Life may just be complete now that I’ve reached my longtime goal of making poodles out of fondant. I decided to take a stab at it for Mother’s Day because my mom is a massive poodle fan. Her dogs, Henri and Pablo, have taken my place at home–they have their own beds, eat gourmet food and have achieved profile pic status on my mom’s Facebook page. But it’s cool, I get it–they’re the sons she never had.

So I figured, what better way to honor my mom than to share this video about making fondant poodles.

*One tip that I didn’t mention in the video–if you’re using black fondant, I suggest buying it, not dying it. Making black fondant is a real pain in the tail, and to avoid getting black dye all over your hands and the furniture, just invest in pre-colored black fondant. You’re welcome.

So, for the woman who has everything, this is for you:

And to the other doggie and cake decorating enthusiasts out there — Happy Mother’s Day!

The green revolution has officially swept the nation, and cake decorating has stepped right in line. Gum paste succulents are the latest craze for brides and environmentalists everywhere. So when my friend, Jessica, asked me to do her wedding cake and showed me a photo of her succulent-studded bouquet, I was pumped about taking on this challenge.

Gum paste succulents have been popping up like weeds online over the past few months, and there are some amazing specimens out there. I couldn’t find a tutorial when I started researching the project back in February, so I taught myself how to make succulents using the small petal cutters pictured below. However, I just came across this lesson on Pixel Whisk that uses an azalea cutter sold here. The azalea cutter gives the plant an Aeonium Haworthii look, whereas mine is more of a Graptosedum ‘Vera Higgins.’ (Ok, that’s by far the most botanistic thing I’ve ever said.)

Here’s a video I made to walk you through the steps of making my gum paste succulents:

They’re easier than most gum paste flowers because you don’t have to ruffle delicate petals or anything of the like. You basically flatten the rounded ends of the leaves and glue them together. Someday I’ll attempt a more impressive succulent arrangement, but until then, I’m more than happy with my primitive little plants. They’re the perfect size for cupcakes, and they worked out beautifully for Jessica’s fabulous wedding. Water retention has never looked so pretty. Go Earth!

Who doesn’t love a good fireworks display on the Fourth of July? Especially if it’s sweet and edible, like these delicious cupcakes. Instead of brightening the skies, these cupcakes will put a twinkle in the eyes of all the young patriots at your holiday picnic. Here’s a video I put together with the full rundown of making these explosive treats:

Start with the cupcakes of your choice. You could do vanilla and red velvet to emulate the stripes–just an idea.

Color your blue and red icings, obviously you don’t have to color the white. You may want to put a base of white icing on each cupcake so that you don’t have bare spots in your firework. In that case, you’ll want to have approximately the same amount of blue and white icing, but just a little red, since we only use a small amount of red icing for the center spark.

As you can see, these piping bags are already outfitted with couplers. A coupler is the little plastic nozzle that you attach to the end of the piping bag so that you can switch out the piping tip you’re using. We need it here since we’re using the same tip with different colors of icing. If you put the tip inside the bag, you’ll be in a real bind. To use a coupler, you detach the outer ring from the cone part, put the cone inside the piping bag, fill the bag with icing, attach the piping tip to the outside of the bag, and secure the tip by screwing on the outer ring of the coupler. It’s all in the video for your viewing and learning pleasure.

Here’s a shot of the coupler and piping bag pre-icing, as well as a few other things you’ll need. The spatula comes in handy for spreading the white icing base on each cupcake–you can also use a butter knife. The piping tip, however, is your MVP in the making of the firework cupcake. It’s Wilton #233 or Ateco #133, and it’s what will make your icing burst into the air and create the perfect firework.

Bring these cupcakes to any Independence Day affair you’ve been invited to, and you’ll be sure to cause an impact.

Decorator’s Buttercream (for 24 cupcakes)

Adapted from The Well-Decorated Cake by Toba Garrett

• 2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 T meringue powder
• 1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup milk or water, as needed

1. Cream butter until smooth and glossy. Add shortening and cream until uniform.
2. Add vanilla, salt and meringue powder.
3. Make sure powdered sugar has been sifted. Add to the butter mixture and cream until blended. Icing will be stiff.
4. Add milk or water until icing is the desired consistency, thick and spreadable.

One thing I know for sure, almost every single Fourth of July picnic, barbecue, or pool party will feature a pie. And if you’re the one bringing it, it had better be good. (Unless you don’t care about being popular.) And obviously, one of the key components to a successful pie, is a super flaky crust.

