So you are looking for cookies that melt in your mouth, have a slight hint of rosemary and taste lemony? Then look no further. These buttery lemon rosemary Heidesand cookies are for you. You do require a bit of chilling for these, but I personally think they are so worth the effort. And once you got them chilled, these are your typical slice and bake cookies. I actually once took a shower in the morning while they were baking, just to be sure I had them all fresh on that day.
Baci di dama are heavenly cookies, a touch like a feather. These Italian cookies literally translate as a kiss by a lady. If you look at the profile of these cookies, they look like a set of lips wishing to kiss you. I really like this picturesque name which does tell you a lot what these cookies are going to taste like. Roasted hazelnuts are combined with buttery shortbread, which is sandwiched together by delicious melted chocolate. Baci di dama are perfect as a giveaway, superb for a coffee break and simply to enjoy.
Today I am introducing a delicious orange cranberry bundt cake. I just love that this bundt cake is so moist, contains real fruit and is just perfect for winter. The batter is fairly easy to prepare and I am sure that you can serve this cake either for Christmas or any kind of get together you have planned in your future. Heck, you may even try it for breakfast!
Since Christmas is just around the corner, I decided to spice this cake with some traditional Christmas spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the like. I am sure the cake will also taste without, but seriously, I put quite a bit of effort into making this cake look pretty. I mean, for me the taste of a cake will always overrule its prettiness. Seriously. I don’t understand how people find cakes made with ultra-sweet fondant georgeous. Sure, they may be from the outside, but it really saddens me that you cannot eat fondant. So what’s the deal? Why do people say these cakes are gorgeous if you can’t eat half of them? In this instance I decorated my bundt cake with some oranges, cranberries, and rosemary to make it extra special. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to also make the batter have some secret ingredient. Hence the spice plus fresh cranberries and orange juice. I can assure you, this cake definitely tastes as good as it looks!
Snickerdoodles with brown butter are a cinnamon surprise from the U.S. I decided that they are perfect for the season. In case you don’t know, snickerdoodles have a similar base as sugar cookies, but are then formed into balls which are then rolled in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before you bake them. As far as I know you can find snickerdoodles in the U.S. throughout the year, however, due to their cinnamon flavor I decided to make some during the season.
I do love December, here in Germany advent is a special time with each Sunday being celebrated as one step closer to Christmas. I love the fact that, finally, it’s also the season in Germany for cookies. Can you believe it, you have to wait this long? I decided to go a little fancier today. Macarons are a perfect give-away, especially if you go with a strong coffee flavor as I did here, which cuts the sweetness of the macaron shells quite a bit. For that reason I thought salted caramel would be a good partner for coffee. But this is not regular caramel, no, it is dulce de leche, which means it is made of sweetened condensed milk, yum!
I have introduced a few macaron recipes on my blog. I started off with the summer version, which was also the first time I had ever made macarons. This was followed by heart-shaped macarons for Valentine’s. After that I introduced a recipe with real and strong strawberry flavor, until today I went for coffee macarons with dulce de leche filling.
Are you looking for a recipe that’s perfect for Christmas? Look no further, this festive chocolate pear cake is perfect for the season. The chocolate layer cake doesn’t need much time, you will also be astonished to see how quickly the frosting comes together. The only part that requires some time are the pears. Because you have to poach them and you will need to dry them in the oven to get this gorgeous decoration. But hey, it is Christmas, I feel it is worth the extra time, don’t you think?
As is tradition in Germany, we are celebrating the advent, waiting eagerly for Christmas. Therefore each Advent Sunday (there are always four in total, leading up to Christmas) is super special and for that reason I brought along some ginger cookies or Spekulatius, the German name for these nicely spiced cookies. I decided to make them with a neat little cookie cutter, it was so much fun cutting out my blog name. Look at it, such fine and thin lines! If you are scared of sugar cookies or shortbread, don’t be, I give a lot of tips in this blog post.
I am so excited to finally be sharing this recipe for Colombian buñuelos! Colombian buñuelos are, at least in my opinion, so much better than Mexican buñuelos, they are gluten free as they are prepared with cornstarch and tapioca flour and they do contain cheese, lots of cheese. Do I need to say anything more?
Today I brought you some wonderful gingerbread cupcakes with cranberry filling. They are so easy to prepare, really! Basically you cream the butter with the sugar, add the egg, and then all other ingredients and that’s about it. Really simple, I promise.
There is a reason why I called these cupcakes gingerbread cupcakes. I made the cupcakes with molasses and added a lot of gingerbread spices. I mean, you do want them to actually taste like Christmas, right? I also decided to fill them with cranberry jam, which we are going to prepare in a few minutes, it is really simple. And the frosting secretly hides some gingerbread spices in the chocolate. I hope you are as excited about these cupcakes as I am!
I am also excited to be introducing the very talented illustrator Ellen Martens who designed these adorable cupcake toppers. I especially like this very cuddly deer and that cute little fox. She was kind enough to graciously invent cupcake topper PLUS Christmas cards. Let me know either her or on Instagram what you think of these illustrations.
I would also invite you to check out Ellen’s Instagram!
Yay, tomorrow is the official beginning of the season! That’s why I brought along some super cute santas made from sugar cookie dough. I stumbled across the idea last year when I visited one of my favorite blogs, Tieghan made these cute little santas for her cookie box and I was hooked immediately. So finally, one year later, I can scratch off this item from my baking list. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, we have a special day here in Germany on December 6th, Nikolaus is yet another day when children put their freshly polished boots outside the door and then secretly they are filled with sweets and the like. So typically, I wanted these to be ready for December 6. I just hate it when bloggers post the idea on the day itself, I decided to give you the chance to actually make these little cuties on time, so that’s why I am starting the season with them!
Don’t they look amazing? I find them perfect for a cookie box, as a little gift, to show your love, there are so many ideas when to take them with you. I even managed to freeze them, sugar cookies are super easy to freeze when plain, but I even froze these santas sucessfully with royal icing aka their beards. Seriously, why not invite a friend, turn on some music and make these santas? Preparing the dough doesn’t take long, and forming the santas is so much more fun when you have company.
