Orange-Flavored Spritz Sable Cookies dipped in Dark Chocolate

Spritz sablé cookies are French butter cookies. They have a very rich flavor. Depending on the shape of the cookie and on the baking time, spritz can either be crumbly or have a chewier texture. Spritz sablé cookies are the perfect canvas upon which to introduce other flavors. From the basic recipe, you can make an unlimited number of variations.

My little sister-in-law who is allergic to egg yolks (not egg white, go figure!) loves these cookies. They are one of the few sweet treats she can enjoy. I made some today and flavored them with orange blossom water. I then dipped them in dark chocolate to make them extra decadent.

Thai Iced Tea (Tra Thai in Vietnamese)

Thai iced tea (trà Thái in Vietnamese) is my favorite drink whenever I go to a phở house. I really like the contrast of flavors and temperatures between the hot broth and the cold tea.

The procedure for making trà Thái is similar to cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee). The tea is brewed for a long time to achieve a strong flavor, then sweetened with Asian rock sugar and condensed milk. It's served chilled with a lot of ice and a splash of evaporated milk.

Frangipane Petit Four with Raspberry Mascarpone Frosting

We hosted another tea party yesterday and I made some polenta tartlets and individual apricot pies. I had some leftover dough and almond cream from each, so I combined the two and baked them until they became dry. The result was similar to a "petit four sec". I had made eggplant rollups for dinner as well, so I used the leftover mascarpone to make a butter cream frosting which I then smeared onto each petit four. It worked like magic.

If an almond cream tart and a polenta tartlet had a baby, my frangipane petit four would probably be the result. Improvising with leftovers is a lot of fun. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but when it does, the result is true culinary innovation.  If you have no other use for the leftovers, it's the perfect time to experiment and be creative.

Double Chocolate Madeleine Tea Cakes with Mango Cream Cheese Frosting

The girls had a bake sale at school and needed some help preparing their contribution. Instead of buying cupcakes at the supermarket, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to teach them some valuable life skills. And by life skills, I don't just mean cooking; madeleines are so good that being able to make them qualifies as a life skill.

We decided to make a chocolate madeleine batter and add some mini chocolate chips. To balance with the chocolaty flavor, we topped the miniature sweets with a mango cream cheese frosting.

We ended up making a 150 of them for the bake sale but I think only about 100 of them actually made it to the bake sale! You can of course cut the recipe in half if you want to make fewer.

These are the mango cream cheese versions, the one in the middle are the cherry cream cheese ones.

Mint and Cardamom Flavored Arnold Palmer (Lemonade with Iced Tea)

An Arnie Palmer is quite refreshing on those dog days of summer. The drink is named after the American professional golfer, Arnold Palmer. Legend has it that while golfing in his country club in Colorado, he requested that lemonade be added to his iced tea but the bartender initially refused.  After some cajoling, the bartender finally relented. And thus the Arnold Palmer was born.

I infused some fresh mint from the garden in the tea and some cardamom seeds in the lemonade. You can of course either just make a Morrocan tea or a cardamom lemonade but the combination of the two is simply divine.

This drink is dedicated to our friend Scott who is an avid golfer. Summer is on its way and I bet he's going to be back on the greens very soon. Scott: I promise that next time you stop by the house, I'll make an Arnold Palmer for you and Lulu.