Ron Ben-Israel is one of America’s most acclaimed designer of wedding and other special occasion cakes (see them at WeddingCakes.com).

His superb cake art is sought after for the most elaborate events. He also makes small cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, and for fans who can’t go too long without having one of his cakes.

But what’s a master of cakes to do when weddings are postponed in a pandemic?

You go from something tall and layered to something small and bite-size.

Thus, Ron Ben-Israel and pastry chef Tom Smallwood created a new product line: classic cookies and macarons.

The cookies are baked to order and sold in boxes of five: single flavors or an assortment.

Macarons are gluten-free, and there’s a gluten-free cookie collection in addition to the regular Ultimate Cookie Collection.

Each box of five is excellent for gifting (put them on your holiday list), but they’re also a well-deserved treat for yourself. Right now. You know you deserve it.

Before we take a further look at these gourmet goodies, here’s a time-sensitive opportunity:

For those celebrating the Jewish Holidays, there is a limited edition of gourmet honey cakes, with layers of flavor from a fragrant spice blend, and infused with Rishi’s ruby oolong tea.

They’re available through the end of September (photo #4).
 
 
THE ULTIMATE MACARON COLLECTION

We are in love with these macarons (photo #2). They’re better than any we’ve ever had, including those from the four most famous Parisian pâtissiers chocolatiers.

The cookie portion of a macaron is universal—confectioner’ sugar, ground almonds and egg whites†. What makes these so special are the fillings.

Most macaron fillings are pleasant, but don’t make a statement. These fillings are so flavorful, we could eat vats of them.

They have spoiled us for all other macarons!

The flavors include:

 
 
THE ULTIMATE COOKIE COLLECTION

These cookie flavors represent classic and new American flavors with one international touch (photo #3).

 
 
THE ULTIMATE GLUTEN FREE COOKIE COLLECTION

These gluten-free cookie flavors are the same as the Ultimate Cookie Collection, with one exception. The oatmeal cookie is switched out for Spiced Peanut With Valrhona Milk Chocolate.‡

 
 
IS YOUR MOUTH WATERING?

>Head to Ron Ben Israel Treats.

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[1] Order these for the best afternoon tea (photo by Jessica Taylor for Ron Ben Israel Treats).

[2] Three of the five macaron flavors (photos #2 and #3 by Darcy Miller for Ron Ben Israel Treats).

[3] Have these cookies with a glass of milk—or a glass of Banyuls.

[4] Special for September: the best honey cake, with layers of flavor.

†Some of the meringue cookies are more delicate, some are harder, depending on: technique (overmixing, e.g.), air circulation in the oven, cooking time, how humid the environment is, and more.

‡Pure oats are gluten-free and safe for most people with gluten intolerance. However, oats may be processed processed in a facility that also processes gluten-containing grains, such as wheat, rye and barley.
  

[1] A goat cheese crottin with toasted almonds and a drizzle of maple syrup (photo © Vermont Creamery).

[2] Toasted (a.k.a. roasted) pumpkin seeds. Here’s the recipe from Simply Recipes (photo © Elise Bauer | Simply Recipes).

[3] Snow peas with toasted sesame seeds. Here’s the recipe from Chef Curtis Stone. Note that toasted sesame seeds are tan in color, not to be confused with black sesame seeds (photo © Chef Curtis Stone).

More and more recipes are calling for nuts, seeds and spices to be toasted—even simple recipes like green salads, fruit salads and sides.

Add shredded coconut to the list.

 
Toasting takes the bite out of walnuts, and adds mellow dimensions of flavor to all nuts. It’s the same with seeds and spices.

Toasting can also put some life back into nuts, seeds and spices that are old.

With nuts, toast whole nuts or halves first, then chop them into smaller pieces if desired.

It’s best to toast all three as close to serving as possible—fresh-toasted nuts, seeds and spices have a wonderful aroma.

Once toasted, they can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks, or frozen in an airtight freezer container for 1 to 3 months.
 
 
HOW TO TOAST NUTS, SEEDS & SPICES

It couldn’t be easier.

 
For all methods, shake the pan during toasting to even the browning. When finished, remove from pan to cool.

Like all cooked foods, the nuts/seeds/spices will continue to cook when removed from the heat.

Notes:

 
 
> The Magnificent Seven: Healthiest Nuts

> How To Prevent Stale Nuts

> Best Artisan Nuts: Squirrel Brand (Here’s Our Review)

This may be old news to you. But until recently, we’d never seen chocolate peanut butter ice cream in our supermarket.

