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

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

This is round two of the pumpkin madness that ensued in my kitchen last weekend and probably my favorite of all the treats that were baked.

Anything with streusel on top is going to be great- because streusel on its own its amazing. I made so much extra streusel while making this, I was forced to make another baked good to top with all of it.

These muffins make a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert - and if you are not a fan of pumpkin, you can leave it out and have a really good spiced streusel muffin as well!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

This is by far my favorite time of year. I love the cold weather, the holidays, the seasonal foods/desserts and spending time with my favorite people. I think pumpkin is the quintessential flavor for the holiday season. Its so versatile, with sweet and savory applications, like making a great soup or my case ice cream, scones, muffins, macarons, & bars. Right now I'll just be focusing on the ice cream, but I never thought one 30 oz can of pumpkin puree could really stretch out its pumpkin-y goodness to so many delicious treats.

 
If you are fortunate enough to own an ice cream maker, tasting that first freshly made pint in like nothing else and you'll wonder why you ever ate the store bought stuff [although, there are some really great artisanal brands].

Pumpkin pie is such a staple for thanksgiving, and don't get me wrong it is good but can get a little boring. This ice cream tastes like the best pumpkin pie ever but cool and refreshing as well. If you must have pie on thanksgiving, you can always pair this a la mode with a different flavored pie.

Honey Sage Cornbread

With fall approaching in Los Angeles [I say approaching because although its technically fall, LA weather has been teeter-tottering between somewhat cold and disgustingly hot the past few weeks], its nice to have something warm and comforting on those chilly nights. I was making turkey chilli for dinner and what better to go with chilli, than cornbread? They are pretty much a match made in heaven.

Cornbread can be a little boring though, but some simple ways to jazz it up are by adding some honey, some fresh herbs, cheese or a mild onion. Many things can turn plain old cornbread into a delicious masterpiece. I went with a honey-sage combo because my mom found sage flavored honey at a farmers market and I had fresh sage at home, so it seemed perfect.

I just used this recipe on the back of the cornmeal box, with a few of my own touches and it is one of the quickest one-bowl wonders ever.

Chocolate Cake Trifles

I made this cake in my last post, and everyone should take note that when you make a cake and you have left over trimmings, you should always make a trifle! Forget the cake balls, and go with something a little more sophisticated. They are delicious, so versatile, making them individual sizes is all the better.

 

Every since I first made a french pastry cream in my first baking class its been one of my favorites because its basically pudding, and who doesn't love pudding? Also, the flavor combinations you can add this simple vanilla-based custard are endless. I decided to go with a salted caramel and a spiced Mexican hot chocolate flavored pastry creams.

Giraffe Birthday Cake

Last week was my best friend's birthday and she asked for a giraffe cake, because she is a giraffe :)

I haven't worked with fondant too much and this was my first time molding it and I was pretty happy with the results. I used this picture and used it as a guide for molding my giraffes and put them on top of a milk chocolate cake, filled with cherry Italian buttercream, and iced with Italian buttercream.

A few roses, and some grass and voilà! its now a giraffe in a rose garden cake.

Happy Birthday Yoohoo! <3