AnnieWilliams

Thank you both for your replies. I'm going to keep reviewing recipes. I'm glad about other nuts being ok as hazelnut flour is very expensive. I might try walnuts and almonds or something...

I've been asked to make one of these for a party where there will be several German desserts served. I have seen several recipes online, with all of them using different types of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts) or various combinations of nuts in the same recipe. Most recipes use raspberry jam as the filling but apparently redcurrant is traditional and can be difficult to find. Luckily there is a store near me which carries it. Can someone share with me an authentic recipe or point me to a source where I can find one? I'm sure if I took 20 Austrian or German grandmothers and asked them I'd get 20 different recipes. Something in the ballpark would be good. I've seen a few recipes which have a little cocoa powder added to the pastry but I'm not sure if that's considered traditional. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Great ideas everyone. Thanks for sharing all the tips and recipes. The almond buttercrunch looks incredible. I hope I have enough for the boxes and don't end up eating it all!

Thank you all so much for your replies! I have several candy recipe books but I always like the tried and true recipes. I've seen Turkish delight recipes but I've never personally tried it. I love the nut and fruit ideas as well. Thanks also for the tip about Best Buy! I'm fed up with this oven and I can't wait to replace it! Darienne, can you PM me your recipe? Keep the great ideas coming! Oh, I'd also love to have the almond buttercrunch recipe!

Unfortunately, baking a zillion dozen cookies for Christmas is out this year. We moved into a house where the oven is super old and can't hold a steady temperature. We can't afford a new oven right now so I have to reconsider what I'm going to put in my gift boxes. Luckily the stove works great so I'm thinking of doing candy instead of cookies. I was hoping to get some ideas for gift candy that goes beyond the usual fudge and peppermint bark. It's not that I have anything against that type of candy, I'm just trying for unique candies that are maybe a little fancy and unexpected (but not too weird, if that makes sense). I might still make a few cookies but nowhere near what I did last year. I'm looking for about 6-8 types of sweets to put in this year's box. It's the only gift I give to friends and family so I like a good selection and variety. Any suggestions?

Awesome job, guys! I haven't made mine yet. Hey, what size are the molds ya'll are using? I'd like to upgrade because mine look a little homely/old fashioned. Not that that's a bad thing but it's good to have something new to add to the repertoire every now and then. Jmac, what is the white glaze on the outside of yours? It looks too shiny to be a ganache. Can you share how you made that?

I thought I'd pull this back up to the first page since we're in the first week of December. I decided against doing all bars, so I'm digging deep into my cookie files and making some really unique stuff. I've got sugar cutouts, baklava bars, jam splits, korova (world peace) cookies, lemon stars, snickerdoodle bars, Swedish creams, and Italian spritz cookies. Has anyone started baking yet? I'm looking at next weekend, after I buy everything I need.

Rugelach: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe/index.html

Thank you guys so much for your replies! I believe I used Claire797's browned butter pecan pie recipe last year at Thanksgiving. It was awesome! I love macaroons so I won't mind the taste testing.

Kerry, those are freaking hilarious! I hand-cut nearly all fondant decorations for my cakes so I totally understand what a labor of love that is. I haven't finalized my bar cookie decision. I've come across some recipes over the last few days which look really appealing. I like variety in a cookie box so I may end up doing several different things. I may even do the fudge! Hey, anyone have a good coconut macaroon recipe?

I will probably do a lot of bar cookies this year because they are quick and I hate rolling things into balls and rolling and slicing. Although, Christmas wouldn't be the same without my roll out sugar cookies so I will probably do those. I'm doing chocolate chip cookie bars, baklava bars, snickerdoodle bars, and raspberry crumble bars. I thought about doing fudge but I'm not sure if anyone really gets excited about that anymore. Would it look bad to do just all bar cookies? I need fast this year because I think I'm going to get hit with 50 million buche de noel orders, but I don't want to leave my family and friends out in the cold with no cookies!

What kind of heat are we talking about? You could do marshmallows.

I think so too! Here is the link, for anyone who is interested: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2011/07/17/blackberry-cobbler-recipe/

Ann, thanks for the tip about reheating the sauce. Also thanks everyone else for your suggestions. I just talked to my friend today and he said his mom did not use a biscuit type dough. He said she used a pie dough. This is interesting because it's not typical of most recipes I've seen. I have found a few though. I did have a Southern Living blueberry cobbler recipe which used pie dough and pecans and it was actually very delicious. It's my husband's favorite dessert. The other recipe I found is called "southern style" and it has you make little pie dough dumplings which are cooked in the filling and then the whole thing is baked with a lattice crust. Maybe I will give that a try.

Wow thanks for the recommendation! I am a cookbook hoarder so I'm always looking for books to add to my collection. I will ask my friend tomorrow what his ideal cobbler is. Thanks!

Wow that looks delicious! Could the sauce be made in advance and re-heated in the microwave at work? I was also going to make some homemade vanilla ice cream. Good grief, ya'll got me wanting cobbler for breakfast!

Thanks so much for your replies. Janeer, I think he grew up in New York but not totally sure. I will get more clarification on Monday when I see him. You are right about the confusing terminology; in looking at the recipes I can't tell the difference among them as far as tiles are concerned. I just took a peek at my 1975 Joy of Cooking and their fruit cobbler calls for a recipe of their fluffy biscuit dough. Too many choices.

Thanks Darienne! I'm not a blackberry person either, but he insisted on them! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who Frankensteins recipes together. Thanks so much again for sharing!

Does anyone have a great recipe for blackberry cobbler? My friend asked me to make one for his birthday. He said his mother used to make them and they lived up north. I have seen several recipes. Some use kind of a drop biscuit, others a cake, and one recipe I found called for making little pie crust dumplings and cooking them on the stove with the blackberry filling and then topping the whole thing with a lattice crust before being baked. I am not sure what is considered "authentic" and unfortunately he's been out of town all week so I couldn't get the details. I'm more of a pie gal myself, so I like recipes which use regular pie dough. However, I do realize that those types of recipes are probably not a true cobbler. If anyone has an awesome blackberry cobbler recipe I would appreciate it!

Martin, I went on a pie spree several months ago. I bought several books off Amazon. Pie it Forward by Gesine Bullock-Prado, The Lost Art of Pie Making by Barbara Swell, and Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies by Mollie Cox Bryan. The last one is my favorite. The book discusses the recipes used in Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant and Bakery. She was an elderly lady who made the best pies. And believe me, when it comes to pies, I am more inclined to learn from an elderly lady who's been baking them for 70 years as opposed to a pastry chef (no offense to the awesome pastry chefs here). She does give a yolk recipe and a couple of other recipes for crusts.

Yes Jeanne I totally agree. Although I prefer her Neoclassical recipe better.

Yes, generally it coats the particles of flour and makes it less susceptible to forming gluten when water is added. Think reverse creaming when baking cakes.

I've always seen it as pastry cream with butter whipped in. The amounts and proportions vary by recipe. Technically it is a buttercream, since it's butter and cream, but not in the traditional sense (as used for cake icing).

I think with egg yolks, the purpose is to have the fat to protect the flour from becoming over mixed. I think the acid in the buttermilk does the same. Usually you see vinegar in the egg yolk pie crust recipes too.

I have no advice about equipment, but Flour's doughnut recipe is incredible. I am not sure how you could scale it up to meet your needs, but if you're good at math and science maybe it would be easy. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vanilla-Cream-Filled-Doughnuts-364349