forget the cake...

So it's a chocolate cream cheese cookie with chocolate chips and cream cheese frosting on top... are you with me? Yes these are everything you'd want from a chocolate cheesecake, but in a handheld cookie form.

The picture above should really be captioned #lazy (p.s. this video explains my love of the hashtag). Basically, I just plopped the frosting in a ziploc, snipped a corner and bunched the cookies close together so that I could frost all of them at the same time. I mean, they all tasted great so that's really what counts here, right?

shaken, with a twist

After realizing that September's Avid Baker's Challenge was another yeast-based recipe, I was shaken. I mean, we all remember how my "focaccia" turned out: flat and crispy... basically, the exact opposite of focaccia. But I was ready for a redemption, so I gave myself plenty of time to let this baby rise for as long as it wanted to (and it wanted to rise All. Day.).

I wasn't crazy about the idea of apples in the bread, so I only did half the amount called for, and the other half I replaced with crunchy pecans- a perfect complement to the cinnamon and apples. I replaced some of the all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour and reduced the sugar in the dough because I knew the glaze would be sweet enough. 

Speaking of the glaze, it's completely unnecessary (and I normally love glaze). I even made the glaze with cream cheese so it was extra tasty, but since the bread isn't too sweet it just seemed to overpower it. The recipe makes 2 loaves and one loaf I glazed, the other I left plain, and the plain one not only lasted longer, but it was amazing sliced, toasted and slathered with butter (as are most breads, I realize). 

it's all almonds

I was intrigued with this month's ABC Baking Challenge because I was expecting this tart to be a typical fruit tart with a chilled custard/pastry cream for the filling. So when I read through the recipe and realized I was baking the filling, I was intrigued. 

If you don't like almonds, then this isn't the dessert for you because it is almondy! Thankfully I happen to love almonds and was so happy with the outcome. Texturally speaking, it has all my favorite elements: each bite contains a wonderfully crisp shortbread crust, the filling that is slightly chewy and crunchy from the almonds paired with a brittle topping... it's just heavenly! 

Since it was my first time making it, I didn't really tweak the recipe (which I often do if I'm comfortable with a recipe) but I did add some seedless raspberry jam to the cooked crust, before adding the filling. I've done this before with other fruit tarts that I've made in the past, and it adds a nice tanginess to the sweet almond flavor.

with a twist of lemon

Citrus desserts aren't necessarily my favorite because I will always pick something chocolate instead. But on a hot day, like when your neighborhood is having an outdoor block party, the idea of chocolate melting all over the place isn't appealing anymore.  

So I made these and one of my neighbors actually asked me if I was Italian because apparently only Italians use Ricotta, and only they can bake the best Ricotta cookies. We all had a good laugh at the thought of my pale, pink skin having any Italian heritage.