kosher desserts

Shavuot is upon us, and this holiday always reminds me of two things: Dairy, and turning thirteen. One reason we eat dairy on Shavuot is in recognition of the Israelites receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. They instantly had to adopt the laws of kashrut, but without the necessary instruments to slaughter and prepare kosher meat, they opted for dairy – though they probably didn’t have the holy experience of tasting snickerdoodle cheesecakes.

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If I constructed my own personal food pyramid, dairy would fill up well over half of it. Greek yogurt for breakfast, cottage cheese for lunch, and maybe a run to Pinkberry in the late afternoon. But, as I live with a group of kosher college girls, we don’t often use dairy when it comes to dessert.

Due to all the many food Thou Shalt Nots on Pesach, baking (for a baker like yours truly) is the hardest part of preparing for the holiday. Because, of course, without the key ingredient of flour, cookies, cakes and pies are virtually impossible to make.

Many cooks get by substituting matzah meal, basically ground-up matzah. But every year, when Passover rolls around, I set about creating and testing recipes that don’t call for one drop of it. I understand that we’re supposed to eat matzah at the seder, and I can even get behind the occasional slice slathered in butter, but matzah-flavored cake? Count me out.

So if you can’t have flour, and you can’t have its matzah-flavored substitute, you need something to give desserts body and texture: Chocolate!

Here are three recipes that are completely flour-free, and chocolate-filled. The chocolate cookies are incredibly simple and tasty, like a richer, chewier chocolate meringue. The almond chocolate cookies are buttery with just a hint of sweet, while the classic chocolate mousse is rich and creamy — the perfect end to any meal. They are also great for any gluten-free baking you want to do year round.