I make quite a bit of homemade ice cream, with lots of those ice cream recipes using egg yolks. I am down for an egg white omelet on occasion, but what to do I do with all those other egg whites? My favorite way to use up extra egg whites is by making these Easy Meringue Cookies!
These Easy Meringue Cookies have just five ingredients and take less than 20 minutes prep time! As with all meringue recipes, these easy meringue cookies are baked at a low temperature and then sit in the cooling down oven to further bake and harden.
Note: I was sent a review copy of Domenica Marchetti’s Italian Cookies: Authentic Recipes and Sweet Stories from Every Region in order to write this post for Biscotti Ricci Del Gattopardo. Opinions are mine alone.
This summer, my husband and I are celebrating our anniversary in style: we are heading to Sicily and Rome! So, when this Italian Cookies (paid link) cookbook showed up on my doorstep, I immediately paged through to the “Cookies of the Islands” chapter to find myself a Sicilian cookie to try. This recipe for Biscotti Ricci Del Gattopardo (The Leopard’s Rippled Almond Cookies) caught my eye immediately.
This Italian Cookies cookbook is a treasure trove of mouthwatering cookie recipes from all regions of Italy, along with stories and background on the cookies within the cookbook… there are over 100 cookie recipes in this beautiful cookbook, including classics like pizzelle, cuccidati, anisetti, and amaretti.
The cookies I chose to make, Biscotti Ricci Del Gattopardo, get their name from the novel Il Gattopardo by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. In the book, the prince of Salina visits a monastery where Benedictine nuns make these tasty almond-based cookies (you can actually still buy them at the convent of Palma di Montechiaro in Sicily).
In this cookbook, Domenica Marchetti adapted the original recipe to use a cookie press (paid link) rather than piping out logs (hence these cookies known as “rippled” almond cookies), which speeds up the process without messing with the flavor!
Ingredients:
2 cups superfine almond flour, plus up to 1/2 cup optional almond flour if needed
These Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are a bit out of my cookie baking comfort zone. I tend to stay away from any holiday cookies that use royal icing — I don’t usually have the patience for decorating cookies so I lean toward drop cookies for most of the ones I make.
But this year, I figured it was time to try a fairly easy decorated holiday cookie – Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies!
These sugar cookies are topped with royal icing and then are decorated with strings of Christmas lights which are made with black icing and mini M&M’s.
The resulting Christmas Lights Sugar Cookies are colorful, fun, and oh so tasty!
Ingredients (makes approximately 2 dozen cookies)
Sugar Cookies:
1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (reserve your egg whites!)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Royal Icing:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract (can substitute vanilla extract to make nut free)
This recipe for Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream is inspired by one of my favorite dessert recipes on this blog: my Tahini Millionaire Bars. If you haven’t tried my Tahini Millionaire Bars yet, I strongly suggest you check out that recipe!
So what is Tahini Millionaire Ice Cream? It is tahini flavored ice cream with homemade salted caramel and chocolate ganache swirls, and it is going to be one of your new favorite ice cream flavors!
Ingredients (makes about 1 quart):
Tahini Ice Cream:
1 cup tahini, stirred well
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tablespoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Homemade Caramel (you can also use store bought):
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
I’m back with another cookie recipe using some of my favorite OXO tools, specifically OXO’s cookie press, disk set, and Ceramic Pan!
Every year, OXO supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer and the fight against pediatric cancer. Before I share my cookie recipe for Spritz Cookies, I want to share a bit about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (CFKC) is a nonprofit founded by two OXO employees after their son, Liam, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Through grassroots bake sales across the country, CFKC raises funds to develop new, improved and less toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Liam Witt’s legacy lives on as the organization works toward a cure for pediatric cancer, helping children and families everywhere.
Every year, OXO supports CFKC by encouraging people to bake and share.
For every cookie baked, OXO donates $1 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer up to $100,000, so here is my new cookie this year to support the cause and spread the word!
Here are some of my old cookie swap and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer posts, in case you’re in a baking mood:
It’s no secret how much I love ice cream, but I haven’t really tried to make much at home. With the beautiful weather we have been having, I figured it was time to try! I happened to have some shelled pistachios on hand, so why not make some Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream?
Pistachio ice cream is one of my absolute favorite flavors, and I had no clue how easy it was to make my own homemade version!
I absolutely love cranberry sauce, but with all of the other delicious sides on Thanksgiving, my family and I rarely finish the entire can. This recipe for Cranberry Turnovers takes your leftover cranberry sauce and turns it into a simple and delicious breakfast!
I adapted this recipe from Country Living, although I kept it fairly close to the original.
Ingredients (serves 8):
1 (17.3 oz package) Puff Pastry, thawed
8 oz cream cheese
2 egg yolks
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
1/2 cup leftover cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon almond extract (or vanilla extract to make nut free)
This past weekend was my husband’s birthday. So to celebrate, I made him a special treat with some of his favorite ingredients: Almond Peach Crisp! My husband absolutely loves peaches, so I try to make him peachy foods from time to time.
