CREPES

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PALACINKA  ( read: palachenka)   Ingredients   2 eggs 250g flour 250ml milk 250ml water 1/2 tsp. of salt [cook like PANCAKES of CREPES] PALACINKA may be eaten with fruit jam, quark cheese, sugar, honey, ice cream, or the hazelnut-chocolate cream They can also be filled with all sorts of prepared/cooked/fresh vegetables [spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, mushrooms] eggs and cheese.

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PANCAKES

Cookies

CARROT OATMEAL COOKIES Ingredients 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 1 cup rolled oats 2/3 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup shredded carrots 1/2 cup real maple syrup, room temperature 1/2 cup unrefined (fragrant) coconut oil, warmed until just melted 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the nuts and carrots. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

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CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES WITH PEPPERMINT FROSTING Ingredients Chocolate Cookies 1 2/3 cups flour 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/4 teaspoon fine salt 1 cup sugar 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened Peppermint Frosting 3 1/4 cups (about 14 ounces) confectioners’ sugar 3 1/2 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavoring or extract Pinch of fine salt For the cookies, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt in a large bowl; set aside. In a second large bowl, beat sugar and egg together with an electric mixer until pale and thickened, about 2 minutes; beat in vanilla. Add butter and beat again until smooth, about 1 minute more. Add flour mixture in two parts and beat until combined. Shape dough into two logs then wrap each snugly in parchment paper, twisting the ends in opposite directions like a piece of candy to tighten each roll and make it uniformly round and about 8 inches long. Chill for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut dough crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices and transfer to prepared baking sheets, arranging cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake until puffed and just cooked through, 9 to 10 minutes. Set aside to let cool completely. For the frosting, put sugar, milk, butter, peppermint flavoring and salt into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Spread the flat side of half of the cookies with some of the frosting, then sandwich with remaining cookies. Serve immediately or store cookies in an airtight container until ready to serve. Nutrition Per serving (2 cookies/57g-wt.): 230 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 30mg cholesterol, 50mg sodium, 39g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 29g sugar), 2g protein

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chunky peanut butter chocolate chip cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips fleur de sel, to taste Preheat oven to 350°f. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and add to peanut butter mixture, stirring to combine well. Stir in chopped peanuts and chocolate chips. Drop generous spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press each mound of dough with a fork to flatten slightly. Bake until bottom of cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with fleur de sel to taste. Let cookies cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Nutrition Per serving (about 1 cookie/39g-wt.): 180 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 3g protein, 20g total carbohydrate (less than 1g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 20mg cholesterol, 260mg sodium

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HONEY THUMBPRINT COOKIES Ingredients 2/3 cup honey (I use a clover honey) 1/3 cup warm coconut oil or clarified butter 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 3/4 cup rolled oats 1 tablespoon all natural cornstarch, potatoe starch or arrowroot scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda zest of one lemon your favorite jam or preserves (preferably fruit sweetened) - berry goes nicely Preheat the oven to 350F, rack in the top 1/3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.In a large mixing bowl pour the warm, melted coconut oil over the honey and whisk in the vanilla extract. In a separate medium bowl combine the flour, oats, cornstarch/arrowroot, sea salt, baking soda, and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture to the honey and stir until just combined. Let the dough sit for 2-3 minutes. Stir once or twice again - the dough should be quite stiff.Roll the dough into balls, one level teaspoonful at a time, and place an inch or so apart on the prepared baking sheets. These will spread. Use a (damp) pinky finger or the back of a very tiny spoon to make a well in the top of each ball of dough. Fill each "well" to the top with 1/8 teaspoon of jam. If you chill the dough at this point for an hour, the cookies won't spread as much, but I'm usually too impatient.Bake for 7 - 9 minutes or until the bottom and edges of the cookies are just golden. Resist the urge to over-bake, these tiny guys dry right out. Makes a few dozen cookies.

