Italian Rainbow Cookies
I know cookies. So, when I come across a recipe that makes my mouth water, you can be sure it is a winner. I’ve just finished baking my Christmas cookies, and I’d like to post some of my favorites. Actually, I have so many special recipes to make them all, so I have had to put them in rotation. One that always makes the list is Italian Rainbow Cookies, a recipe that I learned a long time ago.
Zeppole for St. Joesph’s Day
Here is my recipe, featured in the new Patsy’s Italian Family Cookbook and is perfect for Italian Easter!
Tommy Bahama’s Famous Piña Colada Cake
More than baked ham, more than roast lamb, my must-have Easter dinner tradition is coconut layer cake. Its annual appearance on our holiday table goes back to my childhood.
Lemon Meringue Cake
This cake is NOT fast and easy, but if you are an experienced baker, it will not hold any surprises. In fact, you will be rewarded with a great all-purpose yellow cake recipe and one of the simplest and best lemon curds in my collection.
Limoncello Pound Cake from Frankie Avalon
The Frankie Avalon Italian Family Cookbook (which I cowrote with a man who can truly be called an American show business icon) is jam-packed with wonderful Italian-American recipes to savor again and again. This recipe for a moist and citrusy limoncello pound cake is based on the one from his Mom’s recipe box.
Berry Meringue Slices
It’s been over a dozen years since I first had this perfect summer dessert while researching my KAFFEEHAUS book in Vienna.. Hans Diglas’s cafe-restaurant is one of the most enjoyable spots for traditional food (including pastries), and it has the advantage of being around the corner from St. Stephen’s cathedral. It was there that I first […]
Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding
An old-fashioned custard-style rice pudding that has been in our family for generations.
Concord Grape Pie
One of the very best autumn desserts in the world, a double-crust Concord grape pie. Not easy, but crazy good.
Chocolate-Orange Macarons
An excellent recipe for exquisite macarons, flavored with orange and dark chocolate. These homemade cookies are much cheaper to make than buying them, once you have the proper equipment.
Warm Cheese Strudel with Vanilla Custard
A warm cheese strudel (made with frozen filo) baked in custard and served with a vanilla sauce, this delicious dessert is a classic Viennese pastry.
Viennese Sachertorte
Sachertorte has been famous almost since its conception almost 200 years ago. It made its inventor so famous that he was able to build a hotel, one that is still one of the premier establishments in Vienna, a city renown for its elegance. But I will warn you…Sachertorte isn’t for everybody, and it takes a discerning […]
Spicy Stout Gingerbread
My friend Bruce Aidells wrote a great book on cooking with beer (look for a used copy), and he asked me to come up with a contribution. I offered this stout gingerbread, and the recipe now makes an annual appearance on my Christmas baking list. The caramel notes in the stout work beautifully with the […]
Spicy Stout Gingerbread
I offered this stout gingerbread, and the recipe now makes an annual appearance on my Christmas baking list. The caramel notes in the stout work beautifully with the molasses and brown sugar. It keeps forever…but it doesn’t last more than a couple of days in our house. Make it as a single cake, and it is a perfect addition to a holiday potluck.
Sarabeth’s Stollen
Sarabeth Levine is known as the Grande Dame of Manhattan bakers. I was lucky enough to work with her on her first cookbook, SARABETH’S BAKERY: FROM MY HANDS TO YOURS, which quickly established itself as a must-have for anyone who wants to learn how to bake her famous specialties. One of the many baked goods that no one bakery makes better is her holiday stollen, a buttery sweet bread studded with rum-soaked raisins, dried fruits, and nuts.
Thanksgiving Meatless Mincemeat Pie
A simmering pot of mincemeat announces the holiday season with its heady, spicy aroma, but this one is meat-less. The suet and beef from the old recipes are gone, and the fruit flavor has been increased with apple juice concentrate, which also acts as a sweetener. A