This recipe makes about two servings, but can easily be multiplied to serve a crowd (I was afraid if I made too much, he’d eat it all in one sitting!)
Ingredients (serves 2, multiply as needed):
Peach Filling:
2 (10 oz bags) frozen sliced peaches, defrosted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
a pinch of salt
Almond Crumble:
1/4 cup each of:
flour
old-fashioned oats
brown sugar
sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
I’m so excited to be a part of the 2021 Good Cookie Food Blogger’s Valentine’s event this year! The event brings a bunch of food bloggers together to post a Valentine’s Day themed recipe as a way to bring awareness and hopefully raise some money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, so I decided to make these Valentine’s Day Almond Flour Brownies.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer. This is an organization that I try to bring awareness to whenever I can. This is actually my 12th post highlighting them!
Cancer is the #1 cause of death of children by disease in the U.S. There are 40,000 U.S. children actively battling cancer right now. The National Cancer Institute’s budget for childhood cancer is less than 4%. It’s such a small number and that’s why I got involved. And with the ongoing pandemic, children are still being diagnosed with cancer. It’s imperative that we raise awareness and continue to raise funds to fund the ongoing pediatric cancer research!
Help us make a difference by donating to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer! Our goal is to raise at least $3000. Because OXO, Mediavine and Dixie Crystals have each pledged to match our donations raised through this campaign up to $3000! That means when we raise $1, it turns into $4!
Thank you to so many of you who have already donated, please help us reach our goal so we can get the full matching donations and help us make an even huge difference! So if you’re in a position to do so please consider donating today.
Now for the recipe. This recipe was inspired by my husband, who I’m pretty sure has never met a dessert he didn’t like. He is particularly fond of anything chocolatey and covered in sprinkles. So I decided to bake him chocolate almond flour brownies topped with heart sprinkles.
I am a big fan of my slow cooker (I have 50+ slow cooker recipes on my blog); especially recipes I can set them and walk away (or leave my house) for 4 to 8 hours. But like a lot of people, I’ve been home quite a bit more, given the pandemic, so I decided to try to make a recipe that requires you to stay a bit closer to your slow cooker – Slow Cooker Granola.
My mother-in-law mentioned making granola in her slow cooker, and how great the results were, so I wanted to try to make my own version!
This recipe is very adaptable, you can substitute in any nut, oil, liquid sweetener, and dried fruit you prefer. This recipe also makes a good amount of granola, but if your house is anything like mine, it will be gone before you know it!
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats (use gluten-free oats to ensure this is gluten-free)
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds (or any nut you prefer; omit to make nut-free)
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon each of
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
salt
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup agave (or maple syrup or honey if you prefer)
1 tablespoon almond extract (or vanilla extract to make nut-free)
Note: I was sent a bottle of Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
It seems like everyone has really taken to home baking while staying-at-home during this pandemic. I’ve been impressed with everyone’s sourdoughs, banana breads, and other baked goods! So why not add another awesome option to your repertoire: Cinnamon Rolls, or more specifically, Brioche Cinnamon Rolls!
Nielsen-Massey recently published a new video showing how to Knead Dough by Hand, which comes in handy while making this recipe.
This recipe for Brioche Cinnamon Rolls is based off a recipe from the Nielsen-Massey website as well.
Ingredients:
Dough:
2 tablespoons milk
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups flour, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large whole eggs, divided
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cubed
Cinnamon Roll Filling:
1 cup almond flour
1 egg white
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract
Vanilla Icing:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract
NOTE: I was sent a container of BetterBody Foods Organic Chia Seeds in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
Breakfast cookies. Those should totally be a thing, right? I was recently sent Organic Chia Seeds from BetterBody Foods, and I wanted to try to use them in a way I haven’t already, so Breakfast Pudding, Chocolate Pudding, Jam, and Muffins were out. But for whatever reason, I tend to think of Chia Seeds as a breakfast food, so I started thinking about some of my other favorite breakfast ingredients, and these Chia Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies were born!
Chia Seeds also can be used as an egg substitute when baking, so I decided to make these cookies both vegan and gluten free.
These little guys have a ton of flavor and are surprisingly filling! Chia seeds have a ton of fiber; when eaten with peanut butter and oats, it’s a great way to help feel fuller longer.
Before I share the recipe for these absolutely amazing Tahini Millionaire Bars, I first wanted to describe what a traditional Millionaire Bar is. Millionaire Bars, or Millionaire Shortbread, are layered bars consisting of shortbread, caramel, and chocolate.
I love making millionaire bars as a make ahead dessert for parties.
Recently, I was experimenting with the concept of millionaire bars, but wanted to try to incorporate a new flavor into the mix – tahini!
Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds and has a consistency a bit thinner than peanut butter. The nutty flavor works great with chocolate and caramel!
This recipe for Tahini Millionaire Bars also uses almond flour to bring out even more nuttiness, so these bars are also gluten free!
My mom’s birthday was earlier this week and I wanted to make her a treat to celebrate. She might be citrus’ biggest fan, so I knew I had to incorporate a couple of citrus components into it. This Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake was the result!