I like to choose one day, early in the summer, to make a ton of crust and stash it in the freezer for any pie emergency that may pop up during the season. Then, whenever I want to make a homemade pie, the homemade crust step is already taken care of. This summer, I squared my usual recipe for four crusts and made 16. It wasn’t pretty, but now I’m done for the summer and can spend more time at the beach and less time making crust.

As far as pie crust goes, it’s not as complicated as you think. I use five ingredients, and that’s it. I’ve tried fooling around with shortening and vinegar and cream cheese and the like, but this recipe always gets rave reviews, so my crust quest is over. Here’s a little video I put together about how to make it:

Now, if you make this delicious homemade crust and decide that you’re too exhausted to make the whole shebang, I suggest these surprisingly satisfying pie crust cookies. They’re a great way to enjoy my favorite part of the pie without delay. Brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with raw sugar, pie crust cookies are almost like mini versions of those giant elephant ears you get at the deli. I like big portions, but personally, a pastry the size of an elephant’s ear is even too much flake for a flake-lover like me. These cookies are the perfect serving of flake.

They’re also the perfect amount of crunch to top off a patriotic berry parfait for Fourth of July. Of course, you can’t go wrong cutting them in the shape of the United States. Bring the best part of the pie without the pie and you’ll be the most popular person at the picnic, barbecue or pool party. And they also work as a spoon!

Basic Pie Crust Recipe for Cookies or Pie (makes four crusts or a plethora of cookies in one sitting so you can stash it in the freezer and spend more time outdoors)

• 1 pound unsalted butter, cold
• 5 cups all-purpose or pastry flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup ice water

1. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and store in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
2. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. If you’re using your hands, forks or a pastry cutter, combine the butter with the dry ingredients and break it up into big chunks, not coarse meal. The chunks should be the size of small rocks.
4. If you’re using a stand mixer, mix the butter and dry ingredients with a paddle attachment. You just want to break up the butter, you don’t want to cream it like cookies. Again, big, jagged chunks are what you’re looking for.
5. If you’re using a food processor, dump dry ingredients and butter into the bowl with the blade attachment. Pulse about 10 times, give or take, until the butter is broken into big chunks.
6. No matter what method you use to cut in the butter, mix the water in with your hands. (So if you used a food processor, transfer the dough into a large bowl.) Toss the water in with your hands and gently toss and press the water into the dough until it forms a messy ball. Don’t knead the dough or squeeze it in your fists. And whatever you do, don’t work it until it’s smooth. The butter chunks should still be large and visible.
7. Divide it into four equal parts and chill for at least 30 minutes to an hour if you’re going to use it immediately. Store in the freezer if you’re not going to use it in the next day or two.
8. For cookies, roll the chilled dough out, cut the cookies into your desired shape and chill them again for about 20 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
10. Brush cookies with egg wash (1 egg combined with 1 T water) and sprinkle with raw or demerara sugar (or whatever you have).
11. Bake cookies for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and flaky.
12. Unite with berries, whipped cream, lemon curd or chocolate mousse.

It took me several years to understand cherry pie. I’ve been making pies with fresh fruit since I was 15, but for some reason, back in those days, it was hard to find a good recipe for cherry pie that didn’t call for canned cherry filling. That was pre-Internet and pre-food blogging mania, so if you didn’t have the right cookbooks, you were screwed. While that thick, gelatinous canned filling is nostalgic for some people, it just wasn’t my style, so I avoided cherry pie at all costs.

That changed a couple of years ago, when I found a sublime cherry coulis recipe in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by my beloved Rose Levy Beranbaum. She included the coulis as a topping for a cheesecake, but I decided to bake it into a pie crust and see what would happen. After a few tweaks, I came up with a cherry pie that amazes and confounds some of the most devout cherry pie fans living today.

Here’s a photo of my first cherry pie this season. I’m experimenting with different lattice crust designs, and though you can’t really tell, I tried to fan out the vertical pieces to reinvent that classic look. I’m still working on this one.

For Father’s Day, I couldn’t resist breaking out my new United States cookie cutter that I got for Fourth of July. My dad drilled the states and capitals into my head at a very young age, and instead of counting sheep at bedtime, he goes through them alphabetically to help him fall asleep. “Use it or lose it,” is his motto. He also likes a good cherry pie, so even though I didn’t get to spend the big day with him, I made a cherry pie in his honor. My dad is also a huge fan of vinegar, so if anyone will appreciate the special addition of balsamic vinegar in this particular pie, he will.

