Whether its recreating the iconic moon pie cookie in bar form or using tahini to elevate your go-to recipes, Joy the Baker is chock full of incredible baking tips and tricks to bring into a new year of better baking. 

Referenced in this episode 

• Joy's Plum and Lemon Curd Cake
• Joy's Moon Pie Bar
• Joy's Dark Chocolate Tahini Skillet Cookie

Genius-Hunter Extra Credit

• Joy the Baker's Website
• Find Joy on Instagram!

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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Rugelach is a beloved Jewish treasure originating from Eastern Europe. The cookie-pastry hybrid can be filled with anything from jam to chocolate and is the perfect two-bite treat fit for any holiday spread. This version, a classic chocolate rugelach bolstered with the flavors of creamy milk chocolate and malted milk powder, has a nostalgic flavor and tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture that will shine at any cookie swap.

Recipe

16 Rugelach 

Dough

• 2 1/4 cups (288g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (40g) malted milk powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks/226g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 8 ounces (226g) cold cream cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes

Malted Milk Chocolate Filling

• 4 ounces (about ⅔ cup/113g) milk chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate
• 1/3 cup (53g) malted milk powder
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (6g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg, for egg wash, plus more if needed
• sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the flour, sugar, ¼ cup malted milk powder, and salt. Process until combined, 10 to 15 seconds. Add the butter and cream cheese and process until a rough, shaggy dough forms that just starts to pull away from the sides of the food processor, 30 to 45 seconds. (If you don’t have a food processor you can pinch and knead the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients using clean hands as if you are making pie dough.) Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, cut in half, and roughly form each half into a rectangle. (Wipe out the food processor, but don’t wash it.) Tightly cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
2. Make the filling: Place the chocolate chips, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until the mixture is the texture of coarse sand, 25 to 35 seconds. (Alternatively, chop the chocolate into a fine dust and mix with the other ingredients.) Transfer into a bowl and set aside. In another small bowl, crack the egg for the egg wash and beat with a fork until no streaks of unincorporated yolk remain.
3. Unwrap one of the chilled doughs, generously dust with flour, and roll into a 11- by 8-inch rectangle. (The dough can get sticky, so use a bit more flour than normal.) Trim the edges to create crisp lines, if desired. Sprinkle about half of the filling onto the dough in an even layer leaving a ½-inch border on the top and bottom, pressing it in with your hands so it sticks and compacts slightly. Brush the top and bottom border with the egg wash. Roll into a spiral shape, brushing the underside of the dough with egg wash each time you roll it over, and transfer onto a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling and freeze both logs uncovered for 1 hour.
4. As the cookie logs are chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F and set 2 racks at the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets (you can line the one in the freezer once the logs are done chilling) with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
5. Brush the chilled dough logs with the egg wash on all sides. (If your egg wash has a lot of chocolate in it, it’s best to make a new one.) Generously sprinkle the tops of the logs with the sanding sugar. Cut the logs into 1½-inch thick slices using a thin sharp knife and place onto the prepared baking sheets spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned, then let cool completely on the baking sheet before serving. (If any of the rugelach spread more than you would have liked, just use the back of a spoon to push them back together while still hot from the oven.)

A look back at some of our favorite genius recipes of the year with Food52 co-founder and CEO, Amanda Hesser

Referenced in this episode 

• Julia Turshen's Fried Eggs 
• Lindsay Maitland Hunt's Slow Roasted Chicken with Crispy Skin 
• Yasmin Khan's Stunning Citrus Cake
• Dorie Greenspan's French Yogurt Cake
• Dorie Greenspan's Caramel-y Chocolate Cookies
• Tara O'Brady's Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Jessie Sheehn's Snickerdoodles (Ketchup optional)
• Ali Slagle's Chicken Caesar Salad
• Monifa Dayo's Potato Salad 

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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Cook along with Jesse Szewczyk to make these crunchy, perfectly spiced, and understated shortbread cookies that are as delicious dunked into hot coffee as they are eaten all on their own.

Recipe
Makes 24 bars
 

Shortbread Base

• 1 2/3 cups (214g) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/170g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Speculoos Caramel

• 3/4 cup (175 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/57g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) light corn syrup
• 1 14-ounce can (414 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup (90 grams) speculoos cookie butter (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping

