Cornmeal Lime Cookies

I was first introduced to these cookies by my lovely neighbor, who brought over a batch when we first moved in to welcome my family to the neighborhood. She mentioned that she’d used the Flour bakery recipe (I knew right then that we’d get along great), so when I had some extra lime zest after making my signature “healthy” lime pie one day, I knew just where I could find a cookie recipe to take advantage of it!

These cookies are soft and just a bit cakey, with slightly crisp edges and a little crunch from the cornmeal. The zingy lime glaze on top really brightens them up into something special.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

I admit, this is just a riff on my Key Lime Pie Tartlets, but I did say at the time that it was possible to add whipped cream to the original recipe to make it fluffier– this is just another application of the concept!

Basically, I whipped 2 cups of heavy cream and folded it into the original mixture, which I augmented with additional lime juice, corn syrup, and sugar to balance out the flavors and keep the texture creamy when frozen. Add some graham cracker crumble and presto– instant key lime pie ice cream!

Frozen Key Lime Tartlets with Secret Ingredient!

I am indebted to my dad for this recipe, as he’s always been one for making simple desserts that nevertheless end up tasting fantastic. (I still remember him blending up instant chocolate jello pudding with a peppermint Altoid and pouring it into a chocolate crumb crust– easiest chocolate pie ever!)  Anyway, he made me try this recipe the last time I visited home and I’ve been making it ever since.

The filling, which you can pour into a graham cracker crust to make a pie, into dishes to make pudding, or into mini muffin tins to make tartlets, is amazingly simple– you just blend together your basic ingredients and you’re set! I admit to making things a bit more complicated with a homemade graham cracker base, but the basic recipe is fantastic just as it is– creamy, tangy, perfect for summer. Plus, unlike other key lime recipes I’ve seen, it’s got (secret ingredient!) low-fat cottage cheese in it rather than cream cheese, sour cream, or egg yolks, making it a healthy (okay, slightly healthier) alternative to the standard dessert!

Traditional Breadbaking at Le Cordon Bleu Paris: Day 2

The second day at Le Cordon Bleu was, sadly, not nearly as much fun as the first. I think they did a bunch of interesting, hands-on stuff the first day to get us hooked (not that it makes much difference, we all paid months ago). The biggest issue was that rather than getting to mix up the dough by hand and do all the kneading and shaping ourselves, we spent the vast majority of our time watching our (admittedly talented) instructor do all of the work. And while I can understand having him mix up a big batch of dough rather than have us each do individual batches, there was no reason we couldn’t have shaped our own individual loaves before they went into the oven.