And here’s what the pie looked like fresh out of the oven. Using words on pie crusts is another fun experiment I’m trying. Although the letters expanded a bit in the oven and “fathers” looks like “pathers,” I’m still pretty happy with it. It could probably be remedied by cutting bigger letters, but seriously, if you can’t decipher the message, it might be time for a check-up. Happy Pathers Day!

Cherry Pie with Balsamic Vinegar and Madeira (Serves 8-10)

Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cherry Coulis

• 1 recipe basic pie crust (below)
• 2 pounds fresh Bing cherries, pitted (about 1 3/4 lbs after pitting)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 T. cornstarch
• 2 T Madeira
• 3 T balsamic vinegar, divided
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• pinch of salt
• 2 T brown butter (find instructions here)

1. Make pie crust and chill for at least one hour.
2. Combine cherries, sugar, cornstarch, Madeira, 2 T. balsamic vinegar, vanilla bean and salt in a medium saucepan. Allow to macerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
3. Cook cherry mixture over medium heat until the juices thicken. Remove from heat. Add brown butter and remaining balsamic vinegar. Allow to cool.
4. Blind bake bottom shell of pie in a 9″ pie plate. (Instructions below)
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and place a baking sheet in the lower third of the oven.
6. Once pie shell and cherries are cool, fill the pie shell with the cherries, spooning the cherries in first and then pouring the juices over top.
7. Roll out the second pie crust and make your favorite design. Place over the cherries and adhere the top crust to the bottom crust by folding it over the side a bit. Make a pretty border to cover any imperfections. Egg wash the crust using a mixture of 1 egg and 1 T water.
8. Bake pie on preheated baking sheet for 15 minutes. Turn down oven temp to 350 degrees and continue baking for 20-30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling.
9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Basic Pie Crust (for two pies—freeze the extra one if necessary)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup/8 oz (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 tablespoons (about) ice water

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor or stand mixer, or a bowl. Add butter; pulse until coarse meal forms (or paddle in a stand mixer, or cut with a pastry cutter or forks or fingers).
2. Gradually blend in enough ice water to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Form dough into 2 balls; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; chill 2 hours or overnight.
3. To Blind Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll one disk out to an 11-inch round. Place in a 9-inch pie plate, crimp the edges, and dock with a fork. Cover with parchment and fill with pie weights, rice or beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment and bake for 5 minutes. Crust should be dry and a pale golden color. You’ll be baking it more, and this is just to prevent the shell from getting soggy. Set crust on a wire rack to cool.

When it comes to flat out comfort food, pierogies have it nailed. Potatoes and cheese wrapped up in a precious little pocket of dough? I call that satisfying, convenient and cute all in one. Although pierogies fit right in with the beige, starchy central Pennsylvania fare I grew up on, I never really ate them until I met my man. One of our earliest dates was a gathering for his birthday at Warszawa, a Polish restaurant in Santa Monica. It had been an annual tradition for his friends for years, but as the new woman in his life and the curious cook that I am, I had to shake up that tradition and try making them at home.

Pierogies are easy, but here’s a video I made to help you navigate the process. Note that pierogies are actually done cooking about 5 minutes after they float to the surface–oops!

Obviously, I rely on the Kitchenaid sheet roller pasta attachment to get me through the rough part of rolling the dough, but if you don’t have one, don’t be discouraged. It won’t be hard to roll out the dough for this recipe, and it will bring you one step closer to the Polish women of yesteryear.

I usually stick to the same potato and cheese filling that my friends devour like savages. However, this year, I branched out a bit. Because lately I’ve been finding a way to add Asian influence to everything I eat, I had to try this Green Onion Oil filling that I found on Momofukufor2.com. I used scallions from the garden, fresh ginger and sesame oil, and followed their suggestion to add 4 tablespoons to the potatoes. I served them with a simple soy sauce dipping sauce, and people liked them, but they made a point to tell me that they liked the good old potato filling the best.

I also tried Martha Stewart’s recipe for Mushroom Pierogies. The filling is basically pure mushroom, and I think it would have benefited from something to cut it with, like ricotta cheese. However, mushrooms and ricotta pretty much make them ravioli, and it wasn’t that kind of party. Potatoes and cheese reign supreme.

