holiday

White Chocolate & Peppermint Dipped Chocolate Roll-Outs

December 18, 2017 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

More cookies! Because honestly, why not?

I’ve loved these Chocolate Roll-Out cookies since I discovered them (thanks, as always, Deb!) a few years ago. They’re soft and brownie-like, but in a rollable cookie form, which means fun shapes and glazes and toppings galore.

I should note that they’re also fantastic plain, without any of that kind of fanfare.

But it’s the season for fanfare! In the form of a smooth white chocolate dunk, and then a heavy sprinkle of crushed candy canes. It’s Christmas in a cookie – absolute perfection.

White Chocolate & Peppermint Dipped Chocolate Roll-Outs…

Cookie Swap

December 5, 2017 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

Did you know that yesterday was National Cookie Day?

Yeah, neither did I, but Instagram is really good at reminding me of these things (although according to the official “day calendar,” today is National Sacher Torte day, and I don’t see that many people lighting up their feeds with sacher tortes, so… I’m just saying.)

In that light, I thought you might like a roundup of some of my favorite cookies for the holiday season:

Chocolate Candy Cane Crackles! Extra chocolate-y. Extra festive.

Classic Gingerbread Cookies – the most classic. Need I say more?

Chewy Gingerbread Chocolate Chunkers. For when you need chocolate and gingerbread in a single bite.

Salty Rosemary Toffee Crunch! Not technically a cookie, but so completely addicting I have a feeling you’ll let it slide.

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies! Buttery, nutty, crumbly, YUM.

Spicy Molasses & Brown Sugar Cookies! Crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and packed with deep, wintery, molasses/brown sugar flavor. These are a favorite of mine.

Dorie’s World Peace Cookies. Peace through chocolate sounds pretty good right about now.

It seems to me that, especially in December, every day is cookie day. So let’s get to baking, shall we?

(One Pan & Done!) Artichoke Gratin

November 7, 2017 by mollygilbert520 1 Comment

The holidays are upon us!? How is it that they sneak up on us every year? Have you seen this cartoon yet? It is both ridiculous and accurate.

If you’re looking for a rich and warming dish to dive into in the coming months (either to help celebrate the holidays or to help stress-eat your feelings this season), I think you might like to know about this artichoke gratin.

It’s a gratin! Grah-tin? Grah-TEH? Cheese-filled skillet of indulgence? Yep, that’s the one.

It’s from my most recent cookbook, One Pan & Done, so it promises to be quick and easy to pull together, and packed with rich, cheesy flavor (plus some tang from the artichokes and garlic). It’s awesome served with crisp apple slices to balance out the richness, although crackers and chips are always a good move.

Happy Gratin Season!

(photos in this post by the amazing Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle Et Vanille)…

A Plan for Thanksgiving!

November 1, 2017 by mollygilbert520 1 Comment

Halloween was cute and all, but it’s November now, which means the Super Bowl of food holidays is on the horizon – Thanksgiving, here we come!

I’m just here with a friendly reminder that, if you’re hosting or cooking this year, there are things you can do now to make your life easier in a few weeks. If you have the time and freezer space, here are some things to get done this weekend:

Make cranberry sauce! Let it cool and then freeze it in a zip top bag.
Pump out some pie dough! Then form it into discs (or you can even roll it into 1/2-inch thin circles), wrap it tightly and freeze. Even if you don’t know what kind(s) of pie you’ll make this year, you’ll be thankful the dough is donezo. (Although let’s be honest, it’ll probably be this and this. #classics)
Make a batch of chicken or turkey stock. Freeze in zip top bags or quart containers. (You can use this to moisten your stuffing or to turn out a beautiful batch of Pumpkin Leek Soup.)

When you can break up all the beautiful work that is PFT (sorry, Planning For Thanksgiving), it doesn’t feel so much like work. The point is to leave plenty of time to ENJOY the holiday. We can do this! Thanksgiving 2017!

I’ll check in a few times this month with more turkey day tips and tricks. HAPPY NOVEMBER!

xox,

Molly

My Favorite Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

February 12, 2016 by mollygilbert520 4 Comments

Sugar cookies! I won’t lie – in general, they’re not my favorite. They always look cute, and are fun to make and decorate, but flavor-wise, I always thought we could do better. I mean, give me a choice between a fatty chocolate chip number and a perfectly iced sugar cookie, and there’s no mistaking which one I’m going to choose (the former, for the win every time).

There’s something inherently nostalgic about the sugar cookie, sure, but why are they always so bland? Or overly sweet, or pale and pasty and just kind of fake-tasting?

We can do better!

Here, I present to you: sugar cookie redemption. These are simple and just sweet enough, perfectly buttery, light and tender-crumbed – you’ll enjoy eating them as much as making them! And that is saying something.

So, yes, these are the “caramelized” version – let’s not go straight to “burned,” okay? (I mean, I can barely see my toes anymore, so give a girl a break…) But you’ll do better than I will, and might actually set a timer so you don’t get to chatting with your mom on the phone and completely forget about the COOKIES IN THE OVEN. So. That’ll be good.

And, if you’re celebrating Valentine’s day this weekend, these little guys are perfect for cutting into hearts and busting out the cute sprinkles (if that’s your thing), or maybe just, not? It doesn’t matter. Either way we have cookies.

My Favorite Cut-Out Sugar Cookies…

Christmas Gingerbread

December 24, 2012 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

I’m currently on an airplane, somewhere over… somewhere. Wisconsin? A Dakota? I don’t know, Philadelphia to Seattle is a long flight.

I’ve got a bag brim-full of wrapped and ribboned presents tucked into the overhead bin above me, and I’m trying to ignore the fact that this airplane is chilly/bumpy/loaded with screaming children by listening to Rihanna on repeat and thinking about gingerbread.

Holiday travel! The best of the worst things to happen every year.

Really, it’s not so bad. We put up with the crowds and the security probing and the lines (and that moment of panic when you finally get to the front of the line at airport security and all of a sudden you are required to safely stow your ID/passport and remove your jacket/shoes/scarf/jewlery/laptop/hand lotion/spare change from your person/bag at once and wait this makes no sense, I just stood in line for thirty minutes doing nothing but it’s all happening so fast now and the people behind me are gaining ground, their shoes are already off and hurry up with that little baggie of liquids and why didn’t I wear socks and oh! My goodness. That moment. Will I ever not panic on the inside at that moment?) — we put up with all of the hustle and bustle and moments of claustrophobia and panic because, at the end of the day, we know it will all lead to gingerbread. Or roast beef or sugar cookies or lo-mein or whatever. It leads to Christmas, with family or friends or both, however you choose to celebrate it.

I’m taking a break from my familiar movie-and-Chinese-food routine this year and celebrating with some real, live non-Jews. (!) I know. A crazy choice. I’ve heard there will be a tree and a big dinner (no mention of General Tsao or his chicken) and presents and a reluctant dip (or possibly non-dip) in the freezing ocean and maybe even some carols.

And gingerbread! Nana’s recipe. It’s sweet and spicy and utterly lovely, its texture akin to the fluffiest, springiest layer cake. I love that this gingerbread is heavy enough with spice to evoke the season but light enough in texture to happily follow a rich holiday meal.

Whether you’ll be eating sweet and spicy gingerbread or sweet and sour chicken on December 25th, I wish you happiness. Fullness, inside and out, at the table and everywhere else, too.

Merry Christmas!

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