Dark Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

I'm generally not one to seek out peppermint flavored things. I don't know what it is about that essential oil that just turns me off. And despite the fact that it's often associated with the color red (which is positively my favorite color), there are very few scenarios that involve me going anywhere near the stuff. Eating one of these soft, chewy, dark choclatey cookies is one of those scenarios.

Making these cookies for my Nashvilian bestie, Hailey, was a real treat. Number one, it gave me an excuse to eat dark chocolate cookie dough first thing in the morning (a baker must always stay tasting, right?) But it introduced me to the world of the sandwich cookie. Long an admirer of the homemade Oreo and the ice cream sandwiches made with both homemade ice cream and delicious chocolate chip cookies, I hadn't yet found myself with the opportunity to make any in my kitchen. But when Hails told me that her favorite combination was peppermint and chocolate, and having stumbled upon this recipe a few days earlier and immediately adding it to my overflowing "Recipes" folder, I decided these cookies were up next to bat.

Not only was the active preparation time pretty short (probably an hour tops; the delicate dough must rest for at least two hours, though I rested it overnight), but it was pretty simple as well. And while I maybe didn't listen to the directions all the way when it said to only put a little peppermint buttercream in the center to avoid overflow (my brain couldn't handle so much empty space, and the frosting overflowed anyway), things still turned out for the best. A little extra peppermint buttercream never hurt anyone anyway. And did I mention that after a little time in the fridge to let the buttercream set that these taste almost EXACTLY like chilled, Girl Scout caliber thin mints? It was actually the best discovery of the week.

I know what you're thinking: Peppermint is really more of a holiday flavor, and the holidays are long gone, my friend! Well, I'd like to respectfully disagree. Unless the Peppermint Police, who dispatch from Holiday Headquarters, come banging on my door ordering me to halt operations immediately, I say these dark chocolate and peppermint treasures are fair game ALL YEAR ROUND.

What You'll Need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder 1 tablespoon ground espresso beans (optional) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the buttercream: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 2 cups powdered sugar 2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Find this recipe on The Kitchn!

Merry Christmas! Have a Cookie.

Merry Christmas! May your holiday season be full of whimsy, and your holiday baking successful.

This was my first time using royal icing and a piping bag, and I'm happy to say that things went off without a hitch! Can't wait to snack on cookies all day and night long.

Two things:

• Here's how to make the best royal icing ever...
• ...And the ULTIMATE sugar cookies to go with it!

I'm staying in my Christmas jammies all day, and don't try to stop me.

Vanilla Almonds

You know those special candied almonds you find at farmer's markets or fairs in the super fancy packaging that you love, but never really think you could make yourself? Well, this is the post that is going to prove that theory wrong. Six ingredients are all you need to make these addictive nuts, and I'm fairly certain you've got them in your pantry right now!

You can give these almonds as a gift, eat them between meals, or treat them as a great after dinner dessert. Whichever way you go, one thing is for certain: it is entirely impossible to eat just one. Good thing this recipe makes lots and lots of almonds!

What You'll Need:

• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups whole almonds
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat the egg white and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Once combined, add the almonds and stir around, making sure each almond is coated.

In another smaller bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Once combined, add to the almonds and stir around.

Place almond mixture in a single layer on a greased baking sheet, or one lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer almonds to a sheet of wax paper to cool. Once cooled enough to touch, break into clusters.

SOURCE: Kelsey's Essentials 

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Holiday baking is officially in full swing and there is no one in this world happier about that than I am. There are holiday parties all over the place in the near future, and it means loads of planning, which puts me front-row-center in my happy place. To make things even sweeter, we have a beautiful, fragrant Christmas tree just waiting to be decorated, and of course, the proper way to decorate any tree is with a mouthful of cookies and ornaments in both hands.

It's always best to ease into the baking season with a simple cookie that's tasty and seemingly complex enough, but takes you very little time in the kitchen to make. After all, you've got a lot of baking ahead of you, and don't want to burn yourself out with the very first batch! That's where these Mexican Wedding Cookies come in. They're simple little things, but they're packed with buttery flavor,  nutty crunch, and so much sugar. They're perfect for any time of year really, but just seem to make everything just a little brighter around Christmastime.

