dessert | sel et sucre

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Posted on June 22, 2012January 13, 2024 by Claire

chocolate chip cookie bars

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not really a traditionalist. So maybe it’s not surprising that I prefer these chocolate chip cookie bars to regular chocolate chip cookies. They’re still the classic combination of sweet buttery cookie dough and rich chocolate chips, but the bar form means they’re nice and golden brown on the outside while staying soft and nearly underbaked on the inside. Plus, they’re easier to make since there’s no measuring out dollops of dough and multiple batches to bake. The sprinkle of sea salt at the end certainly doesn’t hurt either. And you know, just like these cookie bars, these could also be a thoughtful addition to condolence packages, providing a touch of homemade comfort during difficult times.

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Spicy Stawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

Posted on June 15, 2012June 14, 2012 by Claire

spicy strawberry fruit roll-ups

Earlier this week, I mentioned my trip to Istanbul and my newfound appreciation for Turkish food. As someone who loves spice, my favorite acquisition from my trip was a large bag of Turkish red pepper. An immensely flavorful twist on the crushed red pepper you may be more familiar with (and can use to substitute here), I’ve been taking any excuse to use it. Turkish red pepper is great with eggs or to add a little extra kick to dips or stews. But I’ve done something a little more unusual here. When I got back in town, strawberries were coming in season, tempting me at every turn, and I was determined to make homemade fruit roll-ups (often called “fruit leather”).

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Giant Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted on June 1, 2012June 1, 2012 by Claire

giant chocolate caramel ice cream sandwich

I love cakes. Baking them, eating them, looking at photos of them. They’re extravagant and delicious. But my boyfriend prefers cookies, and it’s long been a source of tension between us. For his recent birthday, however, we came up with a compromise. An ice cream sandwich the size of a cake. All the extravagance of a cake, even layered almost like a cake, yet really just two giant cookies with ice cream. We tossed around flavors for a while before settling on chocolate and caramel, a classic combination. Baking two very large cookies was as simple as filling two cake pans; this also resulted in a denser and chewier cookie, although I imagine you could just drop the batter on two cookie sheets for thinner and more traditional cookies.

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Salted Brown Butter Caramel Ice Cream

Posted on May 30, 2012April 9, 2024 by Claire

salted brown butter caramel ice cream

Three years ago, I pulled my parents’ dusty ice cream maker out of storage and started putting it to use. I began with simple recipes and was astounded to find just how easy it was to make delicious ice cream. I quickly graduated to custard-based recipes and discovered a whole new level of creamy richness. This recipe, however, still made me hesitate. Not only custard-based, but involving two separate batches of caramel pushed right to the edge of burning, it seemed far too complex to be worth it, especially when I could make very tasty ice cream without such a hassle.

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Brownie Cookies

Posted on May 28, 2012May 27, 2012 by Claire

brownie cookies

Some people love brownies, and some people love cookies, but most people, myself included, love both. For all of them, these are a revelatory dessert. All of the chocolate decadence of a brownie in cookie form. The key to this magical crossover dessert is large quantities of melted chocolate and eggs which give the cookies a fudge-like texture. Simple to make and guaranteed to please, these cookies should most definitely make their way into your life. You’ll never look at brownies or cookies quite the same way again.

Garam Masala Cookies

Posted on May 18, 2012May 17, 2012 by Claire

garam masala cookies

When it comes to desserts, I much prefer the unusual to the ordinary. I’ve never been one for vanilla ice cream or chocolate chip cookies; they’re tasty, sure, but way too boring for me. Give me something complex and exciting! These garam masala cookies are definitely in line with my dessert philosophy. Yes, they’re sweet, as cookies are meant to be, but they’re also nutty from brown butter and spicy from garam masala. At first, these fragrant cookies are reminiscent of spice cookies, with the familiar flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. But then there are those less familiar notes from the other components of the garam masala.

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Carrot Cake Muffins Baked in Eggshells

Posted on April 11, 2012April 11, 2012 by Claire

carrot cake muffins baked in eggshells

Usually I’m all about taste, but every once in a while, I decide to cook something mostly for the visual impact. These muffins baked inside of eggshells were perfect for a spring brunch (where I also served scrambled eggs from the emptied out eggs – waste not, want not). You can use this technique with your favorite muffin or cupcake batter, but I decided that carrot cake muffins (a less sweet and more breakfast friendly take on classic carrot cake) with a “yolk” made from a cream cheese filling seemed like a great fit. I was pretty pleased with how these turned out, but I’d definitely do some things differently next time.

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Maple Bacon S’mores

Posted on April 6, 2012April 5, 2012 by Claire

maple bacon s'mores

Okay, it might be a little silly for me to post a recipe for s’mores. I know, you already know how to make s’mores. It’s really so simple, just marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. But these were easily the best I’ve ever had. Very different from what I had as a kid (and I wonder what me as a kid would have thought of these). The salty-sweet combination with bacon in the homemade marshmallows and smoked salt on the homemade graham crackers adds another dimension to this classic dessert. As I’ve gotten older, my chocolate preferences have shifted away from milk chocolate and towards dark chocolate, and this was the perfect place to embrace that.

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Blood Orange Curd

Posted on March 16, 2012March 15, 2012 by Claire

blood orange curd

I feel pretty lucky to have friends who are wholeheartedly enthusiastic about food. Nothing reminds me of this quite so much as when we get together for brunch; we pull out the leaves on the table just so we can have as much space as possible to load down with food. Bagels with cream cheese and lox, omelets, hash browns, biscuits, scones, bacon, curried vegetables, fresh fruit, crepes… and the list goes on. Sometimes it’s a chance to get creative, sometimes an excuse for a feast, and always a welcome time to relax and chat with friends.

For our most recent brunch, I decided I wanted to make a blood orange curd to go with the crepes that my boyfriend was cooking.

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Brown Butter Blondies

Posted on February 17, 2012February 16, 2012 by Claire

brown butter blondies

Browning butter is truly a magical process. Somehow, simply by adding heat, your run of the mill stick of butter transforms with nutty caramel notes that elevate nearly everything. I’m not usually a butter fiend, but when the aroma of browning butter starts to waft through the air, it’s all I can do not to start eating it plain. Brown butter can be used in both savory and sweet dishes, but I think my favorite use is these brown butter blondies. They’re incredibly easy to make and really showcase the butter’s phenomenal transformation (the combination of the brown butter with brown sugar has prompted many to ask me if there’s caramel in these).

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