Caramel oatmeal bars

A month or so ago I was craving a simple dessert, but lacking inspiration.  I started flipping through my old binder full of hand written recipes that I started over a decade ago (does anyone else feel nostalgia for hand written recipes? or am I the only one to do that still...), looking for some old forgotten recipes I used to love.  I came across a bunch of simple classics that I had forgotten about, that made a great distraction from my macaron obsession.

There are a great number of classic, simple, reliable recipes - the kind that used to be a standard on the side of brand name candy and cereal bags.  For some reason these recipes seem to have been forgotten by the road side as everyone strives for new creative or fancy desserts, and I'm excited to start cooking through these again.  I love the reliability and consistency from these recipes, and they often bring back fond childhood memories, like making a mess in the kitchen.

Almond Joy Cookies

 These cookies are inspired by "Almond Joys", the American candy bar made of a coconut filling, a layer of almonds on top, and then covered in chocolate.  The use of almond butter (like peanut butter, but made with almonds) was a great idea - I hadn't baked much with this in the past.  These are a dense chewy hearty cookie full of delicious flavors that make you want to reach in for just one more.  I find them a little less sweet then the average american cookie, which is one of the reasons why I think they were so popular with my british friends (who had never heard of Almond Joys).

The desiccated coconut flakes we can buy in the UK are reported to be a little bit drier and less sweet than the sweetened coconut flakes available in the US - I found the only difference this makes is that the dough is a bit more crumbly, requiring more effort to form the balls before baking.  However they came out tasting great for me in both countries.  The only real change I made from the original recipe was to add in chocolate chunks instead of drizzling it on top, and I went for the thicker chewier size.  The original recipe has all the weights of the ingredients, if you prefer that to measuring cups.

Matzah crack

For most of my childhood, passover was always associated with mediocre desserts.  During this 8 day long jewish holiday, we are not supposed to consume leavened goods (no yeast, baking powder, baking soda etc).  When it comes to desserts, many people approach it by trying to modify existing recipes they like, to make them kosher for pesach – for example substituting flour for matzah meal, or alternatively just purchasing pre-made desserts (like these weird fruit slices that are at every seder). <link>.

However throughout my baking adventures I’ve started noticing a number of delicious recipes I make throughout the year that would be kosher for Passover  in their original state– for example macarons (how have Jewish bakeries not noticed this, it seems like a giant market waiting to happen!).  While I’ve built up a list of delicious kosher for passover recipes I might make all year (I’ll share these at some point), there is one Passover recipe that should be a must for every household. 

Matzah Crack.  I somehow was not introduced to this easy, amazing, addictive, delicious dessert until college..  I don’t know the origin of this recipe, as it appears all over the internet, but if there is anyone out there that has not tried this yet, then you are really missing out.  Seriously, you should just go make a tray now.  I’ve heard it is delicious with saltines too, if you are not a matzah house hold.

Gingersnap sandwich cookies

This recipe is adapted from a cook book by Lisa Dupar, a favorite local Seattle chef.  In the book she describes them as "crack cookies" due to their terribly addictive nature.  The flavor of the cookie is similar to my previous ginger snap recipe, however these come out a bit thicker and spicier.  The genius addition of a cream cheese filling seems to soften the cookies and really bring the flavors all together (while also adding to their cuteness!).

Carrot cake macarons

Each year I try to come up with something new and creative to bake for my husbands birthday.  He loves carrot cake, but over the years I was running low on new ways to make carrot cake, I'd even tried cookie form!  But then I stumbled upon a blog post for carrot cake macarons, which went along perfectly with my recent macaron obsession.  I tried this recipe, wondering if a little dehydrated carrot can really create a carrot cake flavor, and the results were pretty surprising.  Each bite is so light and airy, but somehow really captures the essence of carrot cake.  These are delicious and amazing, a must for any carrot cake fanatic.

This recipe also opens the door to so many more flavor options for macarons!  I can't wait to try a strawberry macaron stuffed with chocolate ganache.  Looks like my macaron obsession will be carried on a few more months.

Homemade Thin Mints!

Browsing facebook this time of year makes me very aware that I am sadly missing yet another girl scout cookie season back in the states.  Last year I tacked homemade Samoas with great success - and found that they are very delicious home made (and not even that much of a hassle if you don't mind sacrificing the original shape).  I had also previously made a few attempts at thin mints, but they never tasted quite right.

So when someone sent me a link to yet another thin mint recipe this year, I decided to give it a try.  I was hesitant at first because the recipe was featured on a healthy blog, full of vegan and gluten free substitutes, and in my past experience they are often willing to substitute taste for healthiness (pretty much the opposite of my baking philosophy).  But it turned out this recipe makes a perfect cookie base for the thin mint - tender, crunchy, chocolaty.... and easy!  (And even better, it may make a perfect base for a home made oreo, but only time will tell...).  The husband even said these are better than real thin mints (though we haven't had those in a few years...) They are certainly just as addicting.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons

I must start this post with an apology for my recent lack of posting. While I don't really have a valid excuse, at least I am back with something delicious and impressive. Over the holidays I learned that some of my friends have never tried a french macaron and that Harrods sells them for a whopping £3 per cookie. There seems to be a general consensus that these are very hard to make and not something one does at home, but I figured it was worth a shot. After all, how hard can meringue cookies be?

My first batch of these turned out better than expected - they had the little feet and they tasted pretty good. They were by no means perfect: some were slightly overcooked, my white ones had browned a bit, some of the feet were uneven, etc. But I learned a big secret about homemade macarons - it turns out even the not perfect ones taste delicious... and with that I was hooked on making these. Not only are these super fun to watch in the oven, (with every batch I get excited watching them rise in the oven and grow their cute feet), but people seem very impressed when you bring in homemade macarons and the flavor and color combinations are limitless! I just can't stop making them. Plus its fun to perfect the recipe, changing and improving with each batch.