Parshat Pekudei inspiration:

“The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tabernacle. When the cloud was raised up from upon the Tabernacle, the Children of Israel would embark on all their journeys.”

Cloud Cookies, of course. This was my first time making these cookies, and they are delicious—a crisp shell with a moist and light center. They are flour-free so I am going to try to make them for Pesach, too. The King Arthur Baking website has a DIY almond paste recipe that might work well enough with Passover conversions.

Almond Cloud Cookies

(from www.KingArthurBaking.com )

• 1 ¼ cups almond paste
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp almond extract

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Prepare two baking sheets by lightly greasing or lining with parchment paper.

2. Mix together the almond paste, sugar and salt until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. Add the egg whites one at a time, mixing to make a smooth paste. Stir in the almond extract.

3. Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoons onto the prepared pans. (I recommend rolling them in your hands briefly to make a better cloud shape).

4. Dust the cookies generously with confectioners’ sugar and use three fingers to press an indentation into the center of each cookie. (Again, for the cloud shape, I recommend placing those three fingers at the edges of the cookie, rather than in the center).

5. Refrigerate the shaped cookies, uncovered, for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight. (I refrigerated for about 40 minutes and they came out perfectly).

6. Heat the oven to 325°F.

7. Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes just until they are brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let them cool right on the pan.

Parshat Vayikra inspiration:

“And he shall bring his guilt-offering to the Kohen. The Kohen shall provide him atonement before Hashem, and it shall be forgiven him for any of all the things he might do to incur guilt.”

This week we are making Guilt-Free Grape Sorbet! I’m not a fan of making people feel guilty for enjoying delicious kosher food at any time. However, made with just two ingredients, you’d be hard-pressed to criticize this sweet offering. You can even get it down to a single ingredient if you are willing to sacrifice the creamy texture. (See what I did there?)

Guilt-Free Grape Sorbet

• 3 cups grape juice
• 1 egg white

1. Pour the grape juice into ice cube trays and freeze solid, at least 4 hours.

2. Remove the frozen cubes and whip them in a food processor until slushy consistency. Add the egg white to the food processor and continue to whip until uniformly frothy. The entire time in the food processor should take no more than 4 minutes.

3. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until ready to serve. Scoop like ice cream.

My family are fans of sorbets for the warm Yomim Tovim, Passover included. You can use pretty much any juice or frozen fruit (purée and sieve first). You might need to sweeten with sugar or sugar syrup before freezing, but the basic concept applies. I like lemon and grape sorbet for Pesach, and pomegranate sorbet for Rosh Hashanah.

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