Tag: dessert

Welcome to Margaritaville

How is it possible that here in Texas, we have no officially designated state beverage? Only 32 of our 50 states have bestowed that title on their beverage of choice, and I must say, I’m roundly unimpressed by those efforts too. Twenty of those went with milk and one (Indiana, I’m looking at you) chose water. Water. Who voted on this?

At least some are trying to pick up the slack, selecting both a plebeian potable and a cocktail or spirit. Much respect to Wisconsin and their preference for a brandy old fashioned, Maryland, Virginia, and Alabama sidling up to the bar for whiskey, Maryland coming back for an Orange Crush which they also share with Delaware, and Nevada inviting everyone to the party with Pisco Punch.

With such a rich history of drinking under our belts, I’d like to start a bid to make the margarita the official beverage of the Lone Star State. Not a single establishment serving alcohol would omit such a staple from the menu, though it’s such an obvious choice that some don’t even go through the trouble of putting it in print. Ask for a margarita and you shall receive. Beyond Texas, it’s the single most popular cocktail in the entire country, in fact; we just like to think that we do it best.

While we wait for Texan bureaucrats to realize that the margarita is the only logical candidate for the job, I’ve found a way to bring that tangy, tequila-spiked spirit to the dessert table. If we can’t legislate the cocktail into the state archives yet, we can certainly bake it into the local culture.

Slice-and-bake margarita shortbread cookies capture the fun of happy hour without the risk of a hangover. Yes, there is a splash of tequila in the mix, but it shakes out to roughly 1/6 teaspoon per serving. Total teetotalers can simply swap in water, if that amount remains a concern. More importantly, to mimic the complex citrus profile of a top-shelf pour, the dough is heavily perfumed with both lime and orange zest. It’s the bright, aromatic punch you expect before the first sip. Each log of dough is rolled in coarse colored sugar before slicing. It creates a shimmering, crunchy crust that perfectly imitates the iconic salt rim, albeit in a sweeter way.

While the “Indiana approach” to beverages might be safe and hydrating, Texas deserves a profile with a bit more bite. These cookies offer a loophole to the legislative lag, serving up our currently unofficial state cocktail one citrusy, sugar-rimmed slice at a time. Until Texas finally puts a ring (or a rim) on it, these shortbreads are the most delicious way to cast your vote for the margarita.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments

Goji À Go-Go

Goji berries bear a heavy burden. Always a “superfood” first, their natural charm beyond the realm of health and wellness is all too often overlooked. Antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are the headlining features, as if the tiny red berries were merely pills found growing in shrubs. Set all that hype aside and they become far more interesting.

Without the nutritional resume leading the conversation, goji berries become a worthy staple for any recipe where you would reach for dried fruit. Gently sweet with a faint herbal edge and punchy, tart finish, cranberries would be the closest comparison, though that gap is considerable. Chewy and dense, a bit of baking helps reveal their softer side.

Folded into biscotti, they create small pockets of toothsome tartness that punctuate the crunchy cookie at random. That element of surprise is part of the appeal; for such a restrained, understated treat, anything to shake up the status quo is a welcome change of pace. Threads of fresh orange zest weave through the dough, playing off those tangy nightshades in a higher, harmonious pitch. Finally, each biscotto is dipped lightly, just enough to barely coat the bottom with a thin, crisp shell of dark chocolate. It doesn’t carry far enough to overwhelm, only introducing a hint of contrasting richness.

Goji berries, freed from their usual medicinal trappings, fit easily into a sweeter framing. Doing the steady work that good dried fruit is meant to do, cutting through sugar with a measured tartness, and lending texture where it counts, they’re remarkably unremarkable, given all the buzz they generate. In a cookie that’s equally humble and structurally straightforward, those small contrasts matter. That’s more than enough to justify keeping them in regular rotation.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)14 Comments

Ambrosial Addendum

My favorite thing about food is that it’s a vehicle for stories. Yes, it’s nourishing and tastes good, if you’re skilled or lucky or wealthy enough. Those qualities, though, aren’t special. My favorite foods are the stuff of memories, my own and others, of historical or personal importance. Having a deeper connection to the people that made it is the secret spice that makes flavors bloom more vibrantly than a whole quart of MSG. I’d trade all my quick fix recipes just to have more stories.

