TWD: Chockablock Cookies

Chockablock Cookies: Cookies filled with loads of goodies, such as nuts, dried fruits and coconut. These cookies were picked by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for this weeks Tuesday with Dorie.

For nuts I used pecans and my dried fruit of choice was fat golden raisins. These tasted really good, but I think I would have loved them more without the oats! Go here to check out the recipe and here to see what my fellow TWD-ers thought of these cookies.

Taste & Create: Mrs. B's Lemon Meringue Pie

Just a short post today. This is the second recipe I made for April's Taste & Create. I was paired with Jen of The Misadventures of Mrs. B and apparently she loves lemony desserts as much as I do. As soon as I found this lovely Lemon Meringue Pie I knew I had to make it. I have always been intimidated by meringue and was super-excited by the thought of finally tackling it!

In fact I was so excited that I made one huge mistake.... I cut the pie when the custard wasn't quite set yet.... Oops!! So the first piece looked like crap, it tasted wonderful though! For the crust I used Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Sweet Tart Dough (page 444 of Baking From My Home To Yours) or here. I used the juice of 5 lemons for this and that amount was ideal: the perfect flavor combination with the tartness of the crust and the sweetness of the meringue.

After some time in the fridge the custard set as it was supposed to and looked gorgeous. The recipe can be found here over at The Misadventures of Mrs. B, go check it out! I know I will be frequenting Jen's blog from now on to see what other scrumptious dishes she comes up with!

Make your own Red Pesto

I used to buy red pesto at the supermarket until I found out that it's actually super easy to make your own red pesto. And it tastes way better than store-bought pesto too!!! When you make a batch, make sure to store it in the fridge! It will keep for about 1 1/2 week. The red pesto is great on bread or in other recipes, such as pasta dishes.

Red Pesto

a small bunch of basil leaves

40 gram Parmesan cheese

30 gram pine nuts

1 or 2 garlic cloves

150 grams sundried tomatoes

a dash of extra virgine olive oil

a splash of balsamic vinegar

Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until everything is pureed.

If you have more time available, you can also use a mortar and pestle and some good old-fashioned elbow grease :)

Add some more olive oil if the pesto seems to dry for your taste.