Home Baking: Linzer Cookies

Simple and comforting - you can whip up these cookies in just about 30 minutes and with very little mess. Use your favorite jam, it doesn't have to be raspberry (my fav!). These are also really great to make with kids because you can make them into any shape or design you like! Happy baking!

Pate Sucreé

250g flour
100g butter (room temperature)
100g icing sugar
1 egg
20g water

sift the flour.
cream the butter and icing sugar together.
add the egg. mix until smooth and homogeneous.
add the sifted flour.
if using a mixer, beat until the dough comes together.
if using your hands, use your hands or a scrapper to "frasage" the dough. basically, take a handful of dough and press it into the table while sliding your hand or scrapper so the dough smears. once all the dough has been frasaged, gather it. wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.


Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the shapes that you want your cookies to look like! You use two cut outs per cookie so make a lot of them! Cut out the center of half of the cookies and then lay them all on out of a sheet with baking paper and bake until golden brown. Let cool and then spread your favorite jam on the bottom piece and place the top (with the cut out center) on and voila! Bon appetit!

last day of school

This happened a while ago (like two months ago) which shows you how far behind I am on blogging. Oh goodness.

Looking back now, I miss our crazy and silly class. We had so much fun and I miss seeing my friends every day. I'm definitely happy in my internship too so I can't really complain. On our last day of class we all got to make whatever we wanted and then we had a little feast together. It was a fun day of us just goofing around, singing, cooking and baking and having a good old time. I made peanut butter cookies because the rest of the world does not eat enough peanut butter and raspberry truffle brownies. My friend Alvin made his famous, delicious and too-spicy-for-me-but-i-eat-it-anyway curry. Its an amazing dish! Patricia made some amazing Polish dumplings and bread. It was all delicious!

I am lucky to have met some pretty great people here in Paris and wish we still got to play around like this every week. Have you had any fun cooking or baking parties with friend lately? What is your latest recipe?

peanut butter cookies
Oven: 350F/177C

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter(smooth or crunchy, I use smooth)

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat the butter, brown and white sugars until light and airy. About 3-5 minutes. 

While that is beating, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Beat in peanut butter to the butter/sugar mixture.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and combine. Add nuts, optional.

Let sit in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll 1'' balls of dough and place on baking sheet.

Using the end of a fork dipped in granulated sugar, press the fork across the ball to flatten and make indented lines in the dough. Repeat at a perpendicular angle to make the criss-cross pattern.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are browned.

Petit Four Take Over

Petit fours are small, bite sized pieces of goodness but don't be fooled by their daintiness. These little treats take a lot of preparation and work.  We spent a couple days pumping out a bunch of different petit fours, some delicious and adorable, some...not so much. 

Hungry?

That awkward moment...

when you just realized you ate 15 macarons in 30 seconds. (insert: awkward turtle)

Before I tell you about how good I am at inhaling sugar, I want to say hi and welcome to some of the new readers around here. I am so happy that you came by and I can't wait to get to know you and hear your stories. :)

Are you all familiar with the French macaron? Not its American counter part the coconut macaroon. If you haven't had a real macaroon I suggest you go out immediately and find one so you can experience the bliss! It is basically two little almond meringue cookies sandwiched around a delicious creamy filling. They are delicate and delicious.

Our class made an insane amount of macarons a few weeks ago. We diligently worked at them, piping perfect little circles and mixing decadent fillings so that we could eat them wait two more days to have them. Talk about slow and painful torture! These babies have to sit out for two days so the cookies can absorb the flavors from the fillings. So, we waited...

 Violet and Black Currant

 Lemon

 Rose and Raspberry

 Pistachio and Cinnamon 

Two days later, they reappeared and all I know is that it went quiet and 2 minutes later every one looked around. Everyone with mouths full of macarons, looking guilty. (awkward turrrrtle). It was hilarious and we just had to laugh in spite of ourselves. Crazed pastry students. 

We brought our boxes to fill them and it was like shopping on black friday. You had to race to each flavor to make sure you got them. First come, first served baby. Luckily, there was no pepper spray involved.

What do you think about macarons? Do you like them as much as we do? 

For Your Cookie Exchange

Going to a cookie exchange this holiday season? Hosting a party and need some snacks for your friends? Check this post from last Christmas and bake up some delicious cookie recipes!

Nothing like mass amounts of sugar this time of year and don't forget you need some cookies for Mr. Santa, right? :)

Specialty's

I drive by Specialty's Bakery every day on my way to work and think "hmm, I should really try that place".  It took me three months to finally make my way over there to enjoy their tasty little shop. 

It was also joined with a Peet's Coffee. Heaven sent, I know.

Not only was it nice, clean and organized - the food was great and the service was very good. I swear, customer service makes all the difference! One interesting thing was that they had "self-serve" type computers where you could place your order if the line was really long. I passed on that to actually go to the counter but it sounds like a pretty efficient idea.

I went for the goat cheese, berry and spinach salad which came with its delightful little friend also known as rosemary focaccia bread. It was really satisfying!

This story sounds incomplete doesn't it? What comes after lunch? 

COOKIES...obviously!

I remember my dad raving about this joint's cookies. He served them at a company event once and said they were the best he's had. That is saying a lot because we get to enjoy Paradise Bakery cookies on a pretty regular basis. His bold statement popped into my mind while ordering so I just haddd to order a semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie. Pull my arm.

The girl at the counter seemed very relieved by my order saying "oh good, I don't have to convince you to get a cookie". Tough day at work, sounds like.

So, back to work I went with my delicious lunch in toe. Specialty's is a chain so if you happen to have one near you I highly recommend it for a cozy little lunch.  

Don't forget the cookie!!!

Mocha Cookies

My brother Ryan is a one of a kind, huge-hearted, spastic and fun boy. Sometimes I want to smack him around because he is a crazy person but when it comes down to it he is my brother and I would do anything for the kid. I think he would say the same things about me :) I also employ him part-time as my flour sifter.

For Christmas he got me a perfect gift - a cookie cookbook! A book dedicated to just cookies...endless fun! Flipping through it I decided on these Chocolate Cappuccino cookies. Remember that Mocha Cake from a while back? I took that same secret ingredient and added it to these cookies to make them nice and chocolately. 

As if that is not enough chocolate I just hadddd to dip them in melted chocolate and powdered sugar too. Chocolate on chocolate is the world's best combination - hands down.

They are nice a soft and rich. Definitely require a glass of ice cold milk, or in my case and iced latte. MMMM

Happy Wednesday! Halfway through the week!!

What is your favorite coffee drink?? I am pretty sure I have an addiction to lattes.