As I have said before, one of the main things that drew me to pastry was the artistry of it all.  A butter cookie, although seemingly simple, can be a blank canvas on which to create pretty much anything.  All you need is a fun cookie cutter, now found in such unique shapes from winter sleighs to leaping frogs, some cookie dough, and batch of royal icing.   So grab your favorite cookie cutter and let’s get started.

I love to decorate cookies, (this is where I really let my creativity fly) and it is one of the staples that I offer at work.  To keep it interesting and exciting, I change the cookies seasonally, offering a fun new item in our showcase every couple of months.  In the fall I create maples leaves dusted with red, orange and yellow sugar, winter brings mittens and a version of these snowflake cookies, with spring comes daisies and ladybugs, finished by watermelons slices for the summer.  Really, the sky is the limit.  (more…)

I realize that when most people think of the holidays, they usually do not think of the official state nut of Ohio.  Yes, that is right, nothing says Christmas to me like Buckeyes.  My buckeyes, however, are a little tastier than the nut version.  A sweet confection of peanut butter and chocolate, these creamy, yet crumby treats are a true delicacy.

Buckeyes are a tell tale sign for me that Christmas is just around the corner.  Why my mother chose Christmas as a time to showcase these delicious little candies, I will never know, but her decision to devote some cold afternoons to making these sweet confections made them a holiday staple for our family.  As a child, I would always look forward to “Buckeye” time each year.  With a lackluster attitude towards cooking, my mother did not make many exciting or special dishes during the year.  At Christmas, however, she pulled out all the stops with these candies.  Not only were they special because of the time of year, they were special because mom was making them.  Always willing to help in the kitchen (my love of cooking seemed to be born with me,) I would especially enjoy helping with the buckeyes.  A very simple recipe, the only “difficulty” is rolling the “dough” into 1″ balls – this is where my mother was quick to enlist the help of her children.  My brother, mother and I would line the dinning room table with wax paper and she would set a large bowl in the center.  I would prop myself on my knees on a chair and dig in.  While I think I was aware of the mundane task  even at an early age, the anticipation of the first buckeye of the season was enough to keep me rolling! (more…)