Walnut Circles

These are very nice, crunchy cookies, which might be prepared in any shape desired, if only You have a cookie cutter :) Margarine gives all of the bakery that characteristic, outrageous taste that makes you want another cookie :) I think they're wonderful for kids, especially when cut in a nice, (now) Christmas-theme shape :) Of course it is possible to decorate it with icing sugar, making Snowmen, Santas, Reindeers and other wonders (yes, yes, pinterest appears to be very helpful here ;) ), if only You have enough time and stomachs enjoying very sweet cookies.

Slightly changed recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 150g margarine
• 75g of powdered sugar
• 230g of flour
• 1 egg yolk
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla or orange extract
• 75g of walnuts, chopped
• 75g of candied orange skin

Preparation:

1. Take a big bowl, put margarine, powdered sugar, flour, egg yolk, salt and extract inside and knead.
2. Add walnuts and orage skin.
3. Prepare a baking pan, cover with bakig paper.
4. Start preheating the oven to 200C.

Here - two methods:

1. For circles - divide the dough into 2-3 pieces and make cylinders (the diameter of the cylinder is the diameter of the cookie), put in the freezer till it completely freezes. 
2. When ready, cut into slices, around 0,5-1 cm thick. The dough won't grow, so the cookie will look absolutely the same.
3. For cookie cutter shapes: put in the freezer till it is really hard but not completely frozen.
4. Take the rolling pin and roll out the dough to 0,5-1cm thick (use a little flour if neccesary). 
5. Cut the shapes.
6. Put the cookies on a baking pan, bake for 10 minutes in 200C.
7. Cool down, decorate with icing sugar if desired.
8. Bon appetit! :)

Banana Tart

A very tasty, non-baking recipe for banana lovers :) I did enjoy it a lot :) It is quick, easy and very sweet :) Looks delicious and You can write something or make a nice heart, star, etc- shape on the top :)

The recipe comes from this website, though I made some changes, I skipped lemon juice as it gives a strange taste.

Ingredients:

Bottom:

• 350g of chocolate/cocoa cookies/biscuits
• optionally - (if the cookies are cocoa flavoured) - 2 tablespoons of of baking cocoa
• 100g of butter(melted)

Home-made custard:

• 60g of potato starch
• 60g of sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 500ml of milk

Filling&Top:

• 3-4 bananas, cut into slices
• 400g of cold 36% cream
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1,5 tablespoon of gelatin + 1/4 glass of water
• optionally: sauces - caramel, chocolate; baking cocoa - to sprinkle the top, shredded chocolate

Preparation:

Bottom:

1. Prepare a baking pan for a tart, (around 24 cm diameter) - preferably silicone one, as it is much easier to take out the cake from it (unless You own a tart springform).
2. Crush the cookies in a food processor or blender's cube cutter or any other method - crush them very precisely (sand-like). Add melted butter, mix precisely. Check with your hand if the bottom is sticky enough, if not, add a little bit more butter.
3. If necessary - add baking cocoa.
4. Distribute crushed cookies evenly all over the tart pan (bottom + sides) and press a little.
5. Put in the fridge.

Custard:

1. Take a pot, put potato starch, sugar and egg yolks inside and mix. Gradually add milk, mixing all the time. Start heating on a low heat till all the ingredients mix/dissolve precisely and you get a smooth mixture. 
2. Keep heating (bring to boil) and stiring till it thickens (be careful not to burn it, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn). If there are any lumps - mix with a mixer or blender. Set aside.

Filling&Top:

1. Put the 36%cream in the freezer.
2. Wash and peel bananas, cut into slices.
3. Take the bottom from the fridge and pour the custard evenly all over the bottom. 
4. Distribute bananas evenly on the custard (one or two layers if necessary). Put it back in the fridge.
5. Take a pot, put gelatin and water inside, mix. Heat and stir till it melts and set aside. 
6. Take a mixer and its bowl, start beating the cream with sugar (around 10 minutes). After that time add gelatin and mix precisely.
7. Take the cake from the fridge, distribute whipped cream evenly on the entire top.
8. Decorate in a desired way.
9. Bon Appetit :)

Cherry Éclairs

Uhh, at first they seem so quick and easy, but the filling and final preparing them was more of a challenge :) However, the final outcome is really wonderful :) I gave a good plate for my brother, but before he reached his house, the plate was already empty ;) 

It would be a sin, not to recommend them ;)
This recipe is a mix of recipes from those two pages.

