Rosemary & Aged Provolone Gougères

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GougèresGenerous, caring, and nurturing-that’s me.

There was a very big football game for us folks in the Midwest this Sunday (or so I hear) and I was nice enough to make Matt a basket of warm Gougères to munch with his beer while watching the game.

Dream girlfriend, I know.  Totally selfless.

Reality?  I just want something to eat with my Champagne when I get home from work on New Year’s Eve, so I whipped up a batch of Gougères.  Also, I detest watching football so I thought I’d cook up something blog-worthy so I could type the afternoon away instead of being forced to sit in front of the TV, pretending to care about the most painfully boring sport in existence.

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Salted Caramel & Espresso Crumb Bars

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Salted Caramel & Espresso Crumb Bars

You may have noticed, when it comes to dessert, I deal mainly in not-too-sweet, fruity, nutty, and spiced rather than ooey, gooey, and over-the-top.  Why?  Well, I’m a selfish baker and it’s what I like. Plus it’s easier to rationalize eating a jam-filled cookie at 8 am than it is to explain why you’ve got caramel dripping from your chin and a chocolate mustache first thing in the morning.

Today is different though.  I must’ve been hit upside the head with a bucket of Christmas spirit because I’ve decided to bake for tastes other than my own.  We’re going all chewy and gooey with these Salted Caramel & Espresso Crumb Bars.

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Apricot & Raspberry Jam Turnovers

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Jam Turnover Cookies

Being an avid cookbook reader is nothing new for me.  As a kid, I used to pour over cookbooks for hours and hours.  The first half of my year was spent analyzing the loose pages of my mom’s Cut-Up Cake Party Book, trying to decide which cake shape would make for a totally epic July birthday party.  After my birthday had come and gone (and having the perfect cake had not suddenly made me the talk of the town), I got to switch my focus to my other favorite read, Ideals Christmas Cookbook.

This Christmas cookbook has always had a spell over me.  It is full of very fancy, gourmet recipes- “French-Style Appetizer”, “Ham Balls”, “Beef Tingler”.  It’s very, very 1970, but I would look at it and fantasize about the wonderful world of the adult holiday season: a never-ending string of dinner parties, cocktail dresses, waltzing, tiny appetizers, laughter echoing through glamorous ballrooms.

But this is real life and grown-up-dom isn’t exactly what I had imagined.  No waltzing and most of the dinner parties I attend, I’m wearing a long white apron and passing the tiny appetizers.  As for the off-the-shoulder black cocktail dress I bought at 19?  It hangs in the basement, still wearing its price tag.

It’s fine, though.  I probably wouldn’t even like being at the Ideals’ Christmas party anyway.  I’d be grossed out upon realizing “French-Style Appetizer” is actually just a piece of toast with a slice of Spam on top.  And knowing me, I’d probably spill the “Beef Tingler” all over my cute cocktail dress.

It’s fine because I have the one recipe from this book that stands the test of time, that you don’t need a party invite to enjoy.  Tender, warm, buttery jam-filled turnovers will never go out of vogue and will never stop being my favorite Christmas cookie.

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Chocolate-Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies

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Chocolate-Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookires

Every December my mom turns into a Christmas baking machine.  Everyday for a month she’s getting butter out to soften, firing up the oven, and cranking out cookies.  There are peanut butter balls, fudge, jam turn-overs, bittersweet chocolate and coconut shortbread, cherry bars, buttery cut-outs, snowballs, thumbprint cookies, and on and on.

It’s pretty amazing.  It’s also a ton of work, lots of trips to the baking aisle of the supermarket, plenty of yelling at cookie dough-snitching kids/dogs/husbands, a few miscellaneous melt-downs along the way.

There is another way though.  An easy way.  You can arrive at your holiday gatherings with a kaleidoscope of cookies without baking for a solid month.

It’s called a cookie exchange.  Most people are probably familiar with the concept, but it came as a revelation to me.  You gather up a few friends (preferably amazing bakers) and everyone makes a big batch of one type of cookie to share with the group.  You end up with a beautiful assortment of goodies after only one day of cookie baking.  Plus, if you’re not a blabber-mouthed food blogger, you can bring your beautiful tray to Christmas, pass them all off as your own, and really impress your family and friends.

Christmas Cookie Exchange

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Candied Kumquat & Mascarpone Tart

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Candied Kumquat & Mascarpone Tart with Spiced Chocolate Crust




Candied Kumquats?!?  Thought you were going to do something with all those candied orange peels…

I will, I will, but first let me tell you all about my candied kumquat tart.  What can I say?  I’m a big fan of citrus.  Especially this time of year and especially when it is candied.  Big fan.

Also, I’m a big fan of concocting desserts tailored specifically to my taste buds.  Today we’re looking at a spiced chocolate crust filled with lightly sweetened mascarpone and topped with cinnamon ‘n clove glazed kumquat slices.  This tart has my bases (and dessert biases) covered: just enough chocolate, creamy and decadent without being too rich, and bright with citrus. Added bonus, the kumquats are super shiny and I would bet if you parked this tart near a twinkling Christmas tree, it would positively sparkle.

Candied Kumquat & Mascarpone Tart with Spiced Chocolate Crust

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