I was recently given a bottle of smoked maple syrup. Yes, I was skeptical as well, especially when I opened the bottle and it was really, really smokey. Hickory and Oak, but smoke, smoke, smoke. I thought long and hard about what I should experiment with, and ultimately, I think that it would go great simply poured over some BBQ ribs, but I thought that I would actually try it in a sweet application, so I came up with this recipe for blondies. And you know what? It worked and they are actually very good. The smoke flavor (and admittedly, I only used a few tablespoons) is really tempered by the toffee and maple and instead of it tasking like smoke, it simply has a deep, almost earthy thing going on. Really quite nice. Also, if you don’t want do the whole “smoke” thing, this recipe works just as well with regular maple syrup.
Browsing Tag
desserts
Here is my present to the Easter Bunny: A spectacularly delicious Carrot Cake with Almond Cream and cute little flowers made from sliced almonds and candy covered chocolate eggs (you could use M&Ms too. It’s really moist, very carrot-y, not too sweet and very flavorful. Came out great and I am actually really pleased. The photos aren’t so great, because I had to take them early in the morning. The cake was a present for a friend and I needed to deliver it early this morning before prime “photography time”. 🙂
A couple of years ago, I made these Almond Butter Cookies, which turned out great, so I thought I would revisit the recipe and throw it for a twist and add chocolate. They turned out really well too and aren’t too sweet, which is my favorite kind of cookie. Sort of like biscotti (though not nearly as hard), these go great dunking in coffee. Also, if you don’t have a funky cookie stamp, just use a fork to make a little pattern on the top, but definitely remember to chill them before baking, otherwise the pattern completely disappears.
Appetizers/Starters, Cookies, Savory Snacks, Sides
Parmesan Linzer “cookies” with Bourbon Pear Onion Jam
OK, another one of my more odd ball recipes. And I won’t lie to you: it was precipidated by the fact that I had a couple of pear-shaped cookie cutters. I know, rather silly. And then I found this interesting sounding Bourbon Pear Onion Jam from Stonewall Kitchen so these savory linzer cookies were born. They match well with cheese and wine or beer. They might not be for everyone, but they turned out quite nice, so I am pleased.