I don’t know if it was actually the pierogies that helped me score the Pole in my life, but I like to believe they had something to do with it. Either way, I got a new man, a new recipe, and new traditions to mess with, so I’m feeling pretty damn lucky.

Pierogi Dough (makes about 32 pierogies, using a 3-inch cutter)

Adapted from Epicurious.com

• 1 cup all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading and rolling
• 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water

Stir together flours in a bowl. Make a well in flour and add eggs, salt, and water, then stir together with a fork without touching flour. Continue stirring, gradually incorporating flour into well until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding only as much additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (Dough will be soft.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth.

Assembling pierogi

Cut dough into quarters. Feed them, one at a time, through a Kitchenaid sheet roller pasta attachment, starting at Level 1 and progressing to Level 4, dusting the dough with more flour between levels. If you’re rolling by hand, roll out 1 quarter on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin until dough is 1/8 inch thick. Cut out about 6 or 7 rounds with a lightly floured cutter. Wet the edges of the bottom half of a dough circle. Form about 1 tablespoon of filling into a ball and place it in the center of the round. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together to seal completely. Do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking. Transfer pierogi to a baking sheet lined with a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) or parchment paper and cover with another towel. Form more pierogies in same manner.

Note: The dough scraps can be re-rolled once, but beyond that, the dough will get tougher and your pierogies will get heavier. Proceed with caution.

If you’re not cooking the pierogies that day, they need to be frozen, or the dough will oxidize and turn greenish-gray. Put the tray of pierogies into the freezer and once they’re frozen, you can transfer them to a Ziploc freezer bag.

If you’re cooking the pierogies immediately, bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer to a colander.

Serve plain or toss with caramelized onions.

Ok, I know what you’re saying– “Why would you make homemade peanut butter when you can buy the good stuff at the store?” Well, that’s a good question, and a hard one to answer until you’ve tried this at home. Homemade peanut butter is a superior blend of sweet and salty. The grains of salt burst in your mouth, and you can make it as sweet as the kid in you likes it.

The first time I tried homemade peanut butter was when I worked at Craft. There, we would start with raw peanuts, roast them in the oven, and pour them into the Robot Coupe while they were piping hot. It was precarious, but it sure was delicious.

This is the first time I’ve made it since that stint over four years ago, but it seemed fitting for a fun Facetime video with my mom. Every morning, she has a bowl of cereal, then about half an hour later, she has peanut butter toast. Then she goes to the gym. Then she has a martini. Someday I hope to be just like her.

Here’s our video:

And here’s the recipe:

Homemade Peanut Butter (makes about 2 cups)

Adapted from Simplyscratch.com

• 1 lb. roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 4 T. olive oil (or grapeseed oil), more if you like it creamier
• 2 T. honey, more if you like it sweeter
• 1 t. kosher salt

1. Grind peanuts in a food processor until they form a paste.
2. While the processor is running, drizzle in olive oil, honey and salt.
3. Blend until peanut butter is desired consistency.
4. Spread on toast. Share with your mom. Even if it’s over Facetime.
5. Refrigerate.

As with all of these food holidays, I never know if I got the date from a reputable source or not. I think that May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, but even if it isn’t, it’s completely appropriate to applaud the chocolate chip cookie today, tomorrow, and everyday thereafter.

Now, when it comes to things that can be improved upon in this world, a chocolate chip cookie is not something that comes to mind. Air quality, story ideas for reality TV, the noise level in my neighborhood–these are all things that could use a solid shaping up. Chocolate chip cookies are perfect just the way they are. The good ones, I mean. I’m not talking about the bad ones–I don’t like thinking about them.

However, one day while making a batch, I took inventory of all the leftover scraps I had lying around the kitchen (which normally include but are not limited to caramel, red velvet cake crumbs, brown butter, among other things). That day, pistachio crumbs, marshmallows, and a dwindling bag of shredded coconut caught my eye. I dumped them all into the cookie dough, and by some amazing force of baking, the chocolate chip cookies tasted better than my original recipe. It was a special moment in Sarah’s kitchen.

