TWD/BCM: Buche de Noel

"Just say it's the best thing you ever ate," I begged.

But they HAD to be honest...

"The cake is dry."

"It's too sweet."

"I expected CHOCOLATE!"

At least we had the famous
Starlight Mint Surprise cookies.
Rolled up cake awaits filling and frosting.

Ah well, there are worse things. It was a fun Christmas activity. I even envisioned making it an annual event. I was so proud of myself. The cake baked and rolled up beautifully. The pecans were to die for (everyone agreed on that). The fluffy marshmallow icing was magical. If only the cake had been chocolate. Well, there's always next year.

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers can be found here. Most of their families were less demanding, LOL! 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Fantastic Festivus - whatever your cup of tea - hope it's a good one. Here are a few pictures from our holiday. 

And a shoe. From the family Christmas party. The youngest of the young accidentally lost it while she was eating. 

TWD/BWJ: Chocolate-Mint Nightcaps

Let's get something straight.

These are NOT cookies.

To be fair, the Cookie section of Baking With Julia

describes cookies as "the smallest cakes".

Which is what these are - little filled cakes.

Whoopie Pies, if you will.

Threw raw-egg caution to the wind.
We did enjoy the batter.

We probably won't make them again. Our go-to chocolate mint cookie is a favorite from childhood, Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies. A wondrous combination of crispy brown sugar dough, filled with a mint-flavored chocolate disc and topped with a nut. Not "little cakes". Sorry Nightcaps, when you're up against family tradition it's not a fair fight. Especially when you're not a cookie to begin with.

Maybe if your layers were crispy and sandwiched together with Nutella...  

but that would be a different thing altogether, wouldn't it? Ah well, every recipe can't be a winner.

And then there was the issue of the "nightcap". A mound of chocolate on top that looked very unappetizing. Let's be honest. I'm a dog owner.

But a piping bag full of ganache can be fun. Why in the world would anyone put a dull pile of chocolate poopie on top when there are so many other possibilities?

Unfortunately, these can't be stored easily once they're topped. Which is why the recipe also specified that they must be eaten right away. Who lives in a world where an entire batch of cookies can be consumed immediately? Not me. We now have a little decorate-it-yourself kit in the refrigerator. 

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers who made this recipe can be found here.

And a shoe. From Statesboro. We went down there this week to retrieve our girl, and her dog, and her car, which was inoperable and had to be towed - what an experience!

TWD/BCM: The Rugelach That Won Over France

Can you imagine whipping up a batch of rugelach

just to use up a few ingredients before a trip?

According to Baking Chez Moi, that is exactly what Dorie did.

When her husband shared them with the French flight crew,
she was treated like royalty.

I can understand why.
Hail Queen Dorie!

The last time we made rugelach, it was a HUGE ordeal. Took a kitchen-full of ingredients and at least 3 days if I remember correctly. 

Didn't get near the freezer. Half an hour
or so in the fridge worked great.

Wasn't sure I wanted to take that on again, but kept thinking of Dorie throwing this together on her way out of town. If she could do it, I could. 

And I did. It was SO much simpler than the last time!

The quick processor dough rolled out beautifully and turned into something magical in the oven. 

Tastes like it came from a bakery. You'd never guess it was easy. The hardest part was keeping myself from eating the entire batch. 

Thank goodness I had a church meeting. Great group of women who get together every year and make chrismons to give to the children on Christmas Eve. 

This year we've made something totally adorable. A surprise that can't be revealed just yet. I will say that we made 174 of them. Those ladies deserved a snack.

The links for the other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers are here.

And now, a shoe. Seen once upon a time in the church courtyard: