Special Book Presentation

May 8, 2023

The Weight of Ink

Rachel Kadish

The Shaare Zedek sisterhood book club invites one and all to our season-ending meeting on Monday, May 8 at 1 PM. We will celebrate the recent publication of Norm Spatz’s novel, Shul for Scandal. He will be present to talk about the creation of his book and read excerpts from it. Copies will be available for purchase.

Light refreshments will be served. Join us for a wonderful afternoon and welcome to spring.

Born in New Jersey, Norm Spatz arrived in Montreal in the early part of the Seventies. Norm spent a decade and a half working in Montreal as an architect specializing in residential renovation. In 1989 he became a CÉGEP teacher. Norm developed walking tours, notably one focusing on the history of neighbourhoods in the west central districts of Montreal which currently have large Jewish populations. Retired in 2015, Norm now has time for other activities such as writing novels including ‘Training for Trust’, ‘Greed and Opportunity’ and “Shul for Scandal’.

Chocolate Mud Cookies

Ingredients

2¾ cups walnuts, whole

3 cups powdered sugar

⅔ cup cocoa powder, natural or dutch-process

½ teaspoon kosher salt

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract sea salt flakes, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Spread the walnuts on a lined baking pan. Toast them for about 9 minutes, until they are golden. Cool, then coarsely chop.

Lower the oven temperature to 325°F. Line two sheet baking pans with parchment or silicone mat. If you’re using parchment, spray it with baking spray so the cookies don’t stick. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Stir in the salt, then the chopped walnuts.

Mix in the egg whites and vanilla extract until the batter is just moistened. Don’t over-mix the batter or it will stiffen.

Scoop one tablespoon of the batter in evenly-spaced mounds. Let the batter dry at room temperature on their trays for 30 to 60 minutes before baking. Bake the cookies for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked. Rotate the pans and swap their positions in the oven halfway through to ensure even baking.

After the cookies come out of the oven, lightly sprinkle them with sea salt flakes. Let cookies cool completely on the pan. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Flaked salt

Directions

Cream egg, sugar and oil. Add in almond flour, potato starch and vanilla and mix well.

Fold in chocolate chips. Freeze dough for 10-15 minutes.

Roll into 24 balls (keep them small for crispy edges) and sprinkle with flaked salt.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.