I used almonds in my cookies, though you can get away with any nut you love, so long as you chop it up finely. No one wants to bite into a cookie with just a little too much crunch. Though if you ask my father, he'd strongly disagree. He's been pushing for weeks for a dessert with nuts, and so far, these haven't disappointed him!

There is actually no such thing as too much powdered sugar with these cookies, and that is absolutely a fact. It reminds me of the gentle kiss of snow and how much a beautiful winter day can put me in a wonderful mood...you know, if I don't have to drive in it. But looking out the window with a warm cup of cocoa, impossibly cozy socks, and a stack of new cookbooks with spines that crack upon first opening, is my kind of winter's day. Put a plate of these Mexican Wedding Cookies in front of me, and we're talkin' business.

Here's What You'll Need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ¼ cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup finely chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds)
• Powdered sugar for rolling

Find the recipe here at Crazy for Crust!

LET THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE SEASON BEGIN.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for:

• My family
• My friends
• Netflix
• AWD in the snow
• Good health
• Good food
• My Entertainment Weekly magazines that brighten up every Thursday and...
• You.

Thank you for reading.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, and don't forget your eatin' pants!

(P.S. Here's the recipe for that sweet looking pecan pie!)

Making Madeleines

I'm not usually one to spend money on baking pans that are only designed for one thing (save for the time I bought that donut pan...But that was different because there are hundreds of donut combinations!), but I just couldn't resist those adorable Madeleine pans any longer! How can I have a proper tea party without shell-shaped cookies? How can I pretend that I'm French without cake-y cookies with tons of powdered sugar sprinkled on the top? The Madeleine pan was an investment really, I mean, if you think about it. Kind of. Maybe?

Anyway, there is now a Madeleine pan siting in my pantry, and lots of tiny, delicious, half cake/half cookies on the table waiting for me to devour them. So, it's been a good day.

Besides the fact that these sophisticated little ladies (Because they're obviously girls. All that's missing, really. are mini strands of pearls.) are totally delicious, they are also surprisingly easy to make. I know that I say that so often, but it's for real this time!

These special cookies are perfect for several occasions, which makes them so fun to have around. I've currently enjoyed them at breakfast time, tea time, after dinner, and a quick snack on-the-go. They're so beautifully light that they can be eaten any time with very little guilt. (Although, you should never feel guilty about dessert. It's sweet for a reason!)

Get yourself a Madeleine pan and try these!

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour your Madeleine pan. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, and salt together until thick (about 7 or 8 minutes). Add vanilla.

3. Using a rubber spatula, gently, but with a little speed, fold in flour. Next, quickly but gently fold in the melted butter, making sure that it fully incorporates and does not sink to the bottom.

4. Spoon mixture into the Madeleine pan quickly. Make sure that you don't fill the molds more than 3/4 full to avoid overflow. Bake until just golden; About 8-10 minutes. Gently remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat this process with the remaining batter.

5. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top to your heart's content!

SOURCE: Martha Stewart 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!!!

Egg-in-a-Hole

Boy, was I in need of some quick, easy, quality cold-weather comfort food.

This is a cute little dish that I just discovered as I continue my foray into the egg world beyond scrambled. Growing up, we had scrambled eggs with a little salt,, a little pepper, and shredded cheese if you played your cards right. But now, as an adult, I've come to realize that there's a whole world beyond scrambled eggs, and I intend to find it. The fantastic news is: It takes five minutes to make.  Make it for breakfast, make it for a light lunch, or make it for a quick afternoon pick-me-up. It'll pick you up reallll good.

Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a skillet or frying pan. Make sure it's melted all the way and spread out before placing your bread in the pan.

Crack one whole egg into the hole you've made in your bread using a small biscuit cutter (or a small glass). Wait 30-45 seconds before trying to move your bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Flip that baby over, and salt and pepper again. Give it another minute. Make sure that bread is soaking up every last bit of the butter in the pan. This bread is crispy, buttery, and what many of my dreams are made of. Make sure your egg yolk jiggles to the touch, but remains intact.

Eat It up!

It sure is cold up here in the Midwest (and around the country, I've heard!). Sometimes you need a good piece of bread and egg with tons of butter to make you feel just right. Right?