Ingredients:

Éclairs dough:

• 250 ml of water
• 125g of butter or margarine
• 1 glass of flour
• 4 eggs
• a pinch of salt

Filling:

• 200 ml of milk
• 300g of cherries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 egg yolks
• 20g of flour
• 20g of potato starch
• 90g of sugar
• 1 packaging of vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Icing:

• 1 glass of powdered sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons of water

Optional icing ingredients:

• flavoured extract - vanilla, almond, lemon, etc.
• food colouring
• or - instead of icing - ganache, chocolate frosting

Optional ingredients - decoration:

• cherry (or any other flavour - different fruit, caramel, chocolate, coffee, nut...) mousse
• whipped cream
• fruit
• nuts
• mincemeat

Preparation - dough:

1. Take a baking tray, grease and put baking paper on it. Put aside.
2. Take a pot, put water, butter and salt inside, boil.
3. When brought to boil, add flour and stir energetically (to prevent the bottom from burning). The dough should be smooth and should not stick to the pot.
4. Put aside, to let it cool down completely.
5. When cooled down, mix the dough with eggs, for a quite long time, till smooth.* 
6. Put the dough inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape).
7. Distribute long pieces of cake, leaving some space between them, as they will grow quite much.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, on 200C. Make sure they're ready inside.
9. When baked, cool down and cut lengthways.

* Longer mixing helps it grow up in the oven later on, as there is no baking powder.

Preparation - filling:

1. If your cherries are frozen - defrost, make sure there are no kernels, pour away the water.
2. If fresh - throw away the kernels.
3. Put the cherries in a bowl. Mix, with a mixer, till smooth, to get a mousse. If there's cherry juice, pour it away, for a different use.
4. Take a pot, pour milk and add cherry mousse inside. Start boiling. When brought to boil, turn off the heat and put aside to let it cool down.
5. Take a mixer and its bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar. Add flour and potato starch. Using a spatula, mix precisely.
6. Gradually add cherry milk mixture to the mixer's bowl, stiring precisely.
7. Put the mixture back in the pot and start boiling. Stir all the time, as it will thicken, like a custard, quite fast. Be careful not to burn the bottom.
8. When thick and ready, add butter and stir, to let the butter melt. Cover with foil and put aside, to let it cool down. Later on, when cool, keep in the fridge (it will thicken more), till you need it.

Preparation - icing sugar:

1. Put all the ingredients together and stir to get a desired consistency of the icing (needs to be thick). 

Finishing:

1. Prepare a baking grill or another baking tray, cover with baking paper, put aside.
2. Take the top pieces of your Éclairs and dip in previously prepared icing. 
3. Transfer them into steel baking grill or baking tray and leave for a while in the fridge.
4. Put the cherry filling inside a syringe or a piping pastry bag with a steel piping nozzle (preferably quite big star shape) and distribute it on the bottom piece of your Éclair in any way desired. You can add fruit, whipped cream or use only the cherry filling.
5. Cover with the suitable top piece covered with icing.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. Bon Appetit! :)

Meringue Cookies

Mmm! Very nice and elegant cookies! Equally sweet and sour. Though if You don't like the sour taste of lemon, the filling may be different, as a lot of fillings match here :) 

And - If You're running out of time, there is no need to bake a home-made meringues, as they're available in most supermarkets.

Those cookies - smaller or bigger - will wonderfully decorate the table. 

I think a pyramid of sweet meringues on a big white plate, on a wedding table would look just purely perfect .. don't You think? :)

Recipe for meringues, slightly changed, comes from that website.

