These elegant violet and elderflower gummies are sweet, floral and just a little tart. You only need a half cup of violet flowers, making this a perfect project for those first precious violets that pop up in the spring. This recipe can be made with a lot of variations but I’ve detailed how I did mine in the recipe below. The gummies, like the violets, don’t last long so it’s best to make them on the day you plan to eat them. Continue reading “Violet Elderflower Gummies”
I wasted about a week making a string of disastrous sheet cakes. A vanilla rhubarb cake that was tough and spongey with weeping, semi-curdled frosting. An earl grey-lemon one that was simultaneously bitter and bland. The last bright idea I had was a lemon-thyme cake with a goat cheese frosting. But I just couldn’t face another failure so I skipped it. But I had already bought the goat cheese. So I gave it a hard think and in the spirit of Reckless Experimentation decided to make a Chocolate Brownie with a Chocolate Goat Cheese Frosting and Candied Walnuts. Continue reading “Chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Goat Cheese Frosting and Candied Walnuts”
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”
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”
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”
My younger sister Eva, who I adore, has been living with us for four months and just returned to Olympia last week. It was so lovely to spend all that time together and have an extra set of hands around to help with the kids. But one of THE BEST things about having Eva around was having a new chef in the house. I’m pretty handcuffed when it comes to family dinners. The kids seem to eat only things from two food groups: beige and tube-shaped. Continue reading “Rice Pudding with Chocolate-Tahini Sauce and Black Sesame Praline”
Beer gummies are my new favorite party trick. I have a whole post here about the agony and ecstasy of my boozy gummy bear journey. But this post is all about my new favorite gummy. My husband had a particularly choice bottle of Bourbon County Stout from 2013 that needed drinking. Unfortunately he happened to mention that right at the exact moment I was trying to figure out what type of alcoholic gummy bears I wanted to make for New Year’s Eve. Continue reading “Beer Gummies-Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout Gummy Bears”
I got lucky at a garage sale a few years ago and scored a wonderful table top fryer from the sixties. It’s built like a tank, still has the original cloth cord and had never been used. I had never really done any deep-frying so I was a little nervous. But it turns out that with a bit of practice it’s very easy and super fun. The kids love it when I make frites or chocolate donut holes but I haven’t experimented with it too much. Then I saw a delicious looking, teensy little braided donut from South Africa called a koeksister. Finally, a treat worthy of a Deep-Fried Experimentation Project. New band name, I called it! Read on to learn how to make koeksisters. Continue reading “How to Make Koeksisters-Fried South African Mini Doughnuts”
This is my basic roll-out sugar cookie recipe. There are a lot of recipes out there for roll-outs. Some can be baked without chilling. Some have the soft texture of grocery store sugar cookies. Some don’t spread even an iota. But none of those recipes hold a candle to these buttery sugar cookies. The reason is two-fold: Flavor and texture.
Continue reading “Buttery Sugar Cookies-Perfect for Rolling Out and Decorating”
I’m a little obsessive about baking. You may have noticed. I’m also a little obsessed with woodgrain. You can’t throw a rock at my Pinterest page without hitting something woodgrain. And I think I finally baked up something deserving of my two loves. Look, I made a diagram:
