Recipe: Chocolate Beet Cupcakes w/Dark Chocolate Sweet Potato Frosting

As they say, "Eat your veggies.” You’re welcome:

Recipe: Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

(GF/V/refined sugar-free)

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium cooked beets

• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used coconut [carton, not in the can])

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar

• 1/4 cup melted unrefined coconut oil

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 generous cup of flour (I used a gluten-free all-purpose blend, but white or whole spelt, or unbleached regular wheat flour will work too)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• pinch salt

• 2 Tbls or more of water, beet cooking liquid (if you boil them), or extra unsweetened milk

Instructions:

1. Before you do anything, cook your beets! Roast or boil - it’s up to you. The goal: fully cooked/fork tender.

2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cupcake pan with baking cups and set aside.

3. Once your beets are cooked and still slightly warmed, puree beets in a blender or food processor. You can add a little water, beet cooking liquid, or unsweetened milk by the tablespoon to thin out the cooked beets. You want a puree, not a smoothie. Scoop out or pour a 1/2 cup of the pureed beets and set aside.

4. Whisk together the non-dairy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup or bowl, and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle and make a sort of buttermilk. 

5. Add the coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup beets and carefully whisk or beat until combined and foamy.

6. In a bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to remove any lumps. 

7. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Beat (by hand or with a mixer)/combine until no lumps remain.

8. Pour batter into lined cupcake pan, filling each a 3/4 of the way full. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

9. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. 

10. Once cooled, frost or eat as is!

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Sweet Potato Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, roasted

• 8-10 oz. of dark chocolate (chips or chopped bar chocolate - the darker the better)

• a pinch of sea salt

• 1 Tbl vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Scoop out and slightly mash the roasted sweet potato from the skin and place in a small to medium sauce pan. 

2. Bring the sweet potato mash to a simmer (you can add a little bit of water or unsweetened non-dairy milk to thin out, but only  1-2 Tbls at most) and remove from heat.

3. Add the dark chocolate, and stir until smooth. (If you want a super smooth texture, you can put the mixture in a food processor or use an immersion blender.)

4. Let it cool, stirring occasionally, until the frosting is at room temperature and spread on your cupcakes/cake (or maybe transfer to a container and store in your refrigerator for up to a week and eat by the spoonful…)

Speak With Your Craft: Marina Sachs!

Marina Sachs is, perhaps, the definition of dynamic…and wonderfully whacky. I first had the pleasure of meeting Marina when working on the Cheyenne River Reservation with Simply Smiles in 2015, as part of her Lakota Youth Speak project - a restorative justice and adolescent enrichment program - with friend and program co-creator Ellie Nan Storck. She is a MacGyver of creativity and creating, who harnesses her good nature, thoughtfulness, talent and sense of humor to bring joy and levity to kids on the Reservation and those around her in most every situation. I sure enjoy being around her! Check our her musings below - she’s a peach and a talented artist! (And, if you feel so inclined/moved by Marina, please check the Lakota Youth Speak Project and consider making a donation here.)

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Meet The Maker

Name: Marina Sachs

Location: Cambridge, MA

Creative/crafty outlets: painting, drawing

Where to find you/your wares: www.softpushstudio.com; Instagram: @marina_sachs

Marina Sachs

When did you first realize that you like to create?

I grew up without a television, internet access, and a microwave.  Around 2007, my parents got a television and wireless internet, but up until that point, there was no time or value placed on these things. I realize that this is a privilege; many parents cannot afford to make fresh food every day, and need to use a microwave to feed their families quick and easy meals. Other parents need their children to watch television so that they can be occupied while they make dinner, clean, or are working. I am very aware that living without these commodities was still a choice that my parents could make because they were in a position of privilege.

And yet, growing up without television or internet undoubtedly influenced the kind of thinker and maker I am today. My parents gave my sister and me art supplies, and the simple rule that boredom wasn’t an option, and playing outside always was. In our basement, we had chalk, paint, markers, paper, and recycled materials that my mama picked up from the supermarket (for a great styrofoam printing activity, click here). I was always allowed to use permanent markers, and was never scolded for getting paint on myself or making a mess as I created. I was never scolded for being a messy artist, and my parents gave me freedom to express myself in whatever medium was available. I am very grateful for their style, and something that has inspired me in the way I work with young artists.