What You'll Need:

• 1 Slice of Bread (Your choice)
• 1 Tablespoon of Butter
• 1 Large Egg
• Salt to Taste
• Pepper to Taste

1. Press hole in the center of the bread using a small biscuit cutter or small glass.

2. Heat skillet or frying pan on medium-low heat, and melt your butter.

3. When the butter has melted completely and has spread out, place your bread in the skillet. Crack your egg straight into the center of the hole of your bread. Sprinkle the egg with salt and pepper to taste. Be sure to wait 30-45 seconds before attempting to move your bread.

4. After a minute, flip your bread over with a spatula, then sprinkle salt and pepper again to taste.

5. Make sure your bread is soaking up all of butter in the pan by moving it around the skillet if you can. Let your bread and egg cook until the yoke feels soft to the touch, but remains intact.

SOURCE: The Pioneer Woman 

Why didn't I know about this sooner?

Thanksgiving Decisions (Decisions, Decisions)

Am I the only one who's a little stressed out about what to make for Thanksgiving? Surely, not. One of my favorite holidays is fast approaching, and I'm simply stuck in my research phase, trying to find the perfect dessert to serve. I've spent at least a week poring over dozens and dozens of recipes and food magazines and cookbooks, but there's still no clear winner. Should I make a pie? Cranberry tartlets? Keep it simple with cookies? Create an assortment? Those are just a few of the many burning Thanksgiving questions. I have a total eager-to-please, eager-to-impress personality, and despite the fact that I'm only making this dessert for my family (who will eat it anyway because it's family law to love and support everyone) I just can't seem to switch off the part of my brain that wants to go bigger, better, and completely 100% over-the-top.

And with just a little amount of time remaining before the big show (Thanksgiving Dinner, of course), I've got to start planning.

So, I ask you, all of you out there: What's on your Thanksgiving menu?

Fall Mornings

 

Don't you just love Fall? Sure, everything's dying, the chilly wind might be a little much to take first thing in the morning, and you're just creeping closer and closer to snow everywhere, all the time. But I don't mind. I adore sweater weather and sometimes find myself counting down the days in the summer when the heat and humidity (and constant re-applying of sunscreen) makes me a little cranky, and also very, very burned. I've never been one for warm weather. Give me a cool, sunny 70 degrees and we're good. Give me a balmy 90, and we can't talk because I'll be inside hugging an air conditioner like a long lost friend.

Fall means the start of lots of things. When I was a student, it meant going back to school and seeing how people had changed in just three months. It meant going on a Back-to-School shopping spree at Target and pretending you were a contestant on one of those grocery store game shows from the 90s (Fill up the cart! Fill up the cart!). Now, it means the beginning of Holiday Season, and all that comes with it. I'll admit that it is often disconcerting to see Santa Claus in late August, but it's wonderful to see him still greeting me in December. Sure, it might be a little too soon to start playing a holiday record here or there, but one will never get tired of hearing Ella Fitzgerald sing "Sleigh Ride" no matter what time of year it is.

For me, Fall means the door has been opened to the holidays I live for. I don't mind the extra jacket because it means I'm well on the way to spending time with relatives far away, and eating my weight in cookies, cakes, pies, etc. You will never eat enough pumpkin-apple-cinnamon-spice ANYTHING, and that, my friends, is an actual Fall fact of life.

So, bring on the chilly weather! I'll just put on thicker socks.

P.S. HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEK!

Field Trip to Chicago!

 

Whenever I'm home, I make it a point to sit back and appreciate that Chicago, one of the best cities in the world, is just an hour away. And while it is an hour away, and with it thousands of opportunities, I've been there just a handful of times in my entire life. And when we go, we go as tourists; mainly sticking to the downtown area and Navy Pier. That had to change. It just had to change. Luckily, my friend Lafayette, who I've known for close to...TEN (oh wow.) years, just moved down to the Second City, and was nice enough to show me the real Chi-Town. I had a BLAST.

Bon Appetit is one of my favorite magazines, and my reading library has been so backed up that I've only JUST finished the "Travel Issue" from months ago. It was a good thing too, since they wrote a great feature on Chicago that gave me a few ideas of where to go when I went to visit.

