This recipe is my baby. It’s the first recipe I ever developed myself and it’s the recipe I’m most often asked for. When I ask people what I should bring to their picnic, bake sale, birthday party, the answer is invariably MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE COOKIES. DUH. They are spicy, chewy, chocolatey and just the right size. If you usually just window shop when you look at baking blogs, I encourage you to give these a try. They’re memorable, foolproof and delicious. Continue reading “Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies”→
I don’t usually dress up for halloween. There was a Bridezilla costume in 2014 that involved a thrift-store wedding dress, blond wig and a t-rex mask, but that’s the exception, not the rule. But I love making Halloween cookies. The kids always get really into it and it’s the project that reminds me that all the fun holiday baking is just around the corner. I usually try to keep things simple, using the same basic sugar cookie recipe I use for all of my holiday-themed cookies (like these bunnies). These don’t require any piping tips or fancy techniques, you can make them with supplies from your grocery store’s baking aisle. Continue reading “Black and White Halloween Cookies”→
I have known how to make caramels for three days and still feel like I just invented fire. The Salted Mezcal Caramels were a hit with the adults, but the kids didn’t really like them so I told Weezy I’d make some for her friends that were plain vanilla and she could decorate them. They ended up with so many sprinkles on them that I had to vacuum my kitchen counter when I cleaned up. Continue reading “Swedish Coffee Cake Caramels”→
Pawpaw is the super-yummy native fruit most people have never heard of. It is the largest fruit native to North America and grows abundantly in midwestern forests. It’s the only fruit in its family that grows in our temperate climate. The rest, like the custard apple, are tropical. And the best, most delicious way to enjoy pawpaw is Pawpaw Ice Cream.
I got a little carried away and baked about 2,000 cookies. It was fun, it was for a good cause and I was into it. Until about the last hundred. Around the last 100 I hit a lightly floured wall and just got so sick of my recipes. I was making mostly Chewy Molasses, Mexican Hot Chocolate and Eggnog Snickerdoodles. And Orange-Cardamom Snowflakes. Those are all so good, and so pretty. So I got to dreaming about a way I could put a twist on one of my most dependable recipes. And these Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies are the result.
These bunny sugar cookies couldn’t be easier. Use store-bought cookie icing to frost, then sprinkle with sugar to make them fuzzy. I’ve used simple pink and white but you can mix and match any pastels you like to get the perfect assortment.
Best Bunnies Ever:
I’m a sucker for family traditions. Somewhere along the way I picked up the belief that if you faithfully repeat the same holiday events, music and recipes year after year your kids will grow up with happy memories of childhood. I think in my kids’ case, the best I can hope for is Stockholm Syndrome but at least I’m trying. Bunny sugar cookies are my Easter tradition, no exceptions. Now that the kids are a bit older I’ve given up on elaborately planned Easter baskets and sugar-sweet Easter egg hunts in matching outfits. But you’re going to have pry the bunny cookies out of my cold, dead, lightly floured hands. I know you probably think you don’t have the time or creativity or whatever to decorate Easter cookies, but I really think you do. Continue reading “Bunny Sugar Cookies-Simple Iced Cookies For Easter”→
I know I said that the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies were my baby. But now I have a new baby and it’s these Chewy Molasses Cookies. At first I was worried that I wouldn’t love the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies as much once I posted these, but it turns out there’s enough love in my heart for both. My heart grew, as did my waistline. Continue reading “Chewy Molasses Cookies”→
I have been very impatient for spring this year. It’s been exceptionally cold in Chicago and everything has just been talking for-ev-er to come up. So when I saw the first bursts of yellow dotting the yards of the lazy I got super excited! I could almost hear Oprah announcing her next guest. Please welcome, Spriiiiinnnnnggg! Continue reading “Dandelion Lemon Bars”→
These simple and beautiful Easter egg cookies are dipped in royal icing and speckled with edible metallic paint. The pussy willow design is made by piping tiny chocolate branches and sprinkling little drops of white icing with sparkling sugar. They look all fuzzy!
Man do I hate making royal icing. I hardly ever do. Most of the cookies I make, I just work the designs around what colors are available in Betty Crocker cookie icing. But a friend of mine whose family ran a bakery posted some pics of cookies she had dipped in icing and they looked so lovely I thought I’d give it another try. Royal icing is a simple mix of egg whites, powdered sugar and extract or lemon juice. No big deal, right? Am I not the Master Of All Baked Goods? Do I not bleed icing?
Man do I hate making royal icing. I hardly ever do. Most of the cookies I make, I just work the designs around what colors are available in Betty Crocker cookie icing. But a friend of mine whose family ran a bakery posted some pics of cookies she had dipped in icing and they looked so lovely I thought I’d give it another try. Royal icing is a simple mix of egg whites, powdered sugar and extract or lemon juice. No big deal, right? Am I not the Master Of All Baked Goods? Do I not bleed icing?
