Rugelach - the cookie nightmare of perfectionists

I guess that this recipe tried to teach me a lesson: nothing worse for a perfectionist/control freak like me to realize that no, I won’t be able to shape all the cookies the same way and yes, some will be tiny and others will be huge. At least I waited for a cold day to make these (after the other rugelach fiasco) and despite the problems with the rolling and shaping of the cookies they turned

Chocolate ginger crinkle cookies and movies I cannot wait to watch

In my world, there is no such thing as too many cookies, especially at this time of the year – therefore, my baking spree included these crinkle cookies (along with the almond spice wafers).

On a different note, have you seen this poster? Absolutely amazing – I have the feeling that a masterpiece is coming (as if I did not have enough to long for already). :)

Chocolate ginger crinkle cookies

Dark and white chocolate cookies

No, these are not the traditional black & white cookies – but it was impossible for me not to think of Seinfeld after baking them.

Peace! :)

Dark and white chocolate cookies
from the always gorgeous Donna Hay Magazine

¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, chopped
100g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose

Upside down pear chocolate cake

I grew up eating my grandmother’s upside down pineapple cake, with prunes or candied cherries placed in the wholes of the pineapple slices. I even made it a couple of times when I started baking. But not until I became a food blogger did I learn that there are several other types of upside down cakes – I was amazed to know that one could bake those using different kinds of fruit! :D

I love

Chocolate lime pie + popsicles on the side

A couple of days after talking to you about intuition I had an insight while making this pie: since the tart pan I was using was a bit smaller than the one called for on the recipe, there was some filling left. I stared at the velvety cream and thought it would taste amazing as some sort of frozen dessert – I immediately poured the cream into my popsicle molds and ended up with totally

Ana's chocolate cupcakes

Besides the piña colada cake, I made these cupcakes for my MIL’s birthday – chocolate is THE universal favorite flavor and I thought that they would look pretty on the table. :D

The recipe comes from my dear friend Ana Elisa and you won’t believe how easy and quick it is.

Speaking of Ana – the newest and loveliest mom-to-be in the food blog community – she’s getting a little bit older today.

Double chocolate cherry cookies

If you’re looking for a good and quick cookie recipe, this is for you: the cookies
turned out delicious and take almost no time to bake – I had just mixed the dough (half the recipe below) when my sister called, asking if I wanted to go to the movies with her; the movie session was going to start in 40 minutes, and we would need at least 20 to arrive at the mall. Cookies baked and cooling, hair

Best cocoa brownies

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made this recipe – my 16 year old sister loves these brownies and was surprised by how easy to put together they are the first time she saw me making them. It was a hit with my brother and at work, too. I left a comment on Chuck’s post on June, 2008 – that was the first time I baked these. So why on earth did I wait so long to post such a great recipe?

Chocolate, pistachio and orange-blossom truffles

I was watching some music videos with Joao last Sunday and told him that even though I’ve loved Queen for as long as I can remember not until when I was an adult I realized that the blond girl on this video was Roger Taylor. :)

What can I say? There are things we learn late in life. Like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate when making truffles. :)



Chocolate, pistachio and

Crowd-pleasing chocolate cake

As one of my favorite people in the food world says, there are times when only chocolate will do.

If your heart is broken, if you’ve had a miserable week at work, or if you have no job at all – a slice of this cake will make you feel better. Even if just for a little while.



Crowd-pleasing chocolate cake
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

125g hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
½ cup + 1

3 years of blogging call for chocolate-mayonnaise cupcakes with raspberry cream

There was a birthday celebration at home yesterday, but not mine nor Joao’s – this very blog turned 3!

I cannot believe it’s been that long – so many posts, recipes and photos... Not to mention the wonderful people I’ve met, virtually or personally, because of the blog. The comments and emails I get from you make me really happy and willing to improve my skills and learn more. Thank you for

Midnight chocolate brownies

A few days ago someone gave me a hard ear pull, similar to the ones grandma Frida used to give me when I as a kid – my mom hated when she did that. :DMy friend Lola, the biggest chocoholic I have even known, is the one mad at me: she wants chocolate recipes and chocolate recipes only! :DLola, my dear, this post is especially for you – I hope you like it!I’d love to hear my other readers’ opinions

Chocolate cinnamon madeleines

Before today’s recipe, there’s someone I need to thank: Juliana, a dear reader of my blog in Portuguese. A small article about my blog was published in a Brazilian airline magazine and she was kind enough to keep a copy for me. Thank you, Ju!I’ve told you I’m terrified of horror movies and that hasn’t changed. But I guess I’ll have to make an exception, even though the trailer alone has scared

Cocoa-chocolate chip pillows

Last night was a nightmare – there was a huge storm here in Sao Paulo and several places in the city were flooded. I left work at 6pm and got home at 11... It usually takes me 1 hour to do the same thing everyday. I was so tired that after a shower I fell asleep in less than 5 minutes.

Being inside of a practically parked car for 5 hours is no fun, let me tell you, but at least I had some

Chocolate shortbread fingers and gifts from Berlin

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a clickaholic – every time I read something online I click, and click, then click and click again. I go, link after link, and sometimes I don’t even remember where I started. :)I was listening to Billy Idol’s “Sweet Sixteen” this morning on my way to work – absolutely love that song – and, after googling him, then the song, I ended up here. I did not know

Chocolate marshmallows

My friend and I went to the movies last night to watch “Nights in Rodanthe” and we both got out of the theater even more in love with Richard Gere then we already were. :)

Part of the movie takes place in a beautiful beach, with a house surrounded by balconies. I can easily picture myself there, with a cup of hot chocolate and these marshmallows. Talk about a great way of spending a cold

Brownie roll-out cookies and Bon Appétit has disappointed me. Again

Remember when I complained about Bon Appétit?? Back then, I sent their Customer Service an email asking for information on the cancellation process – just wanted to know if there would be a refund in case I decided to cancel the subscription. Now, weeks later and no answer from them, I found out that they simply cancelled my subscription without my asking. Can you believe it?Thank you, Bon

Brioche filled with chocolate ganache

After all those tears on the weekend, a video made me laugh my heart out Monday night. Have you seen the 9 year-old boy who acts like Gordon Ramsay? I watched the video 3 times in a row – that’s how much I liked it. And there wasn’t a fourth because Joao said I would probably wake up the entire building. :)

“There is nothing like a day after another” – my granny always says. Despite her sailor

Nika’s chocolate coconut hedgie cookies

I had these on my del.icio.us for ages – ever since Nika posted them, more than a year ago. Her cookies looked so good! Every time I took a look at my bookmarks I felt like baking these just to, seconds later, realize that the type of coconut in my pantry was not the one the recipe called for.A quick trip to the grocery store solved that problem and I wish I hadn’t been so lazy: these cookies are

Chocolate, almond and white chocolate brownies

I love how our mind works and how we automatically connect certain words. Like “frogs = gross” or “Tom Cruise = weird”. In this case, the word “delicious” instantly popped into my head when I saw Haalo’s chocolate, almond and white chocolate brownies.

The idea of a brownie + my favorite nut + my oh, so loved white chocolate sounded just fantastic. And after trying these I think that the person