Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

My kind of cake pop: a two-parter, and cute to boot!

Here's a snowy snickerdoodle recipe from my mom.

How to pie someone in the face: thankfully, there is a tutorial.

Who invented baking powder? Shed some light, here.

Cupcake...chalk? How sweet! Perfect for doing stuff like this. (pictured: side)

Cute: Christmas Tree macaroons!

I googled "Christmas Dessert Pizza" and I found this. Doesn't it look good?

I am not gluten-free, but I occasionally enjoy cookies that are.

Curious about Native American recipes? You can find some here.

Book of the week: an adorable volume by The Novice Chef entitled Mini Donuts: 100 Bite-Sized Donut Recipes to Sweeten Your "Hole" Day.

I like it: Little chocolate cakes with rosewater frosting.

Pistachio cream cheese sugar cookies!!!!

OMG: you could still get free shipping on your order over $25! Use code AWESOME12 at cakespyshop.com.

A World in Which Chocolate Bars Cost $18

Recently, I was offered a sample of a new chocolate bar.

It's called Good & Evil, and it's a bar with a serious pedigree: it was designed by big names such as Eric Ripert, Tony Bourdain and Christopher Curtin of Éclat Chocolate. As I was informed, the bar is "made from extremely rare Peruvian cacao beans and studded with nibs, will make its official debut at the New York Chocolate Show on Friday, November 9."

Oh, and did I mention...it's $18 per bar?

Yes. You heard me. This bar of chocolate is $18 at eclatchocolate.com. 

Would I like a sample? Heck yes. I want to know what an $18 chocolate bar tastes like!

But while I waited for the bar to arrive, I had a good few days to fantasize about a world in which chocolate bars are $18. What else would happen in such a world, I wondered? Well, I was pretty sure that in this brave new world...

Or maybe...just maybe...a world in which there are $18 bars of chocolate is an opportunity to make the most motherfluffin' amazing s'more of your life.

Which is exactly what I did when I received the sample. Since this was a fancy s'more, I decided to use some of my leftover Walkers shortbread. A chocolate like this was worthy of something more delicious and fancier than a commercial graham cracker, in my opinion. But the marshmallows...I just used regular jet-puffed ones. Don't judge me.

You guys. It is possible that this was the best s'more ever made in the history of the world. It was buttery and expensive and sweet, all at once. The cheap marshmallows made it a sort of "silver spoon and paper plate" type of experience.

I don't think I can ever eat a "regular" s'more ever again. Gosh, is this like flying first class--you can never go back to coach, comfortably?

Oh, I'm kidding. The chocolate is very, very good--but I'll be honest, I don't know if I ever would have tried it if it hadn't been offered. But I sure enjoyed it once they did offer it to me.

It was a rather nice way to taste the "sweet life". Want a taste? It's available for $18 on eclatchocolate.com if you are curious.

Sweet Treats from Secret Marmalade

Their name is Secret Marmalade, but I want to go public with my love.

Let me tell you how it all happened. It all began over Twitter, where Secret Marmalade, a mail-order and special-order baking company based in California, asked how they might send samples to CakeSpy.

Well, let me tell you my little fingers couldn't type my address fast enough once I contacted them through their website. And a mere week or so later, along came a parcel of the most wonderful sort: one filled with candy and brownies.

Now, technically, although we're Twitter friends, we've never actually met in real life. Does this mean we're strangers? And in that case, was I accepting candy from a stranger?

Well, if that *is* the case, then my response is this: Avec plaisir. 

Candy was first up: Gingerbread Caramels. Believe it or not, I've never seen anyone do this (have you?) but I am so delighted that they did, because this is a killer flavor combo. Delightfully creamy-sticky caramel with a spicy kick? I love this stuff. Ideal gifting territory. And (cute) look at the ingredients!! They all had something like this--the last ingredient was "whimsy" or "joy" or something similarly cute.

Next up: the brownies. I was alerted that I should "taste gently" as the brownies had arrived on Friday as opposed to the anticipated Wednesday. I can taste gently.

