Hot Cookie - the Archive

When we last left those Brandy Snaps, they crunched and crumbled all over my computer keyboard and the cat on my lap. Nothing worse than sticky cat fur. What to do? I went searching for the perfect filling, and as if by magic, found inspiration courtesy of italian-dessert-recipes.com . I'll give my version: Creamy Cannoli Filling 3/4 cup ricotta cheese (drained in fine mesh strainer a few hours or overnight, if possible) 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted through a strainer zest of 1 lemon, grated finely 1 T. 151 Rum (or Brandy, or Gran Marnier) pinch of salt Whisk this together until smooth and plop it into a pastry bag. I used a 12" bag and a #32 tip, which has pointy edges around the opening so the filling oozes to the sides in little ripples. Squeeze into each end of the Brandy Snaps, placing the tip in the center of the cookie tube and backing out the tip to the end as the center fills. At the end of each squeeze, hold the tip in place s...

Amaretti fresh from the oven. The editors of The Gourmet Cookie Book selected a light almond cookie as their favorite of those published in 1941.  The book contains one from each year, 1941-2009, the duration of the Magazine's publication.  This one has a recipe nearly identical to an amaretti recipe I have, the main exception being that my amaretti have no flour, so are celiac-friendly. Amaretti are best eaten as soon as they emerge from the oven - crisp on the outside, and chewy with the egg-white and almond paste mixture on the inside. The macaroon recipe, in contrast, says these are best a few days later, kept in a sealed container. I made the sacrifice and taste-tested these at two intervals. Right off the parchment, the macaroons have the same texture as amaretti, and the flour might extend the recipe a bit farther, as almond paste is the most expensive ingredient. Two days later, they are very chewy, the same consistency throughout, and the last bits in my mouth...