Some of these are easy. Some a little more complicated. Some made grain free. Enjoy!

It’s not too soon to start the Christmas Cookie Baking. Be sure to include some Italian Christmas Cookies in your holiday plans. Some of these are very easy, some a little more complicated, but every year I challenge to make at least one new cookie, along with some of my most treasured favorites from childhood.

The Easiest Cookie is the Italian Ricotta Cookie. If baking is a challenge for you, make these. There’s a video.

Gluten Free Ricotta Christmas Cookie with Pomegranate Glaze is just Divine. I’ve made two batches already gone!

Now I also have a Grain Free Ricotta Christmas Cookie, which is just delicious, soft, and pillowy. 

When I saw the Italian Date Christmas Cookie in an Italian magazine, I knew I had to make it. It’s easier than it might look. It’s a multi-textured cookie made with dates, rolled in sesame seeds.

The actual story is that a reader contacted me to ask me if I had the recipe for the Italian Date Christmas Cooke that was in the Italian Magazine, La Cucina Italia. I just happened to have all the issues I had saved for years and I went through all of them searching for this recipe and found it. Of course, I had to make it too.

Italian Christmas cookies wouldn’t be complete without Cucidate, the Italian Fig Cookie.

I love to say the words cucidate. ( pronounced kooch’ i da’tee). These are Sicilian Cookies, often given as gifts. A soft pastry envelops a fig mixture and is everything a good fig cookie ought to be. There are a lot of ingredients and it takes a little time to put together, but so worth it.

Cucidate. Recipe Here.

Italian Cookies Must include the cookie most likely to be dunked, the Biscotti, or the twice baked cookie.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti will satisfy that chocolate tooth.

No Italian Cookie Collection is complete without something lemon, something pistachio.

Candied Lemon Pistachio Cantucci will garnish your kitchen with good aromas and delicious cookie.

We also have some amazing Christmas Cookies not so Italian.

Oatmeal Cookies with Rosemary and Dried Plums has a wonderful holiday flavor and chewy texture.

Gingerbread with Chocolate and Ginger Salt.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie and I’ve made many versions here.

Butter Tarts, A Canadian Tradition, and you can see why.

The Pecan Tassie.  My First Recipe I ever Published here 11 years ago on Christmas Eve.

Grain Free Keto Version if Pecan Tassies is simply amazing.

The French Sable, A Shortbread Cookie is what you want if you like crispy cookies.

 Salty Nutty Double Chocolate Cookie for Chocolate Lovers.

The Gluten Free Iced Oatmeal Cookie the Vintage Oatmeal Cookie.

The Soft Sugar Cookie. You can cut these out into Christmas Shapes. You also glaze them.

French Madeleines have earned their reputation as one of France’s most beloved cookies.

The French Macaron These are so pretty, so good, filled with a chocolate ganache.

Perfect Vanilla Sables

Gluten Free, Grain Free Lemon Basil Shortbread Cookies, little bite sized cookies at only one carb.

This Christmas Fudge is simply the best and the recipe makes Five Pounds

Peppermint Ice Cream is my husband’s favorite. This is the old fashioned Howard Johnson’s copy cat.

Just in case you need more Christmas Sweets, I always make this almond tart and this flourless chocolate cake.

We are crazy for Red Velvet and you can make it regular, gluten free or grain free, sugar free.

Christmas Red Velvet  or try Red Velvet in a Jar.  

Grain Free Sugar Free Red Velvet. 

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

And, this Christmas Apple Pie will never disappoint.

My Most Proud Christmas Dessert is the Christmas Ice Cream Bombe filled with raspberry sorbet. There’s a chocolate sauce that goes with this.

Perhaps,  you  prefer a  Holiday Cocktail Dessert. If you can’t bake, you can do this. It’s sorbet, fruit, bubbly, done!

My Most Popular Christmas Anything is the Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Sand Tart, and there’s a video.

What are you planning to make for Christmas, or do you go to bakery. If you do, the Triple Crown Bakery in Franklin, TN will make your cookies for you.

I hope you have the sweetest holiday with lots of cheer, friendship, and good food.

More Christmas Recipes from Spinach Tiger

The post Family Italian Christmas Cookies and Bonus Holiday Sweets appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you want a gooey keto brownie, try this new recipe. 

There are no scary ingredients in these diabetic brownies.

Don’t let the word diabetic scare you. All it means, is that these are prepared in a way to not spike blood sugar, and that’s food for everyone.

So many people today are struggling with blood sugar issues.

If you love deep flavors like dark chocolate and espresso, you’ll love these diabetic brownies.

