These recipes are a tribute to my Bubby Norman, a talented chef, seamstress, singer, and grandmother par excellence who passed away on January 22, 2021. We miss you, Bubby. Your love and legacy will live on as your recipes continue to bring warmth and love to our homes.

Mandelbrot

Don’t mistake this recipe for biscotti. This is real, old-fashioned almond-flavored mandelbrot!

Yield: approximately 3 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

6 tablespoons oil

Zest of 1 lemon, optional

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 ¾ cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

½ cup ground almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream first 3 ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

Form into 3 long logs.

Bake for 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool.

Slice into ¾-inch-wide slices.

Bubby’s Challah

The wheat germ in this challah gives it a slightly whole-wheat texture. For a regular white challah dough, omit the wheat germ and replace it with white flour.

Yield: 3 large or 6 medium challahs

Ingredients:

2 ¼ tablespoons yeast

2 ¾ cups very warm water, divided

½ cup sugar, divided

9 cups flour

¼ cup wheat germ

1 ½ tablespoons salt

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs, beaten, divided

Poppy seeds

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in ¼ cup water with a pinch of sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, make a well with the flour. Add wheat germ. Add sugar, salt, oil, water, and 2 eggs. When yeast mixture is activated, add it to the well. Knead until well combined.

Let dough rise, covered, for at least 1 hour. Punch it down and form loaves.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Let dough rise another 30 minutes.

Brush lightly with egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake for 35–45 minutes.

Apple Pie

Warm homemade apple pie… Need I say more?

Yield: 1 10-inch round pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon orange juice

1 ¾ cups flour

Filling:

6–8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Juice of ½ a lemon

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix crust ingredients together. Press firmly into a 10-inch round pie pan, reserving less than half the dough for the top.

In a bowl, mix together filling ingredients. Spread over the crust.

Roll out remaining dough and cut into strips. Form a lattice over the filling.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is browned.