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While searching for mini-desserts to round out my Christmas dessert platter I came across this terrific recipe from Better Homes & Gardens called Chocolate Raspberry Tassies. These tiny little cups are made of a tasty chocolate pastry, topped with a chocolate raspberry filling and finished off with a swirl of chocolate buttercream...rich and decadent, you only need one (or two!) to top off a terrific meal. The best part was I could make these a couple of days in advance, which is perfect for this busy time of year! Try them for yourself or as a treat for any chocolate lover. Here is how you can make your own:

You can find the entire recipe here. I broke this recipe down into three separate parts: the pastry, the filling, and the frosting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. You will also need a 24 cup mini-muffin pan.

Pastry: Start with the pastry to give it time to chill before baking. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Process Cocoa Powder) and salt in a food processor. Add 1/2 cup cold butter cut into cubes and process until crumbly. Add one egg yolk mixed with two tablespoons cold water and pulse processor until a dough ball forms (you may need to add a bit more water). Cover and refrigerate dough until firm enough to make into balls. When dough is firm, divide into 24 equal sized balls. Press one ball into each cup of the mini-muffin pan. When finished, place pan in fridge to chill.
Filling: In a small saucepan melt together the butter and chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in egg, sugar, raspberry liqueur (or raspberry extract or raspberry syrup) and vanilla extract. Remove mini-muffin pan from fridge and fill each pastry cup with one tablespoon of the filling and bake for around 12 to 15 minutes. Let pan cool for 10 minutes then run a sharp knife around the edgies of each tassie to loosen from pan. Remove the tassies from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Buttercream Frosting: While the tassies are cooling mix 1/4 cup softened butter with 1 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Process Cocoa Powder) in electric mixer. Beat in 2 tablespoons of milk. Gradually beat in 1 cup more powdered sugar until frosting reaches a piping consistency. Place frosting in piping bag with star tip and pipe little swirls or rosettes on top of each tassies. I sprinkled clear sparkling sugar on top for some shine! Store tassies in an airtight container in the fridge or cool area until ready to use. I made mine three days in advance and they tasted fantastic! Try them for a Valentines Day treat.....

I decided that this years Christmas desserts would be "mini" since everyone is always so full at the end of the meal! I had Spiced Rum Balls, Assorted Mini Biscotti, Mini Ginger Cardamom Cookies, Chocolate Raspberry Tassies and Mini Lemon Meringue Pies in crisp phyllo shells. I used some frozen lemon curd that I had made earlier from Meyer Lemons from the back yard. I came up with the idea to use red and green giant gumdrops as stands for the little flags that tell you what each treat is called. Oh but wait, I also had another table set up with some miscellaneous baking that I had finished for the arrival of my sister from San Diego.... If i don't bake up a bunch of stuff she gets a little testy! :-) Clockwise starting from the top: Crispy Meringue Cookies (I made these at the last minute with the left over meringue from the Mini Lemon Meringue Pies), next are Caramel Crunch Bars (I will post about these! Really good!), Peanut Butter Cookies with Mini Peanut Butter Cups mixed in. I came across the cutest little peanut butter cup candies at Trader Joes, thought they would be a good mix-in for peanut butter cookies and they are terrific! Next: Ginger Cardamom Cookies, Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies, and a bowl full of my Maple Brown Sugar Bourbon Nut Brittle.... Can you feel the sugar rush coming on?? and to top it all off, we had a box of Trader Joe's Jo-Jo's on the table because what is Christmas without Jo-Jo's (right Annette??), if you've never experienced Jo-Jo's they are Trader Joe's Christmas-Only version of really good Oreo's... the inside cream is peppermint! Perfect for the holidays! What did you make for Christmas dessert this year?

Okay, so my cat has nothing to do with cookies or cakes but I think her pic is so sweet she deserved a spot on the blog! She is laying on my Christmas pajamas on the bed and i stuck one of my Christmas socks on her head! She is such a good kitty and her name is Baby! And Baby is 17 years old! I am wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday and a very Happy New Year!

