dulce de leche filled butter cookies

Well I know it's been a while since I've blogged, and it's been entirely circumstantial... now that I'm in my second trimester (yes, I'm pregnant with my second child!) I'm starting to feel a little better and food is actually tasting and smelling good again. So now I'm back with a stellar recipe that should be made in earnest.

Years ago when I subscribed (and they still printed) Gourmet Magazine, I ripped this recipe out and saved it. I had never tried dulce de leche before, but I was intrigued by how easy and delicious these cookies looked. The first time I made them (maybe 5 years ago?) I had found a jar of dulce de leche at William's Sonoma and served the cookies after a dinner party. We were all hooked by the thin, delicate cookies and the creamy dulce del leche...needless to say these cookies are special and stayed ingrained in my memory as something to repeat. Recently I was at Trader Joe's and found a jar of dulce de leche, which inspired me to make these cookies again and share them here!

The dough is not overly sweet, which allows for a generous filling of dulce de leche and dusting of confectioners' sugar. The cookies, by themselves, are simple and unassuming, but filled with the dulce de leche they soften and crumble into the filling becoming one glorious bite after another. My sister recently made this recipe but filled the cookies with Nutella (which were also incredible, although I still prefer the dulce de leche) but really any jam or nut butter would be great with these.

fall cinnamon rolls

I mean, can anyone really ingest enough pumpkin in the fall? Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin cookies...I feel as though I'm not really enjoying fall unless I have inhaled a daily consumption of some pumpkin-type food.

So when I came across the recipe for these pumpkin cinnamon rolls with cream cheese I had a feeling that this would become another fall favorite, and boy was I right!

The cinnamon/butter/sugar filling slightly caramelizes while baking, so when you're eating the fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon roll, the roll itself is soft and chewy while the filling is a bit crispy. And that cream cheese tang beautifully complements pumpkin every time. It's like eating the whole season in one (not so) perfectly shaped pinwheel.

fall faves

I haven't fallen this hard for a product in a while. My moisturizer is meh, and I rotate cleansers constantly...I'm content with all of them, I just like to try new products. Basically, I like to keep my skin guessing. Anyway, I recently tried Sunday Riley's Good Genes and oh my heaven's do I wish I had skin like this all the time and I wish I could afford it! This is a product that my skin loves and it's obvious when I haven't used it...so I guess it needs to stay in the routine! It's a nighttime serum that is primarily a 30% lactic acid. Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy (think: glycolic) but because it is derived from milk, it's the gentlest of all the AHA's. That's why a 30% isn't such a scary amount when it's a gentler ingredient from the get-go. But if you're super sensitive you can apply it a couple times a week and leave on for a few minutes, then rinse. I personally use it about 4-5x a week (without rinsing it off), put a moisturizer on over it and go to bed. I wake up with skin that is clearer, more even, pores are tighter and fine lines are harder to see. Now you see why I love this product?

Ole Henricksen Empower Me Cleanser is a gentle, creamy foaming cleanser. When the weather turns cold I know my skin needs more moisture so I like that this doesn't strip my skin of it's hydration. It's also pH balanced, so it has a built-in toner and technically removes makeup too. Oh, it also smells fabulous!

I know the EOS Shave Cream is a bit random here, but I'm really crazy about this lately. I've used it all summer long and it's a rich cream that doesn't lather (unlike most shave creams that foam) so a little goes a long way. I get such a smooth shave when I use this, and my legs feel so soft and hydrated that I probably don't even need body lotion after.

The Peter Thomas Roth Blue Marine Algae Mask is a lovely mask that makes my skin feel cushioney soft and plump with hydration. It's a gel mask that is loaded with algae and hyaluronic acid, which infuses dehydrated skin with loads of moisture. This is also great at calming inflammation and can be used 2-3 times a week, or everyday if needed. And in the winter, it might just be needed everyday.

So now that the season has changed, do you change your skincare products too? I'd love to hear what your using!

dosants

Well I know it's been ages since I've blogged and I don't have any reason for it, other than I've been busy with other interests. I took the time to truly enjoy the summer and I'm so glad I did because now it's busy (I'm sure pretty much everyone can relate to me). Elise Ruby just started preschool and I'm working more, so there's not a lot of extra time. The posts might be a little sporadic until I get into a better groove, so if anyone still reads this thing (thank you!) it'll be easier to subscribe to the blog (on the right-hand side of the site) so that you know exactly when I put up a new post! 

In the spring Kent and I went to Sweet, a dessert-focused restaurant (um, best idea ever!!!) made popular by chef/owner Alina Eisenhauer, who had been on a Food Network cooking competition show.

The restaurant had a fun vibe and good food, but the dessert was amazing (as it should be since that's the theme!). We chose their best seller: dosants. Remember when I made cronuts? Well these are similar since it's fried puff pastry, but instead of cutting it into a classic donut shape, like the cronut, these are rectangular so that they can hold dark chocolate oozing inside.

So yes, they're basically a chocolate croissant, but fried. Then they're tossed in a bit of sugar and the over-the-top-moment is when you can dunk them in Salted Caramel Sauce. I was so excited about eating these that I burnt my tongue. I just didn't have the patience to wait for these to cool, and who can blame me? These are incredibly good. Amazing. Worth pulling out the candy thermometer for.

campfire not required

Well, I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been really enjoying my summer so far. I was recently on Martha's Vineyard and had some delicious s'more ice cream from a place called The Scoop Shack. That ice cream haunted me... the milk chocolate ice cream, soft marshmallows and crispy graham crackers were driving my ice cream/s'more cravings through the roof. I think at this point on my recipe page, I should have a section of marshmallow-devoted recipes. This ice cream would be at the top of the list (ok, it actually wouldn't since I alphabetize all my recipes, but you understand my sentiment).

Even though The Scoop Shack's s'more ice cream was fab, I knew I could kick it up a notch. Coating the graham crackers in milk chocolate (I used Hershey's because hello, that's what you use in an actual s'more) not only adds more chocolate to the recipe but it prevents the crackers from getting soft and soggy. And a toasted (slightly burnt) marshmallow is essential for a gooey s'more, so shouldn't it also be required in this ice cream? Nod yes here.

I've made a few different ice creams here on the blog and one thing I wanted to change was the recipe. Typically the other ice cream bases are a custard, made with heavy cream and egg yolks for a rich and decadent ice cream. While that method is lovely, it is calorie dense, super rich and takes quite a bit of time to make and cool down. Therefore, I went for a much quicker style ice cream (technically called "Philadelphia style") that doesn't require cooking egg yolks.

It's absolutely perfect here. The milk chocolate adds the creamy richness instead of the egg yolks. The chocolate covered grahams are an addictive snack all on their own, but crushed into the ice cream add the crunch that is needed. And the toasted marshmallows stay soft in the frozen ice cream, making you forget all about the hot campfire.