Classic Shortbread with Fleur de Sel

BAKED Sunday Morning

Shortbread is such a classic cookie, but leave it to Matt and Renato to give the recipe a little twist. They suggest using superfine sugar or confectioners sugar. I went with the confectioners which combined with the 1/2 pound of butter (I made half of the recipe) and a mixture of all-purpose and rice flours gives the texture of this shortbread a fine buttery flakiness which just melts in your mouth. The contrast of the little bit of fleur de sel on top with the buttery flavor makes this an unforgettable cookie. And as always, these little shortbreads go perfectly with a cup of tea.

John also gives these two-thumbs up. Visit BAKED Sunday Mornings to see what the other bakers thought.

It's difficult to believe that this year is already drawing to an end and the rush of the holidays is almost over. It's been good to take time out to sip a little bit of tea and enjoy quiet moments of reflection and count my many blessings. I want to take this time to thank you for visiting and commenting and wish you much joy and happiness in the new year. xx

Cheez-it-ish Crackers

French Friday with Dorie

These crackers are simple and delightful nibbles of flavor. In the morning before work, I pulsed the butter, cheese, salt and cayenne pepper in the food processor and added the flour and pulsed again until the mixture turned into little clumps. I poured the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and kneaded it a little before shaping into a disc to chill. After work I rolled and cut the crackers and put them in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. I then sprinkled a little bit of kosher salt on them after they came out of the oven. Tasted one and then another and then another. They are flaky and soft, crunchy at the same time. These were awesome with Emmenthal, but I am sure they are just as delicious with cheddar or any other cheese. Why would you ever buy store bought crackers when you can make these in a snap?! Check out the other links over at French Fridays with Dorie to see what the other group members thought.

I hope everyone has a safe and very Merry Christmas! xx

Chocolate Peanut Butter Haystacks

Di's 3rd Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange

It's so hard to believe that it is that time of year again when we are busy doing holiday shopping and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Normally, I would be a little bit more organized and have a plan of what cookies that I plan on baking for Christmas, but this year it seems I'm farther behind than ever and Di's virtual cookie exchange kind of snuck up on me. What immediately came to mind when I first received her e-mail were the no bake cookies my mom used to make for her Christmas drop-ins. They saved her a lot of time and freed the oven for other cookies and desserts. And they were always a family favorite. Mom used to make chocolate haystacks and butterscotch haystacks, but because I love chocolate and peanut butter so much, I decided that this year I would use both in mom's haystack recipe.

They couldn't be simpler to make. You melt 1/2 cup of chocolate morsels and 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips in a double boiler (You can also do this in a microwave). Mix in 2 cups of chow mein noodles. Drop the mixture by tablespoons onto waxed paper. Sprinkle them with chopped roasted peanuts and let them set. That's it!

The result is a chocolate peanut butter crunchy cookie that is good enough for Santa himself. Thank you to Di for organizing her annual cookie exchange so that we can share some of our favorite cookie recipes. We may not be able to exchange them in person and come home with a plate of assorted cookies and recipes, but this is the next best thing. Visit Di at Di's Kitchen Notebook for the links to the other cookies in the exchange.

Pork, Apples and Cream à la Normande

French Friday with Dorie

This week's recipe is supposed to be made with chicken, but when I see a recipe with apples I immediately think of pork because I think they pair together perfectly. So I was happy when I saw Dorie's Bonne Idée suggested making this with pork and asked my husband to pick up some pork chops at the grocery store. I had everything else on hand to make this dish - even the sage.

For the pork version, Dorie suggests adding some minced fresh sage to the flour mixture before dredging the pork chops and then browning them. I think I could have easily stopped right there and served them just like that because the smell of the pork chops while they were browning was wonderful.

But I continued on with the recipe and added a little more olive oil and butter before putting in the chopped apples, mushrooms, and onions. A little brandy is added, along with some chicken broth to begin the sauce and the final touch is the heavy cream. 

You can easily get this recipe done and to the table in under 30 minutes. We absolutely loved everything about this dish and it is elegant enough to cook when guests come over. I served mashed potatoes and Dorie's suggestion of steamed broccoli alongside. The sauce is just out of this world delicious and was so very good spooned over the mashed potatoes. Definitely a keeper and I am sure that I will be making it again very soon.

I have a feeling that the chicken version also got rave reviews. See what the other cooks thought over at French Fridays with Dorie. 

Gingerbread Baby Cakes

Tuesday with Dorie

These gingerbread cakes by Contributing Baker Johanne Killeen not only have ground and fresh ginger, but also have some black pepper to give them heat and some unsweetened cocoa and instant espresso powder to give them a mocha chocolate flavor. The end result is a chocolate spicey gingerbread.

I made half the recipe and cut down the amount of molasses because my husband is not a big fan of desserts heavy on the molasses.  Since I don't have 4-inch pans, I used 3 4.5-inch baby bundts. They baked in 20 minutes. After they cooled, I topped them with fresh whipped cream and some crystalized ginger.

They definitely needed the cream and ginger because they just tasted okay plain. All the flavors came through, but probably the reduced molasses made a difference in the flavor. Still, they made a nice after dinner dessert with a cup of coffee. Visit Tuesdays with Dorie to see more gingerbread creations and visit Karen's Kitchen Stories for the recipe.