Diabetic Brownies, Made with Swerve

I should really call these accidental brownies. I started making one recipe and ventured into new territory, using coconut flour, a lot of espresso and extra dark cocoa powder.

I recently began baking with  swerve (an erythritol sweetener that is one-to-one sugar). I used it in this diabetic friendly grain-free lemon cake and I nearly ate the whole thing myself.

I used a big shot of espresso so these diabetic brownies would feel decadent.

The espresso flavor brings extra umami. People who don’t usually drink coffee, loved it. If coffee is not your thing, just use hot water instead. I decided after ten minutes of baking to add more chocolate chips to the top. That’s optional. I used the sprinkles to be festive; these were for a party.

These are rich so I cut them into bite sized pieces. You can get about 32 bites out of an 8 x 8 pan. This is a recipe you should make frequently and keep in the freezer for snacks.

Grain Free and Gluten Free are not the same thing. These Diabetic Brownies are Grain Free.

Grain free is gluten free, but gluten free is not necessarily grain free. Gluten free flours are typically made with rice (grains). When I say grain free, the ingredient is most likely coconut flour, almond flour, cassava flour, or a combination. If you’re watching your blood sugar or following a low carb diet, you’re going to want grain-free baked goods.

Make Dairy Free by switching butter with coconut oil.

Spinach Tiger is making a lot big fat healthy desserts.  You can switch out the butter for coconut oil. 

You might also love these keto brownie recipes

Coconut Flour Brownies

Keto Texas Sheet Cake

Gooey Keto Brownies Made in a Sheet Pan (almond flour and coconut flour)

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Dark Chocolate Coconut Flour Brownies, Sugar Free

Dark Chocolate Espresso Brownie Bites.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 30

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil for dairy free option
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder see notes
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup dark roasted coffee or double espresso shot
• 3/4 cups granulated swerve Order Here
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 1 ounce dark chocolate chips optional for topping
• Sprinkles optional
• Kitchen Tools
• 8 x 8 Baking Dish I like this from OXOwhich comes with a lid, goes freezer to over

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt.
• Melt butter in saucepan.
• Add cocoa powder. It's easier if you sift cocoa powder right into the melted butter in saucepan.
• Mix in until well incorporated.
• Cool for a few minutes.
• Whisk in eggs, one at a time.
• Add in swerve, vanilla, coffee.
• Gently mix together.
• Add chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips.
• Bake for thirty minutes at 350. After 10 minutes, add chocolate chip, by sprinkling over the top.
• You can also add sprinkles at this point. Continue to bake until finished cooking time or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Notes

Re: Unsweetened Cocoa. In this recipe, this recipe uses 100% extra dark unsweetened cocoa. You can use a regular unsweetened cocoa. I also love Better Body Foods Cacao.

Re: Dark Chocolate. Use at least 70% cacao or use Choc Zero Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips.

Nutrition

Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g

The post Dark Chocolate Grain Free Brownies, Sugar Free appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

When it comes to parties, I find that people like to sample a little bit of everything and little mini desserts work so well. I wanted to bring brownie bites to a farm party for the little ones. Kids love sprinkles and chocolate, but I didn’t have any baking chocolate on hand, only cocoa, and whipped these little brownie bites up.

I used a cookie scooper to put them into a mini cupcake pan and they were done in about 15 minutes. There are a lot of eggs in the recipe, making them more cake like. You can reduce the eggs to 3 for more density. If you want more chocolate, add chocolate chips to the top before before into the oven.

I kept a few back and put then in the freezer and they were even better heated up. I call this the little no-guilt chocolate fix. You could make these well in advance and freeze in freezer bags and sit out (outside of the bag) at room temperature to defrost. That makes these a great treat for hot outdoor events.

Take Brownie Bites them frozen; they’ll be read to eat once you get to the party.

If you get the little round sphere-type sprinkles, they stay intact and hold their color.

Followup: Since this post, I made the brownies below with three kinds of chocolate. Here is that grown up brownie with a gluten free option.

More Chocolate Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Brownie Bites Made with Cocoa Powder

Mini brownie bites with sprinkles are perfect for a summer party

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup plus two tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs 3 eggs if you like dense
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
• sprinkles
• Kitchen Tools Needed
• Mini Cupcake Pan Order Here

Instructions

• Melt butter. Mix with oil.
• Mix in sugar, eggs and vanilla.
• Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder and sift. I always use this kind of sifter.
• Add dry mixture to wet and stir.
• Add in chocolate chips if you are using them.
• Spray a mini cupcake pan or grease with butter or oil
• Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon and fill 3/4 full.
• Bake at 350 degree F for 15 minutes.
• Let cool completely before removing.

