Search Results for: blog pistachio treats

More Simple Sweet Treats for Christmas

For those of you after easy, gluten free sweet treats for Christmas, here is a couple more. This first one is good if you have a Christmas cake that turns out too dry. Don’t waste it. Give it a facelift and new lease of life. Miniature Puddings Ingredients 1 gluten free fruit cake Brandy (or orange juice if you don’t want to use brandy) Melted white chocolate Glace cherries. Method Crumble fruit cake up. Pour over enough brandy or orange juice to make really moist. (I haven’t specified a quantity as this will depend on the size of the cake … Continue reading →

Pistachio and Chocolate Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

Mother’s Day is just a few weeks away, but for some moms the holiday doesn’t guarantee a day off from cooking. When I was growing up my dad did most of the cooking (he loves creating new recipes) so having him whip up a Mother’s Day feast was nothing special. However, there was one thing he wouldn’t attempt in the kitchen regardless of how special the occasion—-BAKE. That’s where I came in. Being the only daughter in a family of six I learned how to bake at an early age. I might not be the world’s best baker; however I … Continue reading →

Pistachio Treats

My mom loves pistachio nuts. So much in fact that each Christmas she gets about 10 pounds worth of the hearty nuts from various gift givers. When I was a kid she’d get the ones that were covered with that red dye. I haven’t seen red pistachios in years, which I’m sure has to do with the fact that the ingredients in the dye proved to be harmful to lab rats… and here we thought the only adverse effect of eating red pistachios was dealing with fingers that looked like they were badly sunburned. In any event, my mom doesn’t … Continue reading →

Strawberries Galore!

I’m not sure who was more thrilled to see the “STRAWBERRIES 99 cents per pound” sign hanging at the grocery store, my berry obsessed daughter, or me, her penny-pinching mother. My first thought after seeing the unbelievably low price for fresh strawberries in April was: Rotten fruit. I figured the market was trying to get rid of expired produce and would be happy to take 99 cents rather than dump the berries and take a hit. As it turns out, the cheap strawberries are perfectly wonderful and come courtesy of unusually cold weather in Florida. According to our market’s produce … Continue reading →

Healthy Christmas Cookies

Okay, maybe not the healthiest… but much healthier than other versions. The Pistachio Cookies with Fennel are a good source of Vitamin C (thanks to the fennel). What’s more, the pistachio nuts are enriched in antioxidants and feature essential fatty acids, said to be useful for reducing cholesterol. Pistachio nuts are also believed to be a good source of B Vitamins, calcium, iron and selenium. The second recipe for Dark Chocolate Cookies is low in fat. In fact, the major source of fat in the recipe comes from the almonds, which provide “good” fat. In addition, almonds contain fiber, protein, … Continue reading →

Back-to-School Baked Goods: Cookies and Cupcakes

My mom always made a big deal about the first day back to school… in a good way. She would make an extra special breakfast for all of us in the morning and she always had homemade treats ready for us when we returned in the afternoon. My brothers and I would chow down on cookies, cupcakes, or tarts while she listened to the events that transpired during our first day back to class. It was a simple gesture, but one I still remember to this day… probably because the tradition lasted all the way through high school. If you … Continue reading →

Very Berry Cheesecake

The price of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries has gone up quite a bit at my local market. Last month the grocer had strawberries priced at $5 (for 2 pounds), but since my family went out to a local u-pick farm I saved a ton of cash by putting my preschooler to work in the fields (kidding). At the farm we paid just $1 a pound for fresh, plump, juicy berries and I still have a pint left in the freezer. This weekend I will be using the last of the berries in the following recipe. It is a standard cheesecake, … Continue reading →

Chocolate Raspberry Brownies

Posted on by

If you’ve noticed in the food blog, with this post, I have posted a complete meal for you! This will continue to be a focus of the food blog and a change that I’ll hope you enjoy! Today for dessert, I have a deliciously moist chocolate raspberry brownie dessert. You can pair this with some fresh berries to round out a complete meal. For the brownies you will need: 1/2 cup butter or margarine 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate; like Baker’s baking bars 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 … Continue reading →

Spoil Your Sweet Tooth with My Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chunk Blondies

Martha Stewart says that when you make things with chocolate in them, if you want really fantastic results, you have to use the best ingredients that you have available. Ghirardelli, in my opinion, is the best chocolate that is readily available. Domingo Ghirardelli (pronounced: GEAR-ar-deli), was an immigrant from Italy who thought he’d strike it rich in the gold rush. Thankfully for us, he didn’t and instead began a company to sell supplies and treats to miners. He was destroyed by one of San Francisco’s great fires in 1851, rebuilt in 1852 and had a series of failed businesses. But … Continue reading →

A Very Red Christmas Velvet Cake

Nothing says Christmas like a festively decorated dessert that features the traditional colors of the season. If you are like me and are tired of making (and eating) the same red and green Christmas cookies this next recipe might get you back in the holiday spirit. It’s a take off on the traditional southern favorite red velvet cake. The recipe for the cake is untouched save for the festive green frosting that borders the deliciously moist red interior. You could stick with the traditional white frosting, but I enjoy hearing the oohs and ahhs from my family members as I … Continue reading →