Anise-almond biscotti. Photo: The Brown Eyed Baker

It's not Saturday morning .. yet. But just looking at this picture of anise-almond biscotti from The Brown Eyed Baker makes us forget that we still have an entire work day ahead of us.

That's probably because biscotti can't be enjoyed on a weekday like it can on a lazy weekend: dipped into rich coffee before it's slowly nibbled away at, only to be dunked again before taking a few more tiny bites, and on and on. And if biscotti like this is on the table, Saturday can't come soon enough!

[Via The Brown Eyed Baker]

Photo: The Gourmet Worrier

The only thing better than a handful of fat, juicy Medjool dates is a tart full of plump, juicy Medjool dates. Especially if it looks like this one.

Baked and photographed by the Gourmet Worrier, its gleaming surface -- slicked with an application of melted apricot jam and orange blossom water -- hints tantalizingly at the glories lurking within, and it's easy to imagine the mouthwatering aroma of almonds wafting from the first slice. And the second, third and eighth slices. Come to think of it, it's easy to imagine a plate of crumbs, accompanied by a guilty grin, a very long nap and dreams, of course, of dates.

[Via The Gourmet Worrier]

Petit fours have been becoming increasingly popular over the last few years. They're perfect for those of us concerned about portion control. You can satiate your sweet tooth without overindulging with the bite sized sweets.

There's a certain conception that most people have of petit fours. Most of us think the treats have to be small square or round cakes with a poured fondant icing and a piped decoration on top. There's much more to it than that. Petit four translates from French as 'small oven,' which refers to the ovens after the large items had been baked. The heat in the oven was a lot lower after the bread or large cakes (in the case of the nobility) came out, so things like smaller cakes and cookies that needed lower temperatures could then be baked.

In a strict sense, a petit four can be any small cookie, cake, creme puffs or tartlettes. Even sugar coated nuts and fruits could be considered petit four, technically speaking. According to Larousse Gastronomique, petit fours became popular during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King himself.

When we work on the small desserts for teas or buffets in my pastry kitchen, we use almond cake to make the petit four glacés. It's a very dense almond cake that we then layer with different flavors of marmalade, top with marzipan (only on the top layer), and then pour fondant over in a very thin layer (after cutting the cake into small squares of course). They're so rich it's a good thing we cut them in such bite-sized pieces.

Kashi, a company once known for its hippy-dippy, fiber-rich cereals with cheesy names (Heart-to-Heart and Good Friends immediately come to mind), has ditched its nerdy image and now boasts everything from cookies to crackers to frozen pizza.

The company's website even highlights a few recipes that (obviously) prominently feature its products. And like the store bought stuff, the recipes are deceptively healthy. (They even offer full nutrition info, if you're into that sort of thing).

The recipes range from stuffing to smoothies, but one that caught my eye was the Blueberry Almond bars, the stars of the recipe being the Heart-to-Heart Wild Blueberry and Oat Flakes and the GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereals. Simple recipe tweaks, like adding tofu and soy milk and replacing white flour with wheat, make it the perfect guilt-free breakfast, snack or dessert.

I realize that I've posted nearly every day this week about one or another dish that appeared at the Philly Food Blogger Potluck last Friday. I hope I'm not boring you with all these posts, it just doesn't seem right not to share all the wonderful things that I got to taste that night. And with that introduction, let me tell you about what may be one of the best cookies I've ever tasted (and I've eaten more than my share of cookies over the years).

Elizabeth, who is also responsible for the Elvis and Fluffer Nutter cakes I've posted about in the past, brought a large container of her famous Coconut Almond Toffee Crunch cookies to the potluck. She describes them perfectly in her post as a cookie that has evolved into a treat "that combines chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty, and buttery." People who loudly announced that they didn't like coconut devoured them. Folks sneaked stacks of them out in napkins. One blogger said she was going to take the cookie in her hand home to her boyfriend but was then spotted eating it a few moments later. They are just that good.

I can't believe that I'm thinking about ice cream when it is so chilly outside, but the flavor combination that Dagmar, from A Cat in the Kitchen, used in her Rhubarb and Caramelized Almond Semifreddo is very hard to resist. A semifreddo is an Italian term that literally means "partially frozen" and is often similar to a frozen custard or ice cream, although cakes and some fruit desserts can also fall under the term. Their distinguishing feature is that that are lighter than other frozen desserts. Unlike ice cream, whipped cream and/or egg whites are folded in before freezing and the dessert a mousse-like texture, but no churning is involved. They are often molded and sliced for serving.

This dessert has crunchy caramelized almonds and sweet, tender rhubarb in a vanilla base. One of my favorite things about this photo is the pink syrup. If you have ever cooked rhubarb, you will probably recall that it looses a bit of its pinkness during cooking or baking. You need to be extremely selective in the stalks you choose if you are going for color, since the greenish stalks will still have a good flavor, but will simply dull to a pale gold when heated.

When the menu for Bill Gates' dinner party with the Chinese President Hu Jintao was published, it sparked a lot of interest. Local ingredients, regional favorites, the overall low-key menu selection... etc.,  were all widely praised, but the vast majority of the interest in the menu was focused on dessert. The Seattle Times was inundated with requests for the recipe of the Rhubarb Brown Butter Almond Cake that was served at the dinner. Of course, they complied with reader requests and obtained the recipe from the chef. Just to make sure it was as good as it sounded, food blogger Molly, of Orangette, made a batch of mini cakelettes using the recipe. I can only imagine the taste, but if it's even half as good as it looks, this recipe makes one fantastic cake. The full recipe can be found here, and the cakelette recipe can be found at Orangette.