Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches with Sea Salt Flakes

During the hot summer days there is nothing like treating yourself to ice cream.  Growing up, one of my favorite seasonal treats was an ice cream sandwich that was usually obtained by waiting for the ice cream truck to drive by our house.  I was feeling a bit nostalgic and decided to make my own super soft chocolate cookies and filled them with gelato, Talenti, to be exact.  Having made a different variety of ice cream sandwiches before, the key learning is to bake the cookies just until they are set, so that once they are cooled they are chewy and can be easily enjoyed with ice cream. Topping the cookies with Maldon sea salt flakes is the perfect way to take a childhood treat and elevate it to something 'grown-ups' will like.  

Valentines' Day Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Rose Jam

My inspiration for posts can come from a lot of places -  this particular post was inspired by the vintage purple and gold tin that I picked up at a thrift store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  I loved the combination of lilac, navy and gold and wanted to make a Valentine's Day dessert that would compliment it perfectly.  Instead of opting for the traditional chocolate, I decided to make heart-shaped Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Rose Jam that are then dusted with powder sugar.   They were delicious and would be perfect for your Valentine.  Continue for more...

Almond Donut Cookies {I HAVE MOVED TO ROSE & IVY JOURNAL!)

For more recipes and to discover additional beauty, please click visit Rose & Ivy Journal by clicking here!

In continuing with my calm and serene approach to the year, I wanted to also apply that to baking - light and fluffy desserts with an airiness about them.  A few months back Donna Hay Magazine devoted an entire issue to black and white baking and cooking.  I adored the pure, exquisitely white desserts and the rich and moody dishes that almost entirely consisted of decadent chocolate.  One of the recipes inside was for Almond Donut Cookies, they are pure heaven because they are a cross between a donut and a light cookie with a great texture, thanks to the almond flour. The finishing touch is a shower of powdered sugar to create a cookie/donut that is perfect alongside a cup of coffee. Continue for more...

Holiday Baking:: The Ultimate Sugar Cookie

If you love to bake, or even if you don't it is essential to have a go-to cake recipe, a must-have chocolate chip cookie recipe and finally a great sugar cookie recipe to fall upon when you have last minutes guests or birthdays. I was without the latter until reading the December issue of Bon Appétit where a recipe for the Ultimate Sugar Cookie was revealed on the cover.   These cookies are beyond chewy and have the prefect ratio of sweetness to buttery goodness. I decided to tap  into my inner artist by painting the royal icing with a beautiful colored luster dust as they suggested in the magazine and the result was so pretty.  The cookies glistened under the twinkling lights and made for a great desert served alongside a cup of hot cocoa.  Continue for more...

{Food Bloggers Cookie Swap}Snow-Capped Red Velvet Cookies with Askinosie Chocolate

As you know I love baking, but if I can bake and do good at the same time then count me in!  I am excited that I was able to participate in the Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap started by Lindsey of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen that raises money for Cookies for Kid's Cancer but also allows bakers to send cookies to three bloggers around the country.  It was hard picking what cookie to bake and send but after much deliberation I settled on festive Snow-Capped Red Velvet Cookies from the recent issue of Donna Hay, my favorite Australian cooking magazine.  These cookies are divine because from the outside you are deceived just how much chocolate goodness is hiding on the inside. These cookies are so light and chewy and practically melt in your mouth. 

Now let me talk about the cocoa infused into these cookies, Askinosie is an independent chocolate company that meticulously sources and crafts delicious chocolate. They were kind enough to send me their Cocoa Powder and their 70% San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador Dark Chocolate Bar to include in this recipe.  I admire this company because they build lasting relationships out of respect with their farmers to ensure that they are growing the best cocoa bean.  Continue for more...

Holiday Baking:: Chewy Molasses Cookies

It is officially holiday season and that means one thing, it is cookie month here on the blog.  Throughout the month of December I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes, new and old that will get you prepared for holiday festivities or if you are planning on hosting or attending a cookie exchange. The first step in my baking process is to find unique recipes that will be a stand-out at the dessert table, luckily the December issue of Bon Appétit is filled with so many delectable recipes. I started my holiday baking season with making their Chewy Molasses Cookies that tastes like the holidays in a bite.  They are every bit as chewy as promised and the sugar sprinkled on top creates a wonderful crunchy texture.  Continue for more...

