The picture of this week's TWD looks so amazing. I've been wanting to make it ever since I bought the book. Unfortunately, we don't normally have nuts in my house so I never got around to making it. So of course I was excited when Carla of Chocolate Moosey picked it for this week. Caramel, peanuts, chocolate ganache in a flaky tart? YUM!The recipe is broken into three parts- the tart dough, the caramel, and the ganache. The tart is pretty straight forward- it all comes together in a food processor. I used a springform pan because I don't have a tart pan (I know, I need to get one!).The caramel component was problematic for me. It doesn't require a thermometer- accroding to the instructions, you can just judge by the way the mixture looks. I let my cook too long- it ended up greasy and clumpy. So the second time I made it, I skipped the last 2 minute cook and took it off the heat after adding the cream. It worked great- a smooth, workable caramel that spread easily in the tart.
The ganache was beautiful- shiny, smooth. I couldn't wait to try it. 
I know I might get some flak here, but I wasn't crazy about it. I didn't think the caramel/peanut layer made enough of a showing- the inch of ganache overshadowed it so it just tasted like chocolate tart. Maybe it was because I made it in a nonconforming pan? Next time I would prefer a thicker caramel/peanut layer and a thinner ganache layer. Head to Carla's blog for the recipe!
Well, it actually turned out looking more like a car because I was afraid to suspend the skate on top of the wheels in the heat we're having now. The cake, skate and wheels are all red velvet with cream cheese buttercream.
Cottage cheese gets a bad rap. I know a lot of people who think it's disgusting, but I like it. Not with canned fruit or anything, and yes, my mom did put it in lasagne when I was growing up (gasp!).
But, hmm, cottage cheese cookies? Sounds... chunky.No, these cookies have pureed cottage cheese, butter, a tiny bit of sugar and flour and come together in minutes. 
After a chill and a roll, you cut them in squares fill them with jam (I opted for chocolate), and bake.
They might be better with jam- there wasn't much flavor aside from the chocolate. The slight tang from the cottage cheese may have gone better with fruit as well. Check out Jacque's blog for the recipe!
I always approach pastry recipes with a little apprehension- I don't love cutting butter into flour until it "resembles crumbs." But this recipe sounded so good and easy, I was excited to make it. Chosen by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen, this recipe was pretty easy, although it required more dough-chilling than I like. 
I admit I skipped the second chill- I rolled it out between waxed paper, cut the circles and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then I peeled the circles off, filled and baked them.
I quartered the recipe and still got close to 8 turnovers. This pic was taken by husband before he ate them all. :)
This week was chosen by Life in a Peanut Shell for Espresso Cheesecake Brownies. I thought these sounded really good- a moist brownie topped with an espresso cheesecake layer, topped with sweetened sour cream. Actually, now that I type that out, it sounds like a lot. 
And it was.
Don't get me wrong, I love brownies and I LOVE cheesecake. I would like a brownie cheesecake. But not so much cheesecake on top of a brownie. With sour cream. The whole thing was a little much for me. And I thought the tangy sour cream and the tangy cheesecake was too tangy for me.
Check out Melissa's blog for yummy pics and the recipe!
For some reason, my pics aren't uploading. I'll try again later!
The ganache was beautiful- shiny, smooth. I couldn't wait to try it. 
I know I might get some flak here, but I wasn't crazy about it. I didn't think the caramel/peanut layer made enough of a showing- the inch of ganache overshadowed it so it just tasted like chocolate tart. Maybe it was because I made it in a nonconforming pan? Next time I would prefer a thicker caramel/peanut layer and a thinner ganache layer. Head to Carla's blog for the recipe!
