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Gwyneth’s Bummer Bars
I recently picked up Gwyneth Paltrow’s book, It’s All Good, and, in short — I’m obsessed. I have tried 6+ recipes within the last few days and all have been fantastic. Having said that, I do not think I’ve ever seen so many different opinions on a mere cookbook – some people love it, some despise it and want to blog about it constantly. I really like her style of cooking. She advocates clean eating and tries to cook with healthy, natural ingredients including lots of fruits, vegetables, natural sweeteners and “good for you” grains. It’s a concept I could get very used to and, with recipes like these, I think anyone would enjoy them regardless of the obvious health benefits.
Yesterday I decided to make Gwyneth’s “Bummer Bars,” which are a healthy form of a granola bar made instead with quinoa flakes, ground flaxseeds, prunes, walnuts, maple syrup, olive oil and plenty of warm spices.
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9 Best Christmas Sweets by The Chic Brûlée
With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to share some of my most popular recipes for holiday treats that I’ve baked here on The Chic Brûlée! Simply click on whichever picture you chose and it will bring you to the post page with a full recipe. Each one of these recipes is special to me (and tried and true favorites in my family) so I hope you will give one of them a try this year. Happy Baking!
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Chocolate Almond Biscotti
I love biscotti. Although I am often tempted to pick up a few at my local bakery when I want something sweet, they are even more delicious when baked fresh at home and once you master the technique, they are easy and quick to bake. There is an almost endless variety of variations and flavors you can choose from, but per usual I am always drawn to anything chocolate. I have made biscotti before with much success (see my Pecan Pie Biscotti), so I didn’t hesitate to give a chocolate one a try. My husband and I cooked a steak dinner this past weekend, so I wanted to bake something light to have as dessert along with an espresso and this was the perfect choice. Most biscotti is made without butter or oil, so it is a healthier choice than
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Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies
It can take several days, weeks, even years, to find the ultimate chocolate cookie recipe. The kind of cookies I wanted to find are of the shamelessly rich, not-too-sweet, dark chocolate variety. In my search, I came across a recipe from cookbook-author Dorie Greenspan for “Sablés Korova,” which were named after the Paris restaurant where famed pastry chef Pierre Hermé created them. Dorie dubbed her sablés “Word Peace Cookies,” because a friend of hers, upon tasting them, believed that if everyone in the world ate one of these cookies everyday there would be no more violence and only peace in the world. With an introduction like that I had to give these indulgent chocolate cookies a try immediately.
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Twice Baked Shortbread
Shortbread is the ultimate indulgence. With an ingredient list traditionally comprised of one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour, these Scottish “biscuits,” popular since the 16th century, have surely stood the test of time. On my last trip to the U.K., I took home a box of shortbread from Harrod’s famous upscale “food court” and savored every last bite while back home in New York. I made a double batch to bring home for Christmas since both my Dad and my fiancé love shortbread as well ~ a win-win situation for all! This recipe calls for you to double bake the shortbread and from my experience is the best method to cook this delightful buttery treat. Because there is only a short list of ingredients, the quality of each is very important. In light of that, I decided to use European-style butter to elevate the richness of the shortbread and provide the most flavor possible. If you can’t find European-style butter at your grocery store or market, you can certainly still use regular butter for this recipe. After baking the shortbread twice (first in a pan and then cut into fingers on a baking sheet), it came out rich, crumbly and the most beautiful golden butter color. I hope you enjoy this little taste of Scotland in your kitchen for the holidays this year!
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Christmas Cookies with Royal Icing
There is nothing like a batch of freshly baked, buttery Christmas cookies frosted in rich royal icing and dusted with colorful sugar. I can guarantee that you will not find a better, more delicious recipe for cutout sugar cookies anywhere. These festive cookies are favorites of kids and adults alike and are truly a work of art! This year, I decided to do trees, stars, snowflakes, candy canes and reindeer, and I’m thrilled to share with you my recipe for these scrumptious frosted cookies along with a few helpful tips and techniques for frosting the cookies. So, throw on some Christmas carols and get baking!
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Pecan Pie Biscotti
This week my grandmother and I stumbled upon a scrumptious looking biscotti in the newspaper. The warm color of the cookies and the addition of pecans, which you do not usually see in biscotti, was especially intriguing this time of year. We noticed there was not any butter or oil in the cookies – quite the rarity in the baking world! I did a quick Google search and found out that there are 2 varieties of biscotti: simply put, ones that are made with butter and ones that are not. Armed with this information, we set out to bake what turned out to be a delightful, light and crispy biscotti full of crunchy pecans and sweet brown sugar. They are wonderful to make around Christmastime and I highly recommend adding them to your assortment of cookies this year. Try one with coffee or a cup of tea for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Enjoy!
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Pfeffernüsse
I have many fond memories of enjoying Pfeffernüsse cookies during the holiday season while living in Switzerland. Pronounced [fef-fur-noose], these delightful German cookies translate to “pepper nuts” and are truly one of my favorite holiday treats. These spicy cookies, full of cloves, nutmeg, ground black pepper, ginger and cardamom, are not for the faint of heart and best reserved for those who love these distinct spices (although I challenge the non-spicy folks to give them a try as well – they are delicious and so worth it!). In Germany (and its neighboring Switzerland), Pfeffernüsse is a very old, if not ancient, recipe that has been passed down for generations and enjoyed throughout many European countries. I recall picking up a box of Pfeffernüsse from my local bakery
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A Chocolate Chip Cookie Shake-up: Toll House Marble Squares
If you love chocolate chip cookies, you will go crazy for Nestle’s Toll House Marble Squares. With all the same ingredients you love in chocolate chip cookies –rich brown sugar and fudgy chocolate chips– these squares are essentially cookie batter baked in the form of a cake in a sheet pan. The squares are a bit thicker and chewier than their cookie form, but share the same chocolate chip cookie taste we have all grown to love. Once the “cake” is baked, you cut it into small squares for bite-sized treats. This recipe makes for a great gift – simply package up the squares in small boxes with decorative bows and you have a guaranteed hit. Keep reading for the full recipe!
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Coconut Macaroons
I have to admit, my boyfriend’s office has been growing increasingly jealous of the fresh baked goods I send my boyfriend into work with. One of the guys requested macaroons, so I gave it a try. This recipe is courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa and is truly the best coconut macaroon recipe around. The cookies are moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Not only are they beautiful, but the recipe is super easy as well. With only sweetened shredded coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, egg whites and salt on the ingredient list, you can whip up these cookies in no time. Once baked and cooled, you can try dipping some in melted chocolate or leaving them plain. The best part is when you are baking, the sweet smell of coconut fills the house, making it smell like a tropical paradise!
