Chocolate Pull Apart Babka

For years I avoided every Babka recipe for fear of the time and effort. That is, until I made this one, which all of my guests polished off in one sitting!

Ingredients:

1 14 oz box frozen Kineret brand Chall-ettes or Challah.
3 tablespoons good quality Dutch process cocoa powder.
1/2 cup shugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325℉. Cut a sheet of unbleached parchment paper to fit the bottom and up the sides of a 5 1/2 by 10 1/2 loaf pan, or spray heavily with nonstick cooking spray. The parchment paper will enable you to move the babka form the pan and transfer it to a serving tray; without it, you may need to serve it from the loaf pan.
  Open the package of Challah dough. Allow the Challah rolls ti stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, until the rolls are soft enough to unknot.
  In a medium bowl, mix the coca powder, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir to combine. 
  Break each strand of Challah dough into 5-6 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball between your palms. Drop the balls, a few at a time, into the coca mixture. Dip each ball into the melted butter or margarine, shake off excess, and then drop back into the coca mixture. Drop itno prepared pan. 
  Pour the remaining cocoa mixture into the remaining butter or margarine and use your fingers to pinch it into coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the babka.
  Cover the pan with a kitchen towel. Open the door of the preheated over and set the pan on the open door. The indirect heat from the oven will help it rise quickly. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Close the oven door, and allow the over=n to return to 325℉. Bake the Babka for about 30 minutes more. 
  Serve warm. To remove the babka from the loaf pan, slip a spatula under the parchment. Hold a platter a flip the cake out. Carefully flip it back over  so that the crumbs face up, and let your guests pull it apart!

Gooey Cinnamon Squares

The title says it all...... the new family favorite. 

Soft Cookie Base

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon table salt

• ¾ cup sugar

• 1 large egg

• ¼ cup milk

Gooey Layer

• ¼ cup light corn syrup, golden syrup, or honey

• ¼ cup milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

• ¼ teaspoon table salt

• 1 large egg

• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with at least 2-inch sides with parchment paper and either butter the paper and sides of the pan or coat them with a nonstick spray. Set aside.

Prepare the cookie base: whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the 8 tablespoons butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the milk, and beat until combined, scraping down bowl and then beating for 10 seconds more. Beat in dry ingredients until just combined.

Dollop cookie base over the bottom of the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer with a butter knife or offset spatula. Set pan aside.

Prepare the gooey layer: Whisk liquid sweetener, milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, scrape down sides of bowl, and mix for 10 seconds more. Add 1/3 of flour and mix, then ½ of vanilla mixture and mix. Repeat again, twice, until all of the flour has been mixed until just combined. Dollop over the cookie base and spread carefully with an offset spatula or butter knife.

Make the topping: mix the sugar and cinnamon in a tiny dish and sprinkle it over the entire gooey layer. It will be thick but will come out of the oven almost like a crème brulee lid.

To bake and serve: Bake for 25 minutes until the cookies have bronzed on top. The gooey layer will rise and fall in the oven but will still be a bit liquidy under the cinnamon crust when the squares are done. Let cool completely on rack, then cut into 1-inch squares. 

Mocha Oreo Cookie Brownies

Here's a twist on the basic brownie. Bake them in mini muffin pans so they are round bite sized portions. Since everyone's  favorite part of the brownie is the crunchy edge, baking them this way gives every brownie an edge. These can be made dairy-free using dairy-free margarine, cookies, and chocolate. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, broken up
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ¾ cup (12-tbsp) butter or margarine
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup Hershey’s cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules or espresso powder
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 15 Oreo cookies, or dairy free chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into chunks.
• 4-5 extra Oreo or dairy free chocolate sandwich cookies, broken in half, for garnish.

Directions:

1.     Arrange a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350F. Spray a mini-cupcake tray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the tablespoon of flour into the pan. Shake it all around and tap it over a sink or garbage can to discard excess.

2.     In a heatproof medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, heat the chocolate, sugar, and butter or margarine. Whisk until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 15-20 minutes.

3.     In a small bowl, mix the flour, sifted cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

4.     In a medium bowl, with a mixer at medium speed, beat the eggs, coffee, granules, and vanilla until foamy. If your stand mixer has a whisk attachment, it will work well here.

5.     Blend the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

6.     Sprinkle all the flour/cocoa mix into the chocolate mixture. Add the Oreo mixture into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently to combine; try not to crush the cookies. Pour batter into prepared pan, or for something a little different, use a mini muffin pan. Place the extra broken cookies on top of the batter for garnish.

7.     Bake 35 minutes; do not over bake. Allow to cool. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, until cold. Store, tightly wrapped, in refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Adapted from Kosher By Design Entertains.