And if you think I was inspired by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, you’re absolutely right. Potato chips and coffee grounds aside, she is the first person I noticed who puts marshmallows in her cookies. Let me tell you, people, if you’re looking for a cookie that’s crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, lovingly nestle a marshmallow in the center of each scoop of dough. It’s worth the extra time and gooey fingers. Here’s how:

These cookies are living proof that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, can be improved upon. Never has a chocolate chip cookie tasted so good–in my kitchen, at least. And if you don’t like the additions I made, feel free to substitute your own leftovers. You can even try stuffing the marshmallow into your favorite family chocolate chip cookie recipe and see what happens. Just promise me that you’ll never stop striving for a better cookie, because it might just be what the world needs now.

Marshmallow-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 2-3 dozen)

• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 2 c. flour
• 2 sticks butter (8 oz.), softened
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. shredded coconut
• 1 c. chopped pistachios
• 2 c. chocolate chips (1 12-oz. bag)
• 1 recipe Brown Sugar Marshmallows

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugars together with an electric mixer. Add vanilla and continue mixing.
3. Add eggs, one at a time.
4. Add dry ingredients gradually. Mix in coconut, pistachios and chocolate chips, just until combined. Don’t break your mixer.
5. Chill dough for at least 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. To assemble, scoop a ball of dough. Flatten it in your hand and put a marshmallow in the center. Fold the dough over the marshmallow.
8. Bake for 8-14 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie and the accuracy of your oven temp.

Brown Sugar Marshmallows (makes about 64 marshmallows, depending on how big you cut them)

*You will need an 8″ or 9″ square pan and a candy thermometer for this recipe.

• 1 c. dark brown sugar
• 1 T. glucose or light corn syrup
• 1/4 c. water
• 3 t. powdered gelatin, bloomed in 3 T. water
• 70 grams egg whites (about 2-3)
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 50:50 — equal parts confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch, sifted, for cutting the marshmallows

1. Spray your pan with non-stick baking spray.
2. Bloom the gelatin by sprinkling it over the water. The gelatin should be sprinkled evenly and not dumped on top in a pile. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Then stick it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, or until completely melted. Set aside.
3. Combine brown sugar, glucose or corn syrup and water in a small saucepan. Wash down the sides of the pan with water so that no sugar crystals remain.
4. Heat the pan over medium  until the sugar is dissolved. Then increase the flame to high and insert the thermometer. The sugar needs to reach 240 degrees F.
5. While the sugar is cooking, measure the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Don’t start whipping the whites until the sugar is close to 240 degrees. Around 220 is a good time to start. If the sugar is hovering around 240 and the whites are almost ready, turn the flame down just a tad to slow the cooking process. It’s not a big deal if the sugar is ready a minute before the egg whites, but 5 minutes is not okay.
6. Whip the whites on high with the whisk attachment until they’re foamy. Add the salt and continue whipping until they hold stiff peaks but are not over-whipped. If little cottony tufts of egg white start forming around the sides of the bowl, you’ve gone too far. You can also turn the speed on the mixer down a tad if the sugar still has a ways to go.
7. When the sugar syrup has reached 240 degrees F, add the gelatin.
8. Once both the egg whites and sugar are ready at the exact same moment, keep the mixer running on medium-high, and slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the whites.
9. Keep the mixer running on high until the bowl starts to cool down. This will take several minutes, so don’t put the baby down right beforehand or plan to record a voiceover audition at this time.
10. Once the marshmallow has cooled significantly, add the vanilla, whip another 15 seconds, and scoop the marshmallow into the prepared pan. Level with an off-set spatula and allow to set for at least 2 hours or until firm.
11. Sprinkle your 50:50 mixture over the top of the marshmallow. Flip it over onto a cutting board and sprinkle more 50:50 on top. Cut the marshmallow into 8 equal pieces vertically and horizontally, for a total of approximately 64 marshmallows. Dip your knife in 50:50 periodically if it gets too sticky.
12. Sprinkle more 50:50 on the marshmallows if they stick together. Put in Tupperware or cover with plastic wrap if not using immediately. They will last for about 1 week.

I know this photo is blurry, but I still kind of like it. And I don’t like to waste, so enjoy.

My husband loves a good sale, so when I came home to two-for-one pineapples, I knew what had to be done. I headed straight out to the garden that I masterminded and he now tends, and I picked some basil. Well, before that, I did look up pineapple in The Flavor Bible to make sure I was on the right track.

I made a simple syrup with the basil, puréed the pineapple, added tequila, and olé, the perfect drink to kick off Cinco de Mayo. Start the simple syrup first so that it has time to infuse and cool down.