• 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) white chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons (59 ml) whole milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons (36 grams) speculoos cookie butter, divided
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Make the shortbread base: Heat the oven 325°F. Grease an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick pan spray and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all four sides. In a large bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir together until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough into the lined baking pan and press into an even layer. Prick the top several times with a fork and bake until the shortbread is slightly puffed and golden brown in the center, 33 to 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the bottom of a measuring cup or a metal spatula to press down on the shortbread to compact it slightly. (This will prevent the bars from crumbling when sliced.) Let the shortbread cool for 30 minutes.
2. While the shortbread is cooling, make the caramel: In a medium saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, speculoos cookie butter, vanilla, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning, until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and registers 240°F on the candy thermometer, about 8 to 11 mins. Pour over the shortbread base, spread into an even layer, and transfer into the fridge. Let cool for 1 hour.
3. As the caramel is cooling, make the topping: Place both the white and semisweet chocolate chips in two separate medium, microwave-safe bowls. Add 2 tablespoons whole milk and 1 tablespoon cookie butter to each bowl. Microwave each bowl on high power in 10 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds total. Transfer the white chocolate ganache into a piping bag or zip-top baggie.
4. Working quickly, pour the dark chocolate ganache over top of the caramel and spread into an even layer. Pipe thin, straight lines of the white chocolate ganache all going the same way. (You might not need all of the ganache.) Use a toothpick to drag it through the lines, alternating the direction you go each time to create a rough chevron pattern. Transfer the bars into the fridge and let set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle the top of the bars with flaky sea salt and cut into a 3 by 8 grid to make 24 bars. (For cleaner edges, feel free to trim off the border of the pan before slicing.) Serve chilled or at room temperature.

There are so many recipes out there to make granola, but then there are recipes that are Simply Genius. Jenné Claiborne's recipe bakes up faster and easier than any recipe out there by thoughtfully omitting what you may have thought was a crucial ingredient.

Referenced in this episode 

• Why Jenné Claiborne's Tahini Granola is Genius (Article)
• Jenné Claiborne's book, Sweet Potato Soul

Genius-Hunter Extra Credit

• Get a signed copy of Kristen's book, Simply Genius, to find this and so many other incredible and simply genius recipes

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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It's time we take stock of whats in our fridge and make some soul-filling stock for the winter with Food52's food editor, Emily Ziemski on this bonus episode featuring our sister-show Play Me a Recipe

Stock is endlessly versatile so we're not following a specific recipe for this episode, but here are a few to get you started if you need that extra boost! 

• Beef Stock
• Chicken Stock

And here are a couple super useful tools to help you make the best stock possible. 

• Hestan Roasting Pan
• Five Two Roasting Pan
• Souper Cubes for Stock Storage

There're enough stressors around the holidays to let your dessert be one of them, so we sat down with Erin Jeanne McDowell to get some tips on ways to bring flawless pies to the table. 

Referenced in this episode 

• Savory Baking Cookbook
• Clover Rolls
• Pâte Brisée
• Double crust chicken pot pie

Genius-Hunter Extra Credit

• Erin Jean McDowell's Bake It Up A Notch Youtube channel
• Erin Jean McDowell's Instagram
• Order Kristen's newest book, Simply Genius 

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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Lemon Lumpies? Cuddle Cookies? It's rare to find treats who's names are as exciting as the confection themselves. Luckily on this episode we speak with Rose Levy Barenbaum, author of The Cookie Bible, about how she perfects her recipes and makes their names come to life. 

Referenced in this episode 

• The Cookie Bible
• Simply Genius
• Ice Cream Bliss

Genius-Hunter Extra Credit

• Rose's website, Real Baking with Rose
• Rose's Open-Faced Blueberry Pie (perfect for Thanksgiving)

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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This episode, Kristen Miglore sits with the incomparable Nigella Lawson to discuss her latest cookbook Cook, Eat, Repeat.

Referenced in this episode 

• Cook, Eat, Repeat
• Where to See Nigella Live

Genius-Hunter Extra Credit

• Nigella's Instagram
• Nigella Lawson's No-Bake Nutella Cheesecake
• Nigella Lawson’s Chicken & Pea Traybake

Have a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at [email protected].

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Anna Sulan Masing, host of Whetstone Radio's Taste of Place podcast cooks her way through Mandy Yin's incredible Sarawak Chicken recipe

Recipe

1. Marinate 6 skinless chicken thighs, with the bone-in just with salt, leave for 1/2hour on the kitchen bench to get it to room temperature
2. Blitz up spice paste: 200g roughly chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2.5cm of ginger root, 2 stalks of lemongrass also roughly chopped
3. Toast 1tsp of black peppercorns, and 1 tsp of white peppercorns - choose any good quality peppercorns. This is done on a very low heat, without oil until fragrant. Then, grind it into a fine powder ideally in a mortar & pestle
4. In a medium sized saucepan slowly get 3 tbsp of oil warm, then add in the pepper powder and the spice paste. Fry off until the oil splits - no longer than 10mins
5. Add in the chicken, 450g (1lb) of roughly chopped tomatoes, 300mls of water, 5 laksa leaves (or a bunch of mint) with stalks. Bring to boil then let simmer for 20min. Keep an eye on it and stirr at regular intervals.
6. Add in 100mls of coconut milk, stir and cook for another 5mins
7. Serve with rice!

Is there a recipe you'd like to hear us make? Tell us all about it at [email protected]!

Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/