Apparently today is a holiday. Or a “holiday”, as it were. The first Friday in June is apparently National Doughnut Day in the US. Yes, just what we as a generally overweight nation need: a day in celebration of the doughnut. And yet, when I heard that Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme were giving the little gems away, I decided that I could one up them by simply making my own, hence these Glazed Ricotta Doughnuts. For Breakfast. Before work. On a holiday.
I am “up to Camp”, as one says in New England-ish, this weekend. So I am packing up Ludwig (yes, my car is named Ludwig van Volkswagon) and headed north from the steamy city. New England, after our brutal winter, skipped spring altogether and it’s been summertime hot for the good part of a week. No complaints, though I do have to put in my air conditioners soon, lest I have to stop baking in the heat. And never one to arrive empty handed, here is the pie I made.
This pie title and idea with the “stars” is based on a pie that I saw somewhere on the intertubes called Midnight in Paris Pie. Of course, they don’t really have pies in French desserts (tarts, yes … pies, not so much) and it was just someone using the cut out stars to decorate a “plain” blueberry pie. I went for the berry combo to make it a little “darker” and then added the mint. You don’t actually taste the mint too much but it does have a nice freshening effect.
I really like Florentine-style chocolate chip cookies … the thin and crispy kind. The trick to this, I think, is to make the dough and then make the cookies straight away. Letting it cool in the refrigerator firms up the butter again and then you get more “puff” to the cookies themselves. These, while not really chocolate chip cookies as their primary flavor, definitely are florentine style. The toffee bits make them even crispier. Quite yummy, if I do say so myself.
As an aside, maple extract is my new favorite flavor. If you can’t find the extract, simply boil down some syrup until it is thicker and more concentrated. Just be careful when you are doing that, as you don’t want to cause a “burned pan” disaster.
