I’m on a bit of an Italy kick. Or rather, an Italian-esque foodie kick. More on that coming up, but I was trying to think of a cookie that was sort of Italian. There are of course Florentines and Biscotti and Baci di Dame, but I thought I would make up a new recipe. I came up with these chocolate cookies with toasted pine nuts (pignoli) and rosemary. I know, I know, it might sound a little strange but they actually turned out really really well. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming and the pine nuts are lightly crunchy. They are also really easy to make. Enjoy!
We interrupt this summer of fresh flavors do to a year-round recipe: Roasted Cashew Chocolate Heart Cookies. Based on a recipe for peanut butter cookies, I thought I’d swap out the type of nut butter. This does not always work well. Some nuts have greater protein or more or less oil than others, so it’s not exactly a precise science. In fact, I ended up having the add an additional half cup of flour to make this come together correctly, and even so, they spread more than I would have liked. That said, they *taste* even better to me than peanut butter cookies. Yum Yum!
Sunday was another neighbor’s birthday and you know me, that is just another excuse to bake something yummy. In all honestly, I actually hadn’t remembered that it was his birthday and was going to make this cake anyway, but now I had an excuse to give it to someone. Because of the currants, it’s got that whole sweet and tart thing going, but mostly it is an overload of whipped cream (not a bad thing!). Because I really suck at actually frosting cakes (much better at cupcakes), I decided to go with the rustic, exposed sides.
We interrupt this holiday weekend to bring you something that is *not* a cupcake or a pie and actually bring you something *healthy*. OK, mostly healthy. I’ll be going on a picnic or two this weekend, so I thought that I would make something to stash in the basket. These Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, with Toasted Almond Slices seemed to fit the bill.