The thin glaze on these tasty biscotti pushes them way over the top into extreme deliciousness. Light toasting keeps them firm, but the crumb remains soft and tender. I am not a huge fan of the super-crunchy-break-your-teeth versions of biscotti, which are great for dunking if you’re the type who likes to drench your cookies … Continue reading »
Category Archives: in the kitchen
Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti – The “points plus” way
Okay. We’ve all seen Jennifer Hudson and have heard her pitch the new Weight Watchers Points Plus program. So maybe I’ve eaten one too many cookies, or maybe one too many slices of cake (just one, mind you), but she looks so terrific that I thought I’d give the program a try. Truth be known, … Continue reading »
Mom’s 86th Birthday Celebration
My very spry and youthful mom turned 86 on Sunday, and here’s the cake I baked to celebrate. It was made with four layers of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge, and the filling was a combo of chocolate bavarian cream and buttercream (the Magnolia Bakery recipe). You can check here for the particulars, as I … Continue reading »
Chocolate Checkerboard Cake Update…or “Ask and ye shall receive.”
So…my note at the bottom of my original post was strictly intended as a message to my children. Well, Laura, my son’s lovely girlfriend, read it and took it to heart. This weekend, she came for a visit and presented me with (yes, you guessed it) the NordicWare Checkerboard Cake pan! (maybe you heard me … Continue reading »
Ricotta Cheesecake
the big JC wasn’t the only one resurrected this Easter — little a is back, too! hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring! with a tupperware full of Mom’s Easter cookies and a thrift-store find-of-the-century (an embroidered scene of The Last Supper), mine is off to a good start. my contribution to the Easter … Continue reading »
Spring Peanut Butter Cookies
M&M’s makes these “speck-tacular” peanut butter eggs, and I couldn’t resist baking up a batch of peanut butter cookies and topping each with a yummy candy. I used this Classic Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, but I substituted 1/2 cup Crisco for one stick of butter, and I increased the flour from 2 1/2 cups to … Continue reading »
Easter Cookies
Here’s a small sampling of the Easter cutout cookies that took me 10 hours to decorate yesterday. There were 54. When all was said and done, I did a little internet research to look for any shortcuts that would help get me out of the kitchen sooner. Turns out, Sweetopia offers some sample schedules to … Continue reading »
Chocolate Checkerboard Cake
I do not own one of those fancy-pants checkerboard cake pans, but I wanted to bake one anyway. My research revealed that it IS possible to do it, so I gave it my best try. It’s not terribly difficult, but it does require some fuss and lots of patience. The idea is to bake three … Continue reading »
Irish Soda Bread
I really don’t know much about Irish Soda Bread, but I do know there are many, many variations. This is an easy recipe that was given to me by a friend and I think it’s delicious! It is mildly sweet and moist with a soft, dense crumb. IRISH SODA BREAD 1/4 cup sugar 1 stick … Continue reading »
Funfetti Sugar Cookies
If you don’t love-love soft, colorful, happy, pretty sprinkles, these cookies are NOT for you. If you are like me, however, and crave them on cake, cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels and Carvel soft vanilla swirl ice cream (the best), then go ahead and take the butter out of the fridge…you are in for a treat. … Continue reading »