Here is a picture of my new and improved gingerbread house....it's new and improved because when I took a look at it the other morning I noticed that my once enclosed house had become a convertible style house.....

yep, the whole back side of the roof slid right off! I am used to small losses, like icicles falling off and candies falling off- that's why I always keep a backup arsenal of icing to fix any mishaps but the roof falling off was kinda major. Luckily it fell off in one one piece! But wait.... then I noticed that all my sugar windows were falling off! They get kinda sticky and they just started sliding down the wall! Grrrrr..... I thought the windows were a lost cause but my dad suggested creating an icing "ledge" on the inside for them to sit on when they start melting again! Works great! To further seal them on I created "snow" on the front of all the windows which helped hide the windows that got broken. I figure with all that icing crammed on there it ought to last til Christmas! Then my dad and I re-glued the roof on with TONS of icing inside and out....and then I re-icicled the roof, filled in any holes and this is how it came out:

Actually, I like my new and improved gingerbread house better that before. You can't even tell where the "mistakes" are....I think the snow on the windows adds some nice detail and it make the lights on the inside glow even more nicely! Like i've said before, icing hides all mistakes!

What are you serving for Christmas morning? Everyone I know loves Cinnamon Rolls and Coffee Cake... so this year I am making a Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake! This recipe is terrific, you can mix up the topping, streusel, dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately in their own bowls the night before. Christmas morning all you need to do is preheat the oven, assemble the cake and bake. Everyone should be awake by the time its finished baking (and if they aren't the smell will surely wake them up!) ready to dig into a nice big slice with a cup of coffee or homemade hot cocoa and marshmallows! This cake has it all: toasted nuts, sticky caramel, warm soft coffee cake and spicy streusel filling! Its great warm and gooey outta the oven or try it at room temperature the next day (if there is any left!). This cake stays nice and moist. If you want to re-heat, use a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes. Note that you need a 9" round cake pan with 2" sides to accommodate all the batter (thanks for the new pans Gigi)! Here is how you can make your own:

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake adapted from Cuisine At Home Magazine
Makes one 9" cake
Total time: About 1 1/2 hours

For the Caramel-
Stir Together in a measuring cup:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt

Sprinkle:
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (toast whole pecans in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly then chop)

For The Streusel-
Process:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, diced
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

For The Cake-
Whisk Together in a measuring cup:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt (I used plain with 2 tsp. vanilla extract)
2 eggs
Sift Together:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Cream:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; coat a 9" cake pan with 2" sides  with pam. Place pan on a cookie sheet. [Pan needs to have 2" sides or the cake may overflow.] Stir together brown sugar, cream, and salt for the caramel. Pour into prepared pan and spread to coat the bottom. Sprinkle pecans over the caramel. Process brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and salt for the streusel in a food processor. Pulse until it looks sandy; set aside Whisk buttermilk, yogurt, and eggs together for the cake in a measuring cup with a pour spout. Whisk flour, baking powder, soda, and salt into a bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer just until combined.

Alternate dry and wet ingredients by hand with spatula, starting and ending with the dry. Blend each addition just until incorporated. I blended by hand with a spatula so that I wouldn't over beat and get a tough cake. Spread half the batter over the caramel, then sprinkle with half the streusel. Carefully spread remaining batter over that and top with remaining steusel. I used my damp fingers to manipulate the batter smoothly over the nuts and streusel. Worked better than any spatula! Bake 50-60 minutes (make sure to keep the pan on a cookie sheet to catch any overflow), or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake for 5 minutes on a rack, then run a paring knife around the sides to loosen. Invert onto a serving platter while hot, then let cool slightly before slicing. Store at room temperature in air-tight Tupperware.

Rum Balls are a traditional Christmas treat but most of the recipes I've come across use crushed vanilla wafers or chocolate cookies, not this recipe! These Rum Balls are made with a rich, dark chocolate brownie base that is crumbled and mixed with dark spiced rum (I've spiked mine with vanilla beans!) to create the most delicious "dough" that is then rolled into little balls and coated with sparkling sugar! This recipe in simple, easy and tastes amazing! These balls are best served chilled or at least cool to hold their shape well. They make a terrific addition to any gift basket and are a very welcome hostess gift as well. Here is how you can make your own:

You can find the entire recipe for Rum Balls here. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Generously coat a 12"x17" rimmed baking sheet with Pam and set aside. In a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth and combines. Set bowl aside to cool slightly. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture, then mix in the flour. You will have enough batter to create a shallow layer in the baking sheet. Spread the batter evenly over the baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Let cake cool completely. After cake has cooled, break into small pieces and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. I like the turn on the machine and let it break up the cake into small crumbs. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the rum (I used a Spiced Rum that I had added a few vanilla beans to the bottle to give a vanilla essence to the rum) to create a nice dough ball. Using a 1 inch ice cream scoop, make small balls and coat in sanding sugar. When all balls are finished, chill in the fridge for around 2 hours.

