Marcia Hassel's recipes

This should be called the World’s Best Almost Too Rich But Incredible Rugulah Dough. It's outrageously good (and different). It makes a crisp pastry that is the richest and easiest rugulah dough I ever made and takes well to any filling. Dough 2 cups unsalted butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 2 cups sour cream 4 1/2 cups, or more (on the pastry board) all-purpose flour Fillings, as per your preference: Jam (raspberry, strawberry, apricot) Ground nuts such as walnuts Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate chips Egg wash For the dough, blend all the ingredients in order given, in a mixer, on slow speed, with the paddle attachment until a ball forms. Turn the dough out on a flour-dusted work surface and roll in a bit of flour, if required to make a soft but manageable dough. If you think you need more flour, you probably do but that said, this dough is a bit greasy until it is well chilled. Divide in four portions, press each into a flattened disc and wrap in...

  These are big, bold oatmeal cookies that remind me of the ones you find in a glass canister near the cash in a deli. The shortening changes the texture and taste but I just as often make this all-butter and they are still beautiful, oversized oatmeal cookies. 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened ¼ cup shortening or unsalted butter, softened 1 cup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed ½ cup sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 2 eggs 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 2 ½ cups flour 1 ½ cups oatmeal 1 teaspoon cornstarch ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cinnamon 1 ½ cup raisins or chocolate chips 1 cup walnuts, optional Preheat oven to 375 F. Stack two baking sheets together and line the top one with parchment paper. In a mixer bowl, blend the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs and vanilla and blend well, scraping bowl often. Fold in the flour, oatmeal, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and blend well. Fol...

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS We wanted cookies with all the best qualities of brownies—rich and chewy, with a deep chocolate flavor and a crackly, shiny top. To maximize the chocolate complexity, we used both melted bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder plus a good dose of salt. The key to chewiness was the right mix of butter and vegetable oil, and whipping the eggs and sugar together in a stand mixer delivered the shiny, crackly top, giving these cookies showstopping appeal.  1  cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour  ¼  cup (¾ ounce)  Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1  teaspoon  baking powder ¼  teaspoon baking soda  ¾  teaspoon table salt  10  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided 3  tablespoons  vegetable oil 1  tablespoon  unsalted butter 2  tablespoons whole milk  1  cup (7 ounces) sugar  2  large eggs We dev...

Speculoos are Belgian cookies with a crisp, light, open-crumbed texture and a blend of caramelized sugar and warm spice flavors. To achieve the appropriate texture, we rolled the dough thin so it would bake up dry and crisp, used only enough sugar to lightly sweeten the dough since sugar is hygroscopic and makes cookies moist, and added baking powder along with the usual baking soda to produce an open, airy crumb. For a subtle caramel taste, we chose turbinado sugar rather than molasses-based brown sugar or traditional (but hard-to-find) Belgian brown sugar. To nail the spice flavor, we used a large amount of cinnamon along with small amounts of cardamom and cloves for complexity.  GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS 1½  cups (7½ ounces)  all-purpose flour 5  teaspoons  ground cinnamon 1  teaspoon ground cardamom  ¼  teaspoon ground cloves  ¼  teaspoon baking soda  ¼  teaspoon  baking powder ...

Speculoos are Belgian cookies with a crisp, light, open-crumbed texture and a blend of caramelized sugar and warm spice flavors. To achieve the appropriate texture, we rolled the dough thin so it would bake up dry and crisp, used only enough sugar to lightly sweeten the dough since sugar is hygroscopic and makes cookies moist, and added baking powder along with the usual baking soda to produce an open, airy crumb. For a subtle caramel taste, we chose turbinado sugar rather than molasses-based brown sugar or traditional (but hard-to-find) Belgian brown sugar. To nail the spice flavor, we used a large amount of cinnamon along with small amounts of cardamom and cloves for complexity. GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS 1½  cups (7½ ounces)  all-purpose flour 5  teaspoons  ground cinnamon 1  teaspoon ground cardamom  ¼  teaspoon ground cloves  ¼  teaspoon baking soda  ¼  teaspoon  baking powder ...