Fig Cookies Maybe not so photogenic, these cookies are amazingly good. There are a lot of similar recipes around, and I, myself, have tried about four or five of them. But I’m not in search for the perfect recipe anymore, I’m quite content and happy with this one. I bake exactly the same cookies for three years in a row for Christmas (they are traditional Italian Christmas cookies) and every single recipient always raves. Adapted from Gourmet magazine Makes about 6 dozens For the filling: 1 cup packed soft dried Mission figs (8 oz), hard tips discarded3/4 cup raisins (3 3/4 oz), plumped3/4 cup mild honey1/4 cup brandy1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest1 tablespoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg3/4 cup whole almonds (4 oz), toasted and coarsely chopped3/4 cup walnuts (3 oz), toasted and coarsely chopped For the dough: For the icing: Make the filling: The filling can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
Caramel Corn with Smoked Almonds and Fleur de Sel recipe I had a delicious salted caramel corn recently from a restaurant, and was dying to find a similar recipe! This worked beautifully! I love that the kernels were individual, and crisp. It was a huge hit at my place! Healthy Starbucks Frappuccinos Starbucks is Everywhere. Taking over the world with their muffins, their macchiatos, their passion teas… And, of course, their signature coffee Frappuccinos. Here’s a scary fact: one Starbucks Frappuccino contains 50 grams of sugar. So here is an incredibly-realistic copycat Starbucks Frappuccino recipe that is both cheaper and much healthier: (Serves 2) 2 cups milk of choice1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract2 tsp instant coffee (I use Mt. Homemade Starbucks Frappuccino recipe: Mix the ingredients together in 1 or 2 shallow plastic containers. Click for: Starbucks Frappuccino Nutrition Facts. Also, I calculated that this recipe makes eight drinks for the price of about $3! Feel free to add cocoa, cinnamon, berries, chai, banana, or other flavors if you wish. I don’t mean to imply that it’s a horrible and sinful thing to drink a Frappuccino once in a while! Have you ever had a Frappuccino? I’ve never been one of those people who has to have a cup of coffee in the morning.
Vampire Cookies Every year I see lots of Halloween cupcakes and cakes that are rather boring in their decorations. They may have faces of ghosts or vampires painted on top with colored icing, but that really doesn’t do much to set them apart from non-holiday cupcakes. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I think it’s fun to go over-the-top where ever possible and really take decorations as far as they can go. Like the cupcakes, I wanted the cookies to be a pale white color and filled with something bright red. I made the bite marks by poking two holes in the dough with a toothpick before baking. The cookies have a light vanilla and butter flavor to them, and are the perfect color to really set off the red of the filling. These cookies are also good for those who are fans of the vampire genre in general, Halloween or not, so you might consider baking a batch for someone who is a fan of the Twilight book series, HBO’s True Blood or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Makes 2 dozen.
Salted Caramel Popcorn This Easy Salted Caramel Popcorn Recipe is my favorite Caramel Corn Recipe! It’s so easy and adding that extra salt gives it the perfect salty/sweet combo! Today my babies went back to school. And I cried. Which is ridiculous because they are now in 3rd and 5th grade. And also because I have been dreaming of the first day back to school for like 6 weeks. I couldn’t help it, as much as I tried. I should be having a “Quiet House Party” or something. Anyhow, it never gets easier, folks. Salted Caramel Corn, actually. This recipe is so super simple, you guys. I have always been a little scared of making caramel corn. I know, I’m a weirdo. Just grab some popcorn…I like to use my air-popper to make it, because I can control the amount of salt. (Here’s the link to the one I use) I popped 1/2 cup kernels, which yields about 16 cups of popped corn. Next make your easy caramel sauce. And bring that to a boil and let it go for 4 minutes. Next dump all the popcorn into a lined baking pan… It’s ridiculous.
Homemade Coffee Creamer My friends tell me the one thing they can’t give up is their flavored coffee creamer. I can understand. Creamy, sweet, smooth, with all sorts of different flavors to choose from. The problem is the ingredients. Have you ever read what’s in those bottles? So if you’re hooked on store-bought creamer then today’s your day. Next time you have friends over for a gathering, make a few batches of homemade coffee creamer, put them in cute bottles and have a coffee bar. A great alternative to regular coffee is herbal coffee. *Since posting these recipes in September 2010, I have developed a few new recipes: Caramel Coffee Creamer and Honey Vanilla Coffee Creamer, Sugar Free and Dairy Free Coffee Creamer **Teeccino contains barley, so if you need to avoid gluten an organic decaf would be a better option. Homemade Coffee Creamer: Cinnamon Strudel I prefer to strain each of the creamers through a fine mesh sieve to prevent any spices floating in my coffee. Ingredients Instructions Related posts:
Snickerdoodles It's actually pretty surprising that snickerdoodles haven't ended up on this blog before now. I love them! I have tried a few recipes and while they are all tasty, my favorite kind is more on the chewy to cakey side. These cookies (recipe from Martha Stewart) are not that. my favorite. The snickerdoodles this month were the winning vote for the Cookie Carnival - that monthly celebration of cookie goodness created by darlin' Kate over at The Clean Plate Club. Oh, and you'll also notice that I got a little bit silly and decided to just mix in some M&M's to half of the dough, just for fun. Snickerdoodles(Source: Martha Stewart) IngredientsMakes 4 dozen 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons cream of tartar1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed2 large eggs Directions
Perfection Exists, It's Called a Garlic Knot | Bon Appetit Sometimes you need a break from the craziness of this modern age, which is why we're celebrating nostalgic foods this week at BonAppetit.com. A garlic knot doesn't try to hide what it is; it doesn’t pretend to be something else. It’s unapologetically bold, while remaining simple and true at heart. Even when out of sight, a garlic knot’s presence is still known via smell, communicating: “I am garlic and oil and dough and parsley, and that’s all I need to be. I am delicious.” At every neighborhood slice joint, since I was a kid, garlic knots have always been a mandatory part of my order. Those little Styrofoam cups of marinara have the best seat in any respectable pizzeria. But let it be known: If a garlic knot is a quality garlic knot, it doesn't need sauce. While the secret to great sauce is a constant, the physical knot itself varies. The perfect garlic knot is just about as tall as it is wide. There are also four nonphysical commandments of garlic knots. You're hyped on knots, right?
springy, fluffy marshmallows The first time I made marshmallows, well, I don’t think saying “it was a mess” adequately describes it. Oh, the marshmallows were successful; they even looked and tasted like marshmallows, but yours truly? I ended up in a tangled web of marshmallow strings. It all went south when I couldn’t resist the urge to scrape down the paddle and bowl (anyone else an obsessive bowl scraper? Needless to say, it’s taken me some time to tackle marshmallows again. But then I had to go make homemade graham crackers a couple weeks ago and you can’t make graham crackers without making s’mores (you just cant; it’s a summer sacrilege) and there was I was, overdue to face down my marshmallow demons. Springy, Fluffy Marshmallows Adapted from Gourmet, December 1998 These homemade marshmallows are not only easy to make, they set as perfectly as promised: puffed and lightweight, bouncing off one another as I tossed them in the container. Makes about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows