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| Enlightened Linzer Cookies |
F-stop has a wicked sweet tooth, so for Valentine's Day, I made him some Heart-Felt Linzer Cookies. [The recipe will, of course, appear in my new cookbook.] Traditional Linzer cookies tend to be so heavy that you need to take a nap after eating one. Mine are lighter and impart a subtle citrus flavor, thanks to the addition of some lemon zest. The brightness of the citrus contrasts nicely against the puckery-sweetness of the raspberry jam.
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| All packed up and ready to go |
You can make Linzer cookies using
special cookie cutters
, like the one I used for the circle cookies. But you can also get creative and use two
cookie cutters
of the same shape, in two different sizes, as I did with the heart-shaped cookies. You simply cut out two cookies using the larger cutters. Then you cut a little "window" from one cookie, using the smaller cutter, to make the top.
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| Chocolate-Covered Strawberries: not just for Valentine's Day |
I also made F-stop some chocolate dipped strawberries and pretzels. The recipe will appear in the cookbook, but it's so simple that a formal recipe is almost not warranted. Just melt some best-quality dark chocolate buttons (I recommend
Valrhona,
with a minimum 70% cacao content) along with a pat of non-hydrogenated shortening to thin out the chocolate. Then, dip away. You can dip anything you like: strawberries, pretzels, cookies, orange slices, crystalized ginger, frozen bananas, raisins, etc.
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| Mandarin Orange Upside-Down Cake |
Inspired by a can of Mandarin oranges calling out to me from my pantry, I created this Mandarin Orange Upside-Down Cake. It's as gooey and comforting as it looks; I had to give most of it away to avoid eating it all in one day! It's best eaten warmed with a dollop of vanilla or dulce de leche soy ice cream.