First up was P.O.S.H. aka one of those vintage home goods stores that you thought only existed in your dreams. It's located in a swanky part of town with all types of stores that appeal to the hipster in all of us. P.O.S.H. is one part vintage, one part European, and one part etsy-esque all rolled into a beautiful package with a tiny conservatory in the back. Vintage hotel silverware and dinnerware, adorable one-of-a-kind tea towels, milk glass mixing bowls, vintage market baskets,  letter-pressed cards with clever sayings on them, and more fill the many shelves and tables that fill this place. And there is definitely something for every single person that walks in. If you're looking for a unique gift for someone that is fond of quality-made items that you just can't find anymore, try P.O.S.H. I declared that I was not about to leave that store empty-handed under any circumstances (thanks for being patient, L) and walked away with two cute gray plaid dinner plates that were even on SALE.  Lafayette even scored a deal on some awesome vintage maps, so I'd say that it was win-win for all parties involved.

Back in July when I was in New York, Eataly was at the top of my "must-see" list, but there were just too many other things I wanted to do (two pages worth in fact), that we never made it. When I was contemplating where to visit in Chicago, I made SURE that Eataly was on my (much shorter) list. And I have to say it: I was really disappointed. I don't know, maybe I built it up too much, or maybe I was expecting something a little bit more authentic. Mario Batali once described his vision for Eataly as feeling like you've just stepped into a classic Italian piazza, but that's not how I felt. I felt like I was in an upscale food mart. Don't get me wrong, the surroundings were beautiful, and the smells mouth-watering, but it felt too gimmicky for me to really get into it. But don't let this to deter you, go. Decide for yourself. It's worth a visit to form an opinion at LEAST. Bottom line: I'm happy I went, but I don't think I'll go back. I still love you, Mario!

One of the things I really like about Chicago is the architecture. To work up an appetite for lunch, Lafayette and I decided to take a walk around his neighborhood. I love any American city with European roots, and Chicago is no exception. We each picked out at least a dozen houses that we'd love to buy and live in. Someday, right? And another thing I've noticed? People in Chicago are actually....nice. What a concept, right? I think my years spent on the East Coast have hardened me, and I've forgotten my roots. People smile at you for no reason, and it feels so weird to me! In the Midwest, complete strangers talk to you like they've known you for ages. And honestly, when did friendliness become such a bad thing? I need to spend an extended amount of time in the place where everyone says "hello," and the grocery stores are deserted because it's Sunday and the Packers/Bears are on.

I'm getting pretty into Wicker Park, a very trendy neighborhood in Chicago, and I think I have Birchwood Kitchen to blame! Since it was a Saturday, and since we were in a city, the only logical meal to have was brunch (obviously) and Lafayette picked the best place! If you asked me to describe Birchwood Kitchen in one word, that word would be: FRESH. Seriously. I have never tasted anything so pure and from the earth as I did eating those splendid roasted potatoes, and beautiful green salad! I ordered the Breakfast Sandwich, Lafayette ordered the Croque Vert, and each of us grew a little quieter as there really shouldn't be so much talking when you're concentrated on the piece of culinary art and deliciousness that is in front of you. The atmosphere is cozy, modern, and very inviting. The staff is young and friendly, and the food...well, it just couldn't have been better. I plan on making many trips back to this place in the near future.

I had a train to catch in a few hours, but I just can't leave a new place without first checking out a popular bakery, and as soon as Lafayette casually mentioned the word "pie" it was settled. So off we went on the El, full as we were but not so full that we'd ever pass up pie, all the way to Logan Square to Bang Bang Pie Shop. When we walked in, the first thing I noticed was that everyone working behind the counter was a twentysomthing, and every single one of them looked like the coolest kids in Chicago. You want to be them, you want to make pies, you want to eat said pies, you just want to have it all. After reading the menu, and lamenting that the signature pie was already sold out, we decided on the French Silk, which was absolutely no one's consolation prize (PIEze, if you will). The French Silk is a winner, and my new first choice. It's everything that it should be: creamy, smooth, choclately rich without being so overwhelmingly rich that you get a tummy ache. AND THE CRUST. This pie actually brought a lasting smile to my face, for it has been quite a while since a bakery has really blown me away. And the feeling of discovering something new is really one of the best feelings. It was the best ending to a fantastic day trip.

I'll be back, Chicago. You haven't seen the last of me.