Oh Joy!

monogrammed cookies... 4 Jan 2013

My friend Mari is a baking genius. For the holidays, she made a custom cookie and treats sampler boxes for her closest friends and family. We were lucky enough to be some of the recipients, and I had to share a few of her amazing creations. Two of my favorites were the coconut macaroons and the stained-glass ornament cookies. I think the idea of monogrammed cookies is so fun and would be great for a gift at any time of the year. You could turn the ornaments into simple circle shapes and make them for a birthday party (or as a birthday gift!) in a variety of candy colors. Thanks, Mari!

{Photos by Oh Joy}

currently snacking on... 17 Dec 2012

While candy canes are still in season, I've been trying to use them as an accent to some of my favorite snacks. So, I used the leftover candy canes I had from these cookies to sprinkle them on dark chocolate ice cream. For some extra texture, I blended up sugar cones into an ice cream cone dust. Yum! The combo is pretty magical...

{Photo by Oh Joy}

chocolate chip nutella candy cane cookies... 4 Dec 2012

Say that three times fast! With the holidays approaching, I've been wanting to make a twist on my favorite year-round cookie—the chocolate chip cookie. Peppermint is the flavor of the season, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'll gladly get a peppermint latte or pick up those Peppermint Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's during their limited time run. So, I've decided to add some of that candy cane action to some delicious chocolate chip cookies, with a little extra something—Nutella!—for a super rich and chocolately taste.

Here's the recipe for my newest cookie concoction...

currently snacking on... 21 Nov 2012

A couple weeks ago while at a work dinner, I had the delight of trying eton mess for the first time. I had heard of it, but never really knew what it was. Ever since then, it's become my newest dessert obsession. It's so light, delicious, and easy to make with a mixture of creamy, fruity, crunchy, sweet, and tart textures and flavors. So, if you need a last-minute Thanksgiving dessert, eton mess to the rescue!

Eton mess is simply a mix of whipped cream, crushed meringues, and berries. There are various alternatives recipes to the standard, but here's what I did...

currently snacking on... 5 Nov 2012

I hope you guys had a nice weekend! (And I'm so happy to hear that those of you in New York finally got your power back!). Sorry to be MIA on Friday; I flew to San Francisco on Thursday for a press event and woke up Friday morning with food poisoning! I immediately had to catch a flight back to L.A., and as soon as I got home landed in bed for the next 24 hours. Terrible.

Anyway, I'm happy to be almost 100% up-and-running again...and back to eating! So, I had to share my newest sweet craving with you. I never loved caramels as a kid, but for some reason, I love them now...especially when they're freshly made, like these from Crack Caramel (and yes, that's their name for good reason!). Buttery, sweet, melty, and a tiny bit salty...yum...

{Photo by Oh Joy}

currently snacking on... 22 Oct 2012

I'm somewhat of a cookie fiend (I'm even dressing up Ruby like a cookie for Halloween!). Not only can I barely go a day without having a cookie, but I'm really big on the texture of them as well. My favorite combo is either a slightly chewy middle with a crisp edge, or a totally thin and crisp wafer-like cookie.

I recently had the chance to try these cookies by Früute (I fell in love with their mini tarts last year!), and it satisfied so many of my cookie cravings. Since I love plain chocolate wafers (I always take the cream off Oreo's), the chocolate pistachio was crispy and chocolate-ly without being too sweet. And coconut wafers make me feel like I'm on a tropical vacation. For my chewy cravings, the salted caramel shortbread and raspberry almond crumble were like cakes in the form of cookies. Amazing. This cookie basket is now one of my new go-to gifts to give to other cookie monsters in my life!

What's your go-to cookie? Soft and chewy? Crispy and crunchy? 

currently snacking on... 16 Oct 2012

Do you ever come across a snack that makes you want to eat the entire box in one sitting? When I was at Trader Joe's a couple weeks ago to look for something to put inside these cupcakes, I came across my newest sweet obsession. These Petite Cocoa Batons are delicate and thin rolled wafers filled with cocoa cream. They are light and crispy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. They are crazy good, and I've seriously been having these by the handful...

{photo by Oh Joy}

sweet & savory indulgences... 2 Oct 2012

You guys know that food is probably my favorite pastime. So when I get a chance to take a break from work and schedules and baby duties, snacking on something delicious (usually in chocolate form) is my instant heaven. While I have a huge sweet tooth, as I've gotten older I can't eat things that are crazy sweet anymore. I used to cringe at dark chocolate and now often crave dark chocolate over previous love, milk chocolate, from sweet tooth's past.

I love the idea of bringing a bit of sweetness to savory foods, so I asked my friends over at Heirloom LA to help me come up with a couple indulgent, yet super easy, recipes to share with you guys that provide instant comfort. We paired Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate with savory ingredients for a twist on the always classic (and always comforting) grilled cheese and tomato soup. Our version is a Brioche and Dark Chocolate Grilled Cheese Sandwich paired with a Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Soup. And, the best part is they both take less than 20 minutes to make.

I apologize in advance if I'm about to make you REAL hungry...

currently snacking on... 24 Sep 2012

Bob picked up these hi-tops {otherwise known as perfectly-sized mini cupcake sandwiches} from one of my favorite cupcake shops in LA, Frosted, for our 6th anniversary yesterday. I ate about half of these in an afternoon...salted caramel, chocolate, and red velvet...yum. The best part about having a dozen of these little guys was putting them on a tiered tray. Putting anything on tiers makes them seem instantly more special and like I've been slaving over a hot oven all day even when I couldn't have been further away from one...

currently snacking on... 17 Sep 2012

Even though they're meant for kids, I've totally got a soft spot for animal crackers. Maybe because they're called "crackers" but really taste more like delicious shortbread sugar cookies? I got these Kidorikko animal crackers during my last trip to Mitsuwa Market (when I got these green tea kit kats), and they seriously crack me up with their silly faces and little hand-drawn details...

ps. I love adding a layer of ice cream to these little guys!

{photo by Oh Joy}