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.
Sometimes you just want to get something quick on the table for breakfast. But sometimes you want it to a little more impressive than a piece of toast. Enter these really easy pancakes. Straight forward, simple ingredients (you can even skip the blueberries if you want, but why would you want to do that?). Makes between 12-15 pancakes so can satisfy the whole gang for breakfast. I’m going to freeze my extras so that I can reheat just a couple each day for the next week. Don’t forget the maple syrup!