This recipe for Hazelnut Cookies from Little Upside Down Cake came into my life the way most good ideas do. Casually. Confidently. With zero warning that it would humble me aesthetically while emotionally nourishing me through butter. On paper, these are hazelnut cookies. In practice, I did not have expensive hazelnut flour. What I did have was almond flour, which I swapped in without regret or apology. The result was less “elegant European hazelnut biscuit” and more “luxury almond shortbread that could ruin your self control.” The dough itself is extremely pleasant. Butter and sugar get creamed together until they
Tag: baking
Hazelnuts: Rich Girl Energy in a Shell
Because your pantry deserves better than raw almonds and self-loathing Let’s talk about hazelnuts, the trust fund babies of the nut world. They’re small, fancy, expensive, and taste like generational wealth dipped in chocolate. Unlike the culinary deadweights that are plain cashews or the cardio bro energy of almonds, hazelnuts are here to say, “I don’t do CrossFit. I do croissants.” You may know them as the main character of Nutella, the whisper in your bougie latte, or the thing you pick out of a Ferrero Rocher before remembering you’re supposed to savor it, not Hoover it like a Roomba with trauma. But
Olive Oil – The Suit and Tie of the Kitchen
Olive oil. You know it, you love it, and if you don’t, you’re either deeply misguided or just wrong. It’s the Jennifer Coolidge of cooking oils: versatile, timeless, and the right kind of extra. Whether you’re roasting vegetables, marinating meats, or trying to pass off store-bought bread as “artisan,” olive oil is the reason you’ll succeed. It elevates, enriches, and makes you feel like you actually know what you’re doing in the kitchen. But olive oil is more than a pantry staple; it’s a lifestyle. It’s the ingredient that tells everyone, “I may not have my life together, but I have
These Chocolate Cupcakes Slapped So Hard They Reshaped My Entire Reality (But the Frosting Could Chill a Bit)
Let’s get one thing straight right now: these chocolate cupcakes from Little Upside-Down Cake? Absolute bangers. The kind of bangers that make your ancestors rise from the grave just to whisper, “Nice work.” But, as with all triumphs, there was a minor caveat—a frosting situation that was, shall we say, less Beyoncé and more that one time I over-shared in a meeting. So buckle up, buttercup, because I’m about to break down exactly why this cupcake recipe is the undisputed heavyweight champion of my baking repertoire… and why the frosting needs to sit down and reflect on its life choices. Step
Chouquettes (Sugar Puffs)
I think we all, at some point in the middle of being locked in at home, will run out of frozen dinner and start to actually cook. Or in my case, BAKE. I love to bake. The end result is most likely yummy and full of sugar, two elements that I love to have incorporated into my food. You can see why chouquettes sounded good. They’re sugar puffs. That must mean yummy. Sugar + yummy makes me happy. My chouquettes turned out… a little deflated. Let’s just say that they did NOT look like what I saw on Chocolate and
Maple Oatmeal Scones
I’ve had quite a scornful relationship with scones. In my childhood, my family would always by them at the State Fair, cost a small fortune, and usually consisted of generic jam stuffed into big hunk of dry bread like substance. Everybody praised them as being awesome while I would mistakenly give them a try (again) and finding myself hacking up crumbs that got stuck in my throat. Yuck. But then I got to thinking. I like tea. Scones are supposed to go great with tea. Maybe I was eating the wrong scones at the wrong time. Maaaaybe, if I added
Chocolate Pound Cake
from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan This ain’t your grandmother’s pound cake. Or maybe it is if she’s French and uses chocolate. And if it IS your grandma’s recipe? You are one lucky grandchild. This pound cake isn’t so much a cake as it is some really good bread that happens to taste like chocolate. It’s not make-you-sick sweet, and it barely registers as dessert… but it satisfies my sweet tooth. I particularly like slicing into this while enjoying a cup of black tea! The two go perfectly together. Will I make this again? Absolutely! As a matter of fact,
Punitions
from Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan Punitions, or “Punishments” in English, is a butter cookie which lends itself well to different topping. According to Dorie Greenspan and her research, this cookie gained i’s name through grandmothers wheedling children by telling them to take their punishment and giving them a cookie. Cute, eh? That was SO not my childhood. And like any sane person on hearing the title of the cookie, my boyfriend said, “Are you sure you want to make those? They sound… ominous.” But I went THERE. I made them. And you know what? They tasted like hella good
Almond Orange Panna Cotta
I felt so elegant whipping up this Panna Cotta. That is until I screwed up one of the steps and then hastily tried to readjust the amount of gelatin that ended up in the pot, but whatevs. It sounds posh. I made Panna Cotta. AND it was an almond orange flavor. So there. This was quite the delicate little treat. You got the undercurrents of orange and almond, rather than having it be in your face. The texture was a wee bit thicker than pudding. I felt like someone with too much money and not enough good sense to get