Variation to Whole Wheat Rugelach Recipe

I have made a new variation of The Whole Wheat Rugelach Recipe and its made a amazing difference.  The chocolate ones tend to be a little too rich.  What I have decided to change it instead of the Chocolate, I filled them with a combination of:

Cinnamon
Sugar
canola oil (to made the combination a paste)
Pure vanilla extract

Try it out.  You will be amazed.
Original Recipe Post Here

Whole Wheat Blondies (ala mode optional)

Blondies were always one of my favorite types of cookies.  Or is it a cake?  Personally I am not really sure.  But it doesn't really matter.  All that matters is that they taste good.  One problem...They aren't the healthiest of options.  I haven't made them a whole lot healthier but added whole grains to the recipe to allow for a little less guilt.  Less guilty, but ALL the flavor of regular blondies.  This recipe is extremely easy to prep and entails only a few ingredients.  Try out the recipe.  I guarantee you will enjoy!!  And to all my kosher readers, this recipe is also kosher!!  Unlike some of my recipes, this has exact measurements.

Ingredients needed for less guilty Blondies

- 1 stick of unsalted organic butter (melted)

- 1 cup packed organic light brown sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (The REAL stuff please)

- 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- Whatever fillings you would like (I use white and dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix melted butter and light brown sugar until combined completely.  Slowly add egg and vanilla while constantly mixing to make sure egg doesn't begin to cook if butter is still hot.  Once mixed to a smooth liquid add the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add whatever fillings you desire.  There are 2 ways you can cook these.  Put dough in a greased 8x8 inch cake pan or do what I do:

Go out and buy one of these (Kitchen Essentials® from Calphalon® Bar Pan)

Bake blondies for 20 minutes if you like them to be moister/softer, or bake for 30 minutes for a more crispier/drier blondie. 

Notes on recipe:

- Filling suggestions: White chocolate chips, Dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, raisins, m&ms, reeses pieces, or whatever your heart desires.

- I certainly think the moister/softer blondie is better but feel free to try anything.

- Allow blondies to completely cool before cutting them or taking them out of the pan.

- One of my friends suggested this and it was great.  Put the blondies in the fridge and let them get hard.  You might be surprised but they happen to make for an even better treat.  And it take longer to eat.  Thanks Justin.

- The Bar Pan works amazing.  I highly suggest it.  It can also be used for easy less messy brownies. Oops did I say brownies.  Not really supposed to mention those while talking blondies.  

Enjoy!!!

Grilled Chicken Marsala

Traditional Chicken Marsala is usually battered or pan seared using a flour based breading which adds a lot of fat and calories.  Traditional Recipes also use a large amount of butter.  My mission was to eliminate these ingredients to create a healthier but still tasty and enjoyable dinner.  I believe I have succeeded but only my fellow fans and chefs could be the ultimate test on the verdict.  Make this recipe and let me know what you think.


Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Marsala:


- 1 Package Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts
- Olive Oil
- 8 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
- 2 Large Shallots (Minced)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- 1 bottle Sweet Marsala Wine
- 1 Carton Chicken Stock
- 2 Package Baby Bella Mushrooms (Sliced)
- 1 box Farfalle Pasta
- Parsley

First thing needed to be done to make this recipe is to marinate the chicken for grilling.  To do this, mix the chicken with Olive Oil (enough to coat all the chicken), 8 minced cloves of garlic, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper.  8 cloves seems like a lot but it will be well worth it as it will flavor the chicken tremendously.  Let marinate for about 1 hour.  


