Parshat Tzav Inspiration:

“He brought forward the sin-offering bull; Aaron and his sons leaned their hand upon the head of the sin-offering bull. He slaughtered it, and Moses took the blood and placed it on the horns of the Altar, all around, with his forefinger, and he purified the Altar; he poured the blood upon the base of the Altar and he sanctified it so that atonement could be provided upon it.”

This week’s recipe is Almond Horns! Almond cookies with a crisp exterior and a satisfying bite, with the tips dipped in chocolate. This is a three-step recipe but I think it is worth it.

Almond Horns

• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• ½ tsp almond extract
• Package of chocolate chips, melted

Combine the shortening and sugar and beat until smooth. Add the egg, almond extract and mix.

In a separate bowl combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine evenly.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture slowly by cup-full, mixing and alternating with a teaspoon of water until a dough forms.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the sugared almonds.

Prepare a large plate or pan with parchment paper.

Add the sugar to a saucepan. Heat on medium-low heat while stirring. When the sugar just begins to melt, quickly add the sliced almonds and almond extract and stir until the surfaces are covered (the sugar doesn’t need to be completely melted) then quickly pour the almonds out onto the parchment paper. Spread out with a spatula and allow to cool. The almonds will stay too hot to handle for about 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Prepare two pans with parchment paper.

Pour the cool sugared almonds into a wide bowl for dipping.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Gently roll a 2-tbsp portion of dough into a log about 5-6 inches long. Dip the log into the sugared almond and place the cookie onto the parchment paper, turning in the ends to shape into a U-shaped horn. Alternately, you can press almonds into the dough after the horns are shaped.

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the cookies are just beginning to brown.

When the cookies are cool, melt chocolate chips in a saucepan or microwave bowl.

Dip the ends of the horns into the chocolate and lay on a cooling rack or parchment paper until the chocolate hardens.

Parshat Shmini inspiration:

“Any flying insect that walks on four is an abomination for you. However, among all the flying insects that walk on four legs, you may eat those that have jointed extensions above its legs, with which they hop on the ground.”

Grasshoppers. It says we can eat grasshoppers. So let’s do it.

The mint and chocolate kind, of course. Why … What were you thinking?

Bite-Sized Grasshoppers

• 4 eggs
• 1¼ cups cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 sticks margarine, unsalted
• 2¼ cups sugar
• 1½ cups flour
• 2 cups (12 oz) chocolate chips
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 sticks margarine, unsalted and softened
• 1+ tbsp oat milk (or milk substitute of your choice)
• 1-1½ tsp mint extract
• 5+ drops green food coloring

Chocolate chips, melted (6-9 oz)

Heat the oven to 350° F for the brownies. Spray the mini-muffin tin or use paper liners. (Oh yeah, this is a classic brownie recipe. If you are short on time or just don’t want to make the effort, Dunkin Hines works great, too. Make the batter and skip to step 6.)

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and vanilla extract for about a minute, until combined. It will become a thick paste.

In a saucepan, melt the margarine and add the sugar to combine. Mix on low heat until the sugar and margarine are integrated; the sugar will remain grainy but the mixture should no longer separate. Continue to heat and stir until hot (approximately 120° F if you have a candy thermometer) and a little shiny, but not bubbling.

Add the hot margarine/sugar mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Add the flour and chocolate chips stirring until well-mixed. Some of the chips will melt, but many will remain as softened chunks.

Scoop large tablespoons of the batter into mini-muffin tins. (You can use cupcake tins or just make these into brownie bars—it will taste like a grasshopper, but you’ll need to adjust the time.)

Bake mini-muffins for 16-21 minutes. Remove when just cooked through and allow to cool.

Beat cubed margarine into the powdered sugar, starting slowly to avoid a cloud of sugar, then increasing speed to achieve an even mixture. Add oat milk slowly and beat on high until a fluffy and smooth texture is achieved; the mixture will approximately double in volume. You may need to increase the liquid slightly. Scrape down the bowl periodically.

Add 1 tsp of mint extract and a few drops of green food coloring. Beat again to combine. Taste, and add extract and food coloring to your preference. (I like to use a light hand with both.)

If you have them, add the frosting to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe frosting peaks onto the mini-brownies. If you don’t have a piping bag, a large zip-loc type bag will work fine; snip off a corner to pipe the frosting.

Melt the chocolate chips and use a fork to drip or flick the chocolate across the tops. My kids love to do this step. Expect a bit of a joyful mess. It cleans up easily with a wet paper towel.

Follow me @EdibleParsha on Facebook to see each recipe on the Monday of each parsha week for plenty of time to prepare it for Shabbat!