I think that I might have mentioned this before, but I am very much a fan of “florentine-style” cookies — very thin, almost lace-like, crunchy and a little sticky. As most of you know, I am also a huge fan of coconut, so with these, I combined the best of both: a little coconutty, very thin and crispy, and just a touch of chocolate for good measure. Great afternoon pick-me-up; very addictive.
Nothing like starting off a Monday morning with a hearty breakfast. Trader Joes sells this great sliced brioche bread which makes the absolute perfect French Toast so I thought that I would indulge. Light, fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. And you know what, French Toast doesn’t actually take that long as I managed to make it before my early doors this morning. Might need to make a habit of this to start the week.
Who here has stayed at the Hilton Hotel’s DoubleTree chain? You know how they hand out warm chocolate chip cookies at check-in (or anytime you ask for them, if you didn’t know that… have a cookie craving, go to the front desk!) Anyway, purportedly, these chocolate chip cookies are that recipe. I saw it on FB and even if it was a lark, the recipe looked solid, so I gave it a go. I like to play around with chocolate chip recipes anyway. These have a touch of lemon juice and a touch of cinnamon and you bake them for longer at a lower temperature. Whether they are the actual DoubleTree recipe, I have no idea, but that’s ok too.
Today is May first and I’ve got Germany on the brain and in the heart. As you all know, I typically go to Munich 3 or 4 times per year and usually once in the Spring. Being there over May Day is always a treat. And as you guys also mostly know, a friend of mind always every trip that I am over go on what we affectionately call the “Strudel Run” where we day trip from Munich to Innsbruck, Austria for Strudel at Cafe Kroll … and then often end up some other random place (Italy, Lichtenstein…). So, in light of the fact that I am stuck in rainy greater Boston today, I decided to make Apfelstrudel. I cheated though by using frozen pre-made phyllo sheets, which turned out phenomenally. I was going to make Vanillesoße (Vanilla Custard/Sauce) and included it in the recipe, but checked the egg and milk status before starting and decided that I didn’t want to go to the shops tomorrow (I try to conserve as much as possible) so skipped making it.
