I bake these often. And we don’t even have a dog. We do have a son, though, who loves them; honestly, the whole family enjoys these bones with soups and salads, and on their own – they are very munchable. If you are hesitant to offer the biscuits to guests thinking they might accuse you in serving them dog food, just shape the biscuits differently (but I think they are kind of cute the way they are).

I’m so done with festive sweets for a while (oh, these holidays)… Now I crave dog food.

Adapted from the “Gourmet” magazine.

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The most descriptive word for this would be “addictive”. I made the crocante planning to serve it with not-yet-made ice cream in a couple of days (the crocante can be kept for up to 2 weeks – theoretically speaking). But it was all eaten the same day and I ended up making another batch of the crocante for my project…

The crocante is not teeth-breaking hard; it’s very porcelain crowns-friendly :).

Adapted from “Dolce Italiano”

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Well, I wouldn’t call it a “cake”. But the author is the one who decides. I found the recipe in Nancy Silverton’s “Pastries from the La Brea Bakery”. It sounded like a perfect accompaniment for a cheese platter and I wasn’t disappointed in the flavor. The initial presentation was quite impressive but, as I suspected, the “cake” was not easy to cut through the whole almonds in the middle of rather soft layers of figs. We ended up serving it from the bowl. Nobody complained, the flavor was still delicious. But the next time I make this thing (and I will, it’s definitely worth it) I’d use chopped or, better yet, sliced almonds instead to ensure easy and neat cuts. The cake can be made a couple of hours in advance but I would not recommend assembling it a night or so before – the almonds will lose their crunch.

Adapted from Nancy Silverton’s “Pastries from the La Brea Bakery”

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If I was asked to name my favorite cookies of all, that would be it. Although, I’m not so sure that they can be actually considered as cookies per se. Or maybe they can because of their shape, in this particular case. Anyway, they are my favorite thing.

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I’m posting the recipe and step-by-step instructions for making the chocolate plastic roses. Maybe someone will find this information useful. I really do like the chocolate plastic as the cake decor. It is easy to work with, looks great, holds its shape, and it is way tastier than fondant. Of course, you can make different things from the plastic, just use your imagination.

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I used this sauce for dipping the brownie lollipops (the recipe follows). The recipe is from the famous Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking”. Although the flavor was nice and clean, I wish the sauce would be a bit thicker for this particular-dipping purpose. May be an addition of an extra ounce of chocolate could bring the consistency to what I wanted. Next time I try it I’ll post my notes.

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