http://www.dolcettoconfections.com/blog

I had the best intentions to post this recipe last week. Truly.

But life picked up speed last week and, while everything that is happening is exciting, it left little time to think, let alone write.

At the restaurant, my chef will prepare these every so often as a special treat for both the line cooks and pastry cooks. She said she found the recipe in an old church cookbook and has been making them, much to the enjoyment of others, ever since.

In fact, they are so delicious that have become Mike’s new favorite cookie. For 26 years, he was perfectly happy and content with a good chocolate chip cookie. In college, I even perfected my recipe for him just to ensure he would keep me around.

But one taste of this cookie and that all went out the window.

To add a festive touch, I made these with blue and red dark chocolate M&M’s for the 4th of July. Although food and baked goods were plentiful that weekend, these cookies had no problem holding their own.

Continue for Recipe...

The past two Saturday evenings, Mike and I have made the long trek from Manhattan to Harrison, NJ to watch the opening two games of the New York Red Bulls.

The MLS team is playing in their very own, brand new soccer arena.

Last weekend was lovely - a 75 degree spring day melted into a beautiful, warm evening. No winter jacket, or any jacket for that matter, was required.

But yesterday, the temperature peaked at 43 degrees. The evening promised to be a chilly one and I dreaded having to pull all of my winter gear out of the closet, the same gear I had so blissfully tucked away last weekend.

So, in order to make the cold, bundled-up night ahead just a bit more manageable, I decided to make a batch of caramel-peanut popcorn to take along for the game.

I detest the dry, stale, fake-butter popcorn at sporting events. Even more, I think the $4 price tag for such popcorn is ridiculous.

Plus, this gave me the opportunity to whip up something Mike could potentially think was delicious.

And, in my mind, when I make something that makes Mike say, “Wow, honey, that’s amazing!”, I like to believe he is secretly thinking how he could never, ever possibly find someone to take my place.

In the ultra competitive dating market of Manhattan, I find it necessary to ensure I am not replaceable. And I am not above using my sweet creations to achieve that status. Sad but true.

Anywho, let’s get started on that popcorn!

Continue for Recipe...

Happy Weekend! Happy Spring! Happy Macaron Day!

That’s right - macarons now receive their very own day of celebration, thanks to Francois Payard. This is the first Macaron Day in New York City, which coincides with the 5th annual ‘Jour du Macaron’ in France.

If you live in NYC, you can make this sunny, 70 degree day even sweeter with a free macaron!

And, if you live outside the NYC area, why not whip up a batch of your own to celebrate?

Or, if you are like me, you can make a batch of strawberry jam macarons and then pick up a free macaron anyway! Hey, it’s been a long winter.

For the birthdays of family members and close friends, I love gifting sweet treats created specifically with the tastes of that person in mind.

In my dessert-obsessed world, I think a personalized dessert is a pretty cool gift. And it’s edible. Big plus.

When my grandmother’s birthday came around this month, I already knew what I wanted to make for her big day.

I was inspired by one of her letters to me earlier in the year, where she described how much she loved walking the streets of Bar Harbor in the summertime and indulging in a chunk of turtle candy.

Easy enough.

Or so I thought.

I lost count after the eighth trial, but I had the hardest time achieving the consistancy I desired in the caramel.

After work, every night last week, there were multiple attempts to perfect the caramel. And there were multiple failures.

Too hard. Too soft. Too runny. Too burnt.

Saturday morning arrived with torrential downpours and hurricane-force winds. I was fresh out of pecans and, lacking a canoe, there was no way I could safely run to the grocery store.

But I remained calm. Just because I didn’t have one of the three main ingredients of turtle candy was no reason to panic. Some of my favorite recipes come to me when I am forced to work with only the ingredients I have on hand.

Shortly thereafter, a tray of gooey, chewey caramel encased in almonds and decident semisweet chocolate was sitting on my counter. A sprinkle of fleur de sel and an extra drizzle of chocolate topped it off.

When the chocolate set completely, I cut the candy into diamond shaped pieces and packaged them in a little tin with a twine bow. And was sure to apologize profusely for the late arrival of the candy.

But hopefully it was worth it.

Continue for Recipe...

Remember a couple weeks ago when I couldn’t stop blabbing about how much I love macarons? After being assigned the task of making macarons at the restaurant, I fell deeply in love with creating, eating, researching and dreaming about macarons.

And it turns out, I’m not alone.

Since then, I have received several requests from people, trying to perfect the art of macaron-ing, to give step-by-step instructions for making macarons.

Let’s begin with a few important notes. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join me.

First and absolutely most importantly - you need to muster up every ounce of patience possible as you practice creating these treats. There is a lot of room for error and some things, like humidity in the air, are completely out of your control.

Did you just get home from a stressful day at work? Do you feel fed up and at the end of your rope for the day? Today is not the time to try making macarons for the first time. Seriously. Pour yourself a glass of wine, relax and try it some other time.

When you are feeling as though you have some patience to spare, make sure you also allot yourself enough time to read the instructions thoroughly, prepare everything and slowly and carefully go through all the steps.

Macarons are not the easiest of desserts, but once you become comfortable with the techniques, the creation process is actually quite enjoyable.

Feeling patient? Have some free time? Me too. Tie on an apron and join me in the kitchen!

Continue for Recipe...

We are officially in those tough few weeks between the dead of winter and seeing the first sprouts of green life appear again on the bare tree branches.

The sky is overcast, giving off a slight mist and making it especially difficult to chose which thickness of coat is appropriate for the commute to the office.

I miss the sunshine on my face.

Wednesday’s weather was particularly sullen; I longed to be laying on a beach somewhere with a margarita in my hand.

After a frustrating morning at the office, I decided to escape on my lunch hour to the Whole Foods. Holding a pineapple was about as close as I was going to get to paradise today.

And then I saw a small barrel of sunshine. Or at least, something that was so blindingly yellow that, in my depressed mood, it might as well have been the sunshine.

I was drawn in. A slight squeeze gave way to the flesh, just a bit, of these beautiful, juicy, tender meyer lemons.

I stood in awe. And then I bought a pound of them.

After much thought and consideration, I concluded the best use of these delightful fruits would be to make them into a sweet Meyer lemon curd.

Curd. What an awful name.

Continue for Recipe...

Continue for Recipe...