The post Easy Homemade Brownie Bites Made with Cocoa appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

The greatest thing about these is the presentation. Little plastic cups dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles, which were done days ahead of the party, set the tone. All it took from there was vanilla ice cream and a really good root beer. We settled on Virgils, which doesn’t have high fructose syrup, and I purchased a red tray from Goodwill, because part of this fun is making a whole tray and walking around.

No one passes up a root beer float. But, right before I served, we spiked a few with bourbon (about a teaspoon because these are tiny), but make sure you remember which ones. Next time, I’ll make different colored sprinkled for the adult version. As far as we know, no one under 6 drank bourbon.

Add in a little whipped cream as an option. Cherries aren’t really necessary, but make a cute picture. The straws are a must and can be ordered here, but I saw some at our local Joanne’s. Nonpareils work really well for the rim. I love these colors, but you can find black and orange for Halloween too.

The cake was a surprise cake from Priscilla at Cakes by Priscilla. I’ll be featuring more about her soon.

Serve these with the chocolate sundae cupcakes and grilled cheese. You might think this is just for kids, but I have to tell you, I think the adults liked the root beer floats the most (even the regular ones) because it’s a throwback to another time. Just for fun, we also made some creamsicle floats with orange soda. Make enough for two each.

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Mini Root Beer Floats with an Adult Root Beer Float Option

Root Beer floats with a chocolate sprinkled rimmed glass make for a lot of fun at a party for any age.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Total Time 21 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• white candy melts
• sprinkles
• 24 small plastic cups
• six pack of root beer
• vanilla ice cream
• whipped cream
• bourbon optional

Instructions

• Melt white chocolate candy melts in microwave, following directions in a small bowl that will fit the cup you are dipping.
• Dip in edge and dip into the sprinkles. These can be made days in advance.
• Put one small scoop in glass.
• Pour in root beer.
• Add whipped cream and a straw (cut in half)
• Add in 1 to2 teaspoons bourbon for an alcoholic option.

The post Mini Root Beer Floats with an Adult Root Beer Float Option appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I just went downstairs to get tea and found pink tulips, cards, candy and a dinner reservation and my cappuccino that he makes me every morning. I’m happy he is that kind of guy. We are not one of those couples who dismisses holidays and says “oh we just keep it low key.” We are never low key, not at Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries or Valentine’s Day.’

We have had thirteen Valentine’s Days together. The most significant  one was in 1999 a few months before our wedding. We were not yet engaged to be married and it was during Mr. ST’s visit to California where I, tiger heart that I am, gave him the elbow nudge.

He was in my jacuzzi and I asked him “How do you feel about me?”  I remember this as clearly as yesterday. He looked a little bit afraid to give me an answer, because he knew the response would have life changing consequences.

You see Mr. ST and I met nearly five years before at a business dinner, and I was absolutely certain we would be engaged within six months and married within a year. The story goes that it was his first day on the job and he was asked to attend this dinner. He thought that if he had to dine with people he didn’t know, he would look around the room and pick the prettiest girl to sit next to. He chose me. I’m still astounded that this was what he was thinking on his first day on the job, but the psychology of men has always intrigued me.

 Over those five days, we did a lot of talking and lot of eating. We were food compatible and that’s a great start to any romance. He had a favorite dish in a favorite restaurant in several cities in America. That got my attention, along with a sweet southern accent that said, “trust me.”

We were in Vegas for a trade show, but this was not going to be a “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” kind of thing.  We spent every night at dinner together and only a kiss happened, but I was expecting a lot more than a Vegas fling. That decision to find a pretty girl to sit next to was going to change his life forever. But, not so quickly.

The reality of long distance was too much to conquer and it wasn’t the right timing. So we barely remained friends until we were drawn together again four years later. He had tried to see me many times, and I had stood him up many times, because I just didn’t want a hit and miss romance, nor did I want a friend with benefits.  That’s not the kind of heart I have. I am either in or out, hot or cold. I don’t casually mesh for a few laughs and a good cry later. I’m pretty much as old fashioned as these sugar cookies.

One day in 1998, we met for dinner and I decided not to stand him up. He said he had made his mind up that this would be my last chance. And, just like that, the spark of the Vegas dinner was back. But not so quickly.

I didn’t hear from him  for weeks and I thought it was off again. I can get flaky in California. I didn’t need to transplant it from Tennessee and I was done.

I didn’t know that his father has died unexpectedly from a heart attack. His grief put us on hold. I saw him again in January and he was more serious minded and I was again interested.

