Do This: Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Bark

There really is no reason to improve sugar cookies, because they're already perfect.

But...sometimes even a perfect food likes to get festive for the holidays.

So recently, when I was baking some sugar cookies (because, you know, I was hungry), I thought: why not add a heaping handful of this peppermint bark that Willamette Valley Confectionery sent me? 

While of course the bark and the cookies were both good on their own, I figured it might taste good to try them together.

And so, I did.

And when the cookies baked up, they were a wonderful thing to behold. They were awfully pretty, with chocolatey peppermint hued thingies poking through the creamy coloring of the cookies.

But they were even better to put in your mouth.

You know how sugar cookies are awesomely buttery all over, soft on the inside, and lightly crunchy on the outside? Well, add an essence of peppermint to the whole thing, but a nice one, not a toothpasty one. A refreshing minty hint paired with all that buttery flavor? Oh my, were they ever a joy to munch and crunch upon.

So really, this is a long and poetic way of giving you a good cookie tip. Coarsely chop about 2 cups' worth of peppermint bark and fold it into your favorite sugar cookie batter before baking. I'm pretty sure you'll thank me.

Here's the recipe I used.  

Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Bark

Adapted from Pop Rocks Cookies

• 1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) butter
• 2/3 cup (4 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar till smooth. Add the buttermilk and vanilla, again beating till well-combined. The mixture may look a bit curdled; that's OK.
2. Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients, and beat until the mixture forms a cohesive dough. Fold in the pieces of peppermint bark. Reserve some pieces to press on top of the cookies (they look cuter that way).
3. Drop the dough in round blobs onto a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet. They should be a bit bigger than a ping-pong ball, a bit smaller than a golf ball. Using a cookie scoop (or, if you have one, a small ice cream scoop, one that will hold about 2 level tablespoons of liquid) makes this task extremely simple. Leave about 2 inches between the dough balls, as they'll spread as they bake. Let the cookies chill (on the sheet) in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking. They'll be nicer looking than mine, which I didn't let chill and they spread quite a bit.
4. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for about 12-14 minutes, or when they are just starting to brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

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.

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.

Morning Glory Muffins Recipe from Macrina Bakery

Oh, happy day! This is one of the few "healthy" muffins I deem delicious, and now, Macrina Bakery has shared the recipe. Be healthy for an hour or two on this post-indulgent day why don't you?

As Macrina says: "This is by far our most popular muffin, and customers have been requesting the recipe for years. I prefer fresh pineapple when possible, but the unsweetened, canned variety works just fine. Makes 12 Muffins."

Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup seedless raisins
• 1/3 cup walnut halves
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2-1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
• 3/4 cup chopped pineapple
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/3 cup coarse raw sugar

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush the insides of a muffin tin with canola oil.  
2. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let sit for 10 minutes while raisins plump, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. Set aside. Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then chop coarsely and set aside.  
3. Sift flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix gently with a wooden spoon and set aside. In a separate medium bowl, combine raisins, walnuts, carrot, apple, pineapple, eggs, canola oil, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and coconut, and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add dry ingredients and continue stirring just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. It’s important not to overmix.  
4. Scoop batter into oiled muffin tin, filling the cups to the top. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar on tops of muffins and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The finished muffins will be deep brown. Let cool for 20 minutes, then slide a fork down the side of each muffin and gently lift it from the pan.

Dessert Recipes from the Titanic

Erma Bombeck famously said, “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.” 

Which begs the question--what was on the Titanic's dessert cart? 

 Recently, I had an opportunity to find out. I was contacted by a promotions company connected to Las Vegas's Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, inquiring if I'd like to post some Titanic recipes for Thanksgiving. Well, the recipes they sent were all savory, not quite right for me, but when I gently noted that I only post dessert recipes on this site, I got a most excellent series of recipes in response, from the fantastic book Last Dinner on the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Legendary Liner.

Below you'll find updated versions of sweets served in First, Second, and Third class on the Titanic; each recipe also features a picture of the actual dishware used in each class. Just to make it completely clear: the cupcake illustrations are not meant to trivialize the tragedy which occurred on the boat, but are more meant to celebrate the lifestyle on the boat before it hit the iceberg. 