For gift giving: wrap each of the balls individually in a small square of plastic wrap and place in a mini-muffin paper. Fit a small rectangle of cardboard (my dad cut up some Macy's shirt boxes! Yeah Dad!) on the bottom of a cello bag and add a small strip of decorative paper. Place two rows of three rum balls each in their muffin papers into the bag, tie with ribbon and add a tag. Store in a cool place before giving.

Looking for a thoughtful yet inexpensive gift? How about a homemade gift of Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix & Fluffy Mexican Vanilla Marshmallows! Treat your friends to a warm and tasty gift that lets them know you are thinking of them! This hot cocoa mix can be made with milk or water- its delicious both ways! The dutch cocoa paired with a touch of spice creates the best "adult" hot cocoa around! Rich and chocolatey, not overly sweet but a perfect foil for the fluffy white marshmallows. These marshmallows are made with a rich Mexican Vanilla Extract that melts perfectly into the hot cocoa. Wrap them up cute with ribbons and tags, add a pretty mug and you have a thoughtful, inexpensive gift that they are sure to love. Here is how you can make your own:

You can find the entire recipe for the Spicy Hot Cocoa here. I followed all the basic ingredients but I added a few shakes of cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla powder and a large pinch of cardamom. The most important thing to remember when making this dry mix is: whisk all the ingredients together thoroughly and then pass it thru a sifter or a sieve to get a completely lump-free, soft and powdery mixture. Then whisk again. This will ensure that your finished hot cocoa mix is smooth and rich and velvety with no lumps or chunks! Package your hot cocoa mix in cello bags, tie with ribbon and add a tag with instructions for use. I figured out that one good sized mug takes about 4 Tablespoons Hot Cocoa Mix to 8 oz. (1 cup) hot milk or water.
On to the marshmallows!

You can find the entire recipe for the Homemade Marshmallows here. I followed all the basic ingredients but I substituted Mexican Vanilla for the regular vanilla extract. You could also try peppermint extract for a pepperminty marshmallow! I also substituted a 9"x9" pan lined in parchment paper and well sifted with powdered sugar instead of a glass 8"x12" pan because I wanted thicker marshmallows. Combine gelatin with cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and let sit. On the stove, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat until the temperature reads around 240-250 degrees. With the mixer on low speed, carefully drizzle the hot syrup onto the gelatin. When combined, carefully turn up the speed to high and whisk for around 10-15 minutes adding the Mexican Vanilla extract toward the end of that time. Carefully scrape the fluffy marshmallow mixture into the powdered sugar coated pan. Use damp fingers to smooth the sticky mixture out as evenly as possible. I found that my damp fingers worked better than any spatula at smoothing out the surface without sticking. Dust with more powdered sugar. Let the pan sit out uncovered overnight to dry out. The next morning turn the marshmallows out onto a powdered sugar coated cutting board and use an oiled knife or pizza cutter to cut into squares. Dust all the sides of the marshmallows with more powdered sugar and then package in a cello bag using wax paper squares in between each marshmallow. Tie tightly with a ribbon and add a tag. Homemade Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix and Fluffy Mexican Vanilla Marshmallows: a thoughtful and delicious holiday gift that's sure to please! Happy Holidays!

