Cinnamon Cookies!

What you need:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

cinnamon sugar

What to do:

1. In a mixer bowl, cream together sugar and butter.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
3. Add to the butter mixture.  Blend well.
4. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls.
5. Shape the dough into small balls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
6. Roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.
7. Place the cookies on lightly greased cookie sheets, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
8. Let the cookies cool on racks, and enjoy!

These cookies are really easy to make, and delicious!  I hope you like them!

Raspberry Puree!

What you need:

1 pint of raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

What to do:

1. Put both the raspberries and sugar in a pot, and stir them together.  
2. Heat the mixture.  When it begins to bubble, stir, and then mash the raspberries with a spoon.  
3. If you want to remove the seeds, then you will need to run the puree through a fine mesh sieve.  

This is a very easy raspberry puree that goes great with beignets, pancakes, and other desserts!  Give it a try!

Crème Brûlée!

What you need:

3.8 cups heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup egg yolks

raspberries (optional)

What to do:

1. Combine the cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring continuously.  Remove the pot from the burner, and add the teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Cover and steep for 5-10 minutes.
2. Return the pot to the heat and bring the cream to a boil (stirring the whole time!).
3. Combine the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar and temper the mixture into the hot cream.  Ladle  the custard into your Crème Brûlée ramekins, filling each about three-quarters full.  
4. Bake in a water bath (the water needs to be boiling hot) at 325 degrees until just set, 20-25 minutes.  
5. Remove the custards from the water bath and wipe the ramekins dry.  Refrigerate until fully chilled.  (allow them to refrigerate for at least an hour, but the longer they chill, the better they are!)
6. To finish, evenly coat each custard's surface with a thin layer of sugar.  Use a propane torch to melt and caramelize the sugar.  Add a handful of raspberries (or any other fruit you want) on top, and enjoy!

Crème Brûlée is one of my all time favorite desserts!  It may seem difficult to make, but after a couple times of making it, it's really simple.  A great thing about it is you can make it earlier in the day, and then refrigerate until you're ready to eat; Then, all you have to do is torch the sugar on top!  This makes it a great dessert to make for when people come over, because you don't have to worry about cooking while they're there!  I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I do!