I’ve made these cookies countless time and made a few adjustments each time to get from the cookbook recipe to here. Straight from the cookbook, cookies were too flat and didn’t have enough chew. I’ve added more flour and baking soda, plus coated the cookie in a sugar crust for that extra crunch. You can omit the sugar coating to be more true-to-bakery, depending on your preference. I prefer using the scale for any recipe that uses molasses, so I don’t lose any to the measuring cup, but either works.
cookies
boccone dolce bites
For July 4th last year (yes, I’m 6 months behind on posts) I made bite-size boccone dolce. I hadn’t remade this recipe since I posted it in 2015, but did recall that the meringue moistened up really quickly, so I made the components ahead of time and had a DIY boccone dolce set-up when dessert o’clock rolled around. These were little bite-sized red, white and blue desserts with a simple, sweet kick. Not sure how feasible these are for a larger potluck (typical of July 4th) but might work fine if you skip the whipped cream entirely.
ricciarelli
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Ok, so. Josh says these are his favorite cookies that I’ve ever made. I think that’s saying a lot, considering. These ricciarelli (not sure how to pronounce this… “rich”-ee-uh-relly? “rick”-uh-relly? Any Italians in the house?) were inspired by Arizmendi’s, but chewier, with more orange zest. These are gluten free!! Super chewy because of the nut flour and egg whites, with strong aroma.
chocolate crinkles
I haven’t made chocolate crinkles in years, and I have no idea why not. They’re freaking delicious bites of chocolatey goodness, basically cake in cookie form, with powdered sugar “frosting” to boot. This recipe pretty much inspired me to buy 5 more pounds of Valrhona cocoa powder “just in case” – whatever that means. I’ve adapted this to a one-bowl recipe, which pretty much means I’m going to ignore the fact that they’re considered winter seasonal cookies. The chocolate life discriminates against no season.
gingerbread cookies
Ok obviously a few weeks late, but this can still be a reference for next year, right? ‘Tis the season to-eat-cookies, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la, la-la! We had a tradition of making unfrosted gingerbread cookies when I was younger; the taste of these is very similar, but without the need to chill the dough. Much more convenient for sure. This dough work probably work well for a house too, since it doesn’t rise much at all. For a house, I’d recommend rolling dough out a bit thinner for easier handling.
oatmeal everything cookies
I had to make these cookies twice in two weeks because I accidentally ate them all before Stanley had a chance to try them, and I felt bad (read: wanted to eat more also) so I made them again. 🙂 Absolutely no complaints. I have a feeling these’ll be on my regular rotation from now on.
homemade oreo cookies
I made some homemade Oreos to slowly prepare for a completely home made mud pie. One step at a time, you know.
Read more
brownie sheet
We walked by a cookie ice cream sandwich place, and they also had a brownie ice cream sandwich! So I decided to try making some thin brownies for anything I might want them for in the future…like ice cream sandwiches, or ice cream cake, or brownie cookies, or just eating! I was hoping they’d be chewy all the way through, but actually they’re kind of cakey. Might underbake them next time to see how they go!
Read more
macarons
Supposedly one of the most challenging pastries to make at home, macarons are famed to need extreme precision and effort. But in my typical way, I lazied this recipe down to its very minimum, and it came out delicious and with really good texture! Great success for a first effort, and I will be working on other flavors! Hojicha macarons, anyone?
Read more
verve coffee, santa cruz
Verve coffee just opened up next to Santa Cruz Yoga, so of course we went to scope out their baked goods selection on our weekend there. Read more