What better way to get into the Holiday Spirit than to make and decorate a real gingerbread house? With a few basic ingredients and some imagination you can make a house as simple or as elaborate as you like! This is my second gingerbread house (you can see last years house here) and its pretty big: 13"w x 6"d x 13"h. This mansion was inspired by a gingerbread house kit that my dad saw in a magazine. You can buy that kit here or do like we did and make your own templates! Once you have your templates cut out its time to make the dough. You can find the recipe for gingerbread house dough here. Roll the dough out to 1/8" thick and put the rolled dough into the freezer for and hour so that it is fairly stiff. The stiff dough will be much easier to cut and your edges will be nice and crisp. Trace around your template with a sharp knife and save the dough scraps. Keep re-rolling and cutting until all your pieces are finished. If you are going to have "real" windows make sure to cut them out as well. Chill all the cut-outs in the freezer until ready to bake. Keeping the dough cold will help insure that your design stays intact! Bake each of the pieces until lightly browned and cool completely on a wire rack. While the cookies are cooling, make the royal icing. You can find the recipe for royal icing here. Place the icing into a piping bag with a small round piping tip. When the cookies are completely cooled you can draw your designs right onto the cookie with a pencil and then trace over with the royal icing (I like to decorate my house before assembly but you can decorate later if you wish). Let the icing dry overnight before assembling the house. The next day I made sugar glass panes for my windows. You can do this by melting 1 1/2 cups sugar with 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a heavy bottom saucepan. Melt over high heat until slightly golden in color and the temperature should be around 282-300 degrees on a digital or candy thermometer. Pour window-sized puddles of the melted sugar onto a silpat and let set until cool and hardened. If you need to trim some of the windowpanes, use a sharp knife to score the pane and then snap apart. Remove the windowpanes from the silpat and adhere to the back of the cookie with royal icing as glue. Let set for 30 minutes to an hour before assembling the house. When the windows are set you can begin assembling the house by using either royal icing or carmelized sugar for glue (this is a good tutorial for using carmelized sugar for glue). The carmelized sugar has the advantage of setting instantly, however that means you can't move pieces around once you've glued them together! I used the carmelized sugar this time and it is really great–No waiting for icing to dry! If you use icing, have some canned goods on hand to help prop up the house until dry. Once the house is secure you can finish decorating with more royal icing, candies and sparkling sugars. Remember: icing covers all mistakes! I used powders sugar for "snow" on the roof and dusted on some sparking disco dust for lots of shimmer. I left a hole in the back of my house so that I could insert lights that make the sugar windows on the house glow like its lit from within! Happy Holidays!

P.S. If you'd like to decorate a gingerbread house but don't want to bother with the baking and mess you can run down to William-Sonoma and buy a whole pre-baked kit here for only $20! Or you can buy a pre-made mansion here, but it will set you back $300!!

Maple Brown Sugar Bourbon Brittle
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (or maple-flavored syrup)
1/2 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup salted cocktail peanuts

Line a baking sheet with a silpat and set in a 200 degree heated oven.
In a medium saucepan combine both sugars, maple syrup and bourbon over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a boil. Using a candy thermometer or digital thermometer continue to boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 290-300 degrees. Remove pan from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda, vanilla extract and salt. The mixture will foam up. Add the peanuts and mix quickly then spread the candy in the heated baking sheet using an oiled spatula. Try to get the candy spread as thinly as possible. Let the pan and the candy cool completely for about an hour then break into pieces for serving. Store in a covered container or ziplock bag.

This quick and delicious Mixed Berry Crisp is a terrific ending to any meal. The warm berries coupled with the crisp slightly spicy topping (use gingersnaps!) make for a wonderful fall dessert. You can use whatever berries you like, I used a blueberry, blackberry, raspberry mix. To add a little extra flavor I mixed a few tablespoons of orange liqueur in with the berries before baking. My dad helped me out by chopping the nuts and grinding up the gingersnaps! Thanks Dad! Here is how you can make your own Berry Crisp:
You can find the whole recipe here. Start by placing 4 ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the Crisp Topping stir together the flour, sugar, chopped nuts and crushed gingersnaps (crush the cookies quickly in a food processor) in a bowl until combined. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until it becomes crumbly and kind of sandy. Set the Crisp Topping aside. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the frozen berries, sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 cup of the crisp topping and 2 or 3 tablespoon of orange liqueur (if using). Divide the mixture evenly between the four ramekins. Top each of the ramekins with approximately 1/2 cup of the remaining crisp (You will probably had some topping left over. Just store in a ziplock baggie in the freezer to use later). Place the ramekins on the sheet pan and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until browned and bubbling. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a real treat!