baked: coconut macaroons. chewy and light….little pillows of coconut goodness. I dare say even if you don’t love coconut you would like these cookies. Alton Brown takes them over the top by dipping them in chocolate and sprinkling macadamia nuts on top, but I like them just. like. this. Recipe here.
baked: black and white cookies. A cakey sugar cookie all frosted up. I was pleased by the taste at first, but hesitant about whether or not I’d make them again. But then…I became addicted. I’d probably double the lemon extract amount just to bring it out more and give a little more flavor to the base but they really did turn out deliciously soft and sweet. Makes a LOT, so prepare to share. They’re also better when made with a friend—icing is tough work. Thanks for the company, C! Recipe found here.
baked: traditional chinese peanut cookies.
These were lovely little melt-in-your-mouth tea cookies. Based on the recipe found here. I cut the recipe in half, and next time I might just measure things out by traditional measurements because the powdered sugar was a pain to measure out.)
Chuc mung nam moi!
Apple Sharlotka via Smitten Kitchen. Smelled wonderful, and tasted pretty good, but I much prefer making Dorie’s french apple cake. Just a bit more rich, due to the addition of butter and rum. This was more like a very moist, dense, bread pudding but with apples and just enough dough to hold it —mostly— together.
Details from a honey bee themed baby shower for A & J. My sister, of my baby shower cookie fame, once again came through with organizing the desserts. Those are delicious mini vanilla honey cupcakes with a honey cream cheese frosting. And the bees on the cake! Made of fondant, each one! I love the little smiles she added with the help of a toothpick. A lovely afternoon for sweet parents-to-bee.
Baked: Chocolate Black Cat Cupcakes.
Yes, it’s September but kids aren’t so interested in harvest spice of lemon poppyseed cupcakes…they want to decorate! So with plans for another baking adventure with my cousins, Halloween was the theme for our baking fun.
Candy corn and carefully cut graham crackers for ears, pull-apart red licorice (the only time I’ll buy Twizzlers because Red Vines rule) cut up for the whiskers (also, I couldn’t find black…), sliced up peach rings for the noses, Reese’s pieces for the eyes and candy pumpkins for….snacking.
Aren’t they cute? Cupcakes and cousins?
Strawberry Shortcake. Best recipe for the dough, though I may add 1/4 cup less flour next time. Tender and biscuit like shortcake topped with fresh strawberries and freshly whipped cream. Mmmm. Recipe here.
baked: peach cobbler. Nothing more summer than peach cobbler. Biscuit topping found here. Filling: Just toss a few tablespoons of sugar, some cornstarch/flour, cinnamon and a dash of vanilla with the peaches. Divide equally so there’s no arguing about who got more.
So cool.
What can I say to make you understand how good this was? How simply it comes together…how satisfying each bite is…how popular you’ll be when you share. I made this cake 4 times in the last week. 4 times! It was that good. My poor husband didn’t get any until the fourth cake. It was the reason I made the fourth cake, really. He got to have a full 1/3 of it to make up for missing out before.
It’s the perfect treat, exactly what you imagine the most darling cafe would serve alongside a rich cup of coffee. The sort of treat my mom and I might have shared in the quiet mornings when only she and I were awake, huddled together with coffee and tea underneath blankets on the couch, watching a history program about the castles of America, relishing the quietness together, willing our cat to curl up with us.
Now I want to go make it again.
Check out the recipe here. I used all Granny Smith apples—my favorite baking apple. I also had to resist adding cinnamon or any other spices. It felt so wrong, but the taste is so right.
Bonus! You can do it all by hand—no mixer required. Perfect for those mornings where you don’t want to distrub the stillness but must bring a cafe aroma into your home.
Leo
Ice cream burgers & churro fries! Creative, but small appetizers are my...
(by LindaBphotos)
(by LindaBphotos)
