Chocolate Almond Cookies

I was craving chocolate. You know those kind of cravings ladies. I don't know if it's all in my head, but I needed chocolate. Thankfully, I had a bag of dark chocolate chips stashed away. When I pulled them out, I remembered that these were the ones that spent a hot afternoon in the trunk of my car and melted into a massive block. No problem, I simply grated up the chocolate and mixed it in. Making these again, I get chocolate bars to grate...unless I have another meltdown in my trunk.

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

Mix ground flax and water. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens.

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup almond flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

1/8 cup agave

Add agave and water/flax mixture. Stir to combine.

Handful of sunflower seeds, shredded unsweetened coconut, etc.

Fold in mix-ins. I used what was in my cabinet - a handful of sunflower seeds and a couple of Tablespoons of shredded, unsweetened coconut. Nuts would also be good.

These are vegan and could easily be gluten-free by subbing gluten-free flour. 

Good Karma in Atlanta

I love when Scoutmob leads to me to an awesome new place.

That's what happened Sunday afternoon.

This place is in Avondale Estates, and reminds me why community coffee shops are the best.

First, check out this spread. All vegan. Coconut yogurt with in-house made granola, pumpkin spice latte with soy milk, and the finale - a chocolate chip vegan muffin that is so most you might not have to chew.

They also have many more non-vegan items, but all gluten-free.

The staff was friendly and the people coming in was Atlanta at its best - all ages, types, etc. This is not your college kid-only or hipster-only coffee shop hangout (thankfully). Lots of light, a good selection of music, and a good wifi connection will have me coming back for more muffins.

Kitty Foods & Meowing Holidays

My sweet Charlie cat has been on a diet. It has meant more meowing, a definite attempt at herding me into the kitchen every time I walk down the hallway, and much more interest in what I'm munching as I sit on the couch watching TV. But it's also meant a reduction belly, which means a healthier kitty. He has also been a lot friskier!

After Thanksgiving, Charlie got the remains of the chicken. He gets two treats a day and for a whole week this was chicken bits. He loved it! And his coat got super soft and glossy. He put back on a little bit but is still slimmer and trimmer.

But there are the Christmas trimmings to go....the holiday season is just beginning....

Thanks to the Patch, I've got some ideas of what Charlie can (and can't) have.

NO: Onions, garlic, chives, alcohol, caffienated drinks or food, grapes and raisins, liver in large amounts (a tiny bit is okay), milk or excessive dairy products, candy, gum or baked goods containing xylitol

YES: Baked carrots, steamed asparagus or broccoli, cooked green beans, winter squash, or chopped greens, small amounts of cottage cheese (if your cat tolerates it), small portions of cooked fish or poultry (no bones)

Will Charlie eat baked carrots? Cottage cheese? Broccoli? I guess there's one way to find out. To be continued......

Algerian Sweets

A co-worker recently returned from a trip home. Home to him is Algeria. As is the custom in the office, he brought a little treat for everyone. Candy! This is like a Jordan Almond, but is very hard and has a groundnut/peanut inside. I might have eaten half the bag. But I really just can't get over the beautiful, bright colors. 

Nori Gato Cookies

Nori is a sweet little calico cat who lives in an apartment on the upper (upper) west side. She used to be an alley cat, begging passersby for scraps, until my sister scooped her up and gave her a forever home.

Little Nori became fat and cantankerous and had to be put on an eating regimen and diet. Now slim and sleek, her new new look has brought out a sweet side and more gentle temperament.

These calico cookies are named for Nori.


Nori Gato Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
250 g flour
1 tsp baking soda
225 g granulated sugar
200 g brown sugar
225 g oats, ground in a blender
3oz of each: semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, & white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter. Add sugars and blend until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture and blend. Add vanilla and blend until all ingredients are well incorporated. Fold in chips. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Wondrous Small Cakes

This week I'm in New York City helping my sister pack up and move. In the process, we realized there were four sticks of butter in the frig that simply couldn't be wasted. So we dug this recipe out of one of the boxes and whipped up a batch of small cakes. They are an awful lot like shortbread cookies and would make an excellent crust for fruit pies or put in mini muffin pans as cups for fruit preserves or berry compote. They are highly addictive with tea. I found some delicious roasted green tea at a store in Korea town and it's the perfect pairing.

