Easter
(Much!) Easier Spanakopita
Spanakopita is traditionally made by buttering layer after layer of phyllo. No more! Try my (much!) easier Spanakopita using my super simple hack. This is a recipe my Sitto learned at her Greek Orthodox Church and shared with me. The original includes the best of everything, and my original post went to the heart of…
Read MoreOlive Oil Cake
Olive oil cake is ultra-tender and moist, with added richness from yogurt in the mix. Why bake a cake with olive oil, you ask? I have asked same. Cakes, even our standard cake mixes, often call for oil in the mix. The reason: oil makes for a tender, moist crumb. Typically oil-based cake recipes call…
Read MoreChocolate Baklava
Baklawa (baklava) fans, get ready for this: CHOCOLATE BAKLAVA! I devised my recipe for deep chocolate flavor while maintaining the crisp phyllo texture and buttery nutty notes that are hallmarks of great baklawa. Please hear me out. My chocolate baklava dreams began many years ago. This was back when the children in the family, my…
Read MoreSitto’s Date Ma’moul
Date Ma’moul are traditional Lebanese shortbread cookies that are molded and filled. There are different shapes of molds, meant to indicate the different types of fillings. Walnuts, pistachios, and date paste are the classic fillings. Date Ma’moul is made for special occasions and holidays. Find the highest quality mold, custom made, along with specialty ingredients…
Read MoreMolded Shortbread Cookies
Here is another version of ka’ik, this one a molded shortbread cookie. Buttery, crisp, and beautiful, a tradition for Easter. Find ingredients such as mahleb and orange blossom water at MaureenAboodMarket.com, along with the molds here. Why can’t I just leave a good thing alone?! Maybe it’s all of the home-time we’re having these weeks…
Read MorePistachio Baklawa Nests
Pistachio Baklawa Nests are light, crisp little phyllo nests drenched in orange blossom syrup. The nests are shaped using a narrow dowel, rolled with lightly buttered phyllo, and topped with orange blossom syrup and raw ground pistachios. Find the pistachios orange blossom water here, at MaureenAboodMarket.com. I took the first one in two bites. The…
Read MorePastel Dipped Shortbread (Graybeh)
Pastel dipped shortbread are melt-away Lebanese butter cookies, dressed up in a dip of white chocolate, naturally flavored and colored with freeze-dried fruit–blueberry for lavender and strawberry for pink. Try my other graybeh recipes: orange blossom-lavendar graybeh, classic graybeh, and almond graybeh. Find orange blossom water here. I’ve been searching for a whole lotta years…
Read MoreTips for a Better Lebanese Ka’ik Recipe
Tips for baking better Lebanese Ka’ik, a traditional yeasted Easter bread/cookie that is soft, flavorful, and sweet. For the beautiful molds made of solid walnut, and the Mymoune Rose Water, visit MaureenAboodMarket.com. I’ve shared with you before some of the confounding aspects of our beloved Lebanese ka’ik. I have asked (and continue to ask): is…
Read MoreQuinoa Protein Salad
Quinoa Protein Salad packs a great protein punch, tastes incredibly good, and keeps hunger at bay for hours, and it’s vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free (though some findings indicate quinoa may not work for celiacs). I was in the airport in Chicago recently, and felt like I’d stepped out of a time warp from somewhere far,…
Read MoreRaspberry Buttercream Cake
Everything about this Raspberry Buttercream Cake says “happy”! Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Birthday, Happy Spring, Happy Summer, Happy to be Happy! The secret to the all-natural deep pink color and true raspberry flavor is freeze-dried raspberry powder. Total dream. I don’t know if I love Valentine’s Day because it falls during my birthday week, or…
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