an elegant dessert

Want a fancy dessert that can be made in advance, isn't a cake, but will serve a large crowd? Sounds like a tall order but it's as easy as making these delicious meringues. Twelve individual meringues are laid on a puddle of raspberry sauce and then topped with fluffy whip cream, some fresh raspberries and the prettiest sprinkling of chocolate shavings.

I served these on Easter and made all the components the night before (I love desserts that can be made in advance!). When it was time for dessert, I laid out all the plates and started assembling (see the pictures below). This is a great opportunity for your guests to help you; assign someone to be in charge of each element of the dessert and then it will be interactive and less stressful for you. Although truthfully, once everything is made, assembling is the easiest part.

I loved all the texture and flavor combinations with this dessert: the sweet tartness of the raspberry sauce, the crunchy meringue, the hint of chocolate and the soft whip cream to meld it all together. I'll definitely be making this one again!

no holds bar

I know there are so many gift-giving baking idea's floating around on other blogs, Pinterest, the Food Network... but these Chunky Raspberry Bars have to be one of the easiest to put together. There's no intricate decorating of cookies or cupcakes, instead you're just basically smashing the dough into a pan and going for that "rustic" look. It works here, trust me.

The dough is really more of a shortbread packed with oats, coconut and almonds... oh and some raspberry jam to give it a festive flair. But of course you could swap out the raspberry jam for your favorite flavor, say peach or strawberry. Once the bars are cooled, they're dense and hold up wonderfully in a (gift) box. 

Triangle Trifecta Cookie

This blog has been wonderful at giving me the gumption to try my hand at some baked goods that I may have otherwise never thought about. These cookies are technically a Jewish custom called Hamantaschen, and I believe they’re usually filled with a fig spread. I have a friend, who happens to be Jewish, and these are one of her favorite cookies. The Jewish holiday Purim is this weekend so I thought this was an appropriately-timed cookie to try. Of course these Raspberry Rugelach cookies would be a wonderful accompaniment on the dessert table too.

Regardless of your religion these cookies will bring you to your knees. They are buttery and chocolaty

a cookie unlike any other

I love a good buttery-jam-filled cookie and saw this recipe in a magazine ad. I was intrigued because as I read the recipe I realized the dough was simple. Perhaps too simple. It’s only requirements were butter, cream cheese and flour. Where were the salt, vanilla, and sugar? Then I realized the cookies were rolled out in powdered sugar, not flour. Ok, so there’s the sugar.

Still, was rolling out the dough in powdered sugar going to be a sweet enough cookie for me? I’d never rolled a dough in anything other than flour and I wasn’t sure what the powdered sugar would do. Would it clump up and get sticky? And then I read that the raw cookies were sandwiched together, with jam in-between, before they were baked. Mind blown. Any other decent sandwich cookie I’ve ever made always bakes the cookies separately and then, when cooled, the filling is installed. I wondered if they would be gummy and half-baked if they were already assembled pre-baking.

All these questions about this cookie made me realize I just had to make it and resist the need to dump in a bunch of other ingredients or try any rogue methods. At least on the first try, anyways.

The result? The most tender, flaky, soft cookie with just a little crispness on the edges. There was no need to add any other ingredients or change any methods. All my doubts and fears were forgotten and I wouldn't change anything. This is apparently how they make cookies in Hungary and they are doin’ it right. (recipe after the jump)