melt the butter and add the semoulina to the butter and leave it to soak overnight , next day add small amount of water till its blendedwith butter and semoulina forming soft dough ,shape it using the mold ( showed in another pic) and add the filling of cheese and bake in a 300 F oven ,leave it to cool down then serve it after sprinkling it with powder sugar

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

1 packet marie biscuits, crushed
½ cup coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tin condensed milk
Extra coconut for rolling.

Mix all ingredients together and roll into small balls.
Roll balls in extra coconut or chocolate sprinkles.

Put into fridge and chill.

I use 2 freezer bags and a rolling pin to crush biscuits

GHORAYEBA - BUTTER/SANDCOOKIES

1 cup of soft butter - half cup of powdered sugar

2 cups flour

1/8 bicarbonate

aspoon vanilla or orange blossom

pistachios or hazelnut or almonds for garnish

Ghorayeba  should look like this while you blend sugar and butter -->

beat the butter and sugar till its thick and creamy the colour will be whitish and when its blended add the flour and bicarbonate and vanilla slowly till its soft and the texture is spongy.

Shape the ghorayeba biscuits as desired and pinch it with thumb forming a thumbed shaped in the middle then add the pistachios or almond or hazlenut.

step ( shaping ghorayeba cookies)to shape ghorayeba a long rolling stick->>

<-- The two ends meet forming a ring

Bake in a 300 F oven, check it after 7 minutes ( its very easy that it will burn as its soft cookies try to monitor the baking process .

Leave it to cool down and serve :) enjooooooy

PETITE FOURS COOKIES

1/2 lb. butter
1 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
2 c. flour
1 c. ground walnuts
1/2 c. apricot or strawberry jam

Cream sugar gradually then egg yolks. Blend well, gradually add flour, then fold in ground nuts. Spread half of batter into cake pan (batter is thick). Top with jam - leave edges free, top with remaining dough. Spread carefully, use fingers if desired. Bake, cool. Cut into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Needed - 9 inch square cake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes

NB: be creative while you decorate the petite fours use dries cherries - pistachioes almonds, hazlenuts or chocolate , raisins etc , after mixing your dough devide the dough into two and add chocolate to the white dough and use the shaping molds .

In order to stick two petite fours together use apricot jam as shown in the pic ..

Petit fours refer to bite-sized pastries that are often served at the end of a large meal or with afternoon tea. Originally a French term, petit fours literally translate as "small oven" and derive their name from the method in which they were made. Historically, cakes in France were baked in coal-fueled ovens, which burned hotter than wood-fed ovens, in temperatures that were harder to control. After baking large cakes in the oven, the heat remaining while the oven cooled was enough for baking smaller ones. These came to be known in the modern day as petit fours.

Petit fours can be found both ready-made and fresh in stores that offer fine baked goods, but they can be made at home as well. These confections fall under two categories, called sec or glacé. All petit fours have layers and are covered in fondant, which is a pasty sugar and water mixture. In addition, there can be hard or soft candy decorations on top of them, often in the shape of a rose or some other dainty thing.

Petit fours sec are "dry" confections that do not involve further embellishment once they have been baked and are readily served. Such petit fours include ladyfingers, macaroons, and cigarettes. Petit fours glacé, on the other hand, can be manipulated in a variety of ways once baked. They can be dipped and decorated with icing or any form of glaze, or filled with sweet fillings like jam, cream, or chocolate. Miniature sponge cakes or angel food cakes make appropriate bases for petit fours glacé. Other kinds of petit fours glacé are eclairs and tarts.

DATE SWIRL COOKIES

1 1/4 c. dates, cut into pieces

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. chopped nuts

COOKIE DOUGH:
1 c. shortening
1 1/2 tsp. orange rind
1/4 tsp. lemon rind
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs, unbeaten
3 1/3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. soda
2 tbsp. milk

Make a date filling as follows: Cook dates, sugar and water until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and nuts.

To make cookie dough: Combine shortening, fruit rinds, salt, brown sugar and eggs; beat thoroughly. Sift flour with soda. Add 1/2 flour first mixture, then milk. Add remaining flour, mixing thoroughly.

KAAK LEEBI HILW

Kaak Leebi Hilw ( this is a leebian recipe for kaa'a ) each country got its own kaa'ak and mamoul recipe and I like to try all recipes so this one was really good filled with jaljalan .

1 cup oil
1 cup orange juice or water
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
5 cup flour
Kammon Kaak
Jaljalan : Spices: Sesame

Mix the sugar and eggs and put in the oil, water, flour, baking powder, kammon and jaljalan. Cut the mixture into Kaak forms and put the kaak in a large pan. Heat in the oven 350 deg. for 15 min. Put it in the heated oven. Remove from oven and sprinkle some sugar all over it

GHARAIBAT HALKOOM

1 cup butter
1 cup oil
1 cup milk
5 cups flour
3 spoon jaljilaan
1/4 kg halkoom
baking powder

Heat the butter and add to the oil, milk, oil and baking powder. Cut the mixture into " Hollow Ain Al Jamal " forms. Stuffed it with halkoom. Turn on the oven and wait till very hot. Arrange the stuffed gharaiba in a large flat pan. Put the pan in the oven, bake it. Remove from the oven and sprinkle some sugar all over it.

GHORAYEBA

ma'moul and ka'ak mold and ghorayeba mold ( the smallest one )


Ghorayeba :

1 cup sugar
4 cup flour
2 spoon butter
Almond

Heat the butter and add sugar & flour. Beat till soft. Turn on the oven. Cut the mix into gharaiba pieces and put in a large flat pan. Put an almond in the middle of each gharaiba. Arrange the gharaiba in the pan, baked again.