Every time I feel compelled to dive back into the past, through fading photos or slides illuminated from the Kodaslide‘s unearthly glow, I’m digging just beyond the margins. Living inside each frame. Hunting for something I’ve missed, as if just looking harder, more intensely, will reveal Waldo right in the middle of the page. Sometimes it’s easier to discover, though harder to decipher.

The subject of one holiday snapshot, I recognize my beautiful 20-year-old Grandmother immediately, beaming over a table of desserts. Delicate glasses filled with an undefined, nebulous substance preside over every formal place setting. For weeks, maybe months, the image haunted me; I had no idea what that dish was. I was missing a story.

Great debates with other family members followed. At first, I thought maybe it was sorbet, as my Grandfather was so fond of making, but I swear it seemed to have more texture. Is it a pudding, a parfait? I’m not at all convinced I have the answer, but I’ve decided to create my own addendum to this story. If you ask me, I think it’s ambrosia. Wildly popular in the early to mid-1900s, especially for the winter holidays, I can see it being all the rage around the time of the photo.

Writing my own post-script, I’m making ambrosia in my own modern kitchen, hoping that I might have more stories to pass down, too. In this rendition, I’ve taken the sweetness down a notch by tempering it with an invigorating triple hit of citrus. Mandarin orange segments are traditional, easily augmented with candied lemon peels and a final flourish of fresh lime zest.

I could write a whole dissertation about what could qualify as ambrosia (most creamy fruit salads) and the crimes against humanity some commit (including mayonnaise), but I’d rather tell one story at a time. I don’t worry about running out of ingredients or inspiration. I do worry about running out of stories. Hopefully this one might be the beginning of another for someone else.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

Wordless Wednesday: Swift Sweets

Tahini Crispy Rice Treats with Date Caramel
Peppered Marmalade Thumbprint Cookies
Peanut Butter Balls
Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Iced Chai Latte Bars
Great No-Grate Carrot Cake
Glazed Chocolate Donuts
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Yogurt Blueberry Muffins
Everyday Birthday Cake Cookies
Banana Gingerbread Cupcakes

Recipe testing for The 29-Minute Vegan: Real Food, Real Vibes, Anytime by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

(As it goes with recipe testing, not all of these made the final cut. You’ll have to check out the cookbook for yourself to see the winners!)

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Waffles, My Liege

Waffles will always make me think of my dad. Though always open to trying new things, he’s a man of few favorites, drawn to a slim list of staples that he’s happy to repeat until the end of days. That’s why I’m endlessly making subtle variations on the same theme when trying to treat him, as nearly every waffle recipe on this blog can attest. Working with a limited range of options that he would genuinely enjoy isn’t too much of a challenge though, as he makes his preferences very clear. All things sweet, crunchy, and simple are likely an easy win.

What Are Liege Waffles?

For his birthday this year, I’m dedicating a different sort of waffle indulgence in his honor. Liege waffles are an entirely different beast from the typical frozen affair and even bolder than Belgian. Made with yeasted brioche dough instead of a liquid batter, the aroma is absolutely heady, like fresh, buttery bread as it hits the iron. The most distinctive part of a proper liege waffle, however, is the inclusion of pearl sugar, which caramelizes in crunchy pockets throughout. They’re rich enough to eat out of hand like any other pastry, hot or cold, with or without any further adornment.

Pearl of a Great Price

Securing pearl sugar isn’t terribly challenging in this age of online shopping and immediate gratification, but it does pose a stumbling block if you’d rather keep your purchases close to home. Or, more accurately in my case, you don’t want to keep buying random stuff that you’ll only use once. Spurred on by equal parts impatience and thriftiness, as so many of my recipes are, I realized that I already had the perfect substitute: Sprinkles. Sprinkles are essentially compact tablets of sugar with a bit of starch and added coloring, so why wouldn’t they work just as nicely here? Moreover, sprinkles are somewhat like candy, which aligns nicely with the short list of my dad’s favorite foods.

