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Cheddar and Parmesan Gougères (Cheese Puffs)
Light and airy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside, gougères make crowd-pleasing appetizers, snacks, or accompaniments to your favorite mocktail or glass of wine. Watch them puff in the oven then try one, and you’ll know why the French often serve these cheese puffs as the hot bite at an apéro, that beautiful moment to gather before dinner and unwind. Traditionally gougères are made with Comté or Gruyère, but I love the combination of aged cheddar and parmesan in this recipe. The base is pâte à choux, a versatile pastry from which you can make a variety of savory and sweet treats such as éclairs and cream puffs. Instead…
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Coconut Cookies with Lemon Curd Filling
Springtime calls for sunny desserts that brighten the season’s celebrations. With zesty lemon curd sandwiched between toasty coconut cookies, this recipe hits all the bright and lightly sweet notes we need this time of year. Beyond these cookies, you will find so many uses for the lemon curd itself. Serve it with fresh fruit, dollop it on a slice of pound cake, fill cupcakes, or enjoy it by the spoonful. Much as the winter holidays wouldn’t be complete without a linzer cookie on the dessert table, these coconut sandwich cookies have become a spring staple in my home. Flower cut-outs allow the sunny color of the filling to pop through.…
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Pine Nut Cookie Bars
Festive ingredients and a simple baking method make for the perfect holiday cookie. With pine nuts in caramel topping a shortbread base, these cookie bars satisfy the need for something golden and toasty on the dessert table. Still tender when baked, the nuts lend a delicate texture and their nuanced, buttery flavor. Whether you’re making Christmas cookie boxes, looking ahead to New Year’s Eve, or sharing dessert at a holiday gathering, think about the shape of your cookie bars before serving. They can be cut in a variety of ways with a knife or cookie cutter and always come out looking like lacy gold ornaments. Just be sure to save…
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Peach Upside-Down Cake
There is always a bit of magic in an upside-down cake, complete with a final reveal – the turned cake coming effortlessly out of the pan and showing its glossy, caramelized topping. For this cake, peaches or a combination of peaches and plums create a delicious top layer. Actually, that’s the bottom layer when you’re building this in your cake pan. All part of the magic. With the steps below, you’ll learn how to make that final flip reliable, so your fruit doesn’t stick, and make the cake even more delicious with some of my favorite batter additions. While stone fruit season is still here, try this recipe to hold…
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Cranberry Linzer Torte
With a crust that rivals the best holiday cookie, this linzer torte features warm spices, ground nuts, and a vibrant, lightly sweet yet tart cranberry filling. Topped with a generous lattice that makes dessert gorgeous and rustic at the same time, consider this your invitation to bake up a bit of holiday magic. In place of traditional almonds or hazelnuts, I include pecans and/or walnuts in this recipe as they pair so well with cranberry, though you can customize using your favorite ground nuts if preferred. They make the crust incredibly flavorful and ensure this cranberry linzer torte will be the jewel of the dessert table – even more so…
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