First Class (image of dishware at the top of post). As the headnote reads, "Of the many authentic Edwardian recipes we researched for this book, Waldorf pudding was one that eluded us. The recipe here is a modern invention based on three of the essential ingredients in the famous Waldorf salad--walnuts, raisins, and apples." 

Waldorf Pudding

• 2 large tart apples, peeled
• 1/2 cup sultana (golden) raisins
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, halved

Procedure

1. Thinly slice the apples. Stir in raisins, lemon juice, and ginger. In skillet, melt butter over high heat; add apple mixture and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until apples are lightly caramelized. Scrape apple mixture and syrup into 10-inch round glass baking dish. Reserve.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk just until bubbles form around edges. Whisking constantly, add some of the milk to the eggs; mix until well incorporated. Add remaining milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and remaining sugar; mix well. Pour over apple mixture.
3. Set baking dish inside a large roasting pan; pour enough boiling water in roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Place in 325 F degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until custard is set, but still jiggly in the middle. Carefully remove baking dish to cooling rack; sprinkle with walnuts. Cool to room temperature before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

Second Class was still pretty fancy, just not as tricked-out. One of the things at their table at dessert-time? American-Style Ice Cream! "At the time of the Titanic's maiden voyage, ice cream was extremely popular in both France and the United States. In France, egg yolks were added to make the mixture both richer and smoother. The American style, without any eggs, was popularized by Dolly Madison after her husband became president in 1809."

American-Style Ice Cream

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• Pinch salt
• 2 cups light cream
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped grated lemon zest
• 1 cup whipping cream

Procedure

1. In a small pot or microwave-proof dish, combine sugar, lemon juice, and salt; heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine light cream with lemon zest; heat over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until small bubbles start to form around the edges of the pot. Remove from heat. 
2. Whisk sugar mixture and whipping cream into lemon zest mixture until smooth. Place in refrigerator uncovered; cool completely, stirring often.
3. Pour mixture into ice-cream maker and proceed following manufacturer's instructions. Or, pour mixture into a chilled, shallow metal pan; cover and freeze for about 3 hours until firm. Break up into pieces and transfer to food processor; puree until smooth. Pour into chilled airtight container; freeze for 1 hour, or until firm. Soften in refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving. Makes 3 cups; serves 6.

Currant Buns:

"A staple of English Tea, these buns would have pleased the palates of the many british emigrants traveling in third class."

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup currants
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Procedure

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine warm water and 1 tablespoon of the sugar; sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, blend together remaining sugar, flour, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, and eggs. Stir in the yeast mixture until combined.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients; using a wooden spoon, stir in yeast mixture until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead for 8 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Transfer dough to a large, greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Punch down; turn out onto floured surface; knead in currants. Shape into a 12 inch long log. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces.
5. Roll pieces of dough into smooth, seamless balls (I laughed when I read this part, btw). Place buns (I laughed again) on greased baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each bun. Cover loosely and let rest for 30 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together icing sugar and water; brush over warm buns; let cool on rack. Makes 12 buns. 

Pom-tastic: Pomegranate Mousse Pie Recipe

A pomegranate is a pretty special thing. Once you get past the exterior, it's like a jewelbox full of rubies.

But if pomegranates are like little rubies, then this is the dessert equivalent of surrounding the rubies with diamonds and pearls and other sparkly wonderful stuff. Pomegranate Mousse Pie. Doesn't the name just make you tingle a little? It takes the pretty pomegranate, with its tart-sweet flavor, and gives it an awesome upgrade by way of mousse-ifying it to creamy perfection.

The creamy mousse is somewhat startling in its delightful tartness, which is a wonderful contrast to the creaminess. It works wonderfully together, and when paired with a crunchy cookie crust, you've got yourself a highly crave-able dessert.

I was lucky enough to sample this pie, created by Stacy Pearl of Walter Burke Catering, at the Pie Mania event in Santa Fe, NM; the pie-maker was generous enough to share the recipe. Lucky you!

Pomegranate Mousse Pie

By Stacy Pearl, Executive chef,  Walter Burke Catering; recipe also appears here.