Artwork by Marina Sachs

To attempt to answer the question: I vividly remember creating a painted scene of a few trees in kindergarten on thick, pink paper, but I know that I was making art before that. I think I always loved to create, but the ways I have realized it have changed over the years. It wasn’t until high school, when I was attending an arts magnet high school in New Haven, CT, that I felt myself pulled towards performing and visual arts; drumming, mixed-media art, and theatre. My parents separated during my college years, and it was around this time that I realized I no longer just loved to create, I had to. I needed to sort out all of the shifting, clashing, dark parts in my head. My art became less inhibited, the impetus behind creating art had changed.

Artwork by Marina Sachs

Who or what are some of your creative influences and/or where do you seek inspiration? And, has this changed over time?

I think that much of what I was exposed to as a child affected how I am as an artist and a creator today. There are some very specific, visual artists whose influence you can see in my art; the pen and ink-work of Quentin Blake, Alexander Calder’s circus drawings and sculptures, Jean Paul Basquiat’s journal entries, Beatrix Potter’s botanical paintings, to name a few.

About four years ago, I took issue with many of my creative influences, not because they aren’t talented or unique, but because my influences were mostly white males. How can I be an artist who fights for equity and access, how can I harness my privilege if all of my influences are white? I grappled with these questions, the most poignant being, “Who are my heros?” I think this is a really important question, because it demands a tracing of one’s history, a questioning of what one has learned, and more importantly, what they haven’t learned.

I’m always trying to figure out how to creatively show - and share - what I stand for.

Describe your process: Do you map things out? Just go for it? How do you get to the end product?

If I’m painting, it’s usually because I’ve got something stirring up my bones that I have to get out. I work on the floor. Barefoot. I spread out my materials, get a big glass of water, and throw on music. Delta blues, psych-rock, 90’s hip hop, ambient electronica... I move quickly, drawing first with sharpie, and then begin painting. I don’t like using pencil, I make more mistakes when I have an eraser.

If I’m designing a workshop, or working on a collaborative piece, then the first thing I do when I start is think about access. Who is represented in the collaboration? What voices aren’t being heard loud enough? If it’s a visual piece, is it accessible to everybody, affordable? Are the materials inexpensive, sustainable? What language is the project in? Whose histories are being told, or overlooked? Access is directly connected to diversity and equity; who has access to the project and who doesn’t? I’m much more thoughtful and planned when I’m working on a project. I constantly seek to collaborate with people whose viewpoints challenge, supplement, and intersect with my own. Access, tension, diversity, and equity are very important when we think about art, both local and global.

Talk more about your Tipi Talks/Lakota Youth Speak project, in terms of the role of creativity, identity and self-expression for Native youth. I saw, firsthand, how teenagers changed and opened up - namely, using art and creativity to harness their vulnerabilities, self-esteem, fears, and aspirations. It was and remains really incredible. How did this project evolve in terms of pre-trip planning to the Reservation and then actually living and working on the Reservation?

Lakota Youth Speak Project (2015)

I have always believed that young people are capable of harnessing art to transform the lives of those around them; Lakota Youth Speak is another iteration of my commitment to this belief. In 2015, my close friend and project co-designer, Ellie Nan Storck and I received a Davis Project for Peace grant for Lakota Youth Speak.  It is a youth-driven restorative justice project that collaborates with young folks on the Reservation to create adolescent enrichment and community programs. The planning process that led up to funding lasted around 7 months; we had to prove that the project was holistic, sustainable, and that the community was interested in it. Crudely put: Ellie and I had to prove that we weren’t just two white folks going into a vulnerable community to start a project that we would then forget about the next year. We corresponded with dozens of organizations, the Davis foundation, Honor the Treaties, and a number of tribal nations across the U.S to coordinate this project, and finally connected with Simply Smiles in La Plant.

The first year of Lakota Youth Speak was challenging because Ellie and I had to build trust with the young folks before we could begin to collaborate. After a month of knocking on doors repeatedly, and eventually realizing that 10am meetings aren’t a good time for teenagers to meet, we started to make some headway in terms of trust, respect, and creative programs. We got involved with Lakota mental health professionals, introducing them in safe, low-stakes settings for both adolescent and community workshops. Meeting twice per week, we worked to plan a community meal that had hands-on art stations, two awesome Lakota professionals who spoke about their work, and live music. That year we really focused on space; forging common space for teens to feel comfortable, safe, and cool, visiting sacred space (we took trips to the Badlands and Black Hills), and making space for every person who wanted to be involved in the program.

This summer, we’re working to simplify Lakota Youth Speak, and collaborate with more Lakota makers and creators.

