Home for the Holidays

To celebrate being home for the holidays with the family I decided to create some lovely treats to share.  First, Chocolate Truffles as stocking stuffer.  Second, absolutely fabulous bread rolls to go with the Christmas Eve dinner.  Third,  White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Zo-O's for Christmas dinner dessert.  These may have been my personal favorite.  The refreshing peppermint from the candy canes was stunning with the creamy white chocolate!  I will definitely be making more Ice Cream Zo-O's!  Fourth, the light and fluffy elegant homemade Marshmallows.  These are such a treat to make and even more to eat!  To go with these Marshmallows I used my Christmas present, Mexican Chocolate, and made delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate.  And to top it off, I also made loaves of Golden Raisin Toasted Pecan Bread with Dried Cherries to give to friends and family.  Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

 

 White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Zo-O's

 

Elegant Homemade Marshmallows

Holiday Update

To begin our upcoming holiday season I decided to make a Cranberry Golden Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Challah Bread, Double Chocolate Oreos, and a delicious batch of Cherry Almond Chocolate Biscotti's.  What a mouthful!  My Cranberry Golden Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Challah Bread is made with fresh cranberries, California golden raisins, and a local vietnamese cinnamon.  Not only does this make wonderful toast, but creates an aroma in the kitchen like no other.  The Double Chocolate Zo-O's with a Vanilla Bean Cream with a steamed milk is just what you need will snuggled up in snow.  And last but not least is the Cherry Almond Chocolate Biscotti's with a White Chocolate drizzle.  There is no better way to begin this white winter wonderland season.  Happy Holidays!

 

Cranberry Golden Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Challah Bread

 

Double Chocolate Zo-O's with a Vanilla Bean Cream

 

The Lovely Cherry Almond Chocolate Biscotti's with White Chocolate drizzle

A Time to give Thanks

Thanksgiving is more than just a time to feast, it is a time to give thanks  and to be grateful, and for this holiday- to be grateful for all of the food and flavors!  To celebrate this holiday, I decided to create a decadent apple cranberry golden raisin pie along with a spectacular pumpkin pie.  Also, to top it off, I mixed up some toasted pecan gelato.  As the leftovers and holiday began to go, I thought some lovely gingersnap biscotti's with a white chocolate would be a great way to lift the spirits up again. What a feast!

Apple Cranberry Golden Raisin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Gingersnap Biscotti's with White Chocolate 

The 3 C's...Caramel, Chocolate, and Coconut...

 

 

Coconut Macaroons drizzled with Chocolate and Caramel Turtles, what a lovely way to spice up the weekend.  Thursday was the beginning of our snowy season in Saugatuck, Michigan, and whats a better way to celebrate than to make some snowballs.  In the kitchen of course!  These macaroons were a fabulous treat for any day.  Once these little guys were eaten up, I decided to go swimming in a sea of Caramel Turtles.  The caramel and chocolate go great with pecans.  Perfect for my cookie exchange get together.  This is a dessert you definitely cannot miss! 

The Beginning Of Winter

 

To start off the new season, I created a lovely combination of Pumpkin Mousse, Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla Bean Cream, and a Whole Wheat Crust.  I call them the Pumpkin Mousse Tarts.  This crust is filled with a layer of chocolate ganache, then a layer of pumpkin mousse, then topped with a vanilla bean cream.  All of them were gone within the next day!  The pumpkin and chocolate just make your tastebuds jump with joy of the new winter season.

Fall Flavors

As fall approaches, new flavors are reaching the farmer's market.  This weekend we decided to get some pumpkins and Jonagold apples.  About 99% of the time, I tend to chose the non-processed or canned food, to use in my baking.  So, before I could make the biscotti's I had to make some pumpkin-puree.  If you are looking to color all of your clothes orange, definitely start making some pumpkin puree.  Although, the homemake pumpkin puree is way better than the canned supermarket pumpkin.  So as you can guess here what was on the menu...Caramel Apples and Pumpkin Biscotti's...can you say delicious!  For my Homecoming dinner, I surprised my guest with a lovely dessert of Caramel Apples and Pumpkin Biscotti's.  

Something For You To Taste

Hello followers, I am sorry that my blog has not been updated in the past few months.  Anyhow, I am updating right now.  Aren't I?  I am going to get back to the weekly updates after this post, but for now here is a taste of what I have been up to.

Cody's One of a Kind Double Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

 

 

(after then before) Farmer's Market Blueberry Peach Pop Ups

Mini Lemon Cakes with Sweetened Whipped Cream Frosting, Lemon Curd, and Fresh Raspberries and Blueberries

Double Chocolate Cake and Sweetened Whipped Cream with Raspberries and Blueberries

Cinnamon Apple Pop Ups 

Carrot Cake with Honey Frosting

And last but not least, our famous Jonagold Homemade Caramel Apples (fresh picked from Crane's Orchard), with Semi-sweet Chocolate and Walnuts.

I hope this little tasting gives you much delight because there is much more to come this Fall!  Enjoy!

Reminder- Everything mentioned on my blog is homemade from scratch.  From the Sweetened Whipped Cream, Caramel, Lemon Curd, etc.  Also, everything baked is made with organic local ingredients.