So, ok, they had a slight crisp around the edges, but they were not over the hill. The first one I tried, the dark chocolate sea salt (pictured top and below), which, by the way, did not have eyes at the time I tasted it, was pretty amazing. It tasted strangely familiar, though, and that's when I realized: this was the gourmet, grown up version of the Little Debbie Fudge Brownies I so adored growing up (and, you know, now). I say that as a very high compliment. 

Next up: the Dark Chocolate Spicy Bourbon. How could you not love a brownie that looks like this?

Spicy with an almost caramelly tone, this was a very nice brownie. Good for adventurous sorts. 

Finally, Peanut Butter Brownies.

With a good brownie base, how could this chocolate nirvana not be improved with peanut butter? A fine version of a classic combination.

Well, Secret Marmalade has all these things and more--hit them up at secretmarmalade.com!

Almond Tuiles with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If you're busting with sweet curiosity like I am, you're probably looking at the photo above and thinking: "what exactly are those thingies?".

Those lumpy little things are in fact a rather exquisite and refined cookie known as the Tuile.

Now, to say "Tuile", I have a cue to indicate how you should pronounce it. It rhymes with "wheel"; now, say it in your Frenchiest voice. 

I googled "translation of tuile" and the resulting word was "tile". Perhaps this refers to the gentle shingle-like appearance the almond bits give the cookies? Whatever the meaning, these tiles are tastier than your typical siding or bit of caulked home decor.

The recipe was adapted by Alice Medrich (who you may recall I interviewed a while back) who adapted a recipe from The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking, with olive oil incorporated (you know how I love olive oil and sweets!). Here's what she has to say about it:

Crispy crunchy and elegantly thin, these almond cookies were adapted from a recipe by James Beard, using California Olive Ranch Arbequina olive oil instead of butter, and with the addition of a bit of lemon zest and extra salt for a contemporary balance of flavors. Classic tuiles are cooled over a rolling pin to resemble the roof tiles they are named for, but you can skip that step and make them flat if you like, or use my shortcut for making curved tuiles.

Anyhow. As a tuile newbie, I found this recipe decidedly user-friendly. The olive oil makes them seem fancy, so if you have foodie people to impress this holiday season, definitely bring these cookies on. Gently sweet, they'd be just as at-home on a cheese plate as they would paired with ice cream. Now that's versatile.

The recipe below has my notes in BOLD. 

Almond Tuiles with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Makes about thirty 3- inch cookies I got 24 but mine were more like 3.5 inches

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons (60 g) California Olive Ranch Arbequina extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar  
• 1 ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Scant ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4  (30 g) sifted* (before measuring) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 cup  (90 g) sliced almonds

*if you measure with a scale, there is no need to sift flour before measuring

Equipment:

• Baking sheets
• Heavy-duty foil (optional)
• A rolling pin or cylinder for shaping ( optional)

Procedure

1. Grease baking sheets with olive oil, or line them with foil, dull side facing up, and grease the foil.
2. Mix the olive oil, sugar, grated zest, salt, and eggs whites together thoroughly (I used a whisk).  Add the flour and stir until well blended. Stir in the almonds.  Let the batter rest for while the oven heats or for at least 15 minutes.
3. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees.
4. Drop teaspoons of batter 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.  Use the back of the spoon to smear the batter into a 2 ½ inch round. Bake, watching carefully, for 12-16 minutes, until the tuiles are deep golden brown at the edges and paler golden brown in the center. (If the cookies are not baked long enough, they will not be completely crisp when cool.) I was able to fit 8 cookies per sheet.
5. As soon as you can push a slim metal spatula under the cookies without destroying them, transfer each cookie to a rolling pin (for curved cookies) or a cooling rack.  If using foil, you can simply slide the foil sheet onto a rack to cool flat, or (for curved) tuiles, grasp the edges of the foil when the sheet comes from the oven (without touching the hot pan or the cookies) and roll it into a fat cylinder, gently curving the attached cookies like potato chips (I think: cannoli shells!).  Crimp or secure the foil with a paper clip. When cool, unroll the foil carefully and remove the tuiles. Flat or curved, tuiles are always easiest to remove from the foil when they are either very hot or completely cool. Do not let them cool too much or they will crack when shaped. I found that it was easiest to bake one sheet at a time for this reason. I used a piece of foil around the round dowel-y part of several wooden spoons to curve them - I found that the curve around a rolling pin was awkward and they tended to break when cooled because they didn’t stack as well as the more curved, cannoli-shell esque ones.
6. Repeat until all of the tuiles are baked.  To retain crispness, put the cookies in an airtight container as soon as they are cool.  May be stored airtight for at least 1 month.