I believe that it’s really important for the young folks we work with to have artists, professionals, and all around bad-ass adults who are similar to them.  I’m white, I didn’t grow up in La Plant, or on a Reservation: I can be a facilitator, and an ally. I can support the beautiful young people I work with as they push up against the systemic challenges that abound for indigenous folks in the U.S., but I don’t think that I’m fit to be the best role model for them.

Heroes, role models; they’re people who a young person can identify with, aspire to become. If a child don’t see someone who looks like her, talks like her, acts like her in a position of power, in a heroic role, then she becomes instilled with the idea that people like her don’t become role models.

Whatʼs one of your favorite projects - past, present, or a project in the works?

Tattoo design by Marina Sachs

My most recent project re:love is a self-published magazine that features work from 30 artists, many of whom had never shared their work publicly. Spanning 6 months, I facilitated the project from inception to distribution, and worked with artists in-person and virtually. Each contribution was submitted in response to being asked to think critically about identity. re:love derives its form from each contributor’s original work; this zine is about approaching each other’s differences with curiosity and love.

(I’m also working on a book for my favorite tattoo shop, which I’m really excited about!!! I’ll let you know when it’s coming out.)

Whatʼs the best piece of advice/quote that youʼve received about creating? Or, conversely, what would you recommend to other artists?

Try to be in conversation with people who are going to challenge the way that you think. While it’s been important to surround myself with people who support me, it’s been just as important to engage with people who challenge me. People who look at my art and say, “I don’t get it,” or “Is that even art?” It’s easy to become emboldened by supportive communities, both in-person and online.  We often forget that tension and challenges are fertile ground for innovation and self-expression.

Bonus: If you could be any plant (existing or made up), what would you be and why?

A sweet potato (Oven-roasted at 425 for 45 minutes with some olive oil and sea salt)

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Thanks, Marina! Be sure to follow her on Instagram at @marina_sachs and www.softpushstudio.com. And, get updates on the Lakota Youth Speak initiative here.

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Have an idea for Speak With Your Craft? Know some interesting makers, crafters, cooks, bakers, food growers, woodworkers, herbalists, photographers, writers, actors, musicians, painters, fiber artists, and creative forces in your life? I have friends lined up in the near future, but I'm open to suggestions! Leave a comment or contact me! Remember, makers or creators need not fit into a neat box to be featured. So, here’s to more creating, crafting, listening, learning, and collaborating!

Energy Bites: A mindful, budget-conscious and crunchy as hell snack

I enjoy cooking and good food, especially when it’s based off of one recipe with many, many variations. Sunday’s are my meal prep days, and these delish, budget-conscious energy bites are in heavy rotation.

My friend Kaitlin Clark, a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and the brains behind Integrative Healing Arts, first made these snacks for me in 2010, and I've made versions of them ever since. The brilliance of these snacks are that they are (1) no bake! (2) suited to whatever ingredients you have on hand and (3) adjusted or modified to your tastes.

Energy Bite add-ins: bee pollen, unsweetened coconut flakes, hemp hearts, chia seeds, walnuts

The basic components:

• protein (in the form of nut or seed butters [tahini, almond, sunflower, etc.], ground or chopped nuts or seeds, and/or a scoop or two of your favorite [no to low sugar] protein powder)

• something sweet (local honey or maple syrup)

• add-ins (like cocoa/cacao, chia seeds, hemp hearts, a pinch of ground flax seeds, green powders/herbs, bee pollen, shredded coconut, mini-chocolate chips, dried or blended fruit like raisins, cranberries, dates or figs, etc.)

They are delicious, no-bake, customizable, and totally worth it.

Have some time today to plan for the week ahead and start eating more mindfully? Check out the two recipes from Kaitlin - the expert - to get started, and check out my preferred combination below. (**Disclaimer: While you should experiment with ingredients in these recipes, please consult with a professional if you have never used certain powders or dried herbs to avoid any complications with medications or triggers to known allergies.**)

Recipe 2: Energy Bites (courtesy of Kaitlin Clark of Integrative Healing Arts)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 parts (1/2-2/3 c.) ground pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds

• 1 part (1/2 c.) ginseng root powder

• 1 part (1/3-1/2 c.) part gingko or gotu kola

• 1/2 part (1/8 c.) spirulina, greens powder or chlorella

• 1 cup nut/seed butter (tahini, almond, sunflower, etc.)

