It’s hard to find a good lemon cookie. Either they don’t have a particularly strong or distinctive flavor to them, or the cookies have an artificial sweetness to them due to overuse of (cheap) imitation flavoring. As a result, I was a bit reluctant to try Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins at first, but was willing to give TJ’s the benefit of the doubt ... Read More »
Hershey’s is getting more creative with what they put into their signature Kisses. Caramel and peanut butter, two staples of the filled Kisses line, seem downright ordinary compared to their newer offerings, like New York Cheesecake Kisses. Chocolate covered cheesecake sounds good in any situation and it’s no different when it comes in kiss form – after all, it’s what made me pick up the ... Read More »
It’s not that easy to find giant chocolate chips, and while there is some variation in size from brand to brand, most chocolate chips come in a fairly standard size and shape. Guittard’s Super Cookie Chips (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the listing) fit the bill nicely if you’re looking to go large. These chocolate chips don’t quite turn your cookies ... Read More »
Extracts, whether they’re vanilla, lemon, almond or any other flavor, are made by mixing a concentrated flavor with alcohol. The alcohol burns off during cooking or baking, leaving behind only the desired flavor in your dish. They’re very effective, but not always the most effective way to infuse flavor for a particular ingredient. For instance, citrus oils – isolated from the skin/zest of an orange, ... Read More »
Different types of honey have different colors, flavors and consistencies depending on what flowers the bees visited to produce that honey. Clover honey, for instance, has a fairly neutral floral flavor that is often associated with “plain” honey. Orange blossom honey, on the other hand, definitely has citrus notes to it. It’s easy to differentiate the two, even though they are similar in appearance. The ... Read More »
Trader Joe’s recently started stocking Sweet Apricot Kernels – a.k.a. poor man’s “almonds” or “bitter almonds” – in their nut aisle. This came as quite a surprise to me because my first though after seeing them was “aren’t apricot kernels poisionous?” The answer is yes. The kernels contain amygdalin, which contains cyanide. A study conducted by the State Department of Agriculture and Markets of New ... Read More »
I used food coloring to put a swirl into my candy cane cupcakes. Nestle clearly had the same idea when they came up with their Swirled Holiday Morsels – a.k.a. red, white and green white baking chips. Their chips have broader applications than my cupcakes do and are an interesting way to help us infuse a little color into our holiday baking. The chips are ... Read More »
Semisweet chocolate is the standard for chocolate chips. Neither too sweet nor too dark, it appeals to everyone and complements most recipes. If you want something a little different, you either have to hunt around to find a bag of specialty chocolate chips or chop up a bar of chocolate into chunks to stir into your cookie dough. Dark chocolate lovers should keep an eye ... Read More »
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