In addition to not having much time for kitchen projects, I have also been feeling a little bored of myself in the kitchen. I tend to make the same sorts of things with the same ingredients. I felt like I was in a little bit of a rut. I decided to try something new in the form of these pecan rochers (boulders en francais). Little piles of meringue, filled with pecan pieces. I don’t have much experience with meringues and so this seemed like a good challenge. read more+++

If you stick around here long enough you are bound to hear me raving about my favorite Chicago bakery- Floriole. Floriole never ceases to amaze me with the quality seasonal baked goods they produce.  My most recent discovery was a small oat and coconut cookie that the Floriole folks fondly referred to as Scooby snacks. They are like small bits of the butteriest soft granola bar you can imagine. As I sat eating my second Scooby snack of the evening I emailed Sandra at Floriole to tell her I was once again impressed. She explained that the cookie I was eating was an adaptation of an ANZAC biscuit and my quest to make my own version of these sweet cookies began. read more+++

I missed a very important occasion: my 100th post. It is hard to believe it’s been that long already and even harder to believe that you all found me! The internet is such a vast space full of people with things to share, and I am always grateful that some of you keep coming back to see what I have been up to in the kitchen. It is also satisfying for me to look back at the past 100 recipes and see a record of what I have been eating for these past few months. It is like a living cookbook. One of the most common questions I get from readers is about the name of this site: Lottie + Doof. I think it is about time I talk a little about Lottie.

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Like all good Polish boys in Chicago, I grew up eating Kolaczky (Kolaches or Kolachky). My family bought ours by the dozen at a local bakery where my mom still shops. My favorites were filled with either cheese or apricot. I didn’t know until recently that these Eastern European wonders were also popular in Texas. The kolaczky in Chicago (which claim either polish or Czech descent) range in taste, shape and filling from each other. Some are a pastry or cookie, some are a yeast bread, but what they all have in common is a slightly sweetened dough filled with a variety of delicious sweet fillings which include fruit, cheese and nuts. They may be coated in powder sugar, drizzled with icing or finished with a crumb topping. The Kolaches in Texas seem more standardized, a slightly sweetened yeast roll which is topped with a spoonful of sweet filling. read more+++

I’m excited to have a guest post over at The Kitchn. They are very graciously inviting established bloggers to contribute to their site. The Kitchn has already been very supportive of Lottie + Doof and so I was happy to participate. I am also excited to see the cool guests they find and hopefully discover some new blogs. I decided to share my favorite recipe for Benne Wafers. Click HERE for the post and recipe, or continue reading for the full post… read more+++

I love shortbread and already have several recipes that are exceptional. This recipe by Claudia Fleming is so good that it has me wondering if I need any other.

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These are the perfect oatmeal cookies. They might even be the perfect cookie. Although it may not be a popular opinion, I like my cookies crispy. These are thin, crispy and buttery and their caramel-like sweetness is accentuated by a sprinkling of sea salt. They are simple to make and exceptionally tasty. In the past I’ve adapted these to include things like dried fruit, white chocolate, nuts, or spices. All of the variations are delicious, but for me this basic recipe is the best.  Once you’ve tried the original you can play around and try different variations. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll be unable to resist this original. read more+++

In addition to sharing good recipes with all of you, I hope to use Lottie + Doof as an archive of what I eat. I want to make sure that all of my favorite recipes end up on this site.  This isn’t as easy as it seems since I often don’t repeat recipes, but I’m making an effort. This Austrian Shortbread (or Austro-Hungarian Shortbread as we’ve recently started referring to it because of my confusion over which country it belonged to) has been a favorite for a while and it is a recipe that I will gladly make whenever I have an opportunity. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself to me last weekend. read more+++

Northerners don’t understand cornbread. We turn it into a dessert. A sweet cake instead of a savory bread. And then we serve it with supper. I admit that some of the sweetened cornbreads are good, but they should be called corn cake, and served as dessert with some roasted fruit or ice cream.

But imagine if that sweetened cornbread were turned into a cookie, a legitimate dessert. A delicious, buttery, chewy-centered, crisp-edged cookie. This is that cookie. It is surprisingly good. After our first bite, we were unsure but by the last bite we were 100% positive we had found a delicious recipe. These manage to be both unusual and familiar at the same time. I think they would be best showcased alongside a dish of buttermilk ice cream, unfortunately I was too lazy to make the ice cream. Next time. read more+++

We’re getting a lot of snow in Chicago this year. Today, we all woke up to a temperature of -16° F. Seriously folks, -16. I keep wondering to myself why people settled here. The weather is pretty terrible for most of the year, but it sure can be pretty. The city looks really nice right now covered in white powder. All of the snow got me thinking about powdered sugar. Or snowballs. Or something. I somehow ended up at Mexican Wedding cakes, as they are commonly referred to. They are also called Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Butter Balls, Viennese Sugar Balls, Snowballs, or as my friend Katie and I affectionately call them: Balls. read more+++