Post-Holiday Greeting

I hope everyone had a wonderful and delicious Chranukkah.  John and I had such an amazing time in Florida seeing our best friends and family.

Here are just a few of the treats I made this month.

Cranberry Almond Bars

Chocolate Truffles

Raspberry Almond Macarons

All the best! ♥

The Best Biscuits

There are very few recipes that I have memorized, and this is one of them.  I found the amount of buttermilk and yogurt I like best on the fourth version and now they are perfectly baked in my brain.  They have a lovely golden yellow hue and the best flaky texture.  The tops and bottoms are sturdy enough to hold up to any toppings but the middle is melt-in-your-mouth tender.

You can drizzle them with honey.

Or you can splurge and go buy some brie and raspberry jam because it’s snowing outside, and that means you deserve a treat.

Stay tuned for an awesome meaty recipe that uses this biscuit dough.

adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into little pieces
1/2 cup plain yogurt (fat free is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Add butter pieces and combine with the flour using your fingers until completely incorporated and no large chunks remain.
3. Add yogurt and buttermilk to flour mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until it mostly comes together.  Use your hands to knead the dough a few times to get it into a nice ball.
4. Turn it out onto a floured surface and pat it out into a square that is about 3/4-1 in thick.  Cut it into 9 squares and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Brown Butter Cookies

I have had this recipe ready to share for weeks but haven’t been able to sit down and write about them until now.  I don’t even have a good excuse.  I have been taking lots of naps lately.  Not sure if it is being on my feet all day, or just a cuddly dog and cold weather that draws me to the couch.

Have you ever tasted anything made with brown butter?  It is AH-mazing.  These cookies got me hooked on it.  My favorite thing about brown butter (besides the taste) is how it sounds while it is cooking.  It is like little crickets chirping at you from your pot.  When they quiet down, you know the butter is very close to being done.

These cookies come out soft and chewy and taste like nutty caramel.  The frosting is a bit sweet and rich so next time I would probably just drizzle it on.

Oh man these are so good it is taking some serious will-power not to go make another batch right now.

adapted from allrecipes

makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
hot water as needed
pecans for decorating

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or not, these cookies won’t stick).
2. Heat butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat until brown and nutty smelling.  This will take 8-10 minutes and it will foam and bubble and talk to you.  Watch carefully though because you don’t want to burn it.  Remove from heat and reserve 1/4 cup for the frosting.
3. Pour remaining butter (and browned bits) into a bowl and beat (by hand or mixer) with the brown sugar until the butter has cooled off some.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, mix baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until a uniform, glossy dough is formed.  Stir in the pecans.
5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes until slightly golden around edges.
6. Let cookies cool before frosting.
7. To make the frosting, mix reserved butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and some hot water (up to 1/4 cup) until smooth and spreadable or drizzle-able.