Makes two pies

Ingredients

Per pie crust (make this twice):

• 1 ½ cups cookie crumbs- Graham cracker, chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers, or gingersnaps
• 6 ounces melted butter

For the filling

• ¼ cup pomegranate juice
• 1 pack (2 ¼ teaspoons) gelatin
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup Pomegranate Molasses
• 2 cups heavy cream divided ( 2 tablespoons added to white chocolate)
•  4 ounces chopped white chocolate
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
•  ½ cup powdered sugar

Procedure

1. To make the crust, mix melted butter with the cracker crumbs and press into the bottom of two 9 inch pie pans. Refrigerate till needed.
2. To make filling, put the pomegranate juice in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the top then stir a little with a spoon to mix it up.
3. In a small saucepan heat the pomegranate molasses with the cardamom till it comes to a boil. Pour over the softened gelatin and stir. Let cool to room temp.
4. In the meantime, melt the chopped white chocolate in the top of a double boiler with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Let cool. Whip up the remaining heavy cream till it starts to thicken and then add the extracts and the powdered sugar. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix a little more. Now add the white chocolate and whip to incorporate. Next add the pomegranate gelatin mixture and mix till smooth.
5. Pour mixture into prepared crusts and refrigerate for at least 3 hours till firm. Best if made the night before. Serve with a drizzle of orange rosewater syrup ( recipe to follow) and a sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds. This recipe makes two 9 inch  pies. This pie may be frozen.

Orange Rosewater Syrup

Ingredients

• 4 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• ½ cup rosewater
• ½ cup OJ concentrate
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon orange oil

Procedure

Boil the water and sugar till sugar is dissolved and then add the other ingredients. Simmer 5 minutes to thicken.

Million Dollar Shortbread Bars

If you are what you eat, then I'm rich, good-looking, and incredibly easy. Wait, what? Well, luckily I'm not what I eat, but what I'm calling Million Dollar Shortbread Bars (as a sort of homage to Millionaire's Shortbread, to which I'd consider these a cousin) are all of those things and more. 

Let me explain. It all went down after Walker's Shorbread sent me a big box of their goodies to use in my inventive baking experiments (hard life, I know). Now, I consider their shortbread good already, but I thought I could really make it sing by mashing it together with chocolate and almonds. And butter. Because...

Oh, I should also mention that I needed something fast--with no dessert on hand, this was something of a dessert 911. But who knew that what began as a quest for a quick and tasty dessert would yield such a treasure?

Here's what I did.

First, I crushed a box of Quadruple Chocolate Crunch Biscuits and a box of Pure Butter Vanilla Shortbread, mashing them together on pulse mode in a powerful blender, along with 3 tablespoons of melted butter. On a whim, I decided to add about 3 ounces of almond paste (you know, the kind in the silver tube). I pulsed until it was all nicely incorporated. Then, I pressed it into a pan and baked until nice and toasty.

Meanwhile, I melted about 4 ounces of chocolate with half a stick o' butter. When I took the crust out of the oven, I poured the melty chocolate on top, then sprinkled it with some toasted almonds (I toasted them in the residual heat of the oven after baking the crust) and a sprinkling of salt. 

And Oh. My. God. How to describe the experience of biting into one of these nuggets of pure pleasure? They are the perfect marriage of chocolate and shortbread and almonds, all wrapped together in a big, buttery hug. Oddly but not unpleasantly, the almond paste in the crust paired with the chocolate almost gave it a cherry-ish taste. A single bite is a powerhouse, stopping you in your tracks because you simply don't know how to handle all the awesome in your mouth. How could such complexity come from such a seemingly humble bite? Moreover, this is a dessert that is surprising, sublime, and overwhelming--so decadent that you think you should probably stop, but you just can't. Proof is evident by the fact that a friend and I ate almost the entire pan in one sitting (no, really). That's why all the pictures are of the same two little pieces of the bars. They were all that was left!

As previously mentioned, I've named them to give homage to Millionaire's Shortbread, but I've changed the name because they're related, but not quite the same. 

Million Dollar Shortbread Bars

Crust

• 1 box Quadruple chocolate crunch biscuits
• 1 box Pure Butter Vanilla Shortbread
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 ounces almond paste

Topping

• 4 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.

Combine the cookies and melted butter in a food processor or blender with a pulse mode. Press it into the pan and bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges (hard to see because of the chocolate; look for a dull, toasty finish). Remove from the oven. You can toast the almonds at the same time for a few minutes during the baking (it will take about 5 minutes or so to toast 'em).

