Technical difficulties

I'm having trouble adding pics these days, but I'll be back soon with many new recipes.

Celebrate with Soufflé

Happy New Year! The holiday season flew by, and somehow it's already 2013. I started the year by getting up early and baking--definitely a good start. To switch things up a little, for brunch we had a cheese soufflé, cranberry-chocolate chip scones, Parmesan shortbread, and fresh fruit. 

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

Day 2 of holiday baking brought biscotti studded with cranberries and pistachios.  I used my favorite biscotti recipe from Dorie Greenspan--it's crunchy with cornmeal but doesn't risk your teeth--and added the dried fruit and nuts.  Around here, some people prefer what we called unoscotti--the softer cookies after only one round of baking--but they didn't get the final touches, which included dipping the ends in white chocolate and then red and green sprinkles.

Lime Mexican Wedding Cookies

Yesterday was Day 1 of my holiday baking fest.  First up were Mexican wedding cookies with lime, a nice twist on the traditional version of the cookies.  These include lime zest and coconut, which help to cut the richness of the butter and nuts (not that there's anything wrong with that ...)  The last step of these cookies -- rolling them in confectioner's sugar twice -- is messy, but it's so worth it.  I made a double batch, as these are small and disappear quickly.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Deliciousness

Chocolate brownies are one of my weak spots.  And these are rich, moist, chewy brownies filled with more chocolate and topped with peanut butter cups and chocolate ganache.  Over the top perhaps, but ridiculously good--and suddenly "plain" chocolate brownies (though these are not plain) become even more special.  I used my favorite brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour for the base, and then topped it, once cool, with the ganache, chopped up peanut butter cups, and then a little more ganache.

Devils on Horseback

These are dates stuffed with spiced pears and wrapped in bacon.  I don't know how these got their name, but I love it.  Angels on horseback involve oysters, which just doesn't sound as appealing to me.  You could substitute all sorts of things for the pears if you don't have any or don't want them, such as walnuts or blue cheese.  With these, there's the slight spicy juiciness of the pear, the chewy sweetness of the date and the salty smokiness of the bacon.  People were drawn in by the bacon--and by the name--but the combination kept them going back for more.  The basic recipe is here.

Thanksgiving Brunch

Before the feast, we had another feast.  We had to have something to sustain us until the turkey was done.  We tend to have Thankgiving dinner later in the day, so this does actually make sense, though it's possible I went overboard in my baking.  We had fresh scones (cranberry-chocolate chip and pecan praline), crumb cake, apple-cinnamon coffee cake, eggs, bacon, Canadian bacon, cheese, fruit ... just a few things to keep us going during the day.