Holiday Goodies

I know the holidays are over and I'm a little late with this post but I feel so accomplished because I fulfilled my list of quintessential holiday treats to create and I just thought I'd share. Think of it as ideas for next year :)

My gingerbread cottage in the woods, with handmade templates & walls
Recipe [x 3 for two houses + lots of extra for cookies]

Buche de noel [Yule log cake] with coffee swiss buttercream, chocolate ganache, & meringue cookie trees & mushrooms
Recipe

Festive gingerbread cookies, inspired by Bakerella
Recipe [left over from the house]

Happy New Year :) Enjoy!

Parker House Rolls

The best way to top off an amazing dinner party, other than a decadent dessert would be with some homemade bread. That wow factor can be acheived with homemade rolls, which gives any good dinner party an extra special touch. Making bread is a labor of love, but trust me its completely worth it and once you start, you will instantly fall in love and always want to make your own bread.

Classic's are always supposed to be phenomenal, because how else would they have become so classic? This bread epitomizes the classic dinner roll, with its soft, buttery, fluffy texture. Its easy to make and shape the dough, and even better it freezes beautifully so you can bake from frozen and always look like a superstar when hosting a dinner party.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is one of those things I never grew up eating because its such a southern staple- I live in LA, and I'm Jewish I grew up eating noodle kugel, and more boring pies like apple. I honestly think the first time I tasted it was when I made it a few weeks ago. I came across these bars a while ago, and I absolutely love them and they reminded me what a pecan pie would be like in bar form.

Also, because I love chocolate, it couldn't hurt to add some the pie, and it didn't. The chocolate just adds an even richer quality to the already insanely gooey and delicious filling of this pie. Its suc h a simple recipe, basically everything goes in one bowl. You can always substitute the crust with a store-bought one, but if you are going to take the time to make the pie, you might as well just make the crust too- its always well worth that little extra step. I pretty much followed this recipe straight-forward, since being a novice I didn't want to change anything. I'd say this one is definitely a winner.

Pumpkin Roulade

I've always wanted to make a roulade cake. The idea of rolling up a cake with a delicious filling is just fun. Its so oh so pretty once you slice into it and reveal the pinwheel shape, everyone will think you've worked so hard while all along its such a simple cake.

You can make this cake with any flavor combination but since its the holidays and pumpkin is so widely available, it just seemed fitting. I filled mine with a spiced swiss buttercream that enhances the spiciness in the cake; fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest. These flavors merry so well together.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Biscotti are such lovely little crunchy cookies that can easily be turned into an elegant homemade gift. For the person who enjoys  'not so sweet' desserts, these are be the perfect treat for them. Biscotti can be left plain, but are most commonly found chock full of dried fruits or nuts.

 
Cranberries & pistachios are the perfect green and red representation for the holiday season in a dessert. To dress these cookies up even more, you can dip them in white and dark chocolate and coat them in red & green sanding sugar.

Candy Cane Macarons

I know for some making macarons can be quite the daunting task, but once you get the hang of it you can make them in a snap and for any occasion. For the holiday season, I took these delicate little almond cookies and sandwiched them with a delicious chocolate french buttercream. Because chocolate and mint are a match made in heaven I rolled them in crushed candycanes for a little extra festive touch. 

Since I've made them in the past, here is the recipe for the cookies & the buttercream, and a little how-to. These are a quick little cookie to serve at your holiday get-together

Salted Toffee Matzo aka Matzo Crack

Every year for Passover my mom buys the giant 5 lb box of matzo and every year we are left with 2-3 boxes at the end of the holiday that goes to waste. Lets be real, its not the most tasty item in the world and after being force fed it for a week straight, no one wants to eat anymore of it then they have to.

I was originally going to make this at the beginning of the holiday but time got away from me and I ended up making it last night [Passover ends tomorrow night], but it is so delicious that I am going to just turn the rest of the matzo in this toffee candy. Completely covered in butter, sugar, & chocolate..problem solved!

Valentines Day Truffle Box

Everyone loves getting a box of chocolates on Valentines Day and biting into each piece hoping its your favorite kind. They typically are the store-bought kind and I thought it would be a fun challenge to make an assorted box of truffles for Josh as my gift to him. This was my first time making truffles and I thought it would be creative to play with different flavors and make more than just a basic chocolate truffle. So I came up with these flavors: cookie dough, peanut butter [with a white chocolate base], chocolate strawberry, white chocolate raspberry, and chewy salted caramels. All dipped in chocolate of course& then decorated with all things red, pink, sparkly and heart shaped! 

cookie dough!

It isn't difficult to make these truffle, its just time consuming because there is much down time waiting for every step to set up and cool properly, which requires a great deal of patience. I would definitely give yourself at least a day in advance to make these.

Decorating these was the most fun part because  each truffle really is a blank canvas. They can be decorated for any holiday, with any design, and in any color- the possibilities are endless. The best part is- they do not have to be perfect because you want that homemade look.  Put your own little touches on these, they can be as personalized as you want. Pipping out the recipients initials on some of the chocolates adds a nice little touch.

I also found a cute red tin box and some adhesive glitter hearts that I used to present the chocolate in. Pink mini muffin papers were used to hold each truffle and a piece of pretty heart tissue paper was draped over the chocolates.

 

More pictures, recipes, and how-to's after the jump!

Happy Halloweenie!

Halloween weekend just passed and Roxy threw a little party, so of course I was in charge of baking goodies for everyone. I decided to keep it simple and make classic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  Chocolate and vanilla can be pretty plain and boring sometimes, but if you follow a really great recipe they can be quite scrumptious.

Halloween was never my favorite holiday, but instead it always marked that time of year directly following it that makes me so happy. I love "the holidays", and in my life they include Thanksgiving and Hannukah, and New Years Eve. Halloween is always a fun holiday, especially because it lends so much creativity to numerous baked goods. I played it safe, but it was really my first time baking for a halloween party so I didn't want to stray too far out of my comfort zone.

I am super excited however for the next couple months and all the warm sugary treats I will be baking, not just at home but also in culinary school. I start the Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Program this coming Monday!!

Recipes and pictures, after the jump!
Enjoy<3

First timer!!

Last night was Rosh HaShana, which is the Jewish new year. It is now the year 5771 according to the Jewish calendar.  My family celebrates with a big dinner so I was in charge of the cooking and baking.

The Menu:
-round challah, which is customary for the new year instead of a braided one.
-gefilte fish with sliced carrots (yuck, i've never been a fan)
-romaine salad with a homemade vinaigrette
-herb-roasted Chicken
-roasted carrots and baby red bliss potatoes

Dessert: 
-sweet noodle kugel
-rugelach

-chocolate babka
-& of course apples and honey!

I was only able to take picture of the rugelach on my cell as i was taking them. In the future I promise to remember to use my digital camera. Recipes & pictures after the jump!