I’m not what you would call a cookie person. I know, I know. I must be some kind of reverse Cookie Monster. It’s not that I hate cookies; hate is far too strong a word. It’s just that I’m underwhelmed by cookies. I don’t find them all that interesting in terms of flavor or appearance. I should also probably mention I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth in the first place. So maybe I’m not the person to ask for hot dessert-related takes. But now and then a cookie idea wanders into my head and I am instantly smitten. And that was precisely the case with these Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies. These blushing beauties are so compelling that they’re capable of converting a reverse Cookie Monster like me.
Ruby Cheesecake Mini Trifles
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and here I am with a pink dessert. And it makes me feel like a fraud. Every year, my brain is inundated with Valentine-friendly recipe ideas. This behavior would suggest that I’m a rabid fan of Love’s Day but honestly, it doesn’t get more than a shrug from me. I don’t hate it and I don’t love it. I am ambivalent. And yet, I love crafting date night menus. The romance of domesticity is my jam. So here is a very pink dessert in honor of a day I care very little about because I can’t help myself. These Ruby Cheesecake Mini Trifles feature a layer of blood orange jelly, brownie bits, and ruby chocolate cheesecake mousse topped with whipped cream, a blood orange segment, and a bourbon-soaked cherry. I may be iffy about the holiday but I am head over heels for these beauties.
Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies
If you frequent this site, you might have noticed I don’t post cookies often. Sure, as a tastebud-possessing individual, I like a good cookie. What’s not to like about hand-held delights made primarily of butter and sugar? But I don’t tend to have a lot of cookie-related ideas. They seem to be my culinary blindspot. It might be because I don’t find them particularly beautiful. And I am a visual learner and schemer. Now, before you direct me to the plethora of perfectly gorgeous sugar and gingerbread cookies on the Internet, I know they exist. My other Achilles heel is royal icing. So yeah, I can’t even approach cookies from a design standpoint. But every now and then the baking gods come through and bless me with a good cookie idea I can actually pull off. And these Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies are a fine example of such an idea.
Matcha Pistachio Icebox Cake
We are emerging from another heatwave here in Toronto. The humidity and 30°+ temperatures were kind enough to stick around long enough for me to shoot this Matcha Pistachio Icebox Cake. If you’re finding your life is a little too chill I highly recommend doing a photo shoot of an ice-cream-anything during a heatwave. It really elevates the heart rate. But if you’re making this icebox beauty for you and some pals, you’ll be fine even in 30°C weather because this cake is surprisingly simple to make. All you need is a couple of pints of ice cream, a batch of homemade cookies, and a little patience. There are quite a few chilling interludes in this recipe. So let’s dive right in!