Like most Italian foods, so simple, and so good.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups walnut halves or large pieces
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with baking mat.

Combine the walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor and process to make a fine meal the texture of sand. Transfer to a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg. Use a fork to briefly whisk the egg, then begin incorporating the nuts until everything is thoroughly combined, finishing the mixing with your hands. The dough will be quite moist and a little sticky.

Divide the dough into quarters. On a flat surface, shape one piece of the dough into a 6-inch log about 1 inch high, flattening the sides to make a bar about 1 inch on each side. Cut the bar into 3/4-inch segments to make eight pieces.

Space the cookies evenly on the prepared baking sheet, standing upright (not on a cut side) with 1 inch of space all around for spreading. Repeat with the remaining bars to make thirty-two cookies.

Bake the cookies on the upper oven rack for about 15 minutes, until they are golden all over. Let cool on the pan.

I worked with this recipe here.

Sweet, salty, chocolatey, gooey.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CARAMEL:

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ cuP sour cream

FOR THE BROWNIES:

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, more for greasing pan
1 ¼ cup  flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate coarsely chopped
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup  firmly packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Coarse sugar and flaky salt, for sprinkling

Make the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup with 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat, stirring gently, until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees or until the mixture is dark amber in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, slowly pour in heavy cream and salt (it will foam up) and whisk. Whisk in sour cream (it may look lumpy at first) and set aside to cool. Taste and add salt if needed to give the caramel a good balance of salty and sweet.

Make the brownies: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use butter (or baking spray) to lightly grease a 9-x-13-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and butter or spray the parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt and cocoa powder.

Melt chocolate and butter together, either in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, or in a microwave at low heat, working in 30-second bursts. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and combined. Whisk in sugars. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Using a sturdy whisk, add eggs one by one, whisking just until combined. Stir in vanilla.

Gently pour chocolate mixture over flour mixture. Using a spatula, fold together just until few streaks of flour are visible; do not overmix.

Pour batter into the pan and let settle. Drizzle caramel sauce over batter until batter is almost covered. (You may not use all the caramel.) On the surface, use the tip of a butter knife or icing spatula to swirl the batter and caramel together. Don’t worry if it looks messy.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. At the 30-minute mark, shake the pan gently to test for doneness. When done, the brownies will be barely set in the center and puffed, but not dry, around the edges. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with coarse sugar and salt.

Let cool to room temperature before cutting. After cutting, if desired, drizzle any remaining caramel over the top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

I got the recipe here.

 

These are light and have flavor. 😉

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup melted butter
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease two 6-cup muffin tins or fill with liners. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in coconut and sunflower seeds. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg and buttermilk. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture and stir until just combined.

Fill muffin tins or liners; bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are puffed and turning golden brown on top. Serve warm if possible.

My nephews grandmother always made these on Greek Easter. I like to keep up traditions.

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons anise-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Sesame seeds

PREPARATION

Mix honey, 2 tablespoons liqueur and juice in small bowl. Set glaze aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter baking sheets. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons liqueur, and lemon peel. Gradually mix in dry ingredients.

Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll dough between palms and work surface into 7-inch ropes. Form into bow ties or twists. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Brush glaze over cookies. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake cookies until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Lightly brush cookies again with glaze. Cool.

This is an easy and delicious recipe for making something that tastes ridiculously good. Reprinted from the NY Times.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 ounces of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup  rye flour
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup baking soda
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Mustard (for eating)

DIRECTIONS
Combine 1½ cups lukewarm water (110 to 115 degrees), yeast and honey in a large bowl; stir to combine. Add the rye flour, 2¾ cups all-purpose flour and kosher salt; stir again.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 12 to 15 minutes, adding up to ¼ cup all-purpose flour if needed, until the dough is soft and smooth but not sticky. (Tip: to prevent dough from sticking to hands, rub a small amount of melted butter or vegetable oil on them.)

Lightly brush a large bowl with some of the melted butter. Shape the dough into a ball, seam side down, and transfer to the bowl; brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm spot for up to 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Lightly brush two parchment-lined baking sheets with butter. Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 12 pieces. With your hands, roll one piece into a snake with thinly tapered ends, about 16 inches long. (Cover remaining pieces with plastic wrap while working.) Transfer to prepared baking sheet, looping one end, then the other, over the midpoint of the roll, making a pretzel shape. Repeat with remaining dough. Let the pretzels rest 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, placing two racks in and above the center of the oven. Meanwhile, bring 10 cups water to a boil in a large pot. When the pretzels are ready, stir the baking soda into the boiling water. (Note: if you double the recipe, make a fresh pot of the baking-soda wash for each batch.) Gently lift 2 or 3 pretzels, depending on the surface area of your pot, and slide them into the bath, knot side down. Poach for 30 seconds, turn them over and poach 30 seconds more. Using a long-handled mesh strainer, transfer the pretzels to a kitchen-towel-lined sheet tray to drain, then return them to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle freely with sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, turning the trays halfway through, until dark brown. Transfer to a cooling rack until just cool enough to eat. Brush the tops with melted butter, if you like. Serve with mustard.

Rich chocolate and raspberry jam. Just add milk.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chopped chocolate
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup flour
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup raspberry jam

DIRECTIONS

Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in double-boiler. Do not overheat.

Whisk sugars into melted butter and chocolate, then eggs, one at a time. wish in vanilla, baking soda and salt.

Sift in cocoa powder then flour. Mix until just blended.  Folk in chocolate chips then raspberry jam.

Refrigerate for at 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 f. Scoop onto lined cookie sheet using small ice cream scoop. Cook for 11 to 12 minutes.  You want them to be chewy in the middle.

I worked with this recipe.

Melted butter, gooey brown sugar, and pineapples atop a cardamon cake.

INGREDIENTS

For topping:

1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make topping:

Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Make batter:

Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in the milk, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

 

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

I worked with this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. unsalted butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. corn flour (cornstarch)
1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

Grease or line small cake tins or muffin tin. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, salt, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.

Make the meringue by whisking egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. You can beat with a stand mixer or handheld mixer. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

Take 1/3 meringue and fold into the cheese mixture, then fold in another 1/3 of meringue. After incorporated, pour the batter back to the remaining 1/3 meringue and fold. FOLD GENTLY. Pour the mixture into small cake pan or muffin tin.

Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 45 minutes or until set and golden. Chill for 4 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

I got the recipe here.

Or you can call them FBCCYCEFBTBYM Cookies for short. Maybe a hashtag? A guy named Dr. Jockers made these so I couldn’t resist.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup protein powder
1/4 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 cup of water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

 

Roughly chop sunflower seeds or other nuts you may wish to use in the blender until broken up into chunks.

 

Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir together, if you notice that it is too crumbly than try adding in another tablespoon of coconut oil and possibly more water.

 

 

Scoop cookies onto a cookie tray.

 

Gently press the cookies down to flatten.

 

Makes about 18 cookies.

 

Bake for about 15 minutes.

I got the recipe here.

I guess I have chocolate on my mind this weekend. So light and fluffy

INGREDIENTS

8oz bittersweet chocolate
6 tablespoons butter
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees with the rack in the center. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until completely melted. Let cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar, and continue beating until glossy stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then gently fold in remaining egg whites.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack; remove sides of pan. Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

I got the recipe here.