homemade candy cane marshmallows

straight from martha stewarts archives these little treats are way too yummy and cute for little hands not to get all sticky from. littlefoodie just about fell over when he saw was mama was making. unfortunatley, this is one project he couldn't "assist" me in. i think he was happy in the end though...skipped out the hard work and went straight for the goods! the marshmallows are also very tasty dropped in a steaming cup of coffee!

this holiday has been the most fun so far...littlefoodie foodie is all wrapped up in santa and presents and decorations and snowmen and baking..the older he gets the more i see that x-mas magic gleaming in his eyes and it makes gaining ten pounds and almost wanting to jump off a bridge from holiday stress bearable....this is one of those times when having a little one at home makes life so much more exciting.

try these marshmallows and you will be bound for addiction!

enjoy!

triple chocolate cheesecake ala martha stewart and spicy chocolate cutout cookies

the cheesecake was awesome. check out the link above that will take you directly to martha stewart's website for the recipe. we decorated with little ghost and pumpkin marshmallows...didn't eat those though!

the next halloween recipe we made were spicy chocolate cut out cookies. these were puffy, soft and full of flavor. they held together well when littlefoodie rolled them out and used the cookie cutters. i really had nothing to do with the dough after i mixed it up cause littlefoodie was all over that mess...and believe me, i was instructed on how to sprinkle flour, roll out dough and gently press the cutters into the dough. i guess he is listening after all.

enjoy!

3 cups unbleached ap flour
1/2 cup organic unsweetened cocoa flour (green&blacks!!!!)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup organic natural dark brown sugar
1 lg organic egg
1/2 cup unsulphured organic molasses
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

sift together flour, cocoa, ginger, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

in a mixer beat butter until creamed and fluffy. add brown sugar and beat until combined. add egg, molasses and extracts. add in flour until dough forms. stir in remaining if too tough in mixer.

divide dough in half and wrap in wax paper and refridge overnight.

remove dough. let warm up a bt so you can roll it out.

preheat oven to 375F.

flour table or board and roll out until thin enough to cut out cookies. cut out and place on cookie sheet. bake 6-7 minutes.

cool for a minute then remove from sheet and let cool on rack.

powdered sugar icing:
4-6 cups organic powdered sugar
milk
pure almond extract

sift powdered sugar into mixer. add enough milk, starting with very little and about 1/2 tsp almond ex and beat until no lumps in the sugar and combined. continue add more milk until you get a slightly thick but still runny and glossy icing. tint with natural food coloring if desired!

orange ricotta pancakes

i got a free copy of martha stewarts everyday food magazine. this recipe just sounded amazingly light and fresh and perfect for the warm weather we have had. they are simple to prepare and easy to freeze after.
i do think its important to use fresh ricotta as the kind you get in regular coventional grocery stores is so rubbery and lacking in flavor.
i changed it by subbing whole wheat for unbleached white flour although next time i will use spelt for the added bonus. i also reduced the sugar. its amazing how many recipes contain such a useless amount of sugar. 1/4 cup was perfect and could've been even reduced to a few tbls. i made a yummy fruit salad with sliced plums, blackberries, tangerines and there juice and some pineapple, a perfect topping.

enjoy!

1 3/4 cups organic fresh ricotta cheese
1/4 cup organic pure cane sugar
2 lrg organic eggs
zest of 1 orange
2/3 cup whole wheat flour or spelt flour

whisk together ricotta, sugar, eggs and orange zest. add flour until just combined.

grease griddle and heat to med high heat. scoop pancake mixture by sant 1/4 cup and drop onto griddle. spread out with spoon just a bit. cook for a few minutes on each side.

serve warm with fruit!