Confetti Cannon

Confetti Liege Waffles are a distinctly American take on the Wallonian classic. Freckled with every color of the rainbow, sprinkles are no longer just an ice cream topping. Once pressed and sizzling between two hot irons, the sprinkles soften just enough to melt at the edges, bleeding streaks of color into the tender dough while regaining a sugary crunch after cooling. Each abstract blob emerges golden, lacquered with a sheen of sugar that’s befitting of a real celebration. Since my dad isn’t big on birthday cake, this seems like a much more suitable centerpiece for his big day. All you’d need is a candle to blow out.

Dressed to Impress

Still, I would never deny the man his beloved maple syrup. That firmly pushes this plate into dessert territory, unless you’d like to start your day in a sugar coma. To each their own; there are worse ways to celebrate a birthday!

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Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments

Newman’s Old Cookies

Twenty years is an incredibly long time when it comes to the lifespan of most products, and even the brands themselves. Combing through the archives to revisit the blog’s first years of life, it’s striking just how few of my earliest review features are still on the market. Rest in peace, my beloved Sweet & Sara marshmallows. May your memory be a blessing, Sunergia soy feta. Until we meet again, Luna tea cakes. I’ll see you in hell, Righteously Raw bars. I could go on, but there was one remarkable finding that snapped me out of that sad spiral: the very first thing I ever reviewed is still on store shelves, nationwide, to this day.

Newman-O’s, one of the earliest “healthy” Oreo doppelgangers that told us it was okay to eat cookies as long as they were organic, seems largely unchanged after two decades. The biggest difference is the label, bold and colorful, redesigned to capture what little attention spans shoppers have left. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to reopen my investigation to see if they still hold up to scrutiny.

Newman’s Own Organics launched the iconic Newman-O’s in 1993, the first line to expand the company’s offerings beyond their initial dressings and sauces. In addition to the Original sandwich crèmes up for re-examination today, additional flavors include Chocolate Crème, Mint, Peanut Butter, Strawberry, and Vanilla. Sadly, Ginger-O’s quietly disappeared from store shelves post pandemic, never to return. Of course, this was my favorite one. Yet again, my approval seems to be the ultimate kiss of death.

Oreo is said to be the world’s best-selling cookie, though Newman-O’s are hardly concerned about competing or dominating in any arena. 100% of the profits go to charity, which should make it a bit easier to swallow the $6.99 – 9.99 price tag, which is easily two or three times more than “America’s Favorite” cookie. Ostensibly, you’re paying for quality; organic flour and sugar, and no trans fats, high‑fructose corn syrup, or partially hydrogenated oils. Does it all add up when it comes to flavor, though?

Yes and no.

Yes, this is a solid sandwich cookie. Crisp chocolate wafers enclose a creamy white filling, balancing out the subtly bitter edge of the cocoa with a blast of vanilla frosting sweetness. They dissolve easily when dunked in non-dairy milk, melting away in the mouth without leaving a greasy residue. The two halves cleave away cleanly, satisfying for anyone that prefers to deconstruct their dessert to eat the components separately. Uncomplicated, they’re easy to love at any age.

No, it’s not vastly different from the experience of eating an Oreo. Maybe it’s the placebo effect that lends them the impression of having a cleaner finish and flavor, or that you can feel better about making a “smarter” choice. Eaten side by side, without the respective logos embossed on top, it might be difficult to tell them apart. That, however, is honestly a win for Newman. To offer the same addictive qualities as such a well-loved cookie, without sacrificing quality ingredients is a certain kind a coup.

I’m amazed, impressed, and relieved that Newman-O’s remains exactly as I remember it from my first foray into reviewing food. Before sponsorship, work for trade, influencers, and all the other noise muddying up the field, this is one I chose to buy with my own money, and still do.

Hannah (BitterSweet)11 Comments