Spicy, salty, chocolaty sweet, delicately sandy, but also crunchy… In other words - delicious cookies. I’ve already blogged about my love to this flavor combo. Spicy wasabi ganache I dipped the shortbread in is exactly the same one I used to fill my macarons. I went a bit further this time and added wasabi peas into the cookie dough, as well as sprinkled them over the ganache glaze.
Who’s been a good doggie? My girl certainly has. And she certainly deserves these wholesome treats made exclusively for her. Unlike other dog biscuits I posted earlier, these ones are for dogs’ consumption. They are made of brown rice flour, rolled oats, brewers yeast and beef stock. And Lexis finds them delicious.
Lexis is almost 10 months now and what an incredibly smart, loyal, loving and gentle dog she is! She is starting her advance obedience class in a few days. Here, she is demonstrating her “wait”.
Nobody in the family can imagine our life without her. We all became happier and healthier since we’ve got her. Happy New Year, dear!!!
I admit I had been skeptical about store-bought eggnog until I tried organic whole fat all-natural one. It was pretty good. And so I thought of a super-quick and easy dessert utilizing some leftovers. I topped the panna cotta with a very thin (2-3 mm) layer of white chocolate-espresso ganache (they go together nicely) and served with miniature barely sweet espresso cookies filled with the same ganache.
I want to wish everyone a Merry and Relaxing (as/if possible) Christmas! It’s always so hectic right before the holidays.
These are very different in taste, although they are made from the same cornmeal dough. I am cutting some corners here: Christmas is so close.
One batch yields about a dozen and a half of each kind. But since biscotti are not miniature cookies, it’s not necessary to give away a dozen of those. One biscotti per family member should be sufficient enough assuming there are other cookies in your gift box.
There shouldn’t be any excuses for not baking this time of the year. Perhaps, it would be better to start a bit earlier and not a week before Christmas. But, as an old proverb goes – it’s still better later than never.
I think, I’m back.
I used to bake this Italian specialty in a round pan and give it whole as a gift to our Italian (and very appreciative) friends. But this year I’m making it different, baking it square, slicing into finger-like pieces and stuffing into multiple boxes along with other treats and cookies for many recipients. It saves me time, and saves them trouble to slice the panforte by themselves (surprisingly, but not everyone owns a good heavy sharp knife).
First panforte is quite hot and not too sweet due to the sour fruits I used (I liked this one most). The second one is milder and sweeter and will please more conservative taste. To distinguish one variety from another, I dusted the apricot panforte with icing sugar and left the prune panforte in its shiny beauty.
I want to emphasize a proper way of packaging these confections for gift-giving. The best would be to place each slice into an individual parchment cupcake liner (it will prevent them from sticking), or at least separate the rows with parchment strips. Do not put them directly onto decorative tissue paper. First of all, most of this paper is not food-safe. And second, the panforte will firmly stick to it.
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.