And while I was at it, this little tip occurred to me that I thought I’d share with you:

 

Pineapple Basil Margaritas (makes 6 margaritas, depending on your tolerance)

• 1 whole pineapple, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 1/2 c. tequila
• 1/2 c. lime juice (about 6-7 limes)
• 1 recipe basil vanilla simple syrup
• chopped basil, for garnish
• lime wedges, for garnish

1. Purée the pineapple chunks in a blender. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. If you don’t want any pulp whatsoever, you can strain it through cheesecloth, but most people don’t have cheesecloth lying around, and I liked the texture that the pineapple bits imparted.
2. Pour pineapple purée into a pretty pitcher. Add tequila, lime juice, and basil vanilla simple syrup. Stir to combine.
3. Garnish with chopped basil and lime wedges, if desired.

Basil Vanilla Simple Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1. Combine sugar, water, basil leaves and vanilla bean in a small pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set syrup aside to infuse for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve and put in fridge to cool.

Now that you’ve made your homemade crème fraiche and slathered it on fresh berries, stirred it into French sauces or spooned it alongside your favorite Polish food, you probably have about a half a jar leftover that you don’t want to spoil. I happen to have half a refrigerator full of it, but that’s my problem. Let’s say you’ve got about one cup to deal with in your ongoing quest to keep close tabs on the perishable items in your fridge before they go to waste. This is a cause close to my heart, and if I can savage one or two of them, it’s been a good week.

One cup of crème fraiche, you have, and this is what you’re going to do with it–make biscuits.

The beauty of biscuits is that you can make them with different types of liquids. Flour and butter are non-negotiable, but if you don’t have buttermilk, you can use cream. Or if you’re on a diet, you can use low-fat buttermilk. Or if you have a half cup at the bottom of each container, and you’re dying to throw both of them out to make room for more champagne, you can use a little of both in your biscuits. And finally, if you have half a pint of homemade crème fraiche languishing on the fridge door, go right ahead and use that in place of cream or buttermilk.

Crème fraiche will make your biscuits super-buttery, which is what I’m going for with pretty much everything I bake. If you have a remarkable palate, you may be able to detect a slight tartness to the biscuit, but it won’t be the same as using straight buttermilk. But I’ll take butter over tart any day.

I added a bit of orange zest to the biscuit recipe, which is highly uncharacteristic of me. I’m not a big orange fan, but I thought it would be a nice base for the strawberry sauce. Now, the strawberry sauce. In case there wasn’t enough butter and cream in the biscuit, I added a bit to the strawberry sauce, just for kicks. Honestly, what ingredient on Earth doesn’t become a better version of itself with a little brown butter? That is today’s question to the universe.

This turned out to be a lovely mid-spring combo that can pass for a gloriously fruity breakfast item, or add a scoop of ice cream and make it dessert. If it’s before 10 a.m., it’s probably still breakfast, but we won’t tell anyone.

Orange Crème Fraiche Biscuits (Serves 8 friends)

Adapted from Food.com

• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. salt
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 t. orange zest
• 6 T. (3 oz.) unsalted butter, very cold
• 1 c. crème fraiche

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and put in the freezer while you’re mixing the dry ingredients.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
4. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, forks or your fingers. The mixture should start to resemble course meal.
5. Add the crème fraiche and stir until combined. The dough won’t come together perfectly, but that’s ok.
6. Flip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently gather it into one piece. Fold it over 2 or 3 times to make it more uniform, but don’t work it too hard.
7. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. You can shape it into a square and make an X from corner to corner and then a + from side to side. Or just cut it once down the middle in one direction and 3 times perpendicularly to make 8 pieces. There are no rules here.
8. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and dry. If the tops don’t seem done after 12 minutes, you may want to move the tray to a higher rack to avoid burning the bottoms.
9. Cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry Brown Butter Sauce (Serves 8 friends)

• 4 T. (2 oz.) unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1 lb. strawberries, sliced
• 2 T. honey, or more if desired

1. Split and scrape the vanilla bean and put it in a medium saute pan with the butter. Heat the butter and vanilla bean over medium heat until the butter starts to brown and smell nutty.
2. Add the strawberries and honey and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the strawberries release their juices but are still intact and not mushy.
3. The sauce is best served immediately over the biscuits, but it also taste just fine when reheated.