Meyer Lemon Ricotta Cookies

After a recent visit to my brother's house I brought home a bagful of delicious meyer lemons, one of my favorite citrus fruits.  The dilemma now was what to make with them.  I've done lemon bars and mini tarts numerous times so I was looking for something new.

I remembered seeing these lemon ricotta cookies on an episode of Giade De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian.  The addition of ricotta cheese to a cookie intrigued me enough to give the recipe a try. 

The cookies baked up flatter than I was hoping for but were still quite good.  Actually, the taste and shape of the baked rounds reminded me a little of whoopie pies.  The lemon glaze topping gave the cookies a hit of tart sweetness, perfect with a cup of tea.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Ever since my kitchen was out of commission for a few months last year I've been particularly interested in easy, no-bake recipes.  If the "big one" ever hits and I can't use my oven at least I can make these delicious treats.   Can you tell where my priorities lie...lol?

I asked a co-worker for some baking recommendations and they had fond memories of these No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares.  Chocolate - Peanut Butter - no-bake AND I've never made them before?  Ding, ding, ding...I sense a winner!  If you're like me and love the combo of chocolate and peanut butter these squares are right up your alley.    

Alfajores

I'll start off by saying these alfajores aren't the most authentic but they are quite delicious nonetheless. I had my first encounter with these cookies many years ago when I visited Buenos Aires.  One taste of the little sandwich filled with dulce de leche and I was hooked.  

My alfajores use shortbread but the true version that you'll find in Argentina uses a softer cookie made with cornstarch.  The real star though, in my opinion, is the delicious dulce de leche.  Sure, you can make your own milk jam but since I had a jar in my fridge I took the easy route. 

Salted Caramels and a Giveaway

My holiday candy making has pretty much been limited to cashew toffee, a well loved favorite among my family and friends.   Ironically, for me not so much.  I guess after all these years of making it I've become immune to the crunchy, buttery candy and was actually on the lookout for new inspiration.  

Lucky for me the very kind folks at America's Test Kitchen sent over a copy of one of their latest publications, DIY Cookbook.   Score!  I'm one of those people who's all about giving homemade food gifts for the holidays.  What better way to show you care than with something from your own kitchen?  I immediately headed to the sweets chapter and gravitated towards the Salted Caramels.  

There's nothing I love more than a sweet/salty combination and these candies fit the bill perfectly.  As with all of ATK's recipes this one was easy to follow and the results were fantastic.  I think my friends and family will definitely welcome to new addition to my candy repertoire.

Now to the giveaway....

One lucky blog reader can win their own ATK DIY Cookbook.  (Special thanks to  ATK for sponsoring the giveaway!)

Here's how to enter:

Just leave a comment to this post, as well as your email address, by 12PM PST Thur Dec 20 11:59 PM PST Thur Dec 20.  IMPORTANT: You must leave an email address, otherwise  there's no way I can contact you!  (Only open to residents of the US...sorry!)

Good luck and happy cooking!!!

UPDATE: The winner of the DIY Cookbook is #22 - tdlzing@gmail.com.  I'll be contacting you directly with instructions on how to claim your prize.  Thanks to everyone who entered!!