Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I'm a firm believer that homemade baked goods say more than almost any other gift. It's sort of selfish, really. It's so much fun for me to bake for other people, that it hardly feels like I'm doing it in an act of generosity. But usually it winds up being a win/win situation since the recipient tends to appreciate those efforts too (no shocker there!).



I wanted to bake to thank some friends for a favor recently (hi V & L!) and these cookies instantly came to mind. The cookies actually share some qualities with these friends of ours: uncomplicated, just the right balance of crunchy and sweet, and one part Mexican too! They were the perfect project for a weekend afternoon. The cinnamon and black pepper are the perfect compliment to the chocolate flavor and the light, crispy texture of the shortbread. All in all, a successful project!

Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
Adapted from Living Tastefully
Printable Recipe

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup lightly packed unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon finely ground fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for coating the cookies
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Sift the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, pepper, and salt together twice onto a piece of waxed paper. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture. Stir and knead the dough (it will be dry and crumbly at first) until it is moist, dark and supple. Between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll the dough 1/4-inch thick as evenly as possible. Chill for 30 minutes.

2. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 275˚F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.

3. Cut out the cookies with a 2-inch round cutter. Spread the coating sugar on a plate. Lightly press the top of each cookie in the sugar, so that the sugar clings to the dough. Arrange the cookies, sugar side up, on the prepared sheets, spacing them well apart.

4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until crisp and firm. Transfer cookies carefully to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with any remaining dough.

Lemon-Filled Lemon Cupcakes

Hello out there! It's only been 6 months away from blogging, but it feels like years. If there's anyone still reading, I'd love to explain why I've been away, and why I chose to come back now.



During the first trimester of my pregnancy, I was really, really sick. It went beyond feeling nauseous all the time; I developed a complete aversion to anything edible. Along with that came the inability to be in my kitchen. There were weird smells that I had never smelled before and that no one else could detect. It was so bad that even passing through made me throw up (sorry, I know this is a food blog!) immediately on contact. I came to dread anything remotely related to food.

After those days of fun passed, I was left feeling completely empty. I could eat again, but my passion for cooking, baking, and even eating had died. In the past few months, there has been more takeout and prepared, processed foods served in our house than I care to admit. It's felt like a deep loss, actually. This thing that was such a huge part of my identity just disappeared, and I've had to work really hard to start to rebuild it. And that's exactly what I plan on doing now.

I've started baking a little bit again, and giving myself permission to not photograph or blog every single thing that I make. Taking baby steps. Before I know it, life is going to start throwing some beautiful curveballs at me, and I desperately want my outlet, my hobby, my passion back before that happens. I know the spark is in me somewhere, I just need to keep at this and I know that it'll ignite eventually.

So that's where I've been. If you made it through that, please let me treat you to some cupcakes! Lemon buttermilk cake, filled with lemon curd, topped with cream cheese frosting. They are as good as they sound, I promise.

Lemon Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes
Printable Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tbsp), plus 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Lemon Curd for filling (I used the kind from Trader Joe's, feel free to use your favorite recipe!)
Frosting: Cream Cheese Frosting from this Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake recipe - makes exactly enough to frost 24 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 24 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. Fill cupcakes with lemon curd using your favorite filling technique (mine is described here), then frost and serve immediately.

What I've Been Baking Lately...

Mini Cherry Pies

Oh hello there! It's been a while! A lot has happened since last time I wrote. We're back on US soil, grateful for our ridiculously amazing time abroad but so happy to be home. It turns out that I had a kitchen of my own again just in time to make a grand dessert feast for Andy's 30th birthday this weekend. We had a combined birthday/housewarming celebration and I obviously couldn't pass up the opportunity to shove sweets down peoples' throats.



I made several desserts, but these Mini Cherry Pies definitely took home the prize for cute factor. I got the mini pie idea from Jenny at Picky Palate and put my own spin on the filling. These little babies are a slightly tedious (no surprise there), but completely worth it. Not only were they tasty, the adorableness factor garnered them high praise at the party.

There's no recipe for this, really. Use your favorite pie filling (I improvised one using fresh pitted cherries, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and flour) and Jenny's incredibly helpful and thorough photo tutorial for the crust and baking guidelines. I increased the recipe a bit and wound up with 12 pies. Have fun!

Chocolate Truffle Brownies

Over the years, I've collected no fewer than five outstanding brownie recipes that I've made, adored, and would use again in a heartbeat. Yet I find myself on a never ending quest to try new variations on a beloved theme. This quest recently led me to Chocolate Truffle Brownies.



These are a basic brownie with walnuts topped off with a layer of beautiful, rich ganache. This particular recipe is an ideal match for people who don't like cloyingly sweet desserts. The use of bittersweet chocolate, especially in the ganache layer, makes these treats feel more sophisticated than most. When all else fails, you really can't go wrong with ganache.

Make sure you leave plenty of time to make these. The preparation itself isn't lengthy, but there is cooling time required for both the brownies and the ganache. These can be made up to a day ahead of time; just cover and store at room temperature.

Chocolate Truffle Brownies
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped, divided
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 9 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving overhang. Spray foil with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and cool chocolate mixture until lukewarm, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Stir in flour, then chopped toasted walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 26 to 28 minutes. Transfer pan to cooling rack and let brownies cool completely.

3. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add remaining 6 ounces chocolate to hot cream and let stand 5 minutes to soften, then whisk until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate ganache over brownie sheet in pan and spread to cover completely. Let stand at cool room temperature until topping is set, about 4 hours.

4. Using foil as aid, lift brownie sheet from pan. Fold down foil edges. Using large sharp knife, cut brownie sheet into 25 squares, wiping knife with hot moist cloth after each cut. Arrange brownies on platter and serve.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

When we started our adventure in Dubai, I pictured myself cooking and baking to my heart's content all day, every day. As you may have noticed, that hasn't exactly been the case. Being half a world away from my wealth of beloved equipment and the constant desire to explore/eat out are just a few of the things keeping me away. But I have been taking a cooking class each week (more on that soon!) and I've also recently started making regular big group dinners for Andy and his coworkers, so it's fair to say that I'm recently re-inspired.



The first group dinner I organized for Andy's team was Taco Night. I made these Mexican Wedding Cookies for dessert and they were the perfect ending to a perfect meal. They're also often called Mexican Wedding Cakes. I haven't been a shortbread fan in the past, but these little beauties made me a believer. They're just the right balance of delicate and sweet, and while they may look plain, the nuts and cinnamon make them anything but.

Besides their obvious function after a Mexican-inspired meal, these would be lovely to serve at an afternoon tea. I even had a few for breakfast! Just make sure you let them cool completely before giving in to the temptation to taste one because of their extra crumbly texture. We had a few cookiesplosions in our kitchen before we realized this.

Mexican Wedding Cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
Printable Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely ground
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended. Beat in flour, then pecans. Divide dough in half; form each half into ball. Wrap separately in plastic; chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and cinnamon in pie dish to blend. Set cinnamon sugar aside.

3. Working with half of chilled dough, roll dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between palms into balls. Arrange balls on heavy large baking sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes. Cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheet. Gently toss warm cookies in cinnamon sugar to coat completely. Transfer coated cookies to rack and cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining half of dough. (Cookies can be prepared 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature; reserve remaining cinnamon sugar.)

4. Sift remaining cinnamon sugar over cookies and serve.