Post-Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie with Shortbread Cookie Crust

It's considered good form to know when it's time to leave a party.

But what if you stayed and it ended up being mega-fun?

Sometimes erring on the side of caution is just no fun. I figure this is probably true when it comes to baked goods, too. Even though Thanksgiving was last week and in many people's minds, Pumpkin Pie Season has come to an end, I guess I'm just not ready to let the good times end. I still want to get high on pie.

...aaaand, I happened to have an extra can of pumpkin. So I decided to make a sort of cookie-pie hybrid with all of those Walkers shortbread cookies I still have on hand (they sent me samples and I've already made Million Dollar Shortbread Bars and Holiday Magic Bar Cookies).

So I followed a basic graham cracker crust recipe, but used crushed-up shortbread cookies instead. And then I filled it with my favorite (simple) pumpkin pie recipe, with a dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. I sprinkled the top with almonds and baked it up. When it came out of the oven, I thought what the hey--and sprinkled it with more shortbread bits.

Now, I've got to say, even after Pumpkin Pie Prime Time, this pie definitely knew how to warm up a cold winter night. Impatient, I served it still slightly warm--the sweetened condensed milk helps it stay kind of solid even while slightly warm--and topped with some ice cream which promptly began a beautiful melting process. Good Thanksgiving Spirt of the Mighty was this thing good! This is a fantastic pie-to-cookie-season hybrid. Enjoy. 

Pumpkin Pie with Shortbread Cookie Crust

For the crust

• 2 boxes crushed Walkers Highlander shortbread (or similar)
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

For the filling

• 1 can unsweetened unspiced pumpkin puree
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 eggs
• a mighty dash of cinnamon
• nutmeg and cardamom to taste
• A handful of almonds, and a few more crushed shortbread cookies, for topping

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom and up the sides (as much as possible) of a 9-inch pie plate.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and spices until smooth and incorporated. Pour into the pie plate on top of the crust, taking care not to disturb the freshly pressed crust.
4. Sprinkle the almonds on top. I added the shortbread cookies AFTER baking, but I don't think it would hurt to add them before baking.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until just jiggly in the center but set on the sides. 
6. Let cool as much as you can before serving.

A Sweet Introduction to the Dundee Cake

CakeSpy Note: this is a guest post from Cake Gumshoe Corina, who was kind enough to introduce me to this wonderful holiday cake!

There’s Something about the Dundee Cake... 

“There’s something about Mary”...  I am sure everybody remembers this Cameron Diaz film that is meant to make one smile, laugh and think more of the beauty of this simple name: Mary. One could say something similar: There’s something about Scotland. Indeed, there’s the breathtaking landscape, the jolly people, the scotch, the kilts and the Dundee cake.  

Also known as the Scottish Christmas Cake, the Dundee cake became popular at the end of the 19th century, though the roots are even older than that. Fruit cakes already existed in Scotland. While children may enjoy a cake with proper Christmas decorations, adults will find the combination of cake and whiskey simply irresistible. It’s light, with a crumbly texture and a great alternative to the luxury cakes filled with buttercream.

But how did it all start?

