almond crescent cookies

almond crescent cookies

With each passing Christmas, my food nostalgia deepens. This season, I find myself longing to step into my grandmother’s or great-aunt’s kitchen, to talk about baking—their wisdom, their secrets, their stories. The familiar ache of “I wish I’d spent more time with them” lingers, a bittersweet reminder of moments that slipped away. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

Read More

shortbread jam slices

shortbread jam slices

Becoming a grandparent truly is one of life’s sweetest joys! Mr S and I are incredibly blessed to be grandparents to two beautiful boys—our eldest, Will, who’s three, and our youngest, Lachie, is seven months. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

Read More

brookies (brownie & cookie dough)

brookies

What do you get when you top a layer of brownie batter with a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough?  Brookies!  It was a creation by Jovon English.  Her brookies are in the form of a cupcake.  The marriage of these two desserts will satisfy any sweet tooth craving you have.  And, to top it…

Read More

thumbprint cookies

thumbprint cookies

I’ve been going through some of my vintage cookbooks.  One of my all-time favourites is the Purity Cookbook.  This cookbook was one of Canada’s earliest printed collections of recipes.  The first edition was in 1917 and my edition is from 1967.  My mom, paternal and maternal grandmothers all had this in their repertoire of cookbooks.…

Read More

lemon crinkle cookies

lemon crinkle cookies

Crinkle cookies have been around since the early 1950s and were initially made with chocolate.   Helen Fredell invented crinkle cookies in St. Paul, Minnesota. In Betty Crocker’s book, “Cooky Carnival,” Crocker talks about being served these cookies at Mrs. Fredell’s home and begging for the recipe. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

Read More

icebox gingersnaps

gingersnap cookies

Haven’t found any spare hours to do some holiday baking?  There’s still time and my great aunt’s gingersnaps recipe is a cinch to make.  Audrey was my favorite paternal aunt.  She was an elegant, refined, woman who loved to cook, had a twinkle in her eye, and if you were in her company, she always…

Read More

savory palmiers

These delicate, but easy-to-make French pastries can be sweet or savory.  Palmiers, named so because they look like palm trees or the shape of an elephant’s ear, uses puff pastry for its base.  Traditionally, simple ingredients such as sugar and cinnamon are sprinkled over the pastry then folded, rolled, sliced and baked in the oven. …

Read More

cosmic cookies

Our favorite north end cafe, Lion and Bright, has a small selection of delicious sweets.  One of their desserts we love to munch on when enjoying a cappuccino, is their cosmic cookie.  It’s full of goodies and if you’re feeling a bit peckish, this is the perfect snack to tide you over.  TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

Read More