Pastry and Sweets
Baking with Yogurt
Baking with yogurt is a must! And often found in Lebanese recipes. Yogurt plays a special role in baking, giving moist, tender results with an extra boost of flavor too. This is because of the acidic/fermented nature of yogurt. Many baking recipes call for yogurt (see mine below!), but you can also replace sour cream,…
Read MoreFeta and Kale Fatayer
This is a delectable way to fill traditional Lebanese fatayer, with feta and kale for a flavor bomb to love! I’m still having relationship issues with fatayer, the little Lebanese pies that we all go crazy for. First off, it’s bothered me that my spelling of fatayar is different than what I’m seeing elsewhere as…
Read MoreBest Lebanese Fatayer Recipes
Lebanese fatayar, or fatayer, (fuh-TIE-uh) are savory pies with delectable fillings. Fatayar are found in bakeries everywhere in Lebanon and in Lebanese bakeries in our communities around the U.S. Here are my best fatayar recipes so you can bake and enjoy this special tradition. Growing up, my mother and grandmothers used various techniques to bake…
Read More(Easy!) Valentine Spectacular Cake
Make a simple, luscious buttercream and decorate with abandon to create this (easy!) Valentine Spectacular Cake. Find rose water for the pink Raspberry Rose Butterceam here. Get the trick to making a heart cake with pans you already have here. Our simple heart cake trick creates a heart cake as a base for gorgeous pink…
Read MoreHow to Make a Heart Cake with Pans You Already Have.
No heart pan? No problem. Here’s how to make a heart cake using pans you already have. The finished cake can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. In any case, your cake will be spectacular! This simple cake trick creates a heart cake as a base for frosting or decorating to…
Read MoreHow to use Rose Water
Find out more about how to use rose water in cooking and baking! We love this special Lebanese culinary tradition. Find pure imported flower waters in my shop here. We just HAVE to kick off February and spring with an ode to the beautiful Lebanese tradition of baking with flower waters. Their flavor is iconic,…
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 MoreEasy Figgy Baked Brie
This is a must-know appetizer, Easy Figgy Baked Brie. Make for an elegant cocktail party or a quiet party of a family few. Always festive, fun, delectable. And easy! We love to have an evening of cocktails and “heavy apps.” This means the food will be so sumptuous, so inviting and satisfying that no dinner…
Read MoreChocolate Peppermint Graybeh
This traditional Lebanese butter cookie is here in a whole new flavor combo. Chocolate Peppermint Graybeh will be the darling of your cookie platter and swap! Try classic graybeh with this recipe. This is the little Christmas that could. Could…find clever ways to impart chocolate goodness to that which it has not known before. There…
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…
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