making life delicious blog
This is my final cookie in the Saveur Cookies We Love event, a spiced molded cookie from the Netherlands. Molded cookies are common in Europe and the tradition is often passed down through families along with the old wooden cookie molds. If you are fortunate you may even have an heirloom mold that’s been in [...]
As soon as Thanksgiving is over we start decorating for Christmas and baking cookies. For us Black Friday is more about decorating and baking than shopping as we’ve often finished our Christmas shopping by then. This year we had family visiting so the decorating and baking was put off, but we are catching up. Two [...]
Making gingerbread houses is a father-son event in our home, with the boys crowded around the table as Michael assembles the house, a task that is not always easy. Some years the walls fall over and we’ve even resorted to using a glue gun to make the walls stand up. Each boy has a mini [...]
Last year a small group of bakers joined together to do a The 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza using recipes from a Gourmet magazine feature of their favorite cookies from 1941 to 2008. This year a few more people have joined us and today is the first day of 12 Days of Cookies 2009. Each [...]
When I made pizzelles for the first time last Christmas, Michael immediately suggested I come up with a chocolate version. We really liked the krumkake recipe we tried from Gourmet this year, so I decided to base my chocolate pizzelles on that recipe. The orange zest is optional and adds a nice hint of citrus [...]
Day 12, the final day of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I have had a ball making all of these. A few late nights, to be sure, but it’s been a wonderful experiment forcing myself to tackle a dozen new things for 12 days in a row. And it was even more [...]
Day 11 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I can’t believe it’s almost over. I had my eye on these mocha toffee bars because I adore chocolate and coffee together, and after making and enjoying them I’ve converted Michael as well. He even asked if we could add these to our annual [...]
Day 9 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I was craving biscotti, one of my very favorite cookies. These beauties combine cranberries and pistachios for a red and green festive look and taste. These are like traditional Italian biscotti which don’t use butter and they are not soft and crumbly. They are [...]
Day 8 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and I decided to try something brand new. I felt fairly certain that I had not had kourambiedes before, though I’ve had many variations on the butter cookie, so gave these a go. The discussions on Gourmet regarding this recipe are quite lively, and it [...]
Day 7 of our 12 Days of Cookies extravaganza thing, and the cookie of the day is pecan treats from Cloudt’s in Atlanta. Pecan bars are a Southern delicacy, kind of like eating pecan pie on a shortbread crust, and these are absolutely to die for. Michael kept mumbling “wow” with a mouthful of pecan [...]
It's spring in the U.S. and the following foods may be in season in your area:
artichokes, fennel, fiddleheads, radishes, broccoli, rhubarb, kale, cresses, spinach, spring lettuces, chard, cabbages, chives, cilantro, collards, tatsoi, mustard greens, spring onions, asparagus, rosemary, wild garlic, ramps, strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Eat fresh seasonal produce to stay healthy and help your food budget.Learn more about seasonal and sustainable cooking at Sustainable Table - In the Kitchen.
