Rum Raisin Tart

Another Martha-inspired creation. This was the dessert we brought to Thanksgiving this year and it was a big hit! Completely decadent but seemingly light, like creme brulee with a crust. We made it a day ahead and refrigerated it, though we made sure to eat it at room temperature.

Pate Brisee

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces

cold water

Place flour, salt and butter in the food processor, or knead by hand. Gradually add water until dough holds together without being sticky. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out on a floured surface. Line a 10-inch buttered tart pan with dough. Pierce a few times with a fork. Trim the edges. Line with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Pre-bake the shell until edges start to turn golden, about 15 minutes.

remove pie weights and parchment. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake another 15 minutes.

Filling

3 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

4 (organic, free-range) eggs and 2 egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup dark rum

1/2 cup raisins

In a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup of rum over raisins and let soak (the longer the better, perhaps even overnight, if you think of it in time).

Heat the cream until it is almost boiling. Remove from heat. Whisk the egg yolks, and while you are whisking, add the sugar and salt. Pour hot cream onto the egg mixture slowly, whisking constantly. Return everything to the saucepan, over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining rum. Remove from heat.

Arrange raisins in the bottom of the pie crust. Pour hot custard on top. Bake until the center is set, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool.

Just before serving, sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar on the custard and caramelize with a chef's torch or under the broiler (the latter is more risky because you can easily burn the crust and the sugar).

Oatmeal Pancakes

MarthaStewart.com is very much in my kitchen these days, though V's ipad is looking a little worse for it ("that floury fingerprint? Noooooo, that wasn't me!)

I was using Alton Brown's recipe for pancakes, but Erica inspired me to try oat pancakes, so I adapted Martha's recipe. It makes thick, slightly denser than usual, pancakes. We froze the leftovers and have been eating them with veggie sausages all week!

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar (I used white because it's all I had, but Martha calls for brown)

1 tblsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups milk (regular, soy or any other kind)

2 (organic, free-range) eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Soak oats in the milk for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight (turns out this makes them a lot more easily digestible).

Mix the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Spray skillet with oil and cook pancakes over low to medium heat, flipping when they start to bubble.

Holiday Cookies

These cookies have become a holiday must for me! The first are orange spice cookies with pistachios, sesame seeds and fruit. I usually use a moon-shaped cutter but I got this pig a while ago and hadn't used it, and nothing says "christmas" like pigs, so here we are.

The little ravioli-like cookies are filled with hazelnuts, cranberries and chocolate chips.

Both of these are a bit time-consuming, but totally worth it! And really, is there anything more festive than spending a whole day baking and listening to the radio (or in this case Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom")?

Both are German recipes, adapted from Brigitte magazine, so measurements are by weight, not volume.

Orange Spice Cookies

Dough:

300g flour

200g cold butter

100g hazelnut flour

grated peel of one orange

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Topping:

50g dried fruit (like cranberries or apricots), chopped small

100g flavorful honey (like wildflower or acacia)

50g butter

3 tblsp milk

75g sesame seeds

30g chopped pistachios

Using your hands, knead together the ingredients for the dough. Roll into a ball, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Roll out the dough and cut out your desired shapes. Lay on a baking sheet (the dough is buttery enough not to require buttering the pan).

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Warm up the butter and honey together and mix. Brush each cookie and sprinkle with sesame seeds, pistachios and fruit. Bake until the edges start to brown.

Christmas "Ravioli" Cookies

Dough:

200g flour (I made mine half whole wheat, as usual)

75g corn starch

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

60g sugar

1 egg

150g cold butter

Optional decoration: Chopped dried cranberries and 1 egg for eggwash

Filling:

1 cup strongly brewed spice tea

60g chopped dried cranberries

100g hazelnut flour

35g sugar

mini chocolate chips (amount at baker's discretion)

Knead together all the ingredients for the dough. Divide into 4, wrap and refrigerate for an hour or more.

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the filling. Add enough tea to make the mixture just hold together. Set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out dough, one portion at a time, working quickly to prevent it from getting too soft. Cut out cookies with a round scalloped cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheet.

Using your fingers, place a small amount of filling on each cookie. Cut out more cookies and place them on top of the filling, pressing down the edges to make "ravioli."

Optionally, whisk an egg and brush each cookie with a thin layer of eggwash (making sure not to let it drip onto the pan, where it will burn and stick)! Place a piece of dried cranberry on each cookie.

Bake until edges start to brown, about 12 minutes.