Small Cakes
adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock
Makes 12 cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
demearara sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 12 muffin tins or muffin pan.
Put butter, flour, sugar, salt, and ginger in a bowl. Mix on low until blended. (I do this with my fingers.)
Spoon equal amounts of  batter into muffin tins and press gently to flatten. Top with demearara sugar. 
Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Cool for five minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.

Apple Cookies

It's holiday party time! I made these apple cookies using the last of my stash from the fall for a work holiday luncheon. A lot of my coworkers aren't big on very sweet desserts so I went for something fresh and fruity. These cookies are very soft and slightly chewy. The recipe makes four dozen so I thought I might have a few leftover cookies to bring home. But no, they were gone, every single one.

Apple Cookies

adapted from James Beard's American Cookery

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 cup diced apple

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1) Cream butter. Add sugar and combine well. Beat in egg.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

3) Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Then add milk and combine until the dry ingredients and milk disappear.

4) Stir in apples and pecans.

5) Drop by the teaspoon onto buttered cookie sheets.

6) Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until a light brown.

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

At the end of September, it was my turn to be on the committee to host our monthy staff meeting at work. We decided to do an outdoor meeting with a 'last blast of summer' theme.

And what better to go with that theme than homemade ice cream sandwiches?

I have to admit that I cheated a little bit. I didn't have a lot of time so I used a mix for the chocolate chip cookies and then smashed a scoopful of vanilla ice cream in the middle. Then I rolled the sides in sprinkles and immediately stuck them in the freezer.

These were a huge hit! Even my boss was licking away at the sides and chomping into the cookie!

twd ~ chocolate spice quickies

Whenever I have someone over for dinner, I spend as much time thinking about the dessert as the main course. I see it as the big finale. I planned an intimate dinner for two last week, and took Dorie's suggestion to pair the chocolate spice quickies with ice cream. It was delicious. The cookies are great solo, and are subtle enough in flavor to be addictive. These aren't rich, despite the spices and chocolate, which is one reason why they paired so wonderfully with Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream.
The ice cream overshadowed the cookies a bit. I added a little expresso powder and salt to the ganache to bring out the intense chocolate.
Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for this week's pick! Check out her blog for the recipe and some beautiful food pics.

twd ~ Tropical Crumble

I've been fighting with my laptop for the past 45 minutes. It doesn't want to type. It tells me I am holding down the control button, even when I raise both hands above my head and wave a white flag.



What I really don't want to do is get on the phone with tech support people. How long will it take? Will it be under my warranty? If I keep banging around on this thing will it suddenly start working again?

I'm hoping it keeps behaving long enough to make my post. Hey, it's almost midnight.

The tropical crumble, on the other hand, was not a problem at all. It was simple and easy, and turned out to be quite delicious.



I made a few substitutions. I used almonds instead of pecans, and orange zest instead of lime. I added just a little coconut to the topping, and a smidgen of whipped cream at the end. The cream quickly melted, but blended nicely with the fruit anyway.



I've fallen off exercising lately, and finally put in a good 6 miles this evening so I didn't feel too bad about eating this straight from the oven at 10pm. It was too perfect at the park not to enjoy it! I saw a film crew doing scenes for the movie What to Expect When You're Expecting. Chris Rock was the only one I could really recognize or hear.

Thanks to Gaye at Laws of the Kitchen for this week's pick!

twd ~ Carrot Spice Muffins & Banana Peach Brekkie

I love baked goods packed with little treasures - carrots, nuts, seeds, raisins - each bite brings a new combination of tastes. I love Morning Glory muffins and always am tempted when I see one sitting in a pastry case, regardless if it's morning, noon, or night.

These carrot spice muffins are no disappointment. In fact, they are too darn good. The are moist and packed with some of my favorites - carrots, coconut, ginger, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins! Now that's a mouthful.

I used half whole wheat flour and half white, which worked well. For breakfast, it's hard to eat just one delicious muffin so I paired it with my new favorite fruit combination. One lovely, ripe Georgia peach + one banana + a spoonful of sunflower seeds + a little bit of whipping cream poured over = yummers!

Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs for this week's pick. Head over to her blog for the recipe.

Showering Sweets on Baby S

Yesterday, we threw a baby shower for a very dear friend. She flew in from California this weekend for a baby-filled weeked bash! She's having two showers and lots of lovin' coming her way!

I was in charge of the punch, the favors, and the tableware.

For the favors, I got different colors of pink nail polish...because we're tickled pink about the baby! Yes, I go for the silly puns.

I also made cake pops for people to take home. I made red velvet cake, crumbled it, and added cream cheese frosting. Then I used a tablespoon to make balls. These went into melted pink chocolate and then dipped in sprinkles.

That's how it was supposed to work. In actuality, the balls fell off the sticks in the chocolate. I guess I made them too big, ahem. Putting them in the freezer helped some, but by then the chocolate had been on the stove too long and started separating. At this point, it's midnight and my mom (who had just come up that night to help and go to the shower) voted for going to bed and grabbing some pastel jelly beans on the way to the shower. Give up on the cake balls? No way. Not until ultimate defeat. I grabbed a rubber spatula and used it to brush on the chocolate. Then covered the balls in sprinkles to hide any defects. We kept them in the freezer overnight and in the morning...they were cute. And yummy.

These cupcakes are adorable! Warning: the pacifier is not edible.

I'm not a fan of punch, so I was a little nervous about making it. I went with something simple, and stayed away from the sherbet! The foamy sherbet punches remind me a 70s perfume! Yuck.

Pretty in Pink Punch

1 can frozen cranberry juice concentrate

1 can fronzen orange juice concentrate

one bottle of ginger ale

water to taste

Mix all together until the frozen juices are melted. Taste. Add water if too tart.

Add rubber duckies right before serving.

twd ~ Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

Thanks to Spike of Spike Bakes for the wonderful pick this week! I was very happy to have something 1) chocolatey and 2) a cookie.


These disappeared way too quickly. I baked them on Wednesday for a gathering on Friday. When they came out of the oven, a guy I'm seeing was over, so he had to try them. Then a friend came over and we made dinner, so naturally we had one for dessert. Since she was going back to work, she needed to take a few. Three dozen down to two dozen.

Two dozen for a gathering of seven sounds fine. Within five mintues they were gone. The thing I didn't take into account was that this was a gathering of our organization's summer interns. College kids eat a lot, especially after running from the park to a bookstore to get away from thunderstorm that was dropping gallons. But the great thing about college kids: it didn't matter a bit and we were able to laugh it off and have a wonderful, wet time!

Since I'm not a big raisin and chocolate fan, I subbed chocolate chips. Everytime I bit into one, I thought it would be wonderful with icing or filling of some sort. This would be a great base for whoopie pies!

twd ~ Date Nut Loaf

Calling this a loaf makes it sound like bread. But as my friend said after taking a bite, "Hey, this is like cake!"

It's cake dressed up like bread. It has lovely walnuts and dates that take the stage, and lots of butter and cream cheese hiding in between. I'm now thinking of making muffins out of this batter and putting cream cheese icing on top for cupcakes.



I stuck to Dorie's recipe this time completely! I didn't have the correct size loaf pan, so I made a regular and a mini loaf. The mini was done in the specified time, however, the larger one took another half an hour. It made me a little nervous because that's a long time over, but it turned out a lovely golden brown and very moist.



Check out all the lovely walnuts and dates! The walnuts are definitely the best part for me. Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for a great pick this week!

twd ~ Chocolate Biscotti

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for a wonderful pick this week!

I love biscotti. It's so nice to have a perfectly dippable sweet treat to accompany coffee or tea. It feels much more grown-up than cookies, and perhaps that's why I've never thought about making it. I tried once before, with mixed results. This recipe was great - almonds, chocolate chips, cocoa.

I only made two slight changes - it might be a record for me with a TWD! I halved the recipe, and I mixed the chocolate half bittersweet chips, half dark chocolate chunks.

The dough was very sticky and I had a little trouble shaping it into logs. The recipe says to bake for 20 mins or so, remove and cut into nice biscotti strips, and bake for another 10 mins or so. I think I baked it a little too long during the first baking round because I had trouble cutting it without making a crumbly mess.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this biscotti was the keeping factor. I went out of town unexpectedly because of a feline death in the family. When I came back last night, and pulled the biscotti out of the cabinet, it was just as good as last Monday when I made them!

