Choco Vanilla Cookies

Craving chocolate!? I do --- every day. I also love vanilla, and these cookies comfirm that chocolate and vanilla are a match made in heaven.

I got this recipe from Coolinarika (in Croatian), and have done it a few times, and my kids love it. Tonight they were sad and missed their dad (he‘s on the road), so I made them these cookies for comfort.

Also, on Sunday I am having a ton of people coming over because it’s Easter for me, and I need to cook and bake for days to have enough for everyone.

I made peaches cookies again, and combined the cookies for my kids---choco vanilla, and peach halves to create cute little hats, which I got inspired to do by my friend from Canada. I just played around a bit, and I love the ideas that were coming to me. Well, need to buy some decorating material first...





This can be done with many different versions of cookies, and decorated even nicer, just check my friends’ little hats out.


Chocolate cookies with vanilla frosting - Išleri



For the cookies:
10 Tbsp of unsalted butter
200 g flour
70 g powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp of baking cocoa

Mix butter (room temperature) with egg yolk and sugar, then gradually add flour. Roll it out to about 1/3 of an inch, and cut with cookie cutters. Bake @ 355 F for 15 minutes, then lower it to 300 F for another 5 minutes. Let them cool, and then cover half of them with melted chocolate (I use 100 g baking chocolate with 3 Tbsp of oil). Spread the butter cream on the halves with no chocolate, and put chocolate coated ones on the top.

For the vanilla buttercream:
3 eggs
150 g sugar
1 vanilla sugar (2 Tsp)
7 Tbsp of unsalted butter

Mix eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar, then cook in a double boiler, mixing continuously until it thickens. Let it cool completely, and then add butter.
Cookies are best the next day, to let them sort of soak the moisture from the cream in.




Happy Mother's Day!

Peaches - Breskvice

Breskvice (peaches) are very traditional in all the countries of formerly Yugoslavia, and are a must at weddings, holidays and any special occasion. Of course I would, from time to time, come up with a special occasion just to make them : )
There are many recipes out there, and really you can’t go wrong with any of them, the method is pretty much the same, and you can jazz up the filling any way you like, you‘ll see. I go traditional way, with peach jam (my homemade, and you can use whichever jam you like), walnuts, and crumbs from the cookies, as well as more kid friendly, or shall I say Chocoholic friendly version with Nutella instead of jam, mhmm….
I have adapted this version of bisquits from Croatian Herald, and I use a filling from a recipe of unknown source. The "styling" process is my own making :)


BRESKVICE (Peaches)

For the cookies (about 16):300 grams of flour
150 grams of butter or margarine
100 grams of fine sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp of sour cream
½ package of baking powder (7 grams)
Now, if the above quantity is not enough for you, double it!

For the filling:
Crumbs from carving the peach halves
As needed peach jam (or some other jam)
Ground walnuts (or some other nuts)
Filling option 2:
Instead of jam, use Nutella, the rest is same
some rum, if you like

Also needed:
200 ml of milk
4 Tbsp of sugar
Yellow and red food dye
Vanilla extract, or strawberry and mint,
or banana, whatever suits you
Sugar for dipping peaches

In no particular order, mix all the ingredients until smooth. It may seem at the very beginning like that is just not going to happen, but just keep mixing.
Now wash your hand, and then oil them, and start making little balls a bit smaller than a walnut. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake them in the preheated oven, 385 ° F, for about 15 minutes.

They will still be white, so don’t think they are not done, don’t burn them, take them out, cool them for a bit, just enough to handle them in your hands, and with a small knife, or some other tool, carve holes in each of the halves, very carefully. C’mon, it’s so worth it! : )

Leave the crumbs you are getting, and when you are done, “grind” them through your fingers to get finer crumbs, and now add as needed, or to taste, jam, and walnuts, to make filling thick enough to fill the halves, and when sticking two together, to be able to hold it. Remember you can substitute jam with Nutella, for filling option 2.

Now that you have little pale peaches, prepare two cereal bowls, or some other bowls, with 100 ml of milk in each, mix in 2 Tbsp of sugar in each, and couple of drops of yellow food dye in one, and couple of drops of red food dye in the other bowl, and mix a bit. Add flavoring (I use vanilla), but you can also flavor the red with strawberry, and yellow with mint, or flavor both milk mixtures with banana or some other flavor, or you know what, just play with it!!! Also prepare sugar for dipping in a plate or something of that kind.

Quickly dip each peach in yellow milk, and then in red milk, but not one peach half in one color, and one peach half in other, rather dip them in the manner in which each half will get dipped in both colors, for more natural looking peaches : ) Now, I pat them with paper towel for a second or two, to make sure they are not to wet for the next step, rolling them in the sugar. I learned this over time, and you will get better every time, and they will look better, and better, and you will play with flavors.

When you are done with coloring all the peaches, and rolling them in sugar, let them sort of rest overnight , and enjoy!


Peaches in progress!