• 1/2 cup local honey (more or less for taste)

• Add ons: 1/2 cup crushed almonds, mini vegan chocolate chips, raising, goji berries, etc.

Recipe 1: Brain Bites (courtesy of Kaitlin Clark of Integrative Healing Arts)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup nut/seed butter (tahini, almond, sunflower, etc.)

• 1 part (1/2 cup) ginkgo leaf (powder)

• 1/2 cup local honey (more or less for taste)

• 1 part (1/2 cup) ginseng root powder

• 1 part (1/2 cup) Brahmi Powder

• vegan chocolate chips (mini!)

• unsweetened cocoa powder, cacao, or cocoa nibs

• Add ons: finely chopped walnuts, almonds, shredded coconuts, raisins, hemp seeds, etc.

Instructions/Assembly:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the seed/nut butters with honey/maple syrup.

2. Blend in powdered herbs, chips, add-ons (Pro-tip: Finely chop by using a coffee grinder or small food processor)

3. Roll into tablespoon-size balls. (Pro-tip: I use a small ice cream scooper - even less work!)

4. In a shallow bowl or plate, roll into coconut shreds, hemp seeds, etc.

5. Place on plate or lined-cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

6. Once frozen, you can wrap them up in a bag, plate or container of your choice.

Recipe/Variation 3: Al's Combo

This is my preferred combination of ingredients for energy bites, following Kaitlin's proportions and instructions from above. My go-to combo: almond butter, local honey/local maple syrup, unsweetened vegan protein powder, cocoa/cacoa powder, unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, ground walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin/sunflower seeds.

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Speak With Your Craft: Jill Verzino!

Welcome to Speak With Your Craft, a (semi) regular feature that profiles the many creative individuals in my life and my attempt to shed light on what inspires them. I also want to expose readers to crafts, talents, and skills that may be slightly offbeat or unusual and encourage the support of the movers and makers in the handmade world. Today, the spotlight is on Jill Verzino, an incredibly talented Connecticut-based artist and teacher whom I got to know through - where else - food growing! You know when you meet certain people in your life and you just get one another? Well, that's Jill. I had the pleasure of working with her in the garden on the Cheyenne River Reservation in 2016 (she was the garden assistant and she also designed the project's logo!) and bonding over our Jesuit educations (she went to Fordham, I went to Fairfield), blueberries, social justice, music, and, of course, more food and farming. Jill is equally talented as she is insightful about life and her creative process. I encourage you to check her out:

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Meet Your Maker: Jill Verzino!

Location: Waterbury, CT | Creative/crafty outlets: drawing, painting, jewelry making, woodworking | Where to find you/your wares: jillverzino.com; Instagram: @dailyavian

When did you first realize that you like to create?

I can’t recall exactly when I realized my obsession with creating, but I do know it was at a very young age. I remember my family would always refer to me as “the artist,” but looking back at the work I was creating then, there really was no apparent reason for them to call me an artist based on the quality of the work I was putting out. It looked no different than your average 5-year-old’s scribbles, so it must have been the quantity and frequency with which I was creating that made them label me as an artist.

Who or what are some of your creative influences and/or where do you seek inspiration? And, has this changed over time?

I’ve been lucky enough to have had some incredible teachers and professors over the years, and I think they are my greatest heroes in the art world. I’ve always loved the creative connection that comes with the teacher and student relationship. Every once in awhile, you have an instructor that you want to impress every class, no exceptions. Casey Ruble and Amie Cunat were two professors of mine at Fordham, and I feel forever indebted to the knowledge they imparted on me, the help they selflessly offered, and the opportunities they handed to me. 

Beyond my teachers, I became infatuated with two female artists I discovered back in high school. They remain two of my greatest influences to this day. Robin F Williams and Hope Gangloff deal mostly with portraiture in their distinct styles. Now that I’m teaching high school students, I find that I am inspired by them. I have such intense gut reactions to their work, and the reflecting that results from my feelings about their work shapes how I think about my own work.

To return to something you hinted at in the beginning: it’s definitely a female thing to undercut our own work or belittle our accomplishments. You say there was “no apparent reason” for your family to call you an artist (this is not to say that your family weren’t supportive - they seemed like they completely are!), but clearly you were doing something both productive and creative. Why do we, as women, have to be so critical of ourselves?! You were onto something when you were younger and being “the artist” - you liked it and found enjoyment in it so much you decided to pursue art in higher ed and as a career, right? How has your confidence grown as you’ve matured as an artist and, now, as a teacher?

