Oh how I love palmiers! Their delicate and flaky layers, their bits of caramelized sugar…and to make them even more naughtily delicious, dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts!

Mon dieu. So many French pastries, so little time.

Best of all, these little “palm leaves” are a snap to make (if you’re not making your puff pastry from scratch). In less than one hour you can bring a little bit of Paris to your guests in the form of these petite sweets.

Go to Foodista for the easy recipe.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • Cooking tips • Sweets • desserts	3 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • Chocolate • chocolate palmiers • cookies • palmiers • puff pastry

Let’s face it, the last few months have been rough financially. We’ve seen our 401-Ks plummet, our IRAs slashed, and for too many, the loss of jobs and benefits. It has left us all crying a collective “Uncle!” With the holidays lurking around the corner hissing “spend, spend, spend!” it just makes me want to curl up in the fetal position until it all goes away.

Then I suddenly stopped my negative thought train and said to myself, “Whoa, slow down there, Turbo! There’s no need to give Le Creuset pots and Nintendo Wii for Christmas this year. Just give something from the heart.”

Isn’t that what the spirit of Christmas is all about anyway? Sure, it’s easy to go online and click! click! our way through our holiday shopping lists, but spending a few hours (or even just a couple) crafting something lovingly with your own hands…now that is a gift.

So I’ve taken a few of our Foodista reader favorites, plus a few more, and wrapped them up in a tidy little gift idea list. All of them are easy. Some so easy you will squeal giddily, others requiring a bit more time, but most importantly, all are sure to please.

Top Ten Homemade Gift Ideas
*See below for packaging resources

1. Kathy’s Biscotti – this is about the best darn biscotti recipe ever. I give them every year for Christmas.
2. Red Pepper Jelly – always a beautiful gift and just the thing to have on hand for entertaining.
3. Dukkah – an Egyptian treat, this delicious and fragrant blend of ground nuts, seeds, and spices is all the rage.
4. Harissa – just the thing for those who like it hot!
5. Gourmet Salts – for three outstanding varieties get out a big bowl and simply mix Kosher salt with the following: dried lemon peel and rosemary; rosemary and lavendar; smoked paprika. Or be creative with your own blends.
6. Cheddar Dill Scones – these won’t last long under the tree and are just the thing to nosh on on Christmas morn.
7. Lemon Curd – if you’re lucky your gift recipient will crack the jar right open and share a little with you.
8. Limoncello – the all-time Foodista favorite, this delicious drink is well worth making. Beautiful poured into swing top glass bottles.
9. Cranberry Orange Shortbread – beautiful and yummy!
10. Seasoned Vinegar -  The easiest thing on the list to make and you can use your recycled wine bottles! We discovered this at a barbeque in Argentina. It’s simply this: pour a bunch of Kosher salt into a wine bottle. By a bunch I mean a bunch, like a cup. Add a few cloves of garlic, don’t be shy now. And finally, fill with white distilled vinegar and shake up that salt. Like wine, it just gets better with time. In fact, make it at least a couple of weeks in advance or tell the lucky recipient to let it age a bit to let the salt fully dissolve and the garlic to penetrate the vinegar. Feel free to add a big ole fat sprig of fresh rosemary too. This is so easy and staggeringly good on grilled meats, chicken, vegetable or sprinkled over fresh sliced tomatoes.

Packaging Ideas:

Jars: For any gifts being packaged in jars (i.e. Red Pepper Jelly, Harissa, Lemon Curd, Dukkah) I recommend half-pint (or pint) Ball jars, I love the wide mouth Platinum series too. Most supermarkets are well-stocked this time of year and they’re relatively inexpensive, or check out Amazon.com for a good selection. . Tie on your own little hand-written labels with a bit of ribbon or raffia.

Bottles: the limoncello is best in clear bottles because the color is gorgeous. I love these swingtop bottles on Specialtybottle.com or simply go for a less expensive corked or screw top bottle.

Tin containers: also from Specialtybottle.com, these tin containers with clear tops are food-grade. Perfect for the salts and dukkah. I get the 4 oz. round ones.

Cellophane baggies: check Amazon.com for a variety of sizes and colors, or your local craft store.

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Categories:	Holiday	11 Comments
Tags:	biscotti • cookies • dukkah • foodista • gift ideas • harissa • holidays • homemade gifts • lemon curd • limoncello • red pepper jelly • scones • shortbread • vinegar

Ah, it’s a beautiful day here in Seattle. I wish you were here to enjoy it. The sun is out! People are smiling and more generous than usual saying such things as, “oh, please, you go first,” at stop signs and in supermarket lines. It just makes you want to hug your neighbor.

