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Sweet Snacks

Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Apple Pie with Whiskey-Soaked Tart Cherries

I woke up this morning in a horrible mood. Well, I am not sure that “waking up” was actually part of the equation as I had been awake for the most of the night. There were some bad dreams and the weather was horrible, with pelting rain and thunder and lighting. The cats were none too pleased about the whole thing and I just didn’t get a good night’s rest. I felt completely discombobulated.

But for me there is something about being in the kitchen that allows me to reset. So I did just that, even though it was a busy morning with my “real life”. I love pie but didn’t really have enough apples for just a regular apple pie, but I did have a jar of tart cherries. I steeped them in some whiskey as I was making the pastry and voila: Apple Pie with Whiskey Soaked Tart Cherries. The flowers are intended to be cherry blossoms, because it is, in theory, that time of year. Oh, and it stopped raining, and my mood has improved.
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21. April 2015
Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Swirls

My nickname from my Omi (grandmother) in Germany when I was little was “Schneckennudel”, which is a compound word (snail + noodle) which means, in essence, Cinnamon Roll. Not getting into the technicalities, but they are more like a Pain aux Raisin in Germany, but still. Ever since then, I think of my Omi when I make somethng like these for breakfast.

I drizzled honey over these swirls when I took them out of the oven, but maple syrup woould also be pretty great.
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19. April 2015
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Mini-Chip and Toffee Bit Oatmeal Cookies with Tart Cranberries

Here is my weekly contribution to the world of Internet Cookie Recipes. A twist on either your standard chocolate chip cookie or a twist on the good old cookie of the Oatmeal variety, this combines the best of both worlds, and adds some toffee bits and dried cranberries to boot. I have to say that these are some of the easiest cookies in the world to make to you don’t have an excuse not to grab your mixer and cookie sheets!

Note: I wanted to make these very much like Florentine cookies — i.e. very thin and flat. If you want a thicker cookie, with more chew, cool the cookie dough in the fridge for an hour or so before baking.
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17. April 2015
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Spicy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chipotle Sea Salt

I really like sea salt. And specifically Falk Salt, which is this neat-o pyramid salt. So when I decided to make these spicy PB Chocolate Chip Cookies, I thought that using their chipotle flavor would be just the thing. It was … these are very yummy. If you don’t have chipotle sea salt, you can use regular and just crush a few red pepper flakes into it with your fingers. Also, this recipe makes about 60 cookies, so it that is too much for you, it’s one that can be easily halved.
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10. April 2015
Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Scrabble Tile Cookies (Updated Recipe)

I thought that I would try something different today, and practice my penmanship. On mini-tiny Scrabble cookies. Cute, fun and different and if you have friends who are into Scrabble or Words with Friends, these might be cute and cupcake or cake toppers. I’d made these a couple of years ago for Valentine’s Day, but have updated my sugar cookie recipe since then.

As an aside, when I was in high school, I had my wisdom teeth out. They were pretty impacted and the whole surgery turned out to be a bigger ordeal than planned, so I was out of school for quite some time. My sister at the time was dating an exchange student from Uruguay; a great guy named Eduardo. He came over every day after school and played Scrabble with me because I was so bored. Whenever I see a Scrabble board, I think of him.
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8. April 2015