A Christmas gift from #2 son, this is the latest in my collection of Rose’s cookbooks. I love them all, and since this one covers a variety of baked goods, I’ve decided to, a la Julie Powell, cook the book. (Not terribly original, but fun, and I’m not the only one to tackle it)

I started on 12/26, with Kouigns Amann, (that’s the pastry on the cover, and it was fabulous!), as well as the Molasses Sugar Butter Cookies, which I can’t wait to make again! I used the same Kouigns pastry recipe for a savory version on 12/29, with a goat cheese, mushroom & leek filling that was very good. That same day,  I also made the Classic Brioche, which I used for the Sugar Rose Brioche (not a favorite, a bit dry and bland) and the Caramel Buns (minus caramel, just cinnamon roles, but really good ones!). That’s when I decided to  make a recipe each week, until I’ve made them all, and blog about it.

English Dried Fruit Cake

1/3: made 4 mini-loaves, with enough batter left for 7 muffins, omitted the rum. This is nothing like what you think of when you hear ‘fruit cake’. It is very, very good! I froze three of the small loaves, and the one that we’ve thawed was just as good as the fresh one. It makes a wonderful breakfast bread, and I’d like to try a GF/dairy-free version.

The Ischler

 1/11: What’s not to like? Tender almond shortbread-style cookies, yummy chocolate ganache filling and a great name! If I write my own cookie recipe, it will definitely have ‘The’ in front. The only change I made was accidental. I overcooked the apricot jam when reducing (causing my measuring cup to melt!), so they are missing that. My brother is going to be happy about it, but I think they would have been better as written. Of course they would, it’s Rose. She always knows best…