Okay, I know, that’s odd, but sometimes the sun makes me giddy.

Yesterday was a glorious day, too. I spent it with my Aunt Mimi baking and kavetching over tea. There just weren’t enough hours in the day! So many things to bake, so little time. There’s nothing better than this time of year: long discussions about what to make for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, brunches, appetizers, testing recipes, baking bread, cookies…

When you love food, as we do in my family, everything is centered around cooking.

One of the things we baked up yesterday were these delicious shortbread cookies. We took a basic shortbread recipe and turned it “Fall” by adding orange zest and dried cranberries. The result were beautifully red and orange speckled buttery shortbread. You really could add any kind of dried fruit or nuts (or both!) to this recipe. Pecans would be wonderful as well. Or, try a savory version.

Whatever makes your palate sing!

Cranberry Orange Shortbread

3/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
Zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla extract, zest and cranberries.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and roll the dough into a 2 1/2 –inch thick log. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 30 minutes.

Slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Reshape if necessary. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet or Silpat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature and serve.

Makes 20 to 24 cookies

Note: For a pecan version, substitute the vanilla extract for almond extract, and add a handful of crushed pecans (or more if you like) in place of the orange zest and cranberries.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Fruit • desserts	2 Comments
Tags:	baking • cookies • cranberries • cranberry orange shortbread • Food • foodista • orange • shortbread

I can always tell the holidays are right around the corner because I get the urge to bake. One of my favorite (and easy!) cookie recipes is Russian tea cookies, also known as Russian tea cakes. They are light, buttery and full of nutty goodness. Did I mention they’re easy to make? Stash that in your holiday menu planner!

Russian Tea Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar, divided use
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

In a large bowl cream the butter and flour until well combined. Stir in half the powdered sugar, water and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour, then the nuts. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 325°F.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until slightly brown. Let cool.

Roll cookies in remaining powdered sugar, coating evenly.

Makes 36 cookies.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Sweets	14 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • cookies • desserts • Food • foodista • russian tea cookies • Sweets • tea cakes

Photo: Brandi Sims, CC License

There are certain snacks and treats that take me back to my childhood. One such treat are graham crackers. I loved to snap them on their perforated edges and dip the small quartered rectangles in milk. The goal was to hold them in the milk just long enough to soften them, but not long enough to snap off. Inevitably, the bottom of the glass was always full of mushy graham cracker that would tastily be glopped down.

Oh, the silly (and gross) things we do to food when we’re young.

I got a hankering for my old childhood favorite and, instead of going out and buying a box, I thought, “there’s gotta be a recipe out there somewhere.” Sure enough, I found a recipe on 101 Cookbooks. Apparently I’m not the only one who has waxed nostalgic about graham crackers.

Happy dunking…

Graham Crackers

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.

Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

Yield: 10 large crackers

From Nancy Silverton’s Pastries from the La Brea Bakery (Villard, 2000)

Note: For a chocolate graham cracker recipe, as shown in the photo, try The Prepared Pantry’s recipe.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cookbooks	2 Comments
Tags:	cookies • Food • foodista • graham crackers • la brea bakery • retro • Sweets

I’m not talking Rice-A-Roni here, the San Francisco treat I’m referring to is IT’S-IT Ice Cream. When I was a kid we’d often pass the IT’S-IT factory perched on the edge of Highway 101 near the San Francisco airport. I would beg my parents to stop, but alas, it never happened. I still threaten to stop…perhaps some things are best left as a mystery. So, to satiate my desires I hop into the nearest Draeger’s and pick up a box.

The Original IT’S-IT Ice Cream Treat, once named the official food of San Francisco, started in 1928 and has since become a legend. The recipe has never changed; a scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies then dunked in dark chocolate.

I don’t care how old you are, you’re never too old to beg for one of these.

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Categories:	Sweets • Travel • desserts	9 Comments
Tags:	california • Chocolate • cookies • Food • foodista • ice cream • san francisco • Sweets • Travel

I stepped into Bakery Nouveau and, as I wiped the drool from my chin, my eyes fell upon them – gasp, mon dieu! – les macarons. These are not coconut macaroons, mon cher. While I adore a good coconut macaroon, Parisian macaroons are in another cookie league altogether. They are quite hard to find in U.S. bakeries, so you can imagine my excitement over them. Pink, yellow, purple, green, white. Clapping my hands and hopping up and down like I’m five, I declared, “One of each color please!” (Actually, I did restrain myself a bit, but such passion makes for better confection fiction, non?)

