it's beginning to look a lot like. . .

hello hello!

well, believe it or not, i am STILL nursing this cold, and starting to forget what it feels like to have a nose that isn't runny, and a head that isn't almost too heavy for its neck. one of my readers, lauren, pointed out that i shouldn't nap in the afternoon, and i think she's right - unfortunately i've become stuck in this awful cycle of wake up super early & tired, work for 8 or 9 hours, become exhausted, go home, nap, wake up for dinner and find myself unable to fall asleep at a reasonable hour, and repeat. i've also been watching a lot of law and order: special victims unit, which is doing some pretty weird things to my dreams.

regardless of all of this, i've been working like a maniac and honestly loving just about every minute of it. (except the first thirty or so. try as i might, i am just not a morning person.) with the holidays coming i'm trying to get some ideas together for the bakery (which, i should mention, is called the annex, in fort greene. if you are in new york please stop by!! it's a small place, you'll see me.) what holiday cookies and treats do you like? as a pastry chef with an admittedly saltier tooth than sweet, this time of year can be hard for me - so i've been focusing my time on macarons, always my favorite.








from the top: raspberry lemonade, blueberry white chocolate, caramel apple cider, chocolate espresso, pear ginger, and peppermint dark chocolate.

thank you all for the sweet and encouraging comments. it's a job that hardly feels like work, but i have to say i'm anxious to get my energy back and my sleep back on schedule so i can get back to normal again - i feel like i've been on some kind of strange baking vacation where all i do is work, eat and sleep.

if you have any holiday recipe ideas you'd like to share, please let me know! i'll let you know if i'm serving your cookies in the bakery.

xo audrey

sugar cookies

good morning! i should start off with a warning that i'm on day two of a three-day juice cleanse, and i'm feeling a little loopy. starting every morning with a shot of chlorophyll (easily the most foul thing i have ever tasted) is in no way a stand-in for a nice, hot cup of coffee. i'm not doing this to try to drop weight or anything - just to be clear - but, rather, because i've been drinking beer like a sorority girl on spring break in europe.

all that said, i'm going to torture myself a bit and post some cookies i made over the weekend. a friend just got engaged (congratulations sharon!) and asked me to make cookies for her engagement party. each one got wrapped up with a little note that said, "will you be my bridesmaid?" (or groomsman, depending.) i had a lot of fun decorating them, each a little differently.








i had a moment of panic when i woke up to make them, realizing that i have tons of sugar cookie recipes and wasn't sure which would be best for this kind of decorating; i decided to go with betty crocker, always reliable, and sure enough the dough was perfect. here's the (slightly modified) recipe:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t raspberry flavor
a couple pinches ground vanilla beans
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 t cream of tartar
1 t baking soda

a friend of sam's owns a company that makes and bottles natural flavorings, and when she heard i was a pastry chef she very generously bestowed me with a basket full of many of her offerings. i've been waiting for a chance to try them out - this summer seemed way too busy (and hot) for baking - so i subbed in raspberry flavor and ground vanilla beans. the flavor was so good that i used them in some macarons later that day, too - subtle, and REALLY raspberry, not some weird fake-tasting concoction. it can be so hard to find good, unusual flavors, and her shop has tons of them, and at super affordable prices. /end shill.

start the butter, sugar and flavor in your mixer; beat them together until nice and fluffy and white. add egg (preferably at room temperature) and mix just until combined, then add the flour, tartar and baking soda all at once until it comes together in a dough (mix as little as possible.) refrigerate for at least an hour, until the dough is nice and firm.

preheat oven to 37roll it out until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick - they'll puff up a little when they bake. i then decorated mine with fondant i dyed and some royal icing i made. voila!

hope everyone had a great weekend!

xo audrey

holiday cheer

aloha! i spent a good part of this weekend laid up with a nasty cold (thank heavens for sudafed,) which gave me ample time (and sudafed-fueled energy) to whip up some holiday treats.







chocolate brigadeiros (i put whiskey in mine,) vanilla bean pralines, peanut butter rice krispie bars (the recipe is actually from the bakery where i work!), gingerbread spice cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream, toasted almond and raspberry jam macarons, and eggnog snickerdoodles.


now i have a lovely assortment to bring to sam's family for christmas this weekend.

happy holidays, everyone!

xo audrey

tory burch, two ways

hello! happy monday (oxymoron?) monday is actually my tuesday, which i think lessens the blow a bit. how was your weekend? mine was really nice, if a bit exhausting - my parents came into town on friday night, so we went out for really good senegalese food and then came back to my place for fresh fruit galettes. (a recipe i've been meaning to post for some time, actually - i have this amazing recipe now for really buttery, flakey galette dough. will post this week.) (in fact, as i think over this post, i'm pretty sure it's going to remind me of several recipes that need posting asap, so stay tuned!) saturday afternoon my mom and i met up to do some bridal shopping. i was so happy to get to see her and getting to do a bit of wedding shopping was really wonderful, since i just bought my dress online and didn't get the experience of dress shopping with my mama. we checked out the j crew bridal shop first, which i have to say was a bit of a disappointment - very small, with a very limited selection. i'm letting my bridesmaids choose their own dress, and i already have mine, so there wasn't much for me to see there. my shoes, i think, will be a challenge; we're getting married outside, in my future in-laws backyard, in fact, so i want to be careful to get shoes that won't turn their lawn into swiss cheese - but sam is a good 6 or so inches taller than i am, so a little height will be helpful when it comes to that whole "you may now kiss the bride" part. any suggestions?

we DID find a perfect place to get a veil. bridal veil falls is run by a very sweet woman named margaret who makes all of the veils and headpieces herself; i walked in there with no clue what i wanted. i showed her my dress and she immediately showed me some lace that matched it almost perfectly; within twenty minutes we'd come up with a design for a perfect little veil. i'm super excited.

stayed up late last night baking stuff for a meeting i had this afternoon with tory burch. the meeting went really well and i think (and hope!) i'll be working with them in one way or another soon. here's a peek of what i made. . .



malted vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream and a sprinkle of peppermint



cinnamon thumbprints with caramel apple kisses



apple pie lollipops

along with some others. coincidentally (or is it?!) this is national women's business week, and i want to mention the tory burch foundation. the non-profit helps provide loans to women who are trying to open their own small businesses, which is certainly a cause i believe in; take a look, shop or donate, and just leave a comment below to be entered to win their cd.

okay. so much more to come, i promise!

xo audrey