Self portrait | Jill Verzino

This question is perceptive and the topic resonates with me quite a bit. I’ve never been able to master the art of taking a compliment. I loathe situations where myself or my art is the center of attention, whether it be a gallery reception, an award ceremony, or even a celebration for some rite of passage. My insides curdle when others compliment my work. I usually reject the compliment while avoiding eye contact. I then feel like a hypocrite for doing so because I am the one putting my artwork out there for everyone to see, not anyone else. If I didn’t want people to see my work I wouldn’t be making it. It’s a process of research - research of myself and of this world. I’m not creating for the sake of private self aggrandizement and I’m not creating for public self aggrandizement either. I think of it like this, in the same way I want to consume art and talk about how it makes me think and feel, I want to share art and hear how it makes others think and feel. But god forbid you try to commend my work, I just can’t deal. A serious character flaw, I know, but I’m working on it.

As far as my confidence and my teaching goes, it’s easy for me to ignore my own work and focus on what the students are creating and how I can help them better their work. I have pushed myself to incorporate my own work in slides when introducing new projects. However, I don’t let on that it is my work until someone asks who the artist is. Alas, baby steps.

Describe your process: Do you map things out? Just go for it? How do you get to the end product?

I’m not much of a planner when it comes to my art. To a fault, I’m mostly self taught at crafts beyond drawing and painting. Many of my closest friends can attest to my stubborn nature. For example, instead of sitting down and reading a book about carving or whittling, I sat down and hacked away at an extremely hard wood for days with newly gifted beginner’s tools until I had something that looked like a spoon. I choose the hard way, but I like it that way strangely enough. I try to get to the end product as quickly as possible. I remember spending all nighters in the studio last spring finishing life sized portraits in three to five days. I often wonder if that need for somewhat-instant gratification is now ingrained in my brain as a millennial and has something to do with my inability to put down the paint brush, pencils, or tools until whatever I am working on is finished. Who knows? Just a thought.

Some of the most creative people I know have some connection to agriculture and food. You’re one of those people - among many things, you’ve worked summers on an organic berry farm, did some urban farming when you were at Fordham, and worked on a garden project (with me!) on a Reservation. Your work, especially your Sovereignty collection, shows a sense of reverence for the people, plants, and animals behind the food. Talk more about this collection, and, maybe, what connects the food/farm and creative worlds together.

Jill working on a piece for her 2016 show and collection, Sovereignty

I try not to force the connection too much. I enjoy the ebb and flow of my art world and farming world. The two come together when they can and want to. This question reminds me of my time in college when people would ask me what I was majoring in. When I would explain both Visual Art and Environmental Policy, I’d always receive a disgruntled lip curl followed by a half smile and an “Oh! How do you plan to make those two work together?” I never had an answer for them, but I also never wanted to be a one trick pony that needed to meld the two interests into one cohesive career. For my senior Visual Art thesis, I painted life sized portraits of farmers for and with whom I’ve worked over the years. The detail attributed to the subject’s faces, their specific props, the Velázquez-esque composition, and the general size of the paintings portray the subjects as glorified individuals, much like one would depict a sovereign leader. The reality is, however, that these individuals are anything but glorified in their daily lives. Their profession consists of behind-the-scenes work that is physically trying and often visually grotesque. My intention was to highlight the working class in a way we might traditionally depict the rich, famous, and powerful. Their work is inherently valuable to our livelihood, ecosystems, and economy, and that is often overlooked by society. The paintings depict only white, middle aged men, correlating to the statistic that, though changing (!), a large percentage of our farmers are just that - older white men. Because I had strong connections to the work, the people, and the topic of this thesis, I felt satiated with the intention and humility I experienced while working on the portraits in a way I hadn’t felt until then.

Jill's 2016 show and collection, Sovereignty

Whatʼs one of your favorite projects - past, present, or a project in the works?

American Robin: Turdus migratorius by Jill Verzino as part of her Daily Avian project

I just started an Instagram page called Daily Avian (@dailyavian), and my goal is to illustrate one bird a day for an indefinite period of time. I hope I can stay with it for a while. Having the Instagram page is a way for me to hold myself accountable for keeping up with it. That way I have other eyes watching. Either I’m taking requests for specific birds to paint or I’m closing my eyes, opening my Sibley field guide book, and putting my finger down on the page to choose a bird randomly. It’s been quite fun so far!

Whatʼs the best piece of advice/quote that youʼve received about creating? Or, conversely, what would you recommend to other artists?

