Month: February 2020

chocolate cookie

(amazing) chocolate-toffee cookies

Can you believe this recipe has been in the “to try” section of my recipe binder for over 20 years? Besides the fact that I was able to hold on to a small piece of paper for this long, realizing how good these are after all these years is almost a sin. My sister-in-law sent me the recipe by email back when I had a Hotmail account, which was like a million years ago. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t make these right away, but I do know how easily I forget things if I don’t write them down, so I finally added “make chocolate cookies” to my to-do list. (Tip: Lists are a forgetful and distracted human’s best friend.) Unfortunately, I don’t always remember to carry my to-do list with me, and often must rely on my not so perfect memory. I managed to remember during my last trip to the supermarket, that this recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, so I bought two bars thinking it would be enough. Guess what? I had …

karlsbaderkrans

bake a swedish karlsbaderkrans to soothe your nerves!

Election Day was two days ago. We won’t have final results for at least a week, and I’ve been so stressed out about this that yesterday morning I really needed some help getting away from my desk and my laptop, where I have spent most of the day staring at the same two numbers: Biden: 253. Trump: 213. All we need is for Biden to get to 270. But that is not so simple. So, I decided to bake. I made a recipe I had wanted to make for a very long time. I had eaten this at many coffee shops in Sweden, and I wasn’t sure I could get it right. Karlsbaderkransen is a soft, sweet bread that is filled with almond paste and butter. As it bakes, the filling drops to the bottom while the rest of the dough rises, giving the bread a domed look that is sure to impress after you sprinkle a little pärlsocker and sliced almonds on top. I was out of pärlsocker (Swedish pearl sugar) and sliced almonds …