Ingredient: all-purpose flour

Red Currant Tart

Chocolate Ganache and Red Currant Tart

Fancy Foraging

I love to forage in my urban neighborhood for yummy things I can bake up into an elegant dessert. I’ve foraged violets, spruce, dandelions, and maple leaves in an area of just a few blocks of my home. My mom, who lives on a wonderful piece of land with oodles of amazing edible plants, had some red currants growing and offered some to me. I made them into this simple jam used it to cover a foolproof chocolate tart. Topped with a just-right layer of stabilized whipped cream and dusted with cocoa, this Chocolate Ganache and Red Currant Tart has lovely visual appeal and tastes incredible. I shared with the neighbors and received several texts that simply said, “Grooooaaannnnn” and “Good Lord!” I think that means they liked it.

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Scandinavian Heart Basket Cookies

Scandinavian Heart Basket Cookies

Every year, my dad’s side of the family celebrates Swedish Christmas, with blood sausage and meatballs and headcheese and all sorts of things I’m not likely to eat any other time of the year. I’ve baked lots of things with nordic flavors like cinnamon, cardamom and white pepper. But this year I wanted to bake up a cookie that really says SWEDISH CHRISTMAS*. I saw some cute peanut butter heart cookies on Pinterest and their criss-crossed fork marks reminded me of the paper heart baskets we made as kids (and I still sometimes make for grown-up time). So I decided to try my hand at a Scandinavian twist on the classic checkerboard cookie. This was the result! To say I’m pleased would be an understatement. I just adore these cookies.

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Lingonberry Shortbread Bars

Lingonberry Shortbread Bars

I recently posted a recipe for Scandinavian Heart Basket Cookies where I referenced my Swedish roots. I immediately received several gentle reprimands from Danes, who pointed out that those paper heart baskets are Danish, not Swedish. As much as I hate the spread of misinformation, I really do associate those baskets with my family’s Swedish Christmas traditions. To make up for how gauche I am, I’ve made some holiday shortbread bars with an unequivocally Swedish ingredient, lingonberries! Take that Denmark!

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Chewy Orange Gingerbread Cookies

Chewy Orange Gingerbread Cookies

Crisp at the edges and chewy orange-gingerbread cookies with orange extract and white pepper. These store and ship well, so they’re perfect for gifting!

Sometimes I really want gingerbread but I don’t feel like roll-out cookies or cake. I was pondering this (super serious) problem and decided to try adapting my classic chewy molasses cookies. After all, they both have ginger, molasses, cinnamon and cloves. In fact the only big difference is the nutmeg. I also use orange extract and white pepper in my gingerbread, so I threw that in there too. The result are these chewy orange gingerbread cookies and they are THE BOMB.

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Chocolate Rye Shortbread

Chocolate Rye Shortbread

What is better than a melt-in-your-mouth square of shortbread? So simple and indulgent. Answer: These Chocolate Rye Shortbread. All the amazing texture and buttery flavor of traditional shortbread, plus nutty whole-grain and deep chocolate. These are the complex and interesting cousin of regular shortbread who moved away from home right after high school and came back all cool and worldly.

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Cabin Fever Brownies

Cabin Fever Brownies

Less Is More.

I’ve heard through the grapevine that when you’re looking for a recipe, it’s aggravating to have to read through an entire epic description and wade through umpteen photos. Because there’s a pandemic and I don’t want to further irritate you, I am presenting this Cabin Fever Brownies recipe without much commentary. Also, I am homeschooling, working, wife-ing and generally losing my mind so I don’t have time to inspire you with the fancy words.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

I love the vibrant flavor and tartness of strawberry and rhubarb.  A strawberry rhubarb pie is one of the best things about spring.  That and the end of another soul-crushing Chicago winter of course.  I wanted to see if I could pack all that spring flavor into a tart resembling a lemon meringue pie, using rhubarb as the filling and adding strawberries to the classic Italian meringue topping.  This Strawberry Rhubarb Tart does it all.  It’s bursting with juicy flavor, rich and tart, and topped with pillowy swirls of strawberry meringue. Continue reading “Strawberry Rhubarb Tart” →

Thin Mint Cookie Recipe

Chewy Thin Mint Cookie Recipe

These cookies are chewy, satisfying version of the much beloved Thin Mint girl scout cookies.  This thin mint cookie recipe is extra chocolatey with a just-right amount of mint, half-dipped in rich dark chocolate.  If you are prone to eating a whole sleeve of the originals, this is the cookie for you.  One or two of these and you’re all set.  Best of all, this recipe couldn’t be easier.  No mixer needed, just a couple of bowls and a fork.  I like adding little green sprinkles to give it a St. Paddy’s Day/Girl Scout vibe, but that’s totally optional. Continue reading “Chewy Thin Mint Cookie Recipe” →

Raspberry Almond Cake

Raspberry Almond Cake with Candied Blood Oranges

I love frosting.  I love cupcakes with lots of frosting and cakes covered in big frosting rosettes.  But sometimes a cake is just so delicious, you want the frosting to simply complement, not dominate.  This raspberry almond cake gets that balance just right.  The cake is rich and perfectly textured and the raspberry buttercream frosting adds a bright flavor and color.  It’s loaded with real raspberries and topped with tender candied blood oranges, giving just a bit of bitterness to balance the sweet.  All of the three components are delicious on their own.  But together, they’re magic. Continue reading “Raspberry Almond Cake with Candied Blood Oranges” →