I was improvising to satisfy my son’s sweet tooth. Nut meringue are surely nice, but when the kid is allergic to all possible nuts existing, barely sweetened cereals make acceptable substitute. Bittersweet chocolate and some chopped prunes cut the sweetness down a little. The latter also add a bit of chewiness to otherwise crispy throughout cookies.
Maybe not as fabulous as the real thing, not as overloaded with nuts and oversaturated with aromatic syrup, still, these are pretty good for what they are – little sweet treats made of some phyllo leftovers (there’s always something left unless the baklava itself was made). The fingers also keep better, stay crisp longer.
These are actually easier to make than it might seem. The process is similar to forming the Checkerboard cookies, only here the core is a matcha-colored cylinder which is subsequently wrapped into striped dough (alternating chocolate and matcha strips), then followed by a layer of chocolate dough.
Obviously, the cookies can be turned into chocolate-vanilla, chocolate-coffee, or any other variety you can think of.
This rich, thick, boozy, yummy drink is a result of my experiments with the holiday classic. I served it in demitasse cups along with tiny honey-spice cookies (sort of my take on German Pfeffernusse; the original German cookies are supposed to be made in advance and aged for at least a week and I forgot to do that on time, so I improvised to get them quicker).
Happy Holidays, everyone!!!
I wish I had more time to bake for my own family and friends this holiday season. I’ve been so busy lately. Biscotti of different kinds are always on my “to-bake” list around Christmas time. They keep well and make a nice gift.
I wish all my readers and fellow-bloggers the Merriest Christmas and Happy Holiday! And thank you very much for your kind comments and warm wishes!
The October Daring Bakers’ challenge is the most temperamental cookies of all – French macarons. I stopped making these about three years ago, as my little son developed a severe nut allergy. Grinding the nuts, then multiple sifting seemed extremely hazardous and life threatening. I loved the cookies, but mother’s love was stronger, so I gave up on them. I didn’t have my baking blog back then, so this is my first macaron post. Somehow, it hasn’t occurred to me before to look for nut flour substitutes. But it is actually possible. Finely ground coconut, along, or in combination with black sesame seeds produced familiar, very French result. The shape, the texture (thin crackly crust and moist interior) were just as they were supposed to be. I made two kinds:
This month’s challenge was hosted by Ami S., who chose the macarons recipe from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern, which worked for me with some minor baking time adjustments.
I would advise not to get discouraged by some intimidating information on the net concerning the macaron making. It’s definitely not a rocket science. I never had any problem myself; approached them knowing no fear and succeeded on the first attempt (unfortunately, I also didn’t know then that I accomplished quite a feat :)