One reason is that in our Manhattan neighborhood, the supermarkets are very small and have far less variety.

In fact, our favorite “bonus” thing to do when we visit people out-of-town is to go up and down the aisles of their supermarkets. Ah, the discoveries!

Last month, we were perusing our grocer’s ice cream case and Breyers Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream was staring us through the glass door.

A fan of PB cups, we couldn’t resist. We took it home and pounced. And when we had our first bite, it was love.

The chocolate ice cream is thoroughly swirled through with peanut butter, the two flavors distinct and seductive.

We then went exploring and found Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream in another store.

OMG, we thought: Eating these is like eating frozen peanut butter cups. Why has it taken us so long to discover them? Duh!

A comparison:

 
Both brands are certified kosher: Breyers by Kof-K, Häagen-Dazs by OU.

 
 
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM

And now, we’re on the hunt for more chocolate peanut butter ice cream brands!

We found quite online: Archer Farms, Baskin Robbins, Dreyer’s, Hood, McConnell’s, Stone Ridge, Talenti, Tillamook and Turkey Hill, among others. Some are national; others are regional.

Some, like Ben & Jerry’s, add inclusions like chocolate cookie swirls and/or cookie dough.

We have a friend who’s a peanut butter cup addict. She eats them daily: “straight,” frozen, even melted into a sauce for ice cream.

Somehow, she hadn’t discovered chocolate peanut butter ice cream. But now she has!
 
 
FROZEN PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

If you’re not familiar with this twist on the popular candy cups, even Reese’s has promoted freezing them in the summer.

They’ve also teamed up with Good Humor to sell a frozen peanut butter cup ice cream novelty.

Why have melt-in-your-hands chocolate when you can have a frozen treat?

There are numerous recipes for homemade frozen peanut butter cups online, including this recipe from Tyler Florence.
 
 
TO FREEZE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Why not freeze your own PB cups? We do it year-round with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures, for a quick sweet treat.

But who’s going to keep them, uneaten, for 12 months?
 
 
> The History Of Chocolate

> The History Of Peanut Butter

[1] Why has it taken us so long to discover chocolate peanut butter ice cream (photos #1 and #3 © Häagen-Dazs).

[2] Truth to tell, we ate both flavors from the container (photo © Ice Cream Source).

[3] Breyers’ comes in a 1.5-quart container (photo © Breyers).

[4] For portion control, you’d think a “pint”—actually 14 ounces—would be better. But Häagen-Dazs is 330 calories per 3.5-ounce serving. Breyers is 240 calories per 5.3 ounces.

[1] The original Sparkling Caipirinha from Novo Fogo was a hit (photos #1 to #4 © Novo Fogo).

[2] The three flavors: Original Lime, Passionfruit and Mango.

[3] The products are sold in four-packs, very attractive and giftable.

[4] The cocktails are made with Novo Fogo’s Silver Cachaça.

[5] A classic Caipirinha (photo © Fogo de Chao Churrascaria).

September 13th is National Caipirinha Day in Brazil, celebrating the re-legalization of cachaça in 1661 after it was outlawed for a time by the Portuguese crown.

Cachaça (kah-SHA-sah), Brazil’s noble spirit, was invented nearly five hundred years ago—one hundred years before the creation of its Caribbean cousin, rum.

 
June 12th is National Cachaça Day in Brazil.

The premium cachaça brand Novo Fogo* makes six different expressions of cachaça, the silver version (photo #3) rested in stainless steel tanks, the other aged in different types of wood barrels for different lengths of time.

All are delicious. The three aged in exotic woods are award-winners, perfect for gifting to a cachaça enthusiast.

Plus, Novo Fogo cachaça is 100% USDA Certified Organic and sustainably produced.

But today, we’re celebrating another Novo Fogo product: the most popular cachaça cocktail and Brazil’s most famous drink, the Caipirinha (kai-pee-REE-nyuh).
 
 
THE CAIPIRINHA, BRAZIL’S NATIONAL COCKTAIL

The name Caipirinha means “little hillbilly,” after for the Brazilian peasants who invented the drink hundreds of years ago, using ingredients that grew around them.

The cocktail is simple: just cachaça, sugar and lime. It’s become popular the world over, with just cause: It’s irresistible, sweet, tart and citrussy.

