Dried Tart Cherries and Pistachio Biscotti

One of my most favorite cookies, especially in the winter, are the classic Italian Biscotti cookies. Their name means “twice baked”, as they are first baked as a log, then sliced and baked again, until they are completely dry. This way of baking results crispy cookies, that can be stored for longer than the average cookies.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Chocolate and hazelnuts pair so well together; the creamy, yet firm, hazelnuts, with their distinctive flavor, complement the flavor and aroma of chocolate and cocoa beautifully.
The following cookies use these two key ingredients in different forms: whole hazelnuts flour, along with freshly roasted hazelnuts; dark cocoa powder, and dark mini chocolate chips –  each adding their flavors and textures to the cookies.

Baked Cheese Balls with “Everything” Seasoning Mix

Whenever I have some leftover cheeses at hand, my mind goes into “baked cheese balls mode”, as you can see from the version I have here, which mixes different types of cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, Pecorino and feta), with each type contributing its distinctive flavor and texture to the mix.

Mini Filo Shells with Pears, Dried Cranberries and Pistachios

 

Having a box of filo pastry shells in the freezer, makes it extremely easy to prepare sweet or savory tasty finger food. All that is needed is to quickly crisp the shell in a toaster oven, and fill them with whatever filling you have in mind.

Cookie Time

 

As I was working on quite a few batches of assorted cookies lately, I thought it could be a good idea, to compile some of the cookie recipes from the earlier days of the blog, which I believe are worth another visit.  Try them and enjoy.

Spiced Banana, Walnut and Chocolate Muffins, with Chocolate Frosting

As often happens, I found two ripe bananas in the kitchen, and decided to use them as a base for quick muffins.

Crispy Chicken Tenders with “Everything” Seasoning Mix

Chicken tenders are a favorite of mine when it comes to frying. Though they are basically a part of the chicken breast, they don’t require cutting into portions, they are juicier and have firmer texture than that of the breast itself.

Spiced Sugar Puff Pastry Twists, with Spiced Whipped Cream

Buttery, sugary and crispy puff pastry twists, are quite irresistible. At the same time, they are very quick and easy to make, and require only few ingredients.

Multi Grain Spicy Baked Cheese Balls

Pepper Jack is the spicy version of Monterey Jack cheese, a semi-soft cheese that originated in California. It relies mostly on jalapeno peppers for the mild spicy flavor, which works beautifully with its’ creamy texture. This made the cheese a good ingredient to start with, when creating the following baked cheese balls.

Spiced Pear Muffins

Spiced pears are one of my go-to quick yet elegant desserts (click HERE for recipe), and a version of them is what I had in mind when I bought some nice juicy pears.

However, I then remembered I still had some leftovers cooked ones already in the fridge, so, very quickly I changed the plan, and decided to bake spiced pear muffins instead.

Sweet Farmer Cheese Russian Pancakes

The following pancakes are quite different than the more familiar American pancakes, as their main ingredient is curd cheese, rather than flour.