Baby Shower Onesie Sugar Cookies

It's starting...the babies are coming. First it was wedding bells, chiming every few months, until about half of my friends were married. They still chime, but since we've approached and hit thirty, it's much more of a slow affair.

Currently, two of my close girlfriends from high school are pregnant. It's a first for us. I am incredibly blessed with my high school friends. We have remained close over the years and distance, and each followed different paths. Now some are adding "mother" to their list of incredible undertakings.

For the past couple of months, I must have looked like a baby crazed woman! I checked out how to throw a baby shower books from the library, hit up the baby section in every Michael's, Party City, Target, and department store in the metro Atlanta area looking for way to ensure a great baby bash. At the end of the day it was fantastic, due to the wonderful people there and all the laughs we shared. The best was bobbing for nipples followed by decorating onesies and taking a Mommy IQ quiz.

For favors, I made sugar cookies cut like onesies and decorated with royal icing. I was a little nervous with the icing since it was my first time using royal icing to get a hard, glossy affect, but it couldn't have been easier. It was harder finding meringue powder to use, which I finally found at Michael's.

twd ~ Cornbread Shortbread Cookies

I've been utterly slack with twd lately. The weather has been perfect...that ideallyic time down South when he warm and breezy, before the humidity sets in. I made a resolution to make this week's selection regardless of how hard or time consuming. Thankfully it was neither. It was Monday night before I got around to making it, nothing like a deadline to light a fire under me, and didn't have a lemon or any citrus. Divergence one.

Monday after work. I had stopped for a quick workout at the gym, then booked it home for a quick shower before a friend picked me up. Since the dough had to chill, I decided to make it during the 30 minutes I had to get ready. I usually don't take very long, but that's stretching it a little. Hurrying, I accidnetally read the sugar amount for the cornmeal amount and dumped in twice as much cornmeal as needed. Divergence two.

To try and correct this, I added a couple of extra tablespoons of butter. Divergence three.




Hmm, I wasn't sure how these would turn out at all. I stuck the dough in the frig, in a nice little ziplock baggie, and crossed my fingers hoping for the best. Three hours later, I popped a few little squares in the oven; just a few for pictures and tasting. The rest of the dough will stay until Wednesday night, and get baked up for my sister's visit on Thursday.

These were delicious! Even with the extra cornmeal. I had two tasters and they both loved these. The cornmeal adds a lovely texture that adds that something I always find missing from shortbread. Added bonus - no eggs! No eggs = guilt free cookie dough :)

twd ~ Pecan Puffs

I'm a week behind with this one, but I couldn't resist.

As a kid, I loved the Danish wedding cookies from the grocery store that came in the pepto-pink bag.

These remind me of those - except, of course, Dorie has made them better.

twd ~ Honey Nut Brownies

Thanks to Suzy of Suzy Homemaker for this week's pick!

These brownies are all about the honey!
The honey makes them very dense and very sweet. It overplays the chocolate a bit. I used pecans for the nuts, and loved them. You definitely need nuts in these.
These were good straight out of the oven, but better the next day when the flavors seemed to have mixed and mellowed a bit more.

twd ~ Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

A big thank you to Caroline and Claire of Bake With Us for this week’s twd pick! These were amazing! One of the reasons I love baking along is that I make things I otherwise wouldn’t. Kugelhopf anyone? Or how about Cottage Cheese Pufflets?

Usually, I like what I make. There’s a rarely a time when I don’t, and then you can make a safe bet that I messed up the recipe somehow. But very rarely will I actually make things again, not when there are so many new recipes and old favorites. These however, are going into the old favorites file very quickly!

I knew I would like these just looking at the ingredient list. I love chocolate cookies with oats, and these have both cocoa and melted chocolate. Very chocolaty! They have a great texture, crispy on the outside like chocolate chip cookies, but very fudgy in the middle. I took them to a Super Bowl party and they disappeared pretty quickly. It was hard keeping my spoon out of the dough! These are delish pre-baked and baked!