 
Novo Fogo has created a new approach: the Sparkling Caipirinha, the world’s first canned and carbonated Caipirinha.

The key ingredient in Brazil’s national cocktail, the Caipirinha (ky-puh-REEN-ya),

Novo Fogo has created a new twist on Brazil’s national drink. They’ve added carbonation to Caipirinhas in cans, which are simply heavenly and very celebration-worthy.
 
 
NOVO FOGO’S SPARKLING CAIPIRINHA IN CANS

Forget any concerns you may have about these particular canned cocktails. They are as good as any Caipirinha you’d get at a top bar…plus, they’re sparkling!

The original flavor (photo #1) was such a hit that there are now two more fruit-flavored varieties (photo #2):

 
We’ve tried them all, and each is a dazzler.

These are 100% natural cocktails made with Novo Fogo’s organic Silver Cachaça (photo #4) and real ingredients. The vivid fruit flavors taste like fresh fruit.

The 200ml cans (6.76 ounces) are wonderful to come home to, or (for those of us spending our days at home) a treat at the end of the day.

The cans are shelf-stable: no refrigeration is required. But they’re small enough to fit into the fridge so you can grab them already chilled (and undiluted by ice).

We drink them straight from the can, but you can be more elegant and drink them from a rocks glass with a wedge of lime (photo #3).

They cans are sold in four-packs. The website lists them for $19.99 and a 24-pack (four four-packs) for $119.94—just $5 for a truly luscious drink.

And, just 128 calories per can; 10g carbohydrate, 8.2% ABV. They are far less sugary than a typical sweet drink.

You can buy them online at NovoFogo.com .

Or search for “Novo Fogo Sparkling Caipirinha” in your browser. We found three stores in our immediate area.

We’re loading up on these little gems. When the pandemic is over and we have guests again, we may even share some!

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*The name means “new fire.”

September is National Honey Month, so we’ve been trying recipes that use honey in unusual ways.

Here’s what we had for brunch today: scrambled eggs on a waffle with garlic-infused honey (photo #1).

The garlic-infused honey was a big hit. The pungent, spicy flavor of garlic mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking (like oven-roasted garlic).

It’s what can be called an open-face sandwich—tartine in French—with the waffle substituting for toast.

The recipe was created by Chef Jenny Dorsey for the National Honey Board, which has lots of recipes for honey fans.

The recipe includes ingredients for gluten-free waffles, but you can use your regular waffle recipe or mix. Just add a tablespoon of wildflower honey (photo #2) to the batter.
 

> Honey Glossary: THe Different Types Of Honey

> The History Of Honey
 
 
RECIPE: SCRAMBLED EGGS ON A WAFFLE WITH GARLIC-INFUSED HONEY

Ingredients For 4 Servings
 
For The Gluten-Free Waffles

 
For The Garlic-Infused Honey

 
For The Scrambled Eggs & Sautéed Vegetables

[1] Today’s brunch: scrambled eggs on a waffle with a garlic honey drizzle (photo © National Honey Board).

[2] Wildflower honey from Savannah Bee, our favorite honey producer and source for honey gifts (photo © Savannah Bee).

[3] Garlic-infused honey is an eye opener: sweet and (photo © Tijana Drndarski | Unsplash).

1. INFUSE the honey. Combine the cumin, garlic and 1/2 cup honey in a pot over medium heat. Bring to boil, then lower the heat to the lowest level possible for 1 hour, allowing the mixture to infuse.

2. MIX together all waffle ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Working in batches, cook four waffles total using a waffle maker. When the waffles are cooked to the desired level of doneness, remove and set to the side.

3. MAKE the scrambled eggs. Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until smooth in a bowl, approximately 1 minute. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in small, nonstick frying pan over medium heat until slick and shiny. Add the eggs to the pan and scramble over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set to the side, splitting into 2 portions.

4. HEAT 1/2 tablespoon oil (1.5 teaspoons) in a medium frying pan over medium heat, until slick and shiny. Add the onion and the balsamic vinegar. Sauté 2-3 minutes, stirring, so the onions begin to caramelize. Add the bell pepper and jalapeño, with dash of salt. Sauté 3-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Remove from heat and split into 2 portions.

5. ASSEMBLE the waffle sandwich from bottom to top: waffle, arugula, onion/bell pepper mixture, scrambled eggs. Drizzle with the infused honey. Slice in half to serve.