Grandmom's Christmas Spriz Cookies

Can you tell that moms have been on my mind lately? With the passing of my mom, and now that I'm a mother myself, I've just been thinking so much about what motherhood and parenthood in general means. Especially around the holidays! My mom made Christmas feel totally magical every year, and I hope to pass down many of her Christmas traditions to my own baby. 

Every family has their own holiday traditions, and one of the first holiday memories I have of spending Christmas with my now-husband's family is of eating his Grandmom's Christmas cookies. 

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups, because my New Year's resolution is "more chocolate," apparently

When I was little I was in a bowling league. I was terrible, yet it was still probably the peak of my athleticism (I apparently did not take after my Papa, a pro bowler who you can see throwing an epic strike here).

The best part of practice was getting a snack from the vending machine (see above review of my athletic career, ahem). My parents weren't the type to feed us candy for any old reason, so getting 50 cents from my dad and running to the vending machine with my sister to pick out anything we wanted was like hitting the kid lottery.

Vegan Persimmon Cake with Meyer Lemon-Blood Orange Marmalade

It's the beginning of citrus season and the end of persimmon season, and after seeing a recipe for an olive oil cake with marmalade on Serious Eats, I knew I had to veganize it!

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Things have been pretty busy round these parts now that I've started working part time in addition to my regular full time job. But here and there I have been able to make some tasty vegan treats - like these heavenly vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls!

Fuyu Persimmon Pie

Nate had one request for our Thanksgiving menu: Persimmon Pie.

Our first encounter with this starchy, sweet fruit was on a walk last Fall. Nate has a penchant for stealing fruit from the neighbors' trees, and when he saw the stout orange persimmons, he couldn't help himself. Neither of us had ever seen or tasted one before, and we were left a little puzzled. It tasted like...sweet potato? Or corn? It had that same sweetness and utter lack of acidity, with a texture like that of a dry apple.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Browned Butter Caramel Icing

OH. MY. GOD.

These are amazing. 

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

October 3rd was "National Boyfriend Day." Though my first thought was "HARRUMPPHH EVERY DAY IS NATIONAL BOYFRIEND DAY," I decided it would be nice to surprise Nate with some cookies. What can I say, I am a romantic against my own will.

Beet Cupcakes

I love beets, and I had this image in my mind of a beautiful, fuschia beet cupcake, topped by fluffy white cream cheese frosting.

Roasted Fig and Mascarpone Tarts

Fig season is at hand! I've been wanting to buy figs for awhile now but the price tag (usually at least $5 for a basket) kept me at bay.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Frosting

Nate has a sweet tooth. A horrible, horrible sweet tooth. Personally I try to refrain from eating a lot of sweets (I would choose cheese over chocolate, if I had to pick a vice), but thanks to Nate I am constantly churning out dessert after dessert. 

On the one hand it's fun, because I get to keep my baking skills up to chop. But on the other hand, it's dangerous, because even if you aren't crazy about sweets, it's impossible not to have at least one slice of, say, homemade butterscotch pie...

Anyway, the pie was finished a few days ago, and Nate decided he wanted whoopie pies next. I've never made them before, and I think the only time I've ever had one is when Starbucks inside our grocery store is giving away their pastries at the end of the day. I used this recipe for the cookie/cake part, and this recipe for the filling, with a slight modification (see below). 

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Salted Caramel Frosting

First, mix together the dry ingredients: Flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.

In a small container, mix together 1/2 cup lukewarm coffee and some buttermilk. Alternating between adding the flour mixture and the coffee/buttermilk mixture to the butter/sugar mixture. Once mixed, put into a bag and pipe onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Take out of the oven and let cool completely.

Make the frosting. I made the frosting from this recipe, but whipped 1/2 cup heavy cream and folded it into the frosting at the end, to achieve a nice fluffy texture. Put the frosting into a pastry bag and pipe onto one cookie/cake round, then top with another, pushing down until the frosting reaches the edge.

The cake is dense and moist, the fluffy filling is sweet and salty in a way that helps cut through the richness of the cake. Highly recommended, especially with a cold glass of milk or iced tea!

Sticky Coconut Rice Balls with Coconut Sugar Syrup

Looking for a creative way to reuse leftover rice, I remembered a sweet coconut rice dessert my Indonesian 4th grade teacher brought to class one day. After scouring the internet, I found several close-enough recipes to try my idea out. Using leftover jasmine rice instead of "glutinous rice powder," and brown sugar instead of shaved coconut sugar, my mission was successfully accomplished. The result is a starchy, very sweet dessert that pairs well with a strong, sweet cup of tea.

Sticky Coconut Rice Balls with Coconut Sugar Syrup

For the Rice Balls:

About 2 cups Jasmine rice, cooked

1 T brown sugar

About 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

For the Syrup:

1/3 C Coconut Milk

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Add brown sugar to cooked rice; stir vigorously until well blended, mushing the rice up a bit as you go. Scoop the rice mixture into 1" balls, then roll in flaked coconut. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, heat coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thickened and syrupy, careful not to burn the sugar. 

Place rice balls in a serving dish, and spoon over the coconut sugar syrup. Bon appetit!