Mint Chocolate Cookies

There are certain things in food that just go so well together.. Marsala and mushroom, rum and raisin, hazelnut and chocolate.. and of course mint and chocolate. Well, these cookies have the latter two combinations and they taste damn good. Chocolate is an indulgence, and mint just takes you over the cloud. I made these in anticipation of meeting up with a friend that didn't happen until two weeks later. They were wonderful, and great for breakfast with a cup of milk.

Christmas in a basket Teil I

Last Tuesday I had a gift exchange at work, and I took the opportunity to try out several new recipes. Since it's a holiday gift exchange, I want everything to be Christmas specials. I've done a lot of Italian recipes in the past, and Spain doesn't offer much Christmas sweets, so I turned to my third love, Germany, for some delicious inspirations. 

  

Honey Early Grey Madeleine

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I've ever posted about Madeleines. Oh Madeleines, another one of those fancy French pastries. I really admire the French for inventing all sorts of delicate, delicious, and dandy desserts. The French certainly has the Spain beat in this area, because I can't think off the top of my head any famous Spanish dessert! I have been searching for the perfect Madeleine recipe ever since I bought my Madeleine pan almost a year ago. Still...the search continues. I've tried many recipes, and this one came closest to replicating Costco Madeleines' texture that I love so much. It's more cakey and buttery than the others I've tried. I still have to work out how to flour the pan so my madeleines don't come out looking burnt. They just look dark, but they don't taste burnt at all. I'm quite pleased with this recipe, so I think I will just work off this one from now on.

Spread your wings

Palmiers, butterfly cookies, or whatever you may call these little overbaked puff-pastry goodies, you have to admit it's difficult to start once you begin eating them. I used to buy them in two big boxes from Costco before I started baking. I couldn't believe they were so easy to make...I meant, with their fancy name and not-so-cheap price tag, you would think they requires quite of bit of culinary skill. Not at all. They are basically the simple puff pastry dough baked until dry and golden.

Football and Almond Biscotti

I almost felt like I had a football overload because of the craziness of today's matches! First of all, Holland eliminated the 5-time champion Brazil. I always say statistics and history mean absolutely nothing in football because the teams don't play the same players that make the record. But when it comes to Brazil, I just feel that they will win just for being Brazil... just like Manchester United will win just because they are Manchester United. I'm talking nonsense here I know. Holland was my third favorite team coming in this World Cup just behind Spain and Argentina (though I'm having doubts about this right now). The Dutch squad can boast players of equal caliber as Brazil's in my opinion. I thought after the first half, they put in a very convincing win, and probably could've gotten a couple more goals.

Greeting Card Cookie

I felt inspired to post after such a long rest in April. Since I missed out my coworker's birthday last week, I decided to make some cookies for her. I'm not a very confident cookie baker since I never seem to get the temperature correct and always end up with burnt cookies. This time I actually tested out the temperature with 1 cookie and adjusted accordingly for the rest. However, decorating the them was the most fun. I even made some with my neighbor's children's names and gave out some to them.

Tuile