EpiCurious Generations

With Christmas just one week away, it's time to start preparing. The recipe for these  wonderful, buttery whipped shortbread cookies has been in storage for the past 5 years while we were away.  When I made them last week, I remembered why these are always a hit.  The texture is perfect for shortbread and the use of salted butter creates a wonderful balance.

Inspiration:  Halloween and Pinterest! These are fun and easy to make.  All you need is a really good shortbread cookie recipe  (it's also repeated below), some melted dark chocolate,  Aero bubbles and some candy eyes. 

Inspiration:   Throwback to Saturday mornings when I was a kid. I recently saw a post on Pinterest for pop tarts and boy did that bring me back to my childhood.  When I was young - I'm gonna say around 8 years old - we were allowed to have chocolate pop tarts on Saturday morning while we watched cartoons.   This was such a treat and I remember vividly the taste and texture of those breakfast delicacies that we waited all week for.   

Inspiration:  Pets de soeur - a French Canadian treat. I have an old binder that is filled with recipes that I have collected over the years. Some have been torn out of magazines and some have been generously shared by friends and family.  Every once in a while I will pull out to take a look and, although some of the recipes date back over 20 years, they always serve as great inspiration. This recipe for cinnamon swirls or "pets de soeurs" as they are known in French, was given to me and even though I can't be certain of whose recipe it was, I'm pretty sure it was a family member.  Originally created using the leftover trimmings of pie crust dough, they became a staple in the French Canadian culture during the Holidays when tourtières (meat pies) were being prepared.     

This is a recipe I used to make a long time ago and pull out every once in a while when I am in the mood for a delicious, not too sweet, buttery scone.  It brings back memories of the wonderful scones we ate when in Dublin and as St-Patrick's day is just around the corner, I was inspired to make a quick batch.   Orange and chocolate is one of my favourite flavour combinations (I love dark chocolate covered candied orange rind).  They puff up very nicely and are crisp on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside.   You can sprinkle them with icing sugar or drizzle extra dark chocolate on top to finish.  I hope you enjoy! The chocolate and orange can easily be replaced in this recipe with flavours you love - just keep the liquid to 1 cup total.  You can also try  lemon, cranberry scones . Chocolate Orange Scones:  For 18 round 3'' (7.5cm) scones - they can be frozen once baked 4 cups (600g) of all purpose flour ...

Inspiration :  Favorite after school treat as a child When these come out of the oven, they are crispy on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside.  Delicious!  Make a big batch and freeze them.   Not overly sweet, they make an easy, ready-to-go snack or breakfast. 

These shortbread textured oat cookies are made with coconut oil and coconut sugar which makes them not only delicious but healthy too.  I love coconut sugar these days because of its low glycemic index (35)  and butter caramel taste.  It seems that everywhere I look I also notice articles on the benefits of coconut oil (apparently great for weight control - who knew!).  We are not big desert or cookie eaters, but these work great in the morning when we are pressed for time or need a quick snack on the run that tides us over for a while.  You can add raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts for additional texture and flavour.  You'll be shocked by the rich taste of butter and caramel (but there is no butter). A little treat for my beautiful vegan family and friends!

This is a little late for the Christmas baking section but I got a little busy with preparations for Réveillon (Christmas Eve) which we were hosting for my family at a cottage in St-Sauveur, part of the Laurentian Mountains one hour north of Montreal.  

This is a secret recipe in our family.  I have never given it away because people loved the cookies so much that it gave me a chance to make them something special for birthdays, Christmas, etc.  However, I am finding that I can access my favorite recipes very easily on this blog no matter where I am in the world.  This is very convenient.  As we are going home for the Holidays, my daughter, Sarah, wants to make the cookies for her boyfriend and his family and therefore, to avoid transporting of the recipe, I have decided to post it so she can have it on hand.  It is a recipe that I found quite a while ago and modified a little to be more Canadian.  So here it is - this may be here for the Holidays only!  Enjoy!

A little while back, I asked my mother to send me our favorite family recipes so I could put them on the blog.  She quickly obliged and sat down at the kitchen table to neatly and clearly write them out for me.  I received them a few days later in the mail with a lovely note (it still makes me happy to receive something in the mail - thanks mom).

For some reason, all the men I know seem to have a soft spot for these crisp gingerbread cookies.