Bakery Nouveau

Typically, Parisian macaroons are two meringue-like cookies (crispy and wafer-thin on the outside with moist insides) sandwiched together with pastry cream or ganache. The meringue melts in your mouth followed by its creamy filling. C’est bon!

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself in Paris use Sally Peabody’s Your Great Days in Paris as a guide to finding macaroons and other patisseries.

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Categories:	Baked Goods • French • Sweets	4 Comments
Tags:	baking • confections • cookies • Food • foodista • French • ganache • macarons • macaroons • meringue • Pastries • pastry • patisserie • Patisseries

In 1994, my mom’s best friend, and my “spiritual” mother, Ann Wall Frank wrote a fabulously hilarious little cookbook titled Cooking For Your Evil Twin: Devilishly Tempting Recipes for the Modern Woman.

I was looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe the other day and remembered Ann’s swoon-inducing decadent version. This is no Tollhouse cookie, my friend. Nor is it a cookie for the dainty confection eater. This is a hopped-up-on-steroids looking, hunka- hunka-burning-chocolate-love cookie. One that requires commitment to completion and a large glass of milk. They are called Lorenabelle’s Co-Dependent for Sure Chocolate Chippers (giggle). As Ann describes them in her book, “Lorenabelle’s therapy group now uses these as a nice substitute for controlled substances. An excellent replacement for group therapy.”

1 C (2 sticks) butter
1 C granulated sugar
1 C firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 C all-purpose flour
2.5 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 or 2 16 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1.5 C chopped pecans

Note: If memory serves correctly I believe Ann actually doubles up on the chocolate, which I did.

So ladies, forget pot and psychotherapy, these cookies will do the trick. Here is a small sample of other knee-slapping funny recipes from Ann’s book, which are truly quite good:

Angst-Buster Risotto
Our Lady of Perpetual Misery Corn Chowder
Who Invented Swimsuits Anyway
Fudge Macadamia Nut Cake
He Drove Me to It White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Check out Mad Baker’s delicious looking Raspberry Jam Cookies and many other treats. Mmmm..

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Cookbooks	1 Comment
Tags:	Ann Wall Frank • chocolate chip cookies • cookies

We are having near-hurricane weather here in the Bay Area so I’ve decided to stay indoors and break in the beautiful new shiny red Kitchen Aid mixer that Barnaby got me for Christmas. Let’s hope the power can stay on long enough.

We’re visiting a friend in Napa this weekend so I thought I’d whip up a batch of my mom’s famous biscotti to take up. Years ago I lived in Siena, Italy and since then I’ve, admittedly, become a bit of a biscotti snob. The ones you find here in the States, I feel, are just too soft and cakey. My mom’s are the only ones I’ve found that remind me of the teeth-cracking ones in Italy.

The key to the hardness is the second baking (biscotto, singular, actually means “twice baked”). If you wish them to be less hard, then reduce the second bake time. But, if you like to dip yours in cappuccino, or a nice vin santo as they do in Tuscany, then you want them hard.

Kathy’s Biscotti

2 c. flour
1 ¼ c. sugar
2 ½ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
¾ t. salt
2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg, separated
1 t. almond extract
1 ½ c. whole almonds, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk, almond extract, and almonds. Mix thoroughly until dough holds together. Add half of reserved egg white, if necessary, to make a cohesive dough.
3. With wet hands, shape dough into 4 logs, each 6” long and 1 ¾“ in diameter. Place 3-4” apart on baking sheets. Bake on middle rack of oven until logs are light golden brown and spring back when touched (about 24 minutes). Cool 15 minutes.
4. Lower oven to 275. Slice logs with a serrated knife diagonally into 1/2” slices. Return to oven and bake until completely dry and crisp throughout (about 40 minutes). Cool.

Makes about 5 dozen.
Variations: 1 t. orange extract, zest of 1 orange with 1-½ c. pistachio nuts.
Can also use pine nuts in place of almonds.

I’ve not tried these recipes yet, but all three look very good:

Saveur’s Prato-Style Cookies (Prato di Biscotti) which includes saffron threads

Babbo pastry chef, Gina DePalma’s, Polenta and Sesame Biscotti

Sloane Berrent’s Pistachio-Orange Biscotti.

Happy Dipping!

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Italian	5 Comments
Tags:	Baked Goods • biscotti • cookies • Italian