One story says that Mary Queen of Scots did not like cherries in her fruit cakes, so almonds had to be used instead. Another story tells us that what we now enjoy as a fine, luxury Christmas cake, was initially a mass produced cake by the marmalade company called Keiller’s. Keiller’s marmalade is believed to have been the first commercial brand of marmalade produced in Dundee, Scotland. Not that related to our Dundee Cake, the marmalade story is interesting enough to be mentioned.

So, a humble Dundee grocer, James Keiller, took advantage of a Spanish ship taking refuge from a winter storm in Dundee harbour. The ship was loaded with Seville oranges so he bought a large quantity of oranges for a paltry sum. He wanted to sell them, make some profit, but couldn’t, as they turned out to be rather bitter, so his wife decided to use them. That’s how marmalade became popular.

Many years later, a marmalade factory was opened in Dundee. And while the Keillers may not have been the authentic creators of the Dundee Cake, they definitely made it commercially available.

The main ingredients are: flour, butter, caster sugar, mixed peel, currants, raisins, sultanas, eggs, lemon juice, a little bit of milk, almonds and whiskey.  There are quite many recipes that are worth trying; a classic one can be found here.  

But the most important thing to remember is the use of whiskey. Some recipes come up with alternatives like brandy, or other spirits, but the authentic Dundee cake is the one that uses Whiskey. So make an effort and try to use this ingredient. Also, remember to soak the fruit at least a day before. The better soaked they are, the more intense you can feel their scent and aroma.

If you want a more special Christmas, you should really try a Dundee cake, or a British Christmas Pudding. And if you are not in the mood for baking, you can always pay a visit to Dunn’s Bakery, a family owned British bakery that started back in 1872. They use traditional British recipes handed in from generation to generation and make sure that the art of baking still remains an art.

Photo: Dunn's Bakery. To find Dunn's, you'll have to go to England and find them at 6 The Broadway, Crouch End, London; however, all of us can find them online here!

Holiday Magic Cookie Bars with a Shortbread Crust

It's been days, absolutely days, since the Thanksgiving feast, and you're looking awfully skinny.

Luckily, we have officially entered Christmas Cookie Season, so it won't be hard to remedy this situation. My esteemed sugary suggestion? Holiday Magic Cookie Bars with a Shortbread Crust. 

Now, if you already know what a Magic Cookie Bar (or 7-layer bar, or Hello Dolly Bar, etc) is, then you know that these decadent bar cookies, made with a buttery graham crust topped with a slurry of condensed milk, nuts, chocolate and/or butterscotch morsels, and coconut, are pretty much heaven on earth.

But there's always room for more magic, right? 

I got the idea for these bars when I spied Nestle Toll House Holiday Morsels (have you ever seen them? I hadn't!) in the grocery store, accompanied by recipe cards. Naturally I thought the bars would look adorable all dressed up for the holidays, and considering I still had a ton of shortbread from Walker's Shortbread (who sent me samples, and with which I've already made one of my new favorite things, Million Dollar Shortbread Bars), I decided to do a recipe mashup. 

And I can now report that yes, the bars get even better when you swap the graham crackers for crushed-up shortbread cookies in the crust. This magical union of shortbread, butter, and all of the delightful toppings makes for a sort of no-holds-barred extreme richness on all sides that will make your mouth and soul happy.

These are an ideal morsel for a cookie exchange or holiday party, as they're decadent to eat and festive to look at, too. As for the coconut haters? Sorry, but they're just not the same without!

Here's the recipe, adapted lovingly from "Yuletide Layer Bars" by Nestle Toll House.

Holiday Magic Cookie Bars with a Shortbread Crust

Makes about 24 - Active time 10 minutes, total time 1 hour 30 minutes, includes cooling

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• Shortbread crumbs (about 2-3 boxes' worth of Walkers Shortbread (I used this kind); less for a thinner crust, more for a nice fat crust)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used a mix of almonds and walnuts)
• 1 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• One bag Nestle Toll House Holiday Morsels
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Melt butter in a 13x9" baking pan in oven; remove from oven. Sprinkle shortbread crumbs over the melted butter; stir well, and press onto bottom of the pan (it might get hot, so press with a sheet of waxed paper or the back of a rubber spatula). Sprinkle the nuts and coconut (make sure they are evenly distributed). Gently, so it doesn't disturb your carefully laid-out toppings, pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over top in an even layer. If you need to distribute the milk, tilt the pan rather than stirring, as the crust might be torn up if you are too vigorous. Sprinkle the morsels on top.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing into bars with a very sharp knife.

