Make The Recipe

Heat oven to 350°F/176.6°C.

Cookies

Cream butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

If making Lemon Drop Cookies, add the zest of 1-2 lemons now. (See Note 1)

Add eggs one at a time mixing until incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract.

Next add 1 cup of flour, the salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder at a time and beat with the mixer on low until just incorporated. Continue adding 1 cup of flour and one teaspoon of baking powder until you have added 5 cups of the flour mixture.

Whisk together the remaining cup of flour and teaspoon of baking powder.

On a lightly floured surface (sprinkle half of the remaining flour onto your surface), and remove the dough from the bowl, and place it on top of the flour. It is a sticky dough. Flour your hands and gently incorporate, by kneading, as much flour as you need so that the dough is smooth but is still the slightest bit sticky.

Shape the dough into cookies by taking a 20 gram ball of dough and rolling it into a rope 4” long and creating a knot.

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Glaze

Whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and enough milk to make a thin glaze that can be poured.

Arrange the cookies on a wire rack over a baking sheet and pour the glaze over the cookies to cover. Apply your favorite sprinkles or, if desired, additional lemon zest.

Makes 6-7 dozen.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or as sweet treats during family gatherings!

Make The Recipe

• Heat the water until boiling.

• Boil the eggs 4-5 minutes for runny yolks or up to 10 minutes for firm, chalky yolks.* Set aside to cool for a few minutes before peeling.

• Open the ramen package and place noodles, all ingredients in package, and vegetables in a medium sized bowl. Save cilantro and green onions for garnishing.

• Cut the eggs in half and place in bowl.

• Pour hot water over the ingredients in the bowl.

• Add lime juice and fish sauce.

• Wait 4-5 minutes until the noodles are soft but not too soft. Garnish with cilantro and scallions.

Instructions

• Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a bowl, giving it a thorough stir.

• For a faster method, combine both ingredients in a small lidded container and shake well.

• 4 tablespoons sugar,1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Coat the bottom and sides of your saucepan with a thin layer of butter. This simple step acts as a safeguard against the milk burning during cooking.

• Pour the milk into the saucepan and set it over medium heat. Let it gradually come to a gentle, frothy simmer.

• 1 litre full cream milk

• While the milk is warming up, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cold, cubed butter in a bowl.

• 130 grams all-purpose flour,½ teaspoon salt,1 teaspoon baking powder,40 grams butter

• With your fingertips, rub the cold butter into the dry ingredients until you achieve a coarse, breadcrumb-like texture. Keep the largest pieces no larger than pea-sized for the best results.

• Check on the milk. Once it's slowly simmering and frothy, it's ready. Turn the heat to its lowest setting.

• Gradually add the crumb mixture, a few tablespoons at a time, into the simmering milk, whisking as you go.

• Whisking vigorously will reduce the size of the lumps. If you prefer larger lumps in your melkkos, opt for a spoon instead of a whisk while stirring.

• Monitor the heat closely. You're aiming for a very gentle boil with large, slow-popping bubbles.

• Gently simmer the melkkos for 10 minutes. Then, take it off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes before spooning into bowls.

• Top with lots of cinnamon sugar and a generous dollop of butter.

Make The Recipe

• Thickly slice potatoes, onions, and tomatoes.

• Layer them into a big clay pot: tomatoes or onions go in first, and then alternate the layers with meat.

• Add salt to taste in between the layers. 

• At the end, at a bit of tomato concentrate and a bit of stock. Not enough for it to be swimming in stock, just a bit at the bottom to help steam the food.

• Leave in the oven long enough until the meat is cooked. Say at least two hours.

Tahini Sauce

• Add the tahini paste into a bowl, and to that add a little bit of water. It will get clunky, but keep stirring and adding water and lemon juice until it is smooth.

• You can also add a dash of white vinegar (none of the fancy white wine vinegar).

• Add salt and pepper to taste and a lot of cumin.

• You can also add a bit of crush garlic, but better add minced onions.

• Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.

Make The Recipe

• Drain the black beans and set aside.

• Peel and chop the onions and garlic finely.

• Over medium heat, warm the oil in a large frying pan and sweat the onions until translucent – about 5 -10 minutes.

• Next, add the garlic and pan-fry everything for about 2 minutes.

• Then add the chopped tomatoes, stir, and add the water.

• Finally, add the beans and stir until nicely combined.

• Once everything is added, lower the heat to a simmer, add the vegetable cube, and let it dissolve completely. (*See Note 4)

• Then, add the cumin, ground ginger, sugar, and dried oregano.

• Let it simmer to intensify the flavors. Taste and see if it needs a tiny bit more sugar.

• When done, remove from the heat, sprinkle some ground black pepper on top, and serve warm.

Dough

• Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover and let rise. This step is only if you are using active yeast.

• In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.

• Add the yeast mixture and butter (or shortening).

• Gradually add in lukewarm water, mixing and kneading until the dough is smooth and soft.

• Cover with a clean towel and put in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough rises.

• When it has risen, divide the dough into pieces 2″ or 2.5″ in diameter. Form into balls by tucking the dough underneath itself to make them round and smooth. Let rest for 30 minutes under the towel.

Cheese Stuffing

• Mix all ingredients together.

Meat Stuffing

• Saute onions in butter until tender. Add meat and spices. Saute until tender. Add browned pine nuts and lemon or vinegar. Let cool before stuffing the dough.

Spinach Stuffing

• Wash and chop the spinach and sprinkle with salt. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the extra moisture. Mix with all the ingredients and set aside.

Make the Pies

• Take a ball of dough and roll it into 4″ flattened circles.

• Put a heaping tablespoon of filling on each circle.

• Fold the dough from the bottom to the middle and bring the sides to the center to form a triangle. Press down the seams firmly (it will make a ridge) and pinch the ends together.

• Place the pies on a prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.

• Bake in a preheated 400°F / 204°C degree oven until pies are golden brown (20 minutes for a crunchy exterior; less for a soft exterior)

Make The Epis Spice Blend

• In a blender or food processor, blend together bell pepper, parsley, green onion, garlic, bell pepper, black pepper, and olive oil.

Prep Process

• Clean and season your meat options and cow’s foot (optional) with vinegar and lime, rinse off with water, then marinate the meat with the epis blend for at least an hour or overnight.

• Once the meat has marinated, peel the skin of the butternut squash and cut it into cubes. Peel and dice the other vegetables (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and celery).

Cooking Process

• In a large stockpot, add 5-6 cups of water (or until the meat is fully covered), bring to a boil, and add the marinated meat and cow's foot if you are using it. Boil for about 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce it with a fork, and about 10 minutes before the meat is done, add the squash to the pot.

• Once both the meat and squash are done, remove the squash and meat. Get another bowl and using a colander, strain the water from the pot into the bowl. This is your stock, set aside.

• Put the cooked squash in a food processor or blender and blend the squash until smooth.

• Back in the pot, add your meat (and cow foot), the stock, the pureed squash, and the remaining ingredients: carrots, potatoes, celery, cabbage, plantains (optional), thyme, salt, black pepper, scotch bonnet pepper (take this out when it gets soft unless you like your food to be really spicy!), and boil until just done.

• Reduce heat to low, add both types of pasta to the pot, and boil until pasta is done.

• Once soup is ready serve it hot. It is usually accompanied by sliced Haitian bread and either ginger tea or hot chocolate.

Kaysi Borchers is one of two Editor-in-Chief, and Sports Editor of The Courier Staff. She has been writing for the staff for 3 years, and if you click on the red button below you can see all of her other writing.