{Top Five} The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies NYC & Brooklyn

If I ever had to decide one treat to eat for the rest of my life, it would hands down be the chocolate chip cookie.  What isn't to love - it is filled with chocolate goodness, loaded with butter and the texture, oh the texture, ranging from soft and chewy to crispy. I have been stumbling across fabulous bakeries here in New York for over seven years and I am always keeping my eyes peeled for new places to try.  Recently when I was savoring, okay devouring, a Levain chocolate chip cookie (if you don't know what cookie I am referring to, I urge you to board a plane to New York and head to West 74th Street now) I thought how amazing their recipe was but for reasons unique to Levain. Their cookies resemble a rich Southern biscuit and are served warm with a gooey and doughy center while the chocolate chips and walnuts create a melt-in-your mouth texture.  But then there is Ovenly, a stand-out bakery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that boasts a bevy of baked goods including a vegan (you would never know, trust me) chocolate chip cookie that is flecked with the perfect amount of sea salt flecks and incorporates more dough than chips.  

I decided I would do a round-up of the best chocolate chip cookies that this city has to offer and ask my fiancé, John, to decide on his favorite. So on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon, I sat him down and he happily dug in.  Disclaimer: I have happily eaten all of these cookies before, so I warned him, he was in for a really nice treat.  Continue for more...

Lemon and Strawberry Balsamic Sandwich Cookies & A Lemon Harvest

 I am about to make a very big statement here - these Lemon and Strawberry Balsamic Jam Sandwich Cookies are the best cookies I have ever tasted, yes, I said it.  What makes these cookies so good you might ask? Well, not only do they incorporate lemons that we have been growing for over a year (I also mentioned them here), but they infuse a variety of flavors and textures that harmonize so well together like almond flour, lemon zest and strawberry balsamic jam.  The shortbread cookies practically melt in your mouth while the jam provides a sweet and almost savory-like flavor.  You can find the recipe for the Strawberry Balsamic Jam here.  Continue for more...

Guest Post:: Cream Wafers

There has been so many good things happening around here lately. I feel like I am really getting immersed and welcomed into the wonderfully supportive blogging community.  I was very flattered when I was ask to share some of my go-to holiday recipes on some of my favorite blogs during the month of December.  Yesterday, I posted on the talented Alyssa's blog, Glossy Musings, where I shared another holiday favorite - cream wafers.  I like to call this cookie the equivalent to a French macaron. Sorry to overload you guys with sweets the past few weeks! January will be about healthy eating and detoxing - hello, Vitamix!

*Photographs by Alison 

A Guest Post & Gingerbread Men

I am very excited to be guest posting on Courtney's blog, Girl Avant Garde today, where I am sharing a fabulous recipe for one of my favorite seasonal cookies, Gingerbread Men with Royal Icing.    Hop on over to see!

*Photograph by Alison 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Until this Deep Dark Chocolate Cookie, I had never found a rich chocolate treat that delivered such an intense chewy chocolate taste, without the addition of butter or flour. When you bite into a cookie, it is like biting into a lava cake with a molten center.  The chocolate practically melts in your mouth.  Continue for more...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icecream Sandwiches

I have a huge weakness for chocolate chip cookies, as I mentioned here.  When you pair an incredibly chewy and rich cookie with a scoop of vanilla bean icecream, it might just be heaven.  I am always looking for the next best chocolate chip cookie recipe, so this time I made the famed chocolatier Jacques Torres's recipe.  The results were dangerously delicious - why do I say dangerous, because I can tell you it is nearly impossible to eat just one! These proved to be very refreshing treat on a hot summer day.  

A Few Things: Once the cookies had completely cooled, I added one scoop of best quality vanilla bean ice cream. I then rolled the sides of the sandwiches in chopped peanuts and sliced almonds, then let them set in the freezer for an hour. 

*All photographs by Alison