Sourdough bagels

I used the sourdough bagel recipe from Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery. They worked out very well -- notable things about this recipe include the fact that the bagels are boiled really briefly (20 seconds) in nothing but water (other recipes I've tried include malt syrup and/or baking soda).

They didn't taste sour -- I guess this is because they spent most of their proofing time in the fridge. And they really got a lot of oven spring. Overall, I like this recipe, but I must say I have a bit of a weakness for the Montreal-ish bagels I make using the Artisan Bread recipe.

Popcorn cookies

These have been on my to-make list for a while. They got on the list because -- how could you not want to try cookies made out of popcorn? They stayed on the list, unmade, because I was sort of dubious that they could be anything but healthy-tasting.

And how were they? Surprisingly good. They go into the oven as very unpromising looking piles of grains held together with a little oil and sugar, and come out as beautifully crisp wafers. I must admit that I increased the sugar slightly, to 2 tablespoons (yes, this is a mini-recipe: it makes only 6 cookies). (Mine took much less time to cook than the recipe suggested -- I think only 7 minutes.)

Hamantaschen

These worked out really well. I veganized this recipe using Tofutti cream cheese, and coconut oil for the butter.