Milk Jar Cookies

I finally tried Milk Jar after hearing how amazing it was, and I am certainly into it. It still not my favorite cookie, but pretty awesome.  Above is the Rocky Road, my favorite out of the ones I tried - super chocolatey!

This is the chocolate chip walnut which somewhat reminded me of the Levain cookie.

This was the pecan caramel chocolate cookie, super sweet and gooey!

Salt & Straw

This Summer I have been craving ice cream more than ever and have discovered so many new companies!  The most exciting one so far has been Salt & Straw, a Portland based artisan ice cream shop. I love the homemade look of the packaging and the changing seasonal flavor options, they are so unique.  Most importantly, the quality of this ice cream is SO amazing.  The flavor shown above is the Sea Salt w/ Caramel Ribbons. So good.

 Clockwise: Ricotta Honey Lemon w/ Walnut Lace Cookies,  Pear w/ Blue Cheese, Freckled Woodblock Chocolate,  Olive Oil.

This flavor was my favorite! Almond Brittle w/ Salted Ganache. It's the perfect combo of creamy and crunchy.

Pastry Class: Pâte à Choux

Week Five of Pastry Class was focused on Pâte à Choux pastries.  These were a little tricky, I definitely think this is one of those desserts you have to master over time to get just right.  Above are my Cream Puffs, some stuffed with vanilla pastry cream and some with caramel pastry cream.  The cream itself is so delicious you could just stop there and forget the pastry.  Stuffing them was not fun, I could have use two more arms, but again, practice makes perfect.  We dipped the top in a delicious chocolate ganache made with the 65% dark chocolate and whipping cream, so easy!

We used caramelized sugar to seal up the hole on the bottoms where we filled the puffs, but we were also shown how to stack the puffs to make a Croquembouche, a traditional French wedding cake. 

The inside of a Caramel Cream Puff. 

Some students also made savory puffs with cheddar and dill.

 We also made Eclairs, which is exactly the same as a Cream Puff, just a different shape.  These were tricky to pipe because you need to leave enough room for the filling.

They were pretty cute and just the right size for a little treat. 

For Recipes Check Out: The Gourmandise School

Apple Bacon Caramel Pie

Some friends hosted a Pie Contest so I frantically tried to think of something fun to make that could maybe stand out.  I have only made a few pies in my life so I am not that well versed in the field.  This "ABC Pie" is not the one I submitted, but should have.  There were NO Apple Pies in the running!  I went with a Triple Cookie Pie, which was good, but this was better.

This was the first time I've ever candied Bacon, I'll never go back.

Bourbon Soaked Apples, Bacon, Caramel Sauce and Cinnamon.

It turned out really well, a great twist to a classic Apple Pie.

I used my extra Pillsbury Pie Crust to make Pie Pops.  They looked cute but it's hard to get the filling to crust ratio even.

Highlights from the Pie Contest.

There were so many various types of pies: fruits, meats, vegetables, creams and even a cow pie.

Beverly Hills Brownie Company

 

After passing the new Beverly Hills Brownie Company several times, I finally stopped in to see if it was as good as it sounded. The store itself felt empty, a little cold and sterile. The brownies themselves looked like they were on display at a bake sale, which was cute but didn't match the modern decor of the space.

 

The selection wasn't too large, but enough. They had red velvet, gingerbread, mint chip, caramel blondie, walnut and cream cheese chocolate chip.

   

 They also had mini bite size brownies which were cute.

   

 I went with the simple classic, a good start to test the quality of the place. It was really good!

   

 It definitely had a strong coco and cinnamon flavor which I liked a lot.  Even though I enjoyed it, if I'm going to get a brownie in Beverly Hills, it's going to be from The Farm.

Lazy Ox's Rice Pudding

This rice pudding from Lazy Ox Canteen may have been the best one I've ever had. The pudding itself was dense and chunky, and topped with hazelnut crumbs. It was served with whipped cream and a thick and gooey caramel sauce. It was all so good, I could have eaten three.

The Dessert Bloggers' Great American Bake Sale

Last week I went to The Great American Bake Sale, which sold desserts baked by various bloggers to benefit childhood hunger.

There were SO many things to drool over...








I chose these:


Macarons by Daydreamer Desserts - Mojito, Coconut and Cake Batter


Nutella Handpie by ShowFood Chef


S'Mores Cookies


Apple Pie Pop by Adventures In The Kitchen



The Couch Potato Cookie by Budget Foodie - Chocolate Chip, Pretzel and Caramel


And best for last... Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars by Kitchen Runway.

Mix at THEhotel

Despite having eaten a ton at this very chic Vegas rooftop restaurant, we ordered the Chocolate/Praline Bush for dessert. It was beautiful!


The outer chocolate leaves contained salted caramel mousse and feuilletine praline that sat on a cookie bottom. It was insanely salty and sweet, almost overwhelming, but very good!


Of course after we ate the dessert we ordered, the chef sent us each a lemon Madeleine right off the baking pan with a cup of warm Nutella... Yum.

Huckleberry

I kept hearing about this place Huckleberry in Santa Monica for breakfast- but when I went I fell in love with their desserts! Their bakery section is out of control. I've been back about 3 or 4 times, and have tasted a few different items including the yellow cake, cinnamon roll, chocolate cupcake, chocolate chip cookie and salted caramel...





My favorite item there is the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It may be one of my favorite cakes of ALL TIME- the icing is out of this world. I love regular box cake, like Duncan Hines, and this tastes like a glorified yellow cake with an light and fluffy yet rich milk chocolate butter-cream frosting, unlike any other.





My friend Lauren really loves the salted caramel. She says, "If you like caramel its to die for, if you dont, it won't convert you". I'm not a big caramel fan so it's hard for me to rate the way I do with chocolates.



Huckleberry is a MUST! Check out their website for more info: www.Huckleberrycafe.com