While this bakes, melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat. Gently pour over the finished crust (it's ok if it is still quite warm) and spread as gently as possible so you don't tear up the delicate crust. Sprinkle the toasty almonds on top, and add a generous sprinkling of sea salt.  Let them cool before serving for optimum prettiness, but if you're greedy like me, eat them right away with the chocolate still melty on top. 

Simply Sweet: Butter Cookies with Sprinkles

I came across a wonderful quote, which goes as follows: "Cookies are made of butter and love." What a wonderful sentiment! I love the idea that these little sweet mouthfuls of sugary stuff are not only snacks, but also lumps of love. 

Speaking of lumps of love, one of my favorite examples is a cookie called the Kaleidoscope Cooky, from the fantastic book (one of the top three in my rotation): Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. These cookies are a very pretty specimen, as you can see here.

They're also very easy to make, with a wonderfully soft dough that yields a buttery, crumbly-chewy cookie. The only time consuming part really is tinting the dough and putting the pieces together to form multicolored treats.

But as I recently discovered, they're equally tasty and can dress up quite nicely as a simple untinted butter cookie.

Really, all you have to do to add color is use some multicolored sprinkles on the sides of the cookies to make them all cute. They work quite well if you use toothpicks to draw shapes or letters on them too!

Butter Cookies with Sprinkles

adapted from Kaleidoscope Cookies, adapted from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book  

Makes many (like 60)

 Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pound 6 ounces (about 4-½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup or so sprinkles or colored decorating sugar

 Procedure

1. In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment until it is creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and beat for several minutes, until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and no lumps of powdered sugar remain. Beat in the vanilla extract, then add the flour and beat until a soft dough forms.
2. Roll the dough into several logs about 1 foot long each. Place the sprinkles or decorating sugar on a large, shallow plate and roll each log to coat. Wrap the logs in wax or parchment paper and chill overnight or freeze up to a month.
3. Remove the dough from chilling--if it was in the freezer, let it warm up just until you can handle it, but not until it is soft Preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Unwrap the logs and, with a sharp knife, slice them into coins about 1/3-inch thick. Give 'em another roll in sprinkles for maximum coverage (optional). Place on ungreased cookie sheets (the cookies will not spread much as they bake).
5. Bake two sheets at a time for about 7-9 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until the cookies have firmed up but are not browned. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Mega Fun-Size Candy Bar

Every year around this time, I feel the need to rage against Fun-Size candy bars. I mean, come on people! There is nothing fun about a teeny-tiny candy bar.

But then, I had the most incredible idea to make the tiny bars more fun: I'd melt together about 100 of the mini bars to form a monstrous Mega Fun-Size Bar! Now that sounds like fun.

After practically breaking a five-minute mile running to the store to pick up a bushel of bags of the tiny bars, I set to work. I lined a 9x13-inch pan with a patchwork of small Snickers, Nestle Crunch, Butterfinger and Baby Ruth bars, gently heated it in the oven until it melted together, smoothed over the top with melted chocolate chips to make it a cohesive chocolatey mass, and decorated it with some festive sprinkles. I consider it a masterpiece: the different textures and flavors of the candy bars meld together in your mouth to form a treat that is mega-fun to eat. Say hello to the new fun-size.

Mega Fun-Size Bar

Makes 1 bar

Ingredients

• 4 bags (approximately 12 ounces each) Fun-Size candy bars; about 80-90 bars
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) milk chocolate or semisweet morsels

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a 9- by 13-inch pan with aluminum foil. Unwrap all of your fun-size candy bars. This may take a while.  
2. Line the bottom of the pan with your unwrapped candy bars. To keep things interesting, alternate the styles so that the different flavors are mixed up, forming a sweet sort of chocolate patchwork.  
3. Once you have lined the bottom of the pan with candy bars, make a second row, aligning the candy bars perpendicular to the ones below. This will help things melt fairly evenly.  
4. Place the pan in the oven until things start to get shiny and melty, about 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and scatter the chocolate morsels evenly on top of the candy bars. Return the pan back to the oven until the morsels have begun to melt, about 5 minutes longer.  
6. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a towel or heatproof surface. Very gently, so as not to burn yourself on the sides of the pan, use a butter knife or spatula to evenly smooth and spread the chocolate. You'll want to do this gently but fairly quickly.  
7. If desired, garnish with sprinkles. Let cool completely before serving (otherwise it will be very messy). Enjoy!