We found ourselves together on Valentine’s Day. I am not a scaredy cat type. I am not one who avoids conflict. I don’t like pretense. I look people right in the eye. He was sitting in the hot tub, enjoying the moment. But I needed to know if we were just about moments or about a lifetime. I asked him, “how to do feel about me?”

He said, “well, I know I love you.” I pondered that for a second. I didn’t glow and  get starry eyed with those words. I figured by now he loves me, but I am the type that believes love is not enough. I asked him, “well, then what are you going to do about it?”

We were married three months later in California at sunset with all the romance that we could finally give in to as we abandoned all fear and started to live with thoughtful intention. I moved to Nashville, and the funny thing is, in spite of the rocky roads of our courtship, our marriage has been pretty much smooth sailing. We know we are right for each other and that’s that.

We laugh a lot about the tumultuous time between our Vegas meeting and our Nashville life together. We don’t fret over the time we were apart. n n We believe that true love ruled the day and transcended our stupid stuff and had its way in spite of us. He has never been flaky for one second, once he made up his mind that I was the right one. And, I have never stopped asking him questions.

The question I leave you with today is this.  Is there anything you need to ask that special someone in your life?

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Soft Sugar Cookies

Old fashioned sugar cookies made with sour cream

Servings 20

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• sprinkles

Instructions

• Cream butter, gradually add sugar. Once mixed add sour cream.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Add eggs one at a time. Add Vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together including nutmeg and salt. Add in a little at a time. Chill thoroughly. I like to divide the dough by four, and wrap each individually.
• Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the rest in refrigerator.
• Flour surface and when using cooking cutter, pull dough away from cutter, as this is soft dough.
• Roll out, cut into desired shapes.
• Sprinkle with sugar, or decorate accordingly. I used raisins for ghost eyes and glazed bat cookies after baking and then did the sprinkles.
• Bake at 350 for 9 minutes for average size cookie.

Notes

I found this soft dough works best chilled overnight. Options for topping are frosting or melted white chocolate.

The post Soft Sugar Cookies and What Happened in Vegas Didn’t Stay in Vegas appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Happy Halloween! This a funny statement. We wish happiness for a day that is supposed to scare us. But, after all these years of being a bit skittish about Halloween, I am now embracing it. Maybe because there are little boys in my life. Maybe, because I now understand that it’s just fun and probably something in our nature that makes us want to dance with the dark side, with death, with graveyards. Or maybe because my blogger friend, Lorraine, of Not Quite Nigella goes so over the top with her Halloween party post (that I would, of course be invited to if I lived in Sydney, Australia) that she has convinced me to embrace it.

These ghost and bat sugar cookies are not really scary or gross, but they are fun. And, they are deliciously made with my favorite sugar cookie recipe and they were made (mostly) by three year old twin boys.

A Few Tips on Baking with Toddlers
1. Embrace the process; be patient.
2. Study the recipe ahead. Set EVERYTHING out in place, but not on the table you are going to work on.
3. If you are working with more than one child (well, first off bravo), know in advance who is going to do what and at the same time. While one is measuring out sugar in one bowl, another can be measuring out flour in another bowl.
4. Never take your eyes off of your little cooks because they will pour flour on their heads, followed by sugar.
5. The PROCESS of cooking is an unending learning experience for kids, in math, science, and in culinary skill. It’s not time wasted. Don’t attack this as a job to get DONE. Make this about a learning experience. This is a place kids can learn to count, measure, add, and subtract. They learn about volume, weights, and gravity. They learn team work. They learn competency.
6. Use very fresh farm eggs (or pasteurized) because kids will eat cookie dough.
7. Allow for extra time for clean up.
8. For this recipe, plan the baking over two days.

• Day 1: Dough.
• Day 2: Rolling, Baking.

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Bats for Ghost Cookies and Baking with Toddlers

Bats and Ghosts soft sugar cookies made with sour cream.

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioner’s sugar or sprinkles
• raisins for eyes for ghosts

Instructions

• Cream butter, gradually add sugar. Once mixed add sour cream.
• Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes
• Add eggs one at a time. Add Vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together including nutmeg and salt. Add in a little at a time.
• Chill thoroughly.
• Divide the dough by four, and wrap each individually.
• Work with one piece of dough at a time, leaving the rest in refrigerator.
• Flour surface and when using cooking cutter, pull dough away from cutter, as this is soft dough.
• Roll out, cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle with sugar, or decorate accordingly.

Notes

This dough is best chilled overnight. I used raisins for ghost eyes and glazed bat cookies after baking and then did the sprinkles.

The post Bats for Ghost Cookies and Baking with Toddlers appeared first on Spinach Tiger.