I made these a few years ago when I first started cooking and they have become a holiday favorite among family. The light touch of anise really makes these special. Perfect alone or paired with a cup of coffee or tea. These always balance well with the rest of the holiday goodies I make.

Chocolate Anise Biscotti

2 cups all purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

2 large eggs

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1 cup semisweet choc. chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Add anise seeds and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Form the dough into a 16 inch long, 3 inch wide log. Transfer the log onto baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes

Place the log on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife cut log diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange cookies cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely.

I then melt about 2 cups of semi-sweet or dark chocolate and dip one edge of the slices into it. Transfer to wax paper lined cookie sheet and let set.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis

I have been wanting to make truffles for a while and haven’t had an occasion for it. I knew that Christmas time, and my goodie tins, would be the perfect time. I found this recipe actually clipping coupons one day and had extra cream cheese I wanted to use up. I decided to use this recipe instead of others I had gathered and it definitely did not disappoint! They are very rich and were a big hit. Sssh, don’t tell Alan they had cream cheese in them!!

Simply Sensational Truffles

2.5 pkg. (20 squares) Baker’s Semi Sweet Chocolate

1 8oz. pkg of cream cheese
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decorations (cocoa powder, sprinkles, crushed peppermint etc)

Melt 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Shape into 36 balls. Place on baking sheet covered with waxed paper. (My hands kept getting too warm and causing the balls to get mushy so I had to refrigerate again after this step to get them firm) Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate for one hour.

Source: Baker’s Chocolate

I’ve made this goodie a couple of times now and it’s always a hit. It’s not that difficult but it really impresses the guests. It’s a light and airy treat that goes well with all of those heavy holiday goodies.

Chocolate Covered Snow Peaks

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. superfine granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

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Preheat oven to 225 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on low-medium speed with the whisk attachment until the whites become foamy. Add the cream of tartar and turn the speed up to medium, beating until just fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, so it incorporates into the whites slowly without collapsing them. Once all the sugar has been added, add the vanilla and increase the speed to high, whisking until the meringue is firm and glossy, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Place the meringue mixture into a piping bag with a medium-sized nozzle attached. (First few times I did the old Ziploc bag trick and they came out just as nice) Pipe bite sized “kiss” shaped meringues onto the trays and place in the oven. Bake for one hour undisturbed then turn off heat and leave in the oven overnight to really dry out.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Holding each meringue by the peak dip the bases into chocolate so the bottom half of the meringue is coated. Let any excess drop off before placing on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Allow to set at room temperature. Do not put in the fridge. Once set, store in an airtight container.

Source: Tyler Florence, Foodnetwork

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog and I have a good reason. We are expecting our first child this Spring.  (For all of those curious I’m 22 weeks and we’re not finding out the sex of the baby) To say I haven’t been up to cooking, or eating is an understatement 🙂 We are also still living in a temporary apartment while Alan builds our home. Combine the fact that I have no desire to cook, with an unfamiliar kitchen that I hate,  and the lack of any natural light to take pictures equals no new blog posts!

I’m going to try and change this though and hope you’ll bear through some blah pictures and just enjoy the recipes!

At Christmas time I always make goodie tins for the family and I didn’t want to disappoint. I decided to finally get my butt in the kitchen and bake. I did pretty well, besides some pretty frequent breaks to rest my feet. Going from no cooking/baking to three days straight was a big push for me!

For the goodie tins I made :

Chocolate-Covered Snow Peaks

Peppermint Bark

Truffles

Chocolate Anise Biscotti

Alan made his wonderful fudge

and for Christmas dessert I made a Black Forest Cake!

I hope to get these recipes up here within the next day or so.