dessert
Melomakarona – festive Greek cookies
Even though the holidays are nearly here, there is still time to create something for yourself or your loved ones. These festive Greek cookies (known as melomakarona) are very easy to make, don’t require too many ingredients and make a perfect gift when you want to spread happiness. The amazing thing about them is that they keep for weeks at room temperature simply covered with cling film. Perhaps the only drawback you might find in them is that the initial recipe makes a gigantic batch. But then Greeks love to eat and they enjoy abundance while doing it, as previously seen here. So if the danger of overflowing in cookies is stopping you, then luckily the recipe can be easily halved.The quickest s’more cupcake
Much as I love baking, there are times when craving hits so suddenly that even 15 minutes would be too long. Say, you’ve just had a satisfying meal but need a dessert and nothing has been prearranged. Or, perhaps, you are about to have a cup of your preferred hot beverage and demand a worthy accompaniment. Luckily, this s’more cupcake comes to the rescue in all those situations and likely many others. And did I mention that it takes less than 2 minutes to prepare it? Yes, there is a literal s’more cupcake and it comes together quicker than it normally takes to clear the table after dinner. To “worsen” the matter further, the only utensils you will need besides the cup is two spoons. In other words, this is probably the least messy dessert you will ever make. Healthy banana muffins
As with most recipes, these banana muffins have gradually and naturally evolved into what they are today. And what they are today is a cause for a bit of pride. Earlier this year I made these exact banana muffins for a neighbourhood baby shower. They certainly had a lot of competition: a local baker brought one of her homemade cakes. The same baker who later that day asked me for a recipe of my muffins because her son demanded more of them in his life. As you can imagine, that was rather ego-stimulating. Not that there was really any doubt about how tasty they are because this is certainly one of my family’s favourite ways to use up over ripened bananas.Brown butter blondies with salted frosting
As far as chocolate goes, white variety is severely underappreciated. Somehow, the darker blends are considered to be more indulgent and exquisite. The higher the cocoa content – the more sophisticated it is. Some could even argue that white chocolate is not chocolate at all. I know, because I used to be of a similar opinion. It felt like a waste of perfectly good cocoa butter that could be much improved by a heavy addition of some dark cocoa mass. I did not understand how anyone could willingly enjoy that taste. And I was certain that white chocolate would never be anything more than a decorative item, purely for its colour. But then I stumbled upon these brown butter blondies and I understood I was wrong.S’more mascarpone cheesecake
I had no cheesecakes in my childhood. Doubtless they were out there but the closest thing to a cheesecake we had where I grew up was a tvorozhnik. As the name suggests, it was made out of tvorog (white soft cheese, something between cottage cheese, ricotta and yogurt). Back then it tasted wonderful. For anyone who didn’t know better, that is. Otherwise imagine a cold dense grainy cheese pie with no crust and you might get the gist of it. S’more is another combination that has come into my life fairly recently. I wasn’t even aware of its existence until I was old enough to watch and remember movies where s’mores were somehow referenced. In fact, I only probably fully developed my liking for s’mores after meeting my husband, who loves everything chocolate. So to honour these two discoveries, I give you s’more mascarpone cheesecake.