Southern Belle Cupcake from Dream Cakes Gourmet Cupcakes, Santa Fe

Sometimes, a cupcake makes you want to purr. 

This is an experience I had recently (as in, there are probably still cake crumbs on my shirt) at a place called Dream Cakes Cupcakes in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

The retail space is small, tucked in a mall just off of the city's Plaza (downtown area). It is somewhat unassuming when you walk in, and the prices are somewhat hefty--$4.50 per cupcake. 

But the cupcakes are serious fatties--I don't like sharing cupcakes (at all) but here's one that I'd consider cutting in half and saving part 2 for later (sort of like...sharing with my future self). Because it's not quite 2 times the size of a regular cupcake, but 1.6 times the size of a regular cupcake. 

This picture (from their facebook page) may not portray the size, but it will show you the unusual square-ish shape they have.

Here's the menu.

The menu is pretty immense, about 50 flavors, but only certain ones are available daily. Generally, those will include their two bestsellers, the Chocolate-chocolate cupcake (I forget the name) and the "Armadillo"--the red velvet. I wanted to get the "Santa Fe" - a cornbread cupcake with green chile topped with a honey buttercream--but alas they were out for the day. The friendly man behind the register removed that flavor from the daily menu after he realized this cupcake was not in attendance.

He did give me a frosting shooter to soothe my broken heart.

So I went for my second choice--the "Southern Belle", a pecan cupcake with praline filling topped with cream cheese frosting. 

Looking into the Chinese takeout-style container (filled with cupcake!) this is what I saw. The man behind the counter (one of the owners) commented that he thought it was the prettiest of their cupcakes, and I agree that it was quite a looker. I didn't want to shut the lid for fear of disrupting the frosting.

I dug in to the container, using a fork. 

And after one bite, I wanted to go back and demand that they stop stuffing their cupcakes with crack, because that's just illegal.

OK, so the cupcakes are not stuffed with crack. But this one had an unmistakably buttery, rich vanilla birthday cake-y flavor, studded with delicious, sweet-salty praline gobs. It was good enough based on these merits, but add the cream cheese frosting and you have a combo that can make CakeSpy swoon.

I'll confess: based on the tiny interior and the prices and location, I had been slightly wary about this place as a tourist trap. But now that I have been, I must say that I am very impressed, and I am looking forward to going back and trying at least a baker's dozen more flavors.

66 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe NM; find out more info here.

Cake Byte: New Pin Design for Sale!

Here's a sweet little bit of news: there's a new pin design for sale in the CakeSpy online shop!

I created this pin for one of my wholesale accounts, Salt & Straw Ice Cream in Portland, OR; but you, two, can buy into the magic, even if you don't live in Portland!

You can buy the pins online here.

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that there are also some other great products in the store (including my book, although you could also enter to win a copy here), and through tomorrow, all orders over $25 will ship for free if you use the code AWESOME12 !

Once again: shop online here.

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

Use your Thanksgiving Pie leftovers in cinnamon rolls!

Or put your leftovers in a shake! YEAH!

Or go classy and make these cranberry sauce bar cookies.

Sweet guilty pleasure: Honolulu cookies.

Pie-tastic: San Francisco's finest pies.

My new favorite thing: Apple Cake Crisp.

Dessert with eggplant? I am intrigued.

I need--don't want, NEED--this Poppyseed Cake.

Win a copy of my book! (Or, buy my book! CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life!)

Probably the most important question ever.

I want to eat: Pumpkin Crumble Cake.

Important life skill: how to eat an entire birthday cake.

My favorite type of Christmas cookie is...this!