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JAM TARTS Ingredients 1 cup finely-ground cornmeal 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt 2 tablespoons baking powder 3 tablespoons sugar 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks 1 1/2+ cups milk 1 egg, just the egg white 1/3 cup jam (any flavor(s) you like) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Into a large bowl add the cornmeal, flours, salt, baking powder, sugar. To the dry ingredients add the butter and blend the mixture until it resembles tiny, sandy pebbles. Dump the mixture into a medium bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of milk and with a fork stir just until everything is combined. You are going to roll out the dough, so if it is too wet, stir in a couple extra tablespoons of flour, if it is too dry stir in an extra tablespoon or two of milk. You don't want to overwork the dough, or your tarts will be tough, so stir only as much as you have to.Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface, pull it together into one large mound, and roll out until it is about 1/3-inch thick. Pat with more flour if things get sticky - sticky dough is your enemy in this recipe. Cut the biscuit dough with a medium cutter (the one I used was about 2-inches across), then cut half the rounds with a slightly smaller cutter. Brush the large rounds with a bit of egg white - this will give the tarts that nice golden color. Place the outer rings on top, brush those with the egg white, and fill with a bit of jam. Place the tarts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes - larger tarts will need to bake longer. The rimmed baking sheet is important to use because these tarts tend to have a bit of runoff, and you want to prevent a mess in your oven. Makes about 1 - 2 dozen tarts, depending on the size of your cutters.

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PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES Ingredients 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spelt flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 1 cup organic, chunky natural peanut butter 1 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Place racks in the top third.In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. in a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined - still a bit dusty looking. Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two. Now drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork. It's a loose batter, so if you're set on doing criss-crosses, go ahead and chill the batter for an hour or so before this step. Bake for 10, maybe 11 minutes - but don't over bake or they will be dry. Let cool five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Make 2 - 3 dozen cookies.

Cakes

BASIC CHOCOLATE CAKE Ingredients 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba) 1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type) 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt 1/2 cup barely melted unsalted butter (or coconut oil) 1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup coconut milk, room temp 8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted butter and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below). CHOLOLATE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped) 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling water. In a medium bowl beat the butter until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all warm, the frosting will weep and melt. It still tastes good, but isn't what you're after. Makes one 8x8 or 9x9 cake.

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PEAR AND WALNUT UPSIDE DOWN CAKE Ingredients 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 pear, cored and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 (17-ounce) box all-natural yellow cake mix, plus the ingredients required to make the batter Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan then use it to line the pan; set aside. In a small bowl, stir together heavy cream and sugar until combined. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of pan; set aside. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Arrange pears in skillet in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until edges are deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set pears aside to let cool slightly. Arrange pears in the bottom of the pan in a decorative pattern then sprinkle with walnuts. In a medium bowl, prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter over pears and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to rack to let cool then run a knife around edge of cake to release it from pan. Invert cake onto a plate, remove and discard parchment paper, cut cake into slices and serve. Nutrition Per serving (1 piece/97g-wt.): 430 calories (180 from fat), 20g total fat, 11g saturated fat, 115mg cholesterol, 290mg sodium, 63g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 39g sugar), 7g protein

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YEAST-RAISED CORNBREAD MUFFINS Ingredients 4 cups white whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cup organic cornmeal 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grained sea salt 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast 1 cup warm water (~105 degrees) 1/4 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons honey 3 extra-large eggs, room temperature 2 cups of fresh or frozen corn, if frozen defrosted to room temp 2/3 cup chopped chives Cornmeal and olive oil for preparing loaf pans or muffin tinsThis recipe yields two standard loaves of cornbread OR 1 1/2 dozen standard-sized muffins. Prepare your pans by rubbing them generously with olive oil, dust with cornmeal, then tap out any extra. Set aside.In a medium bowl whisk together the flour cornmeal and salt. Set aside. In the bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add about 2/3 of the flour/cornmeal mixture. Now add the olive oil, honey, just TWO of the eggs, corn, chives and begin to mix. As the dough is starting to come together mixing begin adding more of the flour/cornmeal mixture a bit at a time, letting it incorporate along the way - you might not need to use all of it. Keep adding until you achieve a dough that is tacky. It should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, add a teaspoon or two of water. Keep mixing for about seven minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop, knead a few times, gather the dough into a ball and rub with a bit of olive oil. Place in a large, greased (olive oil) bowl, cover with a kitchen towl or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto the countertop. To make the rolls you see in the photo up above, start by cutting the dough into thirds - three big wedges. Pat each third into a square shape and cut each into six pieces - you will end up with 18 equal size pieces. Without over-handling, shape each piece into a ball and place the muffin tins. Let the rolls rise in a warm spot until roughly doubled - another hour. Alternately, if you want to bake two loaves, cut the dough into two equal pieces, shape and place in prepared pans. You can also bake this dough freeform if you like.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Just before baking whisk the remaining egg and brush on the dough, sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake the rolls for 18-20 minutes on the middle rack, or until rolls are golden. If you are baking loaves it will take significantly longer. Turn out onto cooling racks. Serve slathered with salted honey-butter.

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