"Peach" Cookies with Dulce de Leche-Butter Cream

You probably know these cookies or have seen them all over Pinterest, in fact I have few different recipes of them in my folders. They have attracted my attention quite some time ago and I’ve been thinking of one day making an effort to bake my masterpiece. Now I am glad I did. So, the holidays may be over, but this seriously impressive dessert is giving me a reason to bake and celebrate winter. I was very surprised by the ease of the process and deliciousness of the end result. My daughter has helped me a great deal and we had a lot of fun baking. These “peach” cookies are beautiful, and Cooking Melangery is all about beautiful food. Lets start new year with creatively delicious treat!

Strawberries in Syrup With Cardamom & Rose Water

Sweet and fragrant, a strawberry in syrup nourishes the soul as well as body. Ideal for relaxed weekend mornings when the family wanders in for breakfast, just serve over crispy waffles or fluffy pancakes with rich cream and your favorite coffee.

Homemade Healthy Winter Jello

Recently I had a stomach virus and I was in bed for a few days, yuck :( As soon as I started feeling a bit better I started craving a jello. I was dying to taste a fruity, berry or orange cool dessert and asked my husband to get me some as soon as possible. He rushed to the store and brought me four-pack of fruit jello. To tell you the truth, I do not buy things like desserts and puddings. You know me, I cook everything myself from scratch and use ingredients as natural and as organic as possible. But in the situation when you are sick and you want something, it does not matter what you get, because it has be now.

Rustic Chocolate & Vanilla Bread

As the familiar sweet aroma fills the house, no one will be able to resist a slice of this dense, chocolate bread. Breakfast time? Serve the bread at room temperature or toasted, with butter or, for a special treat, with your favorite jam.

Russian Monday: "Povidlo" - Vanilla Apple Butter

"Povidlo"- Apple Butter is cooked from fruit or berry puree with sugar. Once fully cooked good povidlo looks like homogeneous mass of brownish or dark golden color. Povidlo in Russia are known for a very long time. One of the first mentions of povidlo occurs in the annals describing treats of the princely table. Povidlo are typically made from apples (probably most popular one), plums, apricots, pears, strawberry and various combinations of fruits and berries. I would like to present here an easy and delicious recipe of vanilla-apple butter which you and your loved ones will definitely enjoy. It can be used as pancakes filling or as spread for your bun or toast to be had with a cup of tea or glass of milk.

Green Tomato Marmalade With Orange Peel & Vanilla

Green Tomato With Orange Peel & Vanilla is very unique marmalade for using the last tomatoes of early fall that just never seem to ripen. This dark-green, sweet and citrus marmalade is delicious served with a selection of well-flavored cheeses and biscuits or bread, or with cold roast meats such as ham, turkey, tongue or lamb.

Spring Strawberry Tapioca Soup

This winter has been so long with a lot of snow and cold nasty winds. Sometimes snow turned into rain which froze and turned back into snow. I don't mind winter and I love snow days when fluffs are falling and covers trees and roofs of our houses. Snow days mean no school for kids and many cups of hot coco by the fireplace. But this winter was too cold and too unpleasant and I am tired of it. I need spring badly and I miss long walks in a park with my lovely daughter. Where are those yellow flowers you can see in March? Where are green leaves?

Christmas Cookies #8: Canelés (Cannelés) de Bordeaux - French Sweet Little Treats

If you have never tried Canelés I highly recommend them, it is a classical specialty from Bordeaux, France. They are quite unlike any other petits fours and you are going to love them. Imagine a perfect bite of caramelized crêpe of a most delicious flavor with pastry cream melting in your mouth, crunchy outside and soft at the center.

Christmas Cookies #6:"Zebras"- Marbled Meringue

I have been making these cookies since I found them on Williams-Sonoma site few years ago. They have become favorite recipe for my children and they call them "Zebras".

Sweet Recipe: Apple Tarte Tatin - Reliving the sweet taste of historical success

Prior to the opening of their Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1894, Stephanie and Caroline Tatin discovered a sweet treat that will soon lead to one of the most favorable desserts in history. It all started when Stephanie was creating an apple pie in 1880. Accidentally, she left the apples cooking in sugar and butter. What she did next changed the history. Stephanie put the pastry on top and baked it down facing, just to save the pie – and that’s how this sweet success story started.

Soon, Stephanie and Caroline opened their hotel that led to the dessert’s solid following. In this post, I want to relive the success of Tarte Tatin by providing you the steps in making one.

Apple Tarte is a great companion to strong Folgers, afternoon tea, or M&S Wine for dessert like their Pink Port NV or Rich Cream Sherry.

