The Cookbook Junkies

Many a snickerdoodle recipe has been baked in my kitchen and this recipe from Cookies & Cups lives up to its name — it is the Perfect Snickerdoodle.

Andrew loves lemon and since we loved the texture of the snickerdoodle recipe – I played around with Cookies & Cups recipe and came up with Lemon Doodles. I’ve made them twice now – everyone loves them and I gave a cookie jar full to Andrew’s teacher – who proclaimed them heavenly.

Today’s version are decorated for Spring and I will have a happy boy once he arrives home from school!

I have plans for Orange Doodles in the near future as well as making these again with a white chocolate glaze.

Modern Israeli Cooking by Danielle Oron pleasantly surprised me with its greatness. When a book blows me away when I first crack it open it (unless I’m covering it for another outlet), I write a post immediately about it in The Cookbook Junkies group (25,500 lovely, crazy fanatics) and I did about this title. Many folks thanked me for bringing this title to their attention – it’s a tough job but someone has to do it – Jenny Hartin – Cookbook Enabler.

Danielle Oron, the author of this title, is the Chef and Owner of Moo Milk Bar in Toronto. She was featured on Unique Sweets on the Food Network and I made a mental note of her name — when I learned she published a cookbook I had to track it down.

The recipes showcase Israeli flavors with a modern twist and every one of them looks drool worthy. Some of the recipes from this title that are on my to make list are Chicken Shawarma Rice Bowl with Quick Pickled Tomatoes, Schnitzel and Sumac Slaw Sandwiches (recipe shared below), Middle Eastern Beef Fried Rice, Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Whipped Cheesecake with Pecan Cookie Crust and Crumble and Chicken and Dumplings AND Dumplings (yes, double your dumplings please). I should list them all because they all look great.

The photographs are beautiful and there is one for each and every recipe. Photographs aren’t a must have for me – but I love when they are there – huge bonus especially when we are cooking something new and unfamiliar.

Thanks to Page Street Publishing for allowing me to share the recipe for Schnitzel & Sumac Slaw Sandwiches which can be downloaded at the link. Just look how great those sandwiches look!

Random Number Generator picked #45 Sharon Miro!

Now for the Giveaway – Page Street Publishing who provided me with a copy of this book is offering a copy to one of my readers. This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada! To enter please leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Middle Eastern dish. As a courtesy – I would appreciate shares of this post so that everyone can check out this great book. A random winner will be chosen on March 25th. Good luck!

I’m a fan of Patty Pinner. Her two previous titles Sweety Pies and Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories have a reserved spot on my bookcase. When I learned that Sweet Mornings was being released in February, I was excited — because I love a breakfast or brunch cookbook. Let’s be honest I love most cookbooks – they offer inspiration as well as recipes to me – it is a comfort to see my bookcases filled with possibilities.

Sweet Mornings shares 125 sweet and savory breakfast and brunch recipes and each turn of the page offers one delicious dish after another. Mama’s Brown Sugar and Pecan Coffee Cake, Aunt Zaida’s Almond Coffee Ring and My My’s Old-Fashioned Crumb Cake are already marked and that was in the first pages. As I continue on I discovered it would be easier to mark the recipes that don’t appeal to me because that is a far less number. (Don’t hate me – not a fan of Red Velvet.) Patty shares glorious stories of the family and friends that live behind these heart-warming recipes.

Orange-Filled Crescents made from scratch – oh my – and no popping of a tube of refrigerated dough necessary. There are a few recipes that use a tube of biscuits or crescents – and that I can understand – sometimes we need a shortcut. My mom could make a batch of mean fried doughnuts with a can of biscuits – the rolls in the top left picture of the cover are made with a can of biscuits – and they look phenomenal, right? Overall, the majority of recipes are from scratch, soul feeding recipes that will sweeten our mornings.

Granolas, parfaits, waffles, egg dishes and other savory recipes round out this beautiful book. Sunday-Best Sausage Bread Pudding, Miss Rose’s Bacon Quiche and Sausage, Egg and Cheese Ring will be the star of any brunch table. I’m going to be trying several recipes over the next few weeks and will come back to edit this post.

Special thank to Agate Publishing and Patty Pinner for sharing this incredible recipe for Ava Joys Lemon Cake that can be downloaded at the link.

Photo © Peter McCullough, courtesy of Agate Publishing

Random Number Generator picked #17 – Shelley!

GIVEAWAY:  My friends at Agate Publishing are offering one of you a copy of this fantastic book that is sure to become a resource that you will turn to time and again. To enter please leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite breakfast sweet is. The giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only and a random winner will be chosen on March 25th. (I’m having some issues with comments – they are being sent directly to spam – I will approve them several times a day – if you leave a message come back the next day to make sure it is there. If there is a problem – please e-mail me at icywit at gmail dot com.) Good luck! Thanks Agate for this opportunity.