The Sweet Life

Can you believe that Christmas is this Sunday? Neither can I! I've been a busy little elf, and after the Cookie Swap, I've been inspired to carry on with the cookie and candy making. For my pastry team, I bought oven mitts and stuffed them with little treasures: And for friends and "chosen family" I made coffee caramels, nougat, more Spiced Cookies with Cranberry Jam and Jivara , and Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies with ganache and brandied cherries! Chocolate thumbprints filled with ganache and brandied cherries!  Filling the spiced cookies. Cookie and candy tins! Cookie Bags! I hope everyone has a happy holiday! Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the new year!

Let me preface this post by stating that I woke up at 2 am and realized that I didn't post this, nor did I send my link in to be added to the round up. But that's not why I woke up that early. Lately I sleep about 4 hours a night, and wake up at 2-ish and am up the rest of the night. One day I was up for 25 hours straight, but that's another story. On to the cookies! I did something I normally don't do. I participated in something. I joined a cookie swap and baked three dozen cookies, mailed them, and waited for cookies to arrive. Three dozen. I wanted to do something a little different than what I've baked in the previous years.  I also wanted to send something a little special; something festive and fancy for the occasion.  I made Spiced Cookies with Cranberry Jam drizzled with Jivara Milk Chocolate, an adapted a recipe, from Epicurious. You can get the original recipe here .  Instead of sandwiching the cookies with Jivara ganache as usual, I decided that ...

I realize that I haven't posted anything in a long time. It's been difficult because of work, and I haven't been inspired to do anything. And if one waits for inspiration, well, one waits for a while. I am participating in a cookie swap! Yes, me! And I shopped, prepped, made, baked, cooled, assembled, drizzled, and shot some hasty flash-lit (horrendous I know, but it is night, and we've had cloudy days for more than a week!) shots in one day! This week my off days are split, and they have to be shipped tomorrow. So, after work, I'll rush back home to pack and ship. I can't say much more about the cookies, but until I can post about them, here are a few shots from work and other items. Desserts from the Twelve Plates of Christmas at the Art Institute of Chicago's Small Plates in   McKinlock Court .  There are four savory courses, drinks, and a surprise at the end!  Cranberry mousse, pistachio dacquoise, cranberry gastrique (I plan to add a layer ...