Almond Clouds for Passover

Last night I was invited to the home of a dear friend for Passover Seder. I might have been raised Catholic, but I know enough about Passover to know the food rules, which left me in a bit of a dilemma. As a cook, I never go to anyone's home without bringing something from my own kitchen. So what to do? Flourless chocolate cake just seemed too common. So after scouring through recipes I came up with a winner - Almond Clouds. They're easy, don't take much time, and were a huge hit!

10 ozs almond paste
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon fiori di sicilia (available from King Arthur flour) you can also substitute lemon oil or additional almond extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix the almond paste, salt and sugar until crumbly. In a small bowl beat the egg whites until frothy (they will be easier to add to the almond paste mixture). With the machine running, gradually add the frothy egg whites. Then add the extracts. You should have a sticky "dough". Drop the dough by scant tablespoons on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make 3 small indentations in each cookie with your finger (it makes for a pretty design) and cover each with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar. Bake in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes, until the edges are a little brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking tray.
Makes approximately 30 cookies.

Traditions in the Kitchen

Everyone has a food memory. You know what I’m talking about - the smell or taste of something that transports you to another place in another time. Every year my mother makes the same Christmas cookies my grandmother always used to make. And even though my mother’s aren’t exactly the same, that comforting aroma floating out from the oven transports me to my grandmother’s apartment in the Bronx when I was just a little kid.

Chocolate Decadence

Sometimes you just need chocolate. Deep, dark, intense, I don't care how many calories are in it chocolate. It happens to the best of us.  I've given up fighting that desire when it strikes. It's just not worth the battle, since I always lose. So I decided if I'm going to indulge, I'm going to INDULGE. And what's a better chocolate indulgence that a brownie?  I went to one of my favorite websites these days, www.kingarthurflour.com, and while they have several different brownie recipes, I went for the basic and classic - fudge brownies. They did not disappoint.