These coconut snowmen cookies were loosely inspired by a cute box of white chocolate snowmen cookies I purchased while in Niigata, Japan. The cookies themselves were simple designed, being two round disks with little circular bits to represent the arms, and they were dunked in white chocolate to finish. I wanted to replicate that, but…
Tag: Butter
Savory Pumpkin Biscuits
Canned pumpkin puree is definitely convenient to use in the sense that you don’t have to break down, roast, and puree a fresh pumpkin, saving you hours of time there. That being said, recipes can be a little wonky in terms of how much pumpkin puree you need vs how much there is in a…
Miso Caramel Apple Dumplings
First time I had apple dumplings was living in Boston; my friend Tina made them for us when we were having a baking night together back in freshman year of college. I literally had no idea what an apple dumpling was, come to find out, they were these parcels of baked dough, stuffed with caramelized…
Aomori Apple Tartlets
Whenever I think of Aomori(which is in northern Japan), I think about the apples. Aomori apples are notorious for having a sweet, perfume-y smell, and a soft, juicy texture. So like the best version of a Fuji apple. I got super lucky that my local Japanese grocery store was carrying these, so I figured, why…
Japanese Apple Pies
These Japanese apple pies were inspired by me perusing through multiple Japanese bakery tour videos on Youtube, and seeing these adorable little scalloped half moon-shaped hand pies. In Japan, apple pies are popularly made with puff pastry, and can range from either a traditional pie shape to the more portable hand pies. So I figured,…
White Nectarine-Blackberry Pie Top
This pie top was directly inspired from when I saw Christina Tosi post this shortbread disk that was topped with jam and crumble on Instagram, and it looked delicious. So to do something similar to that, because once a Milkbar member, always a Milkbar member I made a variation on that, but with a shortbread…
Liver and Onion Piccata
I am one of those weirdos that likes liver and onions, okay? Back in college, when I was learning Montenegrin food, I noticed liver was a commonly used protein in that cuisine. I still remember when I was auditioning for Masterchef season 10, since I mentioned being a heavy baker more than a savory cook,…
Tofu-Nutella Silk Pie
One of my absolute favorite components to make is my chocolate tofu mousse. I’ve been making for it years, since it’s so simple – literally just equal parts melted chocolate mixed with pureed silken tofu, and salt just to bring out the chocolate flavor a bit more. And yes, it is the same chocolate-tofu mousse…
Chocolate-Salted Date Thumbprints
This recipe was inspired by the combination of chocolate and dates. Both are a bit earthy, but one provides sweetness, while the other more bitterness. Combine that with a little bit of salt from the usage of soy sauce, and you have essentially a chocolate-salted caramel-esque cookie! In this case, we have a salted date…
Baked Berry Ripple Cheesecake
Growing up, my mom only ever made two different kinds of Western desserts for us: white cake or baked cheesecake. I still remember as a really young kid, seeing her use our electric hand mixer to whip the cream cheese mixture(the literal only time she would ever use that thing), she would crush the graham…
Gjetost Caramel Apple Pie
While I have made gjetost apple pies in the past, the filling for this particular pie was the result of me trying to macerate the apples in caramel. With baking with fruit, there is the moisture factor that can cause a recipe to either work, or taste soggy, dense, and raw. Apple pie can be…
“Box of Chocolates” Tartlets
When I think of Valentine’s, the first three things that I associate the holidays with are pink-colored things, red-colored things, and chocolate. While let’s be real here, chocolate on Valentine’s Day is just a marketing ploy for candy companies to sell more chocolate, it is still fun to see all of the heart shaped chocolates,…
“A Heart as Pure as Snow”: a plated dessert
When I was thinking of Valentine’s Day desserts, I realized that I somehow have not made a raspberry dessert in over two years. Which means that it was long overdue. So right away, I knew I was going to use raspberries, I wanted this white and red aesthetic, and I wanted it to be a…
Maple-Pecan Cookies
These maple-pecan cookies were the result of me wanting something pecan pie-adjacent, and not wanting to outright bake a pecan pie or eat pecan pie filling. That and I was craving maple-flavored cookies. I have been making tons of brown butter-baked goods, and maple is just something that fits perfectly with that flavor profile. I…
Quahog Clam Onigiri
A long, long time ago, I was watching a Japan travel video, where someone purchased these red clam onigiri(rice balls), stored in the clam shells, and enjoyed them on a coastal train ride. Now, I would have totally linked the video, but it was years ago and I honestly could not find it anywhere. But…
Injeolmi Shortbreads
Whenever I think of my friend, Ellie, I think about how wonderful of a person she is. We have known each other since elementary school, became friends in middle school, sort of grew into different cliques in high school, but when we both went to college in Boston(her Boston College, me Boston University), our friendship…
Cherry Garcia Shortbreads
Whenever I had baker’s block and am struggling to think of new dessert ideas, one thing I can always fall back on is ice cream flavors! I find that focusing on specific flavors or ingredients, and what I enjoy about those in the ice cream itself, is a great starting point for a new dessert…
Streusel mit Pudding Brioche
This dessert was directly inspired by my visits to the German Christmas markets – if you have never been or don’t understand the hype, imagine the Disneyland Ride “It’s a Small World”, but that’s what an entire square in Germany becomes during late November/all of December. It is a wonderful sight to behold, and one…
White Chocolate Mille Feuille
This recipe came about because I was randomly in the mood to make puff pastry from scratch. There are just those random days where I want a challenge, and making puff pastry is definitely one of those. Puff pastry is a kind of laminated dough, meaning you are folding butter and dough together to create…
Sourdough Shio Pan
Shio pan(or salt bread) is one of those Japanese pastries that I had a more recent relationship with, but one that I adore greatly. Soft, fluffy, vaguely croissant-shaped bread with a salty flavor, this was a great concept for me to use Horacio, my sourdough starter, in. Unlike with my previous shio pan recipe, this…
Freddy's Harajuku 