Work smart, not hard. And there’s purple in everything.

Wait, please talk about the purple thing.

Next time you’re outside, look at the bark on trees. That is the easiest way to see what I’m talking about. The gray/brown hue of the bark takes on a hint of purple. Then you’ll start to notice that there is a shade of purple in most things because of the way the light hits them. Imagine you were going to mix paint to attain the color of a shadow on a white wall. You would most likely mix a shade of purple into that shadow.

**Bonus round**

If you could use only food and farm-related inspired words for a band name, what would it be?

Ghostface Tillah.

What’s currently your favorite song?

The first song that jumped into my head was “No River” by the immaculate Esmé Patterson.

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Thanks, Jill! Stay tuned for details about how you can own her work, but in the meantime, visit her site: jillverzino.com. Be sure to follow her recent Instagram project, Daily Avian (@dailyavian), and send in some suggestions for bird drawings!

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Have an idea for Speak With Your Craft? Know some interesting makers, crafters, cooks, bakers, food growers, woodworkers, herbalists, photographers, writers, actors, musicians, painters, fiber artists, and creative forces in your life? I have friends lined up in the near future, but I'm open to suggestions! Leave a comment or contact me! Remember, makers or creators need not fit into a neat box to be featured. So, here’s to more creating, crafting, listening, learning, and collaborating!

Food as identity: Purim & Hamantaschen

We all come from somewhere. But, I think about this, like, a lot, when I'm in the kitchen...and much more as of late. I owe my existence to my family members who immigrated from Italy, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. I'm sure there are more places, instances of happenstance and migration that I do not yet know. My brothers and I are a mix of all of these cultures and predominately two religions, Catholicism and Judaism, and, even a little bit of Quaker. Among other things, this smorgasbord of ethnicities and traditions have always influenced and informed our family's approach to food and our cooking philosophy. And, on Purim, we make hamantaschen, a tasty, pocket-filled cookie or pastry recognized for its triangular shape.

I wasn't raised Jewish, but I do know that today is Purim. Purim is a holiday of both celebration and commemoration, as it recognizes "the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman's plot 'to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day,'" according to Chabad.org. Survival is something that should and needs to be celebrated! And, for me, food is how I show my appreciation.

I'd like to think that I’m making my paternal ancestors - who fled Austria during WWII - proud by baking these delicious gems. I’m keenly aware that without their courage, I wouldn’t be here. So, baking hamataschen is my small gesture and ode to embracing their culture, faith, and their struggle to survive.  With each corner fold of the pastry, dollop of jam, and zest of lemon, I'm reminded to always cook with intention and gratitude. L’chaim! (translation: to life!) 

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Lemon-Raspberry Hamantaschen | 3.11.2017

Recipe: Lemon-Raspberry Hamantaschen

I wish I could say that this recipe was passed down from generation to generation, but, alas, it wasn't. I need to give credit where credit is due - I owe inspiration and thanks to the real masters like Tori Avey, Molly Yeh of My Name is Yeh, Liz Rueven's Kosher Like Me, and Whitney Fisch of Jew Hungry. I encourage you to follow these women and read their work! 

Here's my approach and how I got the end result:

• Dough: The recipe I used is from Liz's Kosher Like Me: The Perfect Hamantaschen Dough. This one uses coconut oil and gives the dough an amazing texture.

My adaptations to this recipe:  Instead of wheat flour, I used Pamela's All Purpose Flour blend. (Not sponsored, I swear.) I do not advocate for substituting with random non-gluten flours (almond, buckwheat, coconut, etc.), especially if this is your first attempt. Baking is chemistry, after all. But, you should be fine if you use or have a preferred 1:1 flour blend that you use.

A teaspoon of filling is all that you need. Once filled, fold dough into a triangle.

• Filling: organic, low sugar raspberry jam. Do a quick search for fillings, or search on one of the above sites that inspired me for more ideas (chocolate hazelnut, poppyseed, halva, apricot, date and honey, etc.).

• Shaping & forming: I followed the rolling and folding tips from Tori Avey. Click here for her instructions. The basics: You want to pinch or fold the dough to make a pocket or triangle.

My cooking cutter pro-tip: Most recipes suggest making circular rounds with a 3" cooking cutter. Skip that - use a wide-mouth mason jar lid and a small paring knife. For real. So simple!

SWYF Pro-Tip: wide-mouth mason jar lid makes the perfect cookie cutter!