Halloween is coming (I think...)

Needless to say, Halloween is just a few days away.  It's been relatively quiet around here in my neck of the woods...I think we're managing our expectations about Halloween.  You see...for those of us in the New Jersey and surrounding areas, Halloween's been "canceled" by Mother Nature for the last two years.  I'm talking major storms, extended power outages, and gas shortages so missing out on Halloween was the least of our concerns.  But with that in mind, I think many of us are taking a "let's see..." and "we'll believe it when it happens..." kind of a stance on it.

It's looking good though.  I'm hopeful the kids will finally get to trick-or-treat on the actual day of Halloween and have a chance to enjoy their parade, assemblies and parties at school this year. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Halloween (sorry!) but as a mom, I feel an obligation to mark the occasion and work up some enthusiasm.  So my little ninja and I will be trick-or-treating and enjoying all the celebrations this coming Thursday.

On the home base, I whipped up these spiderweb cookies.  I'm not into anything ghoulish so I stick with cute treats when I make any for Halloween.  This year, I saw spiderweb florentines in Martha Stewart Living (yes, I said Martha - and no, we won't go there...) that seemed like a fun thing to whip up.  Instead of using the florentine recipe from the magazine, I went with my favorite tuile recipe - these almond-butterscotch ones - and added the simple dark chocolate spiderweb design on top. It's not all that different from when I drizzled them rather haphazardly with chocolate for the holidays. 

These simple spiderweb cookies are just my type of Halloween treat. And whenever I think of these types of thin, crispy, lace cookies (or tuiles/florentines), I always think ice cream.  Their crispiness goes so well as a contrast to smooth, creamy ice cream so naturally, I had to serve them together!

Have a fun and safe Halloween, everyone!

Pistachio tuile ice cream sandwiches

It's been such a hot, dry summer that all I seem to think about lately are ice cream and other ice-cold treats.  In the last couple of months, I've tried my hand at homemade ice cream and made ice cream cake, tartufo and ice cream pops, popsicles, and even crepes so I could stuff them with ice cream.  I can't seem to stop there.  Today, it's time for a quick ice cream sandwich.

I made pistachio tuiles - those thin, crisp cookies that get their name from  classic curved shape (if you choose to form them that way) that resembles antique French roof tiles.  They're sometimes called lace cookies, referring to their delicate appearance.  The last time I made this type of cookie, they were the very delicious almond-butterscotch tuiles (still my favorite thus far when it comes to tuiles), which I shaped into bowls, plates and other shapes to hold and serve with ice cream.  This recipe features pistachios and I cut the tuiles with round cutters while they were still warm from the oven to surround ice cream rounds.  I used vanilla ice cream and mint chocolate chip gelato but there are no rules other than to use what you like.

These tuiles have a caramelized pistachio flavor.  When fully cooled, they are crispy like a thin wafer and act as a great accompaniment with creamy ice cream.  Using them for ice cream sandwiches changes their texture completely; the moisture turns the cookies soft and slightly chewy.  These cookies are so thin that they take nothing away from the ice cream, only leaving you with not only something convenient to hold the ice cream between but also a lingering bite of nuttiness to go with your ice cream.  I really like the idea of using thin cookies for an ice cream sandwich and tuiles are a nice change up from other more "typical" cookies. 

Now, I have to admit that shaping/cutting the tuiles as well as cutting out rounds of ice cream may not be something you have time or want to do.  In that case, simply scoop some ice cream into a dish and serve the cooled tuiles, unshaped, alongside.

I like to spread some ice cream on top of the tuile and eat it together, the way you might eat ice cream with salty potato chips (I know I'm not the only person who does that!).  Tuile batters, on their own, are very quick and easy to put together.  It's a great way to dress up some store-bought ice cream.

Lace cookies - part 2

Back in April, I talked about those thin, crisp lace cookies or tuiles.  I love them because they bring back good memories for me and also because they're pretty, delicate, and tasty yet really easy to make.  Plus, I think they were made to go with ice-cream and who doesn't love ice-cream, particularly this time of year.  Well, I wanted to play around with these cookies a bit more by making and molding them into different fun shapes.  More on this later but I used a fantastic recipe here for almond-butterscotch tuiles that is super easy and versatile.

Here's one of the cookies that I shaped into a little cup or bowl for a scoop of pistachio gelato.

Or how about a little edible plate here to go with your favorite ice-cream flavors?

You could also just roll them up a bit and dress up your bowl of ice-cream.

You can get more creative than I have with the shapes but whatever form they take, these tuiles are delicious - a crisp crunch with a light butterscotch sweetness.  The almonds I used add extra crunch and blend really well within the cookie.  They are much easier to make than they might look.  I hope you'll give these a try.

Lace cookies

There is this cookie called a lace cookie, or sometimes referred to as Florentines or tuiles cookies, that I remember first tasting some time in high school.  For home economics, I took a series of cooking classes and I was so happy learning about food and nutrition and just cooking away during these classes.  I think that was my first real cooking experience with following a recipe.  I remember first taking a basic class where we made things like zucchini bread and coffee cakes.  Then there was a course in French food and we would put together meals like beef bourguignon (this teacher even snuck in a bottle of red wine for us to cook with).  After we'd cook the meal, the class would set up the table with linens and glasses, warm French bread and real butter, and we'd sit down to eat what we made.  I couldn't believe how good everything tasted!  Needless to say, I have fond memories of that class. 

Besides going to class, I used to stop by during some of my free periods to earn extra credit by helping out with clean up (I sound like such a nerd but honestly, I just liked going there and being around the kitchen).  Basically, I'd go and help wash the dishes.  One day, I remember the teacher had some lace cookies baking and I got to try one.  It was a sort of crisp cookie with a deep caramel flavor.  It looked very delicate, just like lace, but it was crunchy.  The one I had at that time had chocolate drizzled on it and maybe some nuts also.  I just loved it but didn't think I'd ever be able to bake anything like that on my own!

Many years later, I learned it's actually pretty easy to make these lace cookies.

In fact, you only need five ingredients.  No mixers or major equipment necessary.

This recipe is featured in the Martha Stewart's Cookies book, which I love.  They're called Honey Florentines there and it's basically a lace cookie, flavored with honey and brown sugar.

You heat the butter, brown sugar, and honey up in a pan until it's melted.