holiday baking

For those that don’t know, these are Elephant Ear cookies, or French Palmier cookies as they are more formally known. But these crispy, buttery, elegant cookies are a childhood favorite and ones I love to make during the holidays. Made with puff pasty (also known as pâte feuilletée), these rich cookies dusted lightly with sugar and […]

Yes, believe it or not, there is a National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, it’s October 21st. It’s funny, I would have thought it was closer to Thanksgiving. The Fall baking season is in full swing, holiday meal planning has begun and pumpkin desserts are now more popular than ever. So naturally, a dessert combining two of America’s […]

Oh my, do I love chocolate crinkle cookies. I’m late to the crinkle game I will say, it was years before I finally discovered how truly delicious these cookies are. While I still go salty over sweet, I am obsessed with cookies, and I don’t discriminate. My cookie preference really just depends on my mood. […]

You survived the holiday season but you have one more celebration to come. But this one is easier. Much easier. New Year’s Eve is a bit more celebrated than New Year’s Day. And let’s call New Year’s Day what it is: a recovery day for the night before. But New Year’s Eve is a fun, […]

Linzer cookies, a traditional Austrian Christmas cookie, are one of my all-time favorite cookies. With their delicate nutty shortbread-style crust and jam filling, what’s not to love? Slightly more involved to make than the average drop or slice-and-bake cookie, I think that these are well worth the effort. They are lovely to look at and […]

One of the biggest things I’ve learned about blogging is that there is a “national day” for almost everything. Seriously, even ginger snaps have their own special day: July 1st. But who can wait for summer when it’s holiday cookie season. Ginger snaps are typically small, round (also called biscuit) cookies, and are a derivation […]

It’s that time. Whether you love it or hate it, find it joyous or stressful, the holiday season is upon us. Or as I refer to it: cookie season. And I am a cookie fan, especially Christmas cookies. I touched on this last year when I blogged about easy slice-and-bake holiday cookies. Frosted holiday cookies […]

It’s almost game time, Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. This is my favorite holiday of the year by a long shot, which is probably not a surprise to anyone who knows me well. A food-focused day with friends and family, truthfully, I could Thanksgiving frequently. Last year I blogged about a favorite […]

This is a favorite of mine, and not just for Passover. If you like almonds and chocolate, this will soon become a favorite of yours.  Made without flour, this is a great dessert option for those who are gluten-free.  It is also a great option for Passover, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the […]

A Tarte Aux Pommes, or apple tart as Americans call it, is the quintessential French dessert to me.  This is one of the first sweet pastries I learned to make in culinary school and I still remember how excited I was to learn it.  I also remember how hard it was to master at first. The […]

Traditional biscotti, also known as “Cantucci or Cantucci di Prato”, are Italian almond biscuits, or cookies.  The English translation means “twice-baked”.   The name is not meant to be clever: you bake this well-known Italian favorite twice. A double bake allows you to get the lovely golden hue and crispy texture that goes so well with […]

It’s almost Easter and this is a treat for all ages.  This is not my recipe, but I have been making it for years and had to share it.  The original cake recipe is called “Umbrian Chocolate Cake“, or in Italian Torta di Cioccolato di Olio di Oliva, and comes from the cookbook Ciao Italia in Umbria.  The author, Mary […]