Monogram Wedding Cookie Favors

One of the best things about being a baker are the gifts that I can make for family and friends, especially for the milestone moments in their lives.   What better way to show you care than with something homemade? 

My gift to Anne Marie and Henning for their wedding today are these cookie favors.  I really love how they turned out.  The monogram on the cookie coordinates so beautifully with the invitation, don't you think?  The betrothed couple had a few options for the cookie shape and I'm so happy they chose a hexagon - definitely atypical, but very elegant.

These cookies will look fantastic at each place setting and I hope the happy couple and their guests enjoy them as much as I had fun making them!

Palmiers

I love it when something you think is so complicated to make turns out to be super easy.    You can impress your family and friends and they won't be none the wiser!

These palmiers (aka "elephant ears") are the perfect example.  It just takes two ingredients, puff pastry and sugar, to become crispy, buttery and deliciously caramelized cookies.   Granted, you can definitely go high-end by making the puff pastry from scratch but the point is to make your life easy! 

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter was one of my favorite foods as a kid and I still love it today as an adult.  There's nothing better for breakfast than some creamy peanut butter smeared on a warm, toasted English muffin.  It's one of my favorite ways to start the day.     

Although chocolate chip is probably the most popular cookie in America, for me it takes a backseat to peanut butter.  This Cook's Illustrated recipe makes the moistest and peanut-iest cookies that I've ever tasted.   It's got a double dose of peanuts from extra chunky peanut butter as well as dry roasted salted peanuts.   Try these...you won't regret it!

 

 

Fraisier

 

Fraisier, the classic French cake, was last month's Daring Bakers' challenge.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to participate due to some prior baking commitments, but I figured better late than never, right?

My interpretation of a fraisier is pastry cream and fresh strawberries layered between chiffon-style vanilla cake, topped with a cream cheese flavored whipped cream and finally covered with a fresh strawberry coulis. 

Blackberry and Strawberry Macarons

My cousin's hair salon, Hair Cuts Etc., celebrated its 10th anniversary over the weekend so she ordered some macarons for the party she was having.  Her only request was that they coordinate with the purple and dark pink color theme.  For the macaron flavors I decided to go with something fresh and fruity, blackberry and strawberry.

The last time I made macarons was back in February so I was definitely feeling a bit rusty.  Apparently the macaron gods could sense my trepidation because the first batch came out terrible - paper thin tops and they kept sticking to the baking sheet.  Ugh!  Into the compost bin they went.   You'd think that after making them for the past few years I'd know what I was doing.

Determined to not let another batch go to waste I kept at it.  Much to my relief the next trays came out as they should have.  Just goes to show that baking is as much about perseverance as it is about skill.