Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies

These cookies are to die for!! They are easy to make and will surely satisfy your sweet tooth even if you don't like peanut better.

Adapted From Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam

What You Need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Nestle's)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 packed cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup strawberry jam (or blackberry)

What To Do:

1. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, or by hand (what I did), mix the butter, peanut butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, and light brown sugar together until smooth.
   
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until blended. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined.
   
5. Put the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Form the dough into 1/4 cup-size balls and roll in the sugar. Arrange 5 balls of dough, evenly apart, on each baking sheet. Using a round 1/4 teaspoon measure, or the thin end of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the center of each ball of dough, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch deep. Spoon 1 teaspoon of jam into each hole.
   
6. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes until the dough has spread and the surface of the cookies are crackled. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Arrange the cookies on a serving dish and serve.

Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies

Namoura- Sweet Semolina Cake (Recipe 2)

Namoura is a sweet, savory semolina cake often called Basbousa in some regions of the Middle East. This cake is moist and scrumptious and will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.

I have previously shared a Basbousa Recipe and I am back with another Namoura/Basbousa recipe that was also successful. I just want to remind you all that the quality of the semolina makes a huge difference in taste and texture. So make sure you get the semolina that's made from durum wheat (yellow in color) and not from rice. Unlike the first Basbousa recipe, this Namoura recipe calls for two types of semolina: coarse and fine, which are both available in local Arabic stores or at Whole Foods.

Recipe adapted from DedeMed

What You Need:

1/2 cup fine semolina
2 cups coarse semolina
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 packet or 2 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
1/2 cup yogurt ( I used vanilla flavor)
1 cup milk
1 cup melted sweet butter
1/2 cups almonds or pistachios for garnishing
2 1/2 cup syrup

Syrup Recipe:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 Tbsp rose water or orange blossom water

Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a pot and let simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes then add the rose water and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely before serving.

What To Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 5 dry ingredients. In another bowl combine the yeast, water and 1/4 tsp sugar and let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the yogurt and milk until well combined. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir, slowly add the rest of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
4. Stir well until all ingredients are well combined.
5. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray, then pour in the cake mixture. The mixture should be a bit heavy.
   
6. Smooth out the top of the cake. Decorate with almonds or pistachios or any nut of your choice.
7. Bake for 50 min to an hour until the top is dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   
8. Remove the cake form the oven and poke small holes in the top with a knife so that the cake absorbs the syrup. Pour about 1 1/2 cup room temperature syrup on top of the cake, let it absorb then pour over the rest of the syrup(remaining 1 cup) and let the cake sit until completely cooled then serve.

Enjoy!!

Namoura- Sweet Semolina Cake (Recipe 2)

Carrot Cake

Yep, I baked another cake and it came out simply p-e-r-f-e-c-t! I think I am regaining confidence in my ability to bake:) This delicious and moist carrot cake was easy, super simple to make and I definitely surprised and impressed my in-laws with it. They thought it was store bought, Ha!!!!

Recipe courtesy of sousoukitchen

What you Need:

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground spice mixture (fennel, anise, nutmeg)
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup roasted and chopped nuts of your choice ( I used walnuts)

1 recipe Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (See Below)

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a baking pan ( I used a tube pan); set aside.
3. In large bowl, mix together sugars, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs until well blended.
4. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and the other spices until combined.
5. Add the dry mixture to the sugar and eggs mixture and mix well until you get a smooth consistency. Add carrots and nuts (save some for decorating). Mix until well combined.
6. With rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan.
7. Bake 50 to 55 min or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean.
8. Cool in pan, turn out on wire rack. Spread with the Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting. And decorate with the remaining roasted nuts.
   

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a medium bowl, sir together 8 ounces cream cheese, softened; 1 tsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, a dash of salt. Add 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar gradually to the mixture until smooth.

Enjoy!!!

Carrot Cake

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

I know I have mentioned this before, but I will say it again- I don't bake, people!!! I only make banana bread which always, thank goodness, comes out great!! When I first saw this cake recipe, I was eager to try it since it has ingredients I am very familiar with and it's a different version of Banana bread. This cake is very simple, moist, and delicious. I didn't decorate it, just left it as is since it was full of banana flavor and melted chocolate chips.


What You Need:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare an 9 inch cake pan
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour,  baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
4. In large bowl, mix together butter, oil, sugar, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Add flour mixture and fold until just combined (do not over mix).
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Scrape batter into prepared pan and place into preheated oven.
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of the cake comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool in pan.

Bon Appetit! 

Enjoy!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Cinnamon-Spice Chocolate Brownies

This is a low-fat, low calorie brownie recipe that is healthy and as delicious as any other brownie recipe out there.

What You Need:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cold water

3 eggs

3 Tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetned cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. groud cinnamon

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground chile pepper or cayenne pepper

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

2 Tbsp. hot strong coffee (optional)

Powedered sugar and/or cinnamon sugar for garnishing

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9x9x2 inch baking pan with foil, extending foil up over edges of pan. Lightly coat the foil with a nonstick spray. Set Aside.
2. In a medium saucepan melt butter; remove from heat. Whisk in sugar and water. Whisk in eggs, oil, and vanilla until combined. Stir in cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper. Stir in chocolate pieces. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan or wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan by lifting up the foil. If desired, brush hot brownies with coffee. Cool completely.
4. Cut into bars. Sprinkle with powedered sugar and/or cinnamon sugar.

Makes 16 brownies.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Spice Chocolate Brownies

Banana Bread

I don't bake that often, but when I do, this banana bread recipe is my FAVORITE to make and eat:). It's smooth, soft, sweet, and certainly delish!

What You'll Need:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups banana puree (mashed ripe bananas)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x5x3 loaf pan
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon. Set a side
3. In a seperate bowl, mix brown sugar with oil until smooth; making sure there are no lumps. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients
4. In a blender, combine banana puree, vanilal extract, egg whites, almond extract until thoroughly blended
5. Fold banana mixture into dry ingredients and brown sugar mixture, until well combined
6. Spread batter into pan and bake for 55-60 min.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread

Basbousa -Sweet Semolina Cake: Ramadan Special

Basboussa is a Middle Eastern delicacy. It is an amazing cake; it's moist, sweet, delicately perfumed and has a grainy texture. I have tried this cake at different Middle Eastern restaurants and I was so eager to make it myself. After two failed attempts, my dear friend Kenza came to the rescue and shared with me her Basbousa recipe, which I am , in turn, sharing with you. It is, of course, super easy and exquisitely delicious. This cake could be served with tea or coffee.


Courtesy of Kenza

What Wou'll Need:

1 1/2 cups Semolina
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweetned coconut flakes
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup melted butter (cooled to room temperature)
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups almonds or pistachios for garnishing

For the Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp vanilla extract


What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (Mixture should be "liquidy")
3. Spary a 13x9 inch pan pan with cooking spray, pour in the mixture
4. Let rise for 45-55 min
5. Sprinkle with almonds and Bake for 50 min or until brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean
6. Meanwhile make sugar syrup: Combine water, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan
7. Bring to a boil, add in vanilla extract, and let it simmer for 20 min
8. Pour hot sugar syrup over cake while is hot and let it absorb. You may put it back in the oven for 3 min

Enjoy!

Basbousa -Sweet Semolina Cake: Ramadan Special