TIP OF THE DAY: Breakfast Cupcakes

What’s the difference between a cupcake and a muffin? Cupcakes have a finer crumb (from using cake flour versus all-purpose flour), a bit more sugar and are iced, adding even more sugar. While muffins do have somewhat less sugar, don’t let the name lull you into a sense of “better for you”: They are cake…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Clementines

Today’s tip comes from guest blogger Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog. Her recommendation: clementines, a small mandarin. Note that it’s a “mandarin,” not a “mandarin orange”; the two are separate genuses (more about that below). But even Produce Pete calls clementines and mandarins “oranges,” so do what you can to spread the truth. “I’m infusing…
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RECIPE: Matcha Shortbread Cookies

Bake ‘em or buy ‘em: matcha shortbread cookies from Tea Aura. Photo by River Soma | THE NIBBLE.   January 6th is National Shortbread Day. Coming on the heels of new year’s resolutions, where many of us have resolved to eat better, what’s a cookie lover to do? Make matcha shortbread (or as a default,…
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Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Recipe With Sea Salt

We couldn’t close out the year without a batch of buttery shortbread. This recipe, from Spice Islands, adds creamy caramel, a dark chocolate ganache icing and a sprinkle of sea salt. The recipe includes cashews. You can substitute another favorite nut (macadamias, pecans, pistachios, walnuts) or omit the nuts entirely. This type of bar cookie…
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RECIPE: Mini Champagne Cupcakes

Mini champagne cupcakes. Photo courtesy Golden Blossom Honey.   If you celebrate the New Year with champagne or other bubbly, how about some champagne mini cupcake to take a sweet bite of the new year? This recipe is from Golden Blossom Honey, a fourth generation family company whose honey is 100% American-made (not cheap Chinese…
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