When the chicken has 15 minutes left to marinate begin heating water for pasta. While waiting for water to boil, heat 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large saute pan.  Add shallots and saute until sweated.  Add mushrooms and let simmer until softened, mixing once every minute.  This should take about 5 minutes.  Once softened add 1 1/2 cups of Marsala Wine and heat on high flame until boiling.  Continue to boil until reduced to half the original amount mixing occasionally.  While waiting for this to happen, add pasta to boiling water and then begin to grill the chicken.  Because the chicken is marinated in oil, there will be a lot of flare up when chicken goes on grill.  Be sure not to forget to put the extra garlic from the marinade on chicken once on grill.    The chicken will cook very quickly.  Back over at the saute pan, once wine is reduced, add chicken stock 1 cup at a time.  Wait until stock reduces to add more.  You should use no more than 3 cups depending on how saucy you want the chicken.  This will take a while.  Add about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and minced parsley to sauce.  Taste the sauce as you go.  If its losing the Marsala taste add more wine in small amounts.  Once you are happy with the consistency and amount of sauce (it should be thick), reduce to a simmer and add the grilled chicken.  You now have two options.  You can simmer over a flame or put in oven at about 300 degrees until ready to serve.  Don't forget about your pasta during all this.  You want the pasta to be Al Dente.  This means it should still be a bit firmer then fully cooked pasta but not hard.  Put chicken over pasta and pour sauce over.  Enjoy!!  You will be surprised just how fulfilling this dish is. 

A couple of notes on the recipe
-  You can also cook chicken on an indoor grill pan but olive oil will not burn off so you will end up with more of an oily chicken.  This is not necessarily bad but just be aware is will add fat to the dish.
-  I like to add a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese to the top of the dish afterwords as it adds an extra flare to the dish.
-  If possible go to a liquor store and use a real Marsala wine and not one from the cooking wine aisle of the supermarket.  It will make a world of difference.  I use sweet Marsala wine as opposed to the dry type.

Healthier, Kosher, Whole Wheat Rugelach

 

From the look at the picture you might be saying to yourself, This looks too complicated...There is no way I can make this...This is going to take a long time.  If you are thinking any of these things, you are wrong.  The recipe I am about to explain to you is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made.  On top of that it was fun and allows you to become creative in the kitchen.  If you are a lover of Rugelach and wouldn't eat it because you know how bad it is for you, PLEASE try this recipe.  As an added bonus I made sure this recipe is kosher considering this cookie is traditionally a Jewish pastry.  Now remember, I do not measure when I bake and cook, so some of the ingredients listed are estimates of what was used.  It is up to you, the cook, to figure out the exact amounts.

Ingredients needed for these amazing cookies

For Dough:

- 1 8oz package of low fat cream cheese

- 1 stick of organic butter

- 3/4 cup of organic cane sugar

- 2 1/2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour

For Filling:

- 1/2 cup cane sugar

- 1/8 cup cinnamon

- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

- Finely Chopped Walnuts

- 1/8 cup canola oil 

Miscellaneous:

- 1 egg

- Confectioner's Sugar

Cooking Instructions

To make the dough, using a hand mixer, first cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Next add the flour in 3 equal increments.  Start by mixing with a spoon.  Once it gets too hard to mix, wash your hands, and dig in.  You will know you have added enough flour once the dough becomes less sticky and pretty firm.  This is when you cover and put in the fridge for an hour.  

While the dough is in the fridge, its time to mix the filling.  This is where you can get creative.  You can come up with and unlimited number of fillings.  Some traditional ones are, chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, walnut, and apricot preserves.  For my recipe, I have made a combination of Cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts.  Simply mix the dry ingredients of the filling listed above.  Then add the canola oil and mix until it covers the entire mixture evenly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Take the dough out of the fridge and split into 3 even amounts.  Take one of the dough balls and roll into a circle.  You want this to be about a 12 inch thin circle.  Next, spread the filling on top of the dough covering the radius as best you can.  Once this is complete cut the dough with a sharp knife into the following:

Starting on the thick side roll each section of the dough inward and place on a nonstick pan covered with cooking spray.  Brush the top of each cookie with a beaten egg.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top of the cookie begins to brown.  Repeat with 2 other dough portions.  Let cool, dust with confectioner's sugar, and enjoy.  And I know you will.  Recipe yields about 48 cookies.