012211Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Sour, tart cherries and dark chocolate is truly a match made in heaven!! This recipe brings the "marriage" to perfection! Using cocoa powder always creates a bit of a dust storm in the kitchen - I usually cover the mixer with a dish towel so the powder doesn't get everywhere. The dough is rather dense and I ended up using my hand to mix in the chocolate bits and cherries. Instead of forming 1/4 cup balls, I used an ice cream scooper and dropped the dough onto the parchment. The cookies do get nice and puffy within the time specified, and yields the predicted 3 dozen. Very delicious and decadent combination - great with milk!

011611 Hazelnut Orange Shortbread

This is a delayed post. The last three recipes have been with hazelnuts only because I bought quite a bit and didn't want them to go to waste (not at $9.99/lb). These cookies left a wonderful nutty aroma in the kitchen!! The dough did not form into a ball very easily, but I managed to form/shape the disks on the parchment paper. Very delicious even though I don't care for oranges in baked goods. I may consider repeating this recipe with lemon zest instead of orange.....or no zest at all...hmm, I think cranberries would be great!!

010911 Hazelnut Jam Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies are sooooo delicious!! Too bad the recipe only yields 2 dozen. I chilled the dough overnight which may be why it was difficult to form into balls ( needed to roll the dough in between my palms for almost half a minute). The aroma of the roasted hazelnut was delightful in the kitchen! The strawberry jam added the perfect balance to the cookie dough. One of the best thumbprint recipes I've ever baked!!

010111 Hazelnut Cookies

These were the first cookies of 2011 and the roasted hazelnuts sure did fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma!! The chilled dough was a bit sticky to work with and my niece and I had to work quickly. Overall, the cookies were easy to assemble and had a subtle hazelnut flavor. The nuts were pretty expensive but had to try the recipe out....not sure if I would repeat ..

122310 Rum Balls

This is a delayed post..being the Holidays and all. Not only are these yummy rum balls easy to make, they are absolutely delicious!! Next time, I would add a bit more rum. They're not too sweet but have the right balance!! I think I'm going to make these a traditional recipe, served every Christmas Eve at our house!! They were a HIT!!