Book Review: The Meals on Wheels Family Cookbook

In this season of festive gatherings, there's a virtual dinner party going on today, with bloggers cooking different dishes from a new cookbook, Made With Love: The Meals on Wheels Family Cookbook.

Meals on Wheels is a community-based program that delivers nutritious meals to seniors who are unable to make their own. For their cookbook (which aims to raise funds to support their cause), they have gathered up favorite family recipes from a variety of people, including several celebrities and public figures.

The result is a vibrant collection of beloved recipes that are as diverse as you can imagine- simple fixes with store bought ingredients (Mexican pinwheels made simply with tortillas, cream cheese and jarred salsa) and elaborate made from scratch ones (Martha Stewart's recipe for potato pierogi); homely fare (Fried rice with egg) and fancier dishes (Mario Batali's spinach and goat cheese gnocchi).

Like all good family cookbooks, this collection has (a) Funny family stories to back up the recipes, like the one where the noodle kugel recipe was attributed to the wrong aunt, and (b) Recipes with the word "surprise" in it. And of course there's a recipe or two with Jell-O in it.

I've been in baking mode lately, and also in hot-beverage-sipping mode, so I chose to make dunkable cookies- Papa's Mandelbrot, a recipe shared by the food writer Josh Friedland.

I loved the story behind these cookies. Any cookie recipe that comes from the baking repertoire of a beloved grandfather is all right with me. Mandelbrot are traditional Jewish cookies that are very similar to almond biscotti. This recipe was simple and fun to make, using ingredients that are always on hand in my kitchen. I've adapted the recipe to add a touch of salt and some of my favorite extract called Fiori di Sicilia which has notes of citrus and vanilla. I also changed baking times and temps for the second round. Here is the recipe in my own words.

Mandelbrot (Jewish almond cookies)

(Adapted from Made With Love: The Meals on Wheels Family Cookbook)

1. Blanch 1 cup almonds: It was my first time blanching almonds and it was not a pain like I thought it would be. Start with 1 cup raw almonds. Place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 3 minutes. Pour off the hot water and add ice cold water. After 5 minutes, press each almond in your fingers and the skin should pop right off. Dry the skinned almonds on a clean dishtowel, then chop roughly and set aside. Or make it easy and simply use 1 cup raw slivered almonds. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:
2.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia (optional; this is an extract with notes of citrus and vanilla)

4. Mix. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chopped blanched almonds. The dough will be thick and sticky. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.

5. Bake once: Preheat oven to 350F. Using oiled hands, divide the dough into 2 portions and pat each one onto a long loaf shaped rectangle on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes.

6. Bake again: Slice each loaf crosswise into 1 inch wide cookies. Lay them cut side down (I needed a second baking sheet this time) and bake at 300F (note reduced oven temperature) for 20 minutes. Flip over and bake with the other cut side down for another 15-20 minutes or until pale golden. These cookies should not be over-baked because they burn easily.

Cool completely and then dunk into a cup of coffee or chai! With just the right amount of sweetness and crunch, I adored these cookies. V thought they were a bit eggy- I didn't. If you're worried about that, increase the amount of vanilla extract. The dough can be embellished with dried fruit or chocolate chips or other spices, but take my word for it- sometimes simple and traditional is as good as it gets.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free copy of the Made With Love: The Meals on Wheels Family Cookbook by the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own. 

I've baked more cookies in the last 2 weeks than I have in the first 49 weeks of 2012. There's definitely something in the air. We had a friend staying over for 2 weeks in our newly furnished guest bedroom. She was in town for work, though, and rarely had time to just hang out. The one evening that she did not have to work, she shyly asked me, "Can we bake after Lila goes to bed?" Of course I gave a little cheer and quickly pulled out butter to soften. We made fruit and nut cookies from King Arthur, using pecans instead of pistachios. They were ever so tasty, mildly sweet and bursting with flavor. I highly recommend this recipe for anyone looking for an easy and tasty cookie this holiday season. All the taste of fruit cakes inside a shortbread cookie. What's more, the dough can be made and refrigerated/frozen for freshly baked cut-and-serve cookies. 

Then last weekend, Neighbor Girl came down to see our new home and spend the weekend with us. She got off the plane, hugged me and said hello and the next thing out of her mouth: "Can we bake World Peace cookies?" We can and we did. With the weather taking a turn towards the wet and chilly side, we stayed home and did all sorts of cozy things, like baking those cookies, and knitting a hat, and watching movies while sipping on soup.

Tiny gifts for Lila's daycare teachers: crocheted face scrubbies
paired with my favorite soap

A third friend is arriving to spend Christmas with us, so excuse me while I log off to continue planning the holiday meals and to go shop for some stocking stuffers. Have a wonderful weekend, all.