Ingredients:

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites 
• 200g of sugar (finely ground)
• a pinch of salt

Lemon curd:

• 3 eggs 
• lemon zest and lemon juice from 3 lemons 
• 100g of powdered sugar 
• 100g of cool butter 

Additional ingredients:

• food colouring (powdered or gel)

Preparation:

Meringue:

1. Prepare a baking sheet, cover with baking paper.  Draw a lot of small circles all over the baking sheet, leaving some space between those circles (diameter: max 5 cm). Put aside. 
2. Take a mixer and its bowl, put egg whites and salt inside, start beating. After a while, start adding sugar, one tablespoon after another, mixing precisely all the time. The beating should take 10-15 minutes, not less. The meringue after the beating should be stiff and shiny and sugar should dissolve completely. 
3. Here is a good time to add food colouring, as much as you wish, and mixing precisely. Note that the colour will fade a little bit due to the baking process, so add a little bit more of it, not to be dissapointed with the final colour of the cookies.
4. Using a syringe, distribute the meringue on the baking sheet, on previously drawn circles. 
5. Put in the oven and bake for 60-90 minutes (or a little bit longer) in 120C. After that time, meringue cookies should be crunchy. 
6. After baking, keep in a room temperature, till the filling is ready.

Lemon curd:

Lemon curd requires a 'bath' so it is necessary to have a suitable pot and a bowl, that can be put one on another.

1. Chop the butter into smaller pieces. 
2. Take a pot, put some water inside, start boiling it. 
3. Take a bowl that matches the pot, put eggs inside, beat. 
4. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar and stir till everything links and there are no lumps. 
5. Now put the bowl on the top of your pot (make sure the bowl stands out from the pot so that you don't get burn) and slowly keep heating up the mixture (don't boil it). 
6. Keep adding the butter, one piece after another, stiring after adding. 
7. When all the butter is melted in the mixture, turn off the heat and put the bowl with lemon curd somewhere aside, to let it cool down. 
8. Then put your lemon curd in the fridge so that it stiffens more. 

Finishing:

1. Take a meringue, distribute some filling on its bottom and link with another small meringue cookie.
2. Bon Appetit! :)

Puff pastry cookies with strawberries and Nutella

Are unexpected guests coming soon? Don't you have a clue what to put on the table? Are you organizing a party where sophisticated cakes aren't a suitable match? This is an easy, quick, and overtasty solution :) I do strongly recommend :) They're outrageous!

The recipe comes from this website, as usually, I changed a tiny little bit :)

Ingredients:

• 1 packing of good quality ready made puff pastry
• 1/2 jar of Nutella (or something very similar in taste to Nutella)
• 100 g of strawberries
• powdered sugar

Optional ingredients:

• chopped pistachios (to sprinkle the top)

Preparation:

1. If your puff pastry is totally frozen - defrost it. It needs to be in a room temperature (so that it won't shrink during baking).
2. Take your puff pastry and using a shape cutter (in every shape you want, it doesn't need to be a heart shape) make as many shapes as you can from your puff pastry. Roll the leftovers of the puffpastry and use it as well. If the puff pastry is too sticky - use some flour (sprinkle it on the puff pastry and rolling pin)
3. Put the cutouts on a baking sheet (remember to put the baking paper on your baking sheet)
4. Put in the middle of every cutout 1 teaspoon of Nutella
5. Take the strawberries and - optionally - cut them into halves.
6. Put the strawberries on Nutella.
7. Bake in 200 C for 15-17 minutes (may be ready faster - keep an eye on them - if the colour is gold - it is ready). Cool down.
8. Add some powdered sugar on the top.
9. Bon Appetit ! :)

Bajadera

Bajadera. What is it? Well - that's a fantastic, last second idea which always works, always tastes delicious as it is chocolate sweet, soft and moist. 

I do recommend, especially when you have no time and your oven is tired as it is a non-baking recipe ;)
But - if You have time and enjoy baking, decorating, creating sweet wonders - see also Bajadera Reindeers.

Quite changed recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 400g of dried pound cake (preferably lemon or vanilla flavoured)
• 120g of mascarpone cheese
• 80g of nutella
• 350g of milk chocolate
• favourite mincemeat (including for example nuts, almonds; or  baking cocoa)
• some plastic small sticks
• sprinkles for decoratation

Optional ingredients:

• 10-25ml of Rum
• dried fruit - but in very small pieces

Preparation:

1. If your pound cake isn't dried enough, it is a good idea to crumble it into very small pieces and put it in the preheated oven(over 180C) for a couple of minutes.
2. Take a mixer and it's bowl. Put mascarpone cheese and nutella inside. Mix till smooth.
3. Put dried pound cake to the bowl and mix everything till smooth. 
4. Here is the time to add and mix optional ingredients if desired.
5. Cover with foil and cool down in the freezer for 45 minutes.
6. During that time, prepare a rectangular bakewell pan or loaf tin or - something that you can put in your freezer. Put some baking paper on its bottom.
7. Take the dough out from the freezer and start making small balls, put each of them in previously prepared pan/tin.
8. Put back in the freezer for another 30 minutes.
9. During that time prepare small paper muffin cases and sprinkles around you.
10. Also, take a pot, put chocolate (in small pieces) inside and melt on a very low heat.
11. Take one ball from the freezer, dip 1/3 of a stick inside a ball and dip in the chocolate, so that it covers the entire ball, take out from the chocolate, wait till the excess of chocolate falls down.
12. As the ball is very cold, the chocolate will stiffen on it very fast, so as soon as you take it out from the chocolate pot, take out the stick, put it on a muffin case and decorate.
13. Store finished bajaderas in the fridge.
14. Bon Appetit! ;)

Pumpkin Cookies

Something nice, really tasty and oh, okay, let's say it - quite healthy ;) in their taste they are very similar to carrot muffins I've baked a couple of times (before the blog was born, but no worries I'm sure that wasn't the last time I baked carrot muffins) and that's probably because of the nutmeg. 
What's more interesting when my little toddler naphew came and asked for a cookie I gave him one of these.. Surprisingly he devoured it and came back asking for more! 
Is there any more encouragement needed? Or any more proof that this is tasty? I hope not! :)
Recipe comes from KwestiaSmaku.

Ingredients:

• 50g of butter
• 1/3 glass of brown sugar
• 1/3 glass of white sugar
• 1,5 glass of flour
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• A pinch of salt
• 1/4 glass of oil
• 2 eggs
• 200g of tinned pumpkin pieces
• 1 jar of plum jam

Preparation:

1. Take the pumpkin. Drain it off and mash, using for example a blender.
2. Take a mixer's bowl. Put chopped butter, brown and white sugar inside. Put aside.
3. Take a bowl, put flour, baking powder and baking soda inside. Add cinnamonn, nutmeg and salt. Mix precisely.
4. Mix butter and sugars for around 2-3 minutes. After that time, gradually start adding oil, mixing all the time. 
5. Continue mixing, add one egg, when it links, add another. 
6. Add pumpkin puree, mix till smooth.
7. Add bowl with flour and spices, mix till everything links.
8. Put in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
9. At the end of that 1 hour's time, start preheating the oven to 180C.
10. Take the baking tray, grease it and put baking paper on it.
11. Take a baking syringe or a baking sleeve, put some of the dough inside and start making small cookies on the baking tray.*
12. Put in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, till the cookies grow and get gold.
13. Cool down.
14. Take two of them, put plum jam between.
15. Bon Appetit! :)

* Honestly, I put some dough in mini tartin tins - yes, shape is different but taste - same good :) 

Martha's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies

 They're... outrageous! Plenty of compliments I could tell about those cookies :) Really, really chocolate and worth trying! 

Recipe, changed, comes from Marta Stewart.

Ingredients:

• 113 g of dark chocolate, chopped (the smaller pieces, the better - easier to melt)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 50 g of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 big egg
• 110 g of brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 200 g of chocolate chips or more or less chopped chocolate (milk or dark, might be mixed)

Preparation:

1. Take a baking tray, put baking paper on it. Put aside.
2. Take a pot, put dark chocolate and butter inside and melt it on a very low heat, stiring all the time. Turn off the heat, put aside so that it cools down.
3. Take a bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt inside.
4. Take a mixer and its bowl and mix eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add cooled down, melted chocolate, mix. Then add flour and mix again.
5. Add chocolate chips and stir (don't mix with a mixer, use a spoon).
6. Put one spoon (= this is one cookie) on a baking tray, leaving some space between cookies because they will grow a little. Using a spoon, form every cookie in a round, neat shape.
7. Bake for 8-12 minutes in 175C. Cookies should be shiny and soft inside.
8. Keep in a closed box up to 3 days.
9. Bon Appetit! :)

Chocolate Truffles

Exceptional! Mouth-watering, melting on the tongue! Perfect for chocolate-lovers ;) 

Recipe comes from Kwestia Smaku

Ingredients:

• 100g of soft(not cold) butter
• 100 g of dark chocolate, at least with 70% of cocoa
• 50 g of milk chocolate
• 100 g of powdered sugar
• baking cocoa for sprinkling 

Preparation:

1. Take a mixer and its bowl. 
2. Cut the butter into small cubes, put inside the bowl. 
3. Add powdered sugar. Put aside.
4. Take a clean pot, put dark and milk chocolate inside, melt on a very low heat, stiring all the time, so that it doesn't burn. Put aside, so that it cools down a little.
5. Mix the soft butter and powdered sugar, for around 7 minutes, to get fluffy, bright substance.
6. Step by step, one tablespoon after another, keep adding melted chocolate to the mixer's bowl, still mixing.
7. Cover the bowl with foil and put in the fridge for 1-2 hours (it needs to thicken and become more hard).
8. After that time it is possible either to take silicone moulds or to make balls out of that chocolate.* In both cases - 1 full teaspoon should be much enough to form a ball or more or less enough to fill the mould.  
9. When done, put filled in silicone moulds or a plate with balls back in the fridge for another 1-2 hours. Then take them out and sprinkle all over with baking cocoa.
10. Don't keep them for too long in the room temperature, they will start melting.
11. Bon Appetit! :)

* I do recommend silicone moulds - it is easier to make the truffles and it is easier to make them look really professional, neat&tidy, classy, beautiful....

While making balls the chocolate melts in hands and it's hard to make those balls, so the appearance isn't really satisfactory.

Italian Almond Cookies

 These cookies were an absolute, astonishing surprise to me. Right after taking them out of the oven, my first thought was 'my God, what a disaster, it's burnt and hard'. And that is what I told my friends. Even so, I didn't throw them away. My mum and my friends tasted it and with a delight claimed that the cookies were really delicious. How come...? 
Well, it appeared that these cookies need some time to get soft and tasty (a couple of hours, every next day they get better ;) ). 
Must try. Quick, easy, delicious.
Recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients (for 50-70 cookies):

• 3 egg whites
• 300g of grounded almonds (= almond flour)
• 300g of powdered sugar (+some, to sprinkle the cookies)
• 1 tablespoon of honey or golden syrup (I used it instead of honey)
• filling: caramel sauce*, lemon curd, whipped cream, creme patissiere, Nutella, honey, etc.

* I used it, matches perfectly

Preparation:

1. Mix all the ingredients using a food processor, till you get thick, malleable dough. It may be sticky. Cover it using a foil and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
2. During that time, prepare your baking sheet - put some baking paper on it and - optionally - put a foil under the baking paper.*
3. Take the dough out of the fridge. 
4. Start forming small balls (around walnut's size), sprinkle it precisely with powdered sugar, put on a baking sheet and using something small with a round, smooth ending - make a hollow in every cookie (so that after baking, you can put the filling in there).
5. Leave some space between the cookies on the baking sheet - they double their size during baking. 
6. Bake in 160C for around 15 minutes.** 
7. Cool them down and then add the filling.
8. Bon Appetit ! :)

* Foil is important, if your oven likes to burn the bottom of the food. 

** Again, it depends on the oven. It is crucial to keep looking at cookies for these 15 minutes - don't let them get too gold (even though it is a little bit hard, because they remain white because of the powdered sugar). You can easily open the oven during baking (nothing bad will happen) and check(using a toothpick) or even taste one cookie to check if it is ready or not. It is advisable to lift one cookie, using for instance a fork, to check whether the bottom is burnt or not.

If you are afraid that it is baking too fast - decrease the temperature.

Amaretti cookies

Almond cookies, a perfect cookie for a fan of amaretto/almond flavour.

Recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients:

• 340 g grounded almonds
• 300 g powdered sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 30 ml amaretto liqueur (or almond aroma)

Preparation:

1. Beat the whites till thick (around 7 minutes).
2. Gently add grounded almonds and sugar - stir.
3. Add liqueur, stir.
4. Take a baking sheet, put the baking paper on it.
5. Using a teaspoon, put small portions (1 teaspoon= 1 cookie*) on the baking paper, leaving quite much space between cookies (they grow)
6. Bake for 15 minutes in 170 C till they get gold.
7. Bon Appetit :)

* Of course if you want to, make them bigger, but as you see, they get much bigger when made from 1 teaspoon.