Available only in winter months when it’s real chocolate coating won’t melt, Mallomars are a deeply satisfying seasonal cookie that inspires very personal improvisation…(and has MANY cultural references to boot).
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The Rhubarb Variations: 13 Riffs on One Simple Recipe
Our CSA Essex Farm delivered a big load of rhubarb this week, keeping us rooted firmly in the season. Our plan is to make up a big batch of basic cooked rhubarb (recipe below) that we can transform at a moment’s notice. The image of Rhubarb Whoopie Pies we found at Butter, Sugar, Flowers gives the basic approach:…
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Quick Delicious: Riff on Icebox Cakes + Stacks
When a dessert chef renowned for her decadent chocolate pie didn’t show up one day in a restaurant I worked years ago, a prep cook whipped up a quickie dessert: the old-fashioned icebox cake that his mother used to make. It proved a giant hit. Since then, I’ve done a number of riffs on that endlessly improvisable approach.
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Do-able Baking Inspiration from Burrow
When you experience the pastries, cookies and cakes created by Ayako Kurokowa of Patisserie Burrow in Brooklyn, you know an artist is at work. We find ourselves inspired just by looking at her Instagrams.
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The Improvisational Possibilities of Mallomars
Not only is the Mallomar a seasonal food, it inspires endless improvisations on how to eat it. Here are 7 to start.
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lucky biscuits + signs in cookies
At ‘the improvised life’ we are big on signs; they make up many of the posts in the Surprise Box and I’ve written about how helpful it can be to tape a sign up on the wall of your office or bedroom to remind you of what’s really important (that we so easily forget), like…
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