Cardamom Semolina Cake with Rosewater Syrup

Yes, I have to admit, I do have a sweet tooth and bake something sweet quite often. In my family 4 o'clock afternoon tea is a cherished tradition. Tea and coffee is something we all drink a lot of. Sometimes I crave Middle Eastern desserts, sweet and syrupy, with ton of nuts and exotic herbs. That is why on my kitchen shelf I always keep handy a bottle of rosewater and cardamon seeds.

Almond-Rice Cream Pudding

Blanched ground almonds contribute crunch and subtle sweetness to this creamy rice pudding.

Vanilla Rum Plum Jam

Plums are most plentiful in the summer, so it is well worth making a batch of jam to enjoy during the rest of the year. Adding the rum and vanilla to plums produces a luxurious jam that's perfect served on warm buttered toast or English muffins at tea time. Also you can serve this incredible jam as an accompaniment to strong cheese, or sliced with roast duck or pork.

Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Lemon Marshmallow Topping

Lavender has a potent flavor, but that doesn't mean it has to be overpowering in dessert. In these beautiful Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Marshmallow Topping, the vibrancy of lemon both brings out and helps temper the musky floral qualities of lavender. The flavors harmonize beautifully and make for cupcakes much more interesting.

Russian Monday: Sour Cherry Vareniky

This recipe comes to me from childhood. My family lived in St. Petersburg which used to be called “Leningrad” at the time and every summer I used to visit my grandma’s in the village far out of town. She had log house with nice garden and lots of fruit trees. One among them was a cherry tree bearing a lot of small sour cherries. What’s interesting about my grandma’s house is that kitchen was completely separate in the small log cabin in the middle of the fruit garden. I vividly remember my grandma making berry and apricot jams, pressing apple juice and molding her cherry “vareniky” (pronounced as “va-re-ne-key”, i.e. dumplings). She has never been taking cherrystones out so dumplings were usually large and plump. I remember myself sitting on the kitchen windowsill and watching my grandma’s fast hands working the dough. I loved to spit those cherrystones out and never had a chance for it when my mom used to make vareniky with cottage cheese because cherries were not always easy to get in the city.

Apricot Blackberry Shortbread Tart & Basil Cream

I wanted to bake this tart for quite some time. It has a special crust and the recipe is by pastry genius Pierre Herme. Ingredients include hardboiled egg yolk, so the crust comes out very tender and simply extraordinary. I have been waiting for the first apricots of the year and now they are finally in season. I have gotten ten of them - just enough for the tart. They have been sitting in a brown paper bag in order to get some more color and ripeness, but before starting to bake I put them out on counter top to get some extra inspiration.

Orange and Grapefruit Curd

Grapefruit and sweet orange marry particularly well in creamy fruit curds. The combination gives this curd a fantastic flavor and a real citrus tang. It is perfect for spreading on toast for breakfast or at tea time, and is also superlative folded into whipped cream and used as a filling for cakes, roulades and scones. Really fresh free-range eggs give the best results and flavor when making curd.

Lemon Cookies with Lemon Icing

Its rainy today, sky is cloudy and miserable, no sign of sun. I thought photography is of no use today, but then decided to experiment. As usual on such gloomy day something sweet and citrusy would be good. Lemon cookies came out extra delicious. After coffee I have grabbed my camera after all and did not get disappointed. Pictures came out moody, very calm with interesting play of shades. In spite of ugly weather my table shines with sunny sweets.

Honey Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

There is something special about home-baked cakes. It's not just that they are really delicious, nor even that they are delightfully different from those you can buy. Homemade cakes and slices turn any occasion into a special one, whether served with morning coffee, or an old-fashioned afternoon tea party, or as a luxurious dessert at the end of a celebratory meal. Honey Spice Pumpkin Bars with Cream cheese Icing make great after-school snacks and any-time-of-day nibbles.

Ruby Red Grapefruit-Vanilla Marmalade

Extraordinary taste!

If you prefer a tangy and refreshing preserves, this Ruby Red Grapefruit-Vanilla Marmalade is one to try. To achieve a wonderfully red-blushed preserve, look for the red variety rather than pink. They have a rich flavor and make a really delicious, sweet, jewel-colored marmalade. Serve this fresh-tasting citrus treat with warm croissants and strong coffee for leisurely weekend breakfast. The combination of grapefruits and vanilla is a winner.

Note: Although you can use yellow grapefruit to make this marmalade, it tends to give a very pale result with more tang than the ruby red variety, but a much less fruity flavor.