The winter here in Boston is starting to get to me. I mean, really starting to get to me. Just too much snow (most records for snowfall totals have been smashed) and there is more snow on the way. This led to me thinking “Wouldn’t summer be nice right about now!” and thus summer treats such as Rice Krispies Treats (though I guess that is a quintessentially American year-round treat) and S’Mores. So I made both. Together.
Ah yes, still in the lead up to Valentine’s Day (I promise to change topics before next Sunday!) and the final of the cookies that I will be making this year for VDay. I found these cute “Conversation Heart” cookie cutters and decided to put them to the test. The cookies themselves weren’t all that interesting, so I decided to “glitter-ify” them with very nice results.
Here we are, continuing the lead up to Valentine’s Day. Every year I seem to make some of these heart-shaped Linzer cookies; each year a new flavor. Everyone seems to love them (har har — love… Valentine’s Day…) and they are easy to make. This year, in addition to my usual Vanilla and Raspberry “standard” Linzer Cookie, I decided to do something a little more unique: Cardamom and Passion Fruit Linzers. While not overwhelming in the cardamom department (which is good, because it can be very overwhelming), it has a nice hint of the spice. The passion fruit jam that I found is excellent. Pleased with the results!
I have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. Hate because it’s a silly, made up, consumerism “holiday”. Love because it is really just another excuse to have a theme in my baking for a few weeks (chocolates, cookies, sweets, desserts…). At any rate, we’re getting closer to the Big V Day, so it was a good excuse to use one of my cookie stamps, and to make these Maple Cashew Butter Cookies. Very addictive and my flat smells amazing. Also, these cookies are a great alternative for those people with a peanut allergy. Cashew butter could also be substituted with creamy Almond Butter.
Every week I make something that can be eaten “out of hand” (i.e. cookies, brownies, etc), but this week was a bit of an uninspired week, and somehow I wasn’t ready to bake something this afternoon, so just ended up making something with ingredients that I had in the house. Ended up being these Apricot White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, with Toasted Pine Nuts. Still good for a snack on on a cold January.