For those who both like to bake cookies and eat French macarons, an inspired gift is Dana’s Bakery Macaron Making Kits.

One of our favorite macaron makers, Dana’s is known for innovative flavors and seasonal specials.

The kits are available in three of the most popular flavors:

 
Each kit includes ingredients for 20 two-inch macarons:

 
A video provides step-by-step guidance (below).

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to buy your own almond flour and make macarons galore in your favorite flavors and colors.

Each flavor is $24.00, three for $72.00. The baking mat is $18.00.

You may want to add a silicone baking mat, which the professionals use for “perfect results every time.”

Check ‘em out at DanasBakery.com.

If you’re concerned about what it takes to make delicious macarons, watch the video below.

Make your own macarons with this kit and baking mat from Dana’s Bakery.

[1] A light, moist fruitcake for people who don’t like the dense ones, from King Arthur Flour. [2] No candied citron here, just dried fruits! Use dried cranberries instead of cherries for a seasonal touch (photo courtesy Ocean Spray). In Merrie Olde England, where fruitcake began, they didn’t have cranberries. [3] Sultanas, or golden raisins, add more brightness than their dark purple relatives (photo courtesy BT.com).

Today is National Cake Day. What cake should you consider?

Fruitcake of course! Even though National Fruitcake Day isn’t for another month, on December 27th, why should you wait?

We love a good fruitcake. While most people have had bad experiences with commercial fruitcakes, here’s a quick and easy solution from King Arthur Flour that is both light and moist, thanks to sour cream.

This tasty fruitcake from King Arthur Flour features a sour cream pound cake base and a filling of dried fruits: cherries, apricots, pineapple and golden raisins. If you don’t like candied fruits, this is the cake for you! Pecans or walnuts complete the picture.

 
TIPS

 
RECIPE: SOUR CREAM FRUITCAKE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. SOAK the fruit: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the dried fruits and the 1/2 cup brandy or rum.
Set the fruit aside for 2 hours or longer. Stir occasionally, so the fruit absorbs the liquor evenly.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour three 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pans. Alternately, line them with parchment, leaving an overhang on each side and securing the paper with metal binder clips.

3. MAKE the cakes: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fluffy after each addition. Stir in the brandy or rum.

4. WHISK together the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add half the flour to the shortening mixture, and mix well. Add the sour cream, beating all the time, then add the remaining flour and blend well. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally to be sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

5. STIR in the fruits (they should have absorbed all the liquid; if not, don’t drain them) and the nuts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans.

6. BAKE the cakes for 55 to 65 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on wire racks.

7. STORE, well-wrapped, for 5 days at room temperature. Freeze for up to 3 months.
  

Tired of Thanksgiving leftovers? Here’s an idea to make them more interesting, layered salad-style.

Make a fun lunch by layering Thanksgiving leftovers in your mason jars.

We adapted this recipe from one created by Neens for Kings Hawaiian, our family’s favorite supermarket bread. If you’re out of any of the ingredients, substitute something else or omit it entirely.

Prep time is 20 minutes, optional cook time is 10 minutes (or 1-2 minutes in the microwave).
 
RECIPE: LAYERED THANKSGIVING DINNER LEFTOVERS

Ingredients For 4 Servings (8-Ounce Jars)

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. If you want to eat the leftovers at room temperature, you can skip this step. If you

2. LAYER the ingredients in this order: stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, turkey, gravy, yams.

3. TOP with marshmallows and bake until the marshmallows are browned. Let the jars cool enough to hold.

Here’s a recipe to make stuffing from a mix of King’s Hawaiian and cornbread.

 
MEET CHEF NEENS

Chef Neens of Ono Yum in San Diego, the creator of the Musubi Map and the I Love Poke Festival, both reflecting his passion for all things Hawaiian. This recipe is one of Neens’ favorite dishes, courtesy of his mother, Gles, “the Filipina Betty Crocker.”
  

We [heart] spicy Mayan brownies (photos courtesy The Grommet).

Salt Of The Earth Bakery is an artisanal baked goods company that re-imagines classic treats, by adding finishing salts and exotic spices.

These extras turn the cookies and brownies into decidedly adult fare.

We love brownies—great ones—and are always on the prowl for what’s different and delicious.

Salt Of The Earth Bakery makes five brownie flavors. The one that called out to us was the Mayan, “the brownie that bites you back.”

Seasoned as the original Mayan chocolate was, with cinnamon, and cayenne, it’s topped with Halen Môn (Anglesey), crunchy sea salt flakes.

In the Mayan and later Aztec cultures, chocolate* was only available to the nobility, wealthy merchants and honored warriors.

Unleash your inner warrior and try a few.

Other flavors include:

 
ABOUT SALT OF THE EARTH PRODUCTS

The line is all-natural and certified kosher by OK-D. The chocolate is 100% Fair Trade USA certified chocolate from Guittard.

Salt Of The Earth Bakery is commited to the environment, from sustainable packaging, to recycling to maximizing eco-friendly power sources such as solar and hydro energy.
 
GET YOUR BROWNIES

Three boxes of 2 brownies each (1.6 ounces per brownie) are $15.00 at SaltOfTheEarthBakery.com.

There are also gift packs of brownies and cookies.
 
________________
*For the first few thousand years of its existence, chocolate was a beverage. Solid chocolate was first created in the 19th century, in Europe. Check out the Chocolate Timeline.

Trouble is, the well known “black” cocktails, like the Black Russian, actually brown.

But there are options, including using the first three ingredients to color any clear spirit (clear liqueurs, gin, tequila, rum, etc.):

 
1. BLACK VODKA

In some parts of the world, people like black vodka, which is colored with black catechu, an extract made from the bark of a southeast Asian acacia tree.

Some are flavored, some aren’t.

The problem is, some brands like Blavod are actually dark brown, not black. Problem #2: You can find black vodkas in Europe and Asia, but not readily in the U.S., unless you’re lucky to track down Blavod, produced in the U.K., and add some black food color.

We’ve seen a photo of a glass of Eristoff vodka, from Russia, which looks pitch black. We haven’t been able to find a photo of Znaps Black Jack.

If you live in a state that is covered by BevMo.com, you can order the Eristoff.
 
2. BLACK SAMBUCA

The good news is, we’ve found ample supplies of black sambuca in the U.S.

Sambuca is an Italian anise-flavored liqueur. The flavor of anise is reminiscent of fennel and licorice.

Fans of these flavors have lots of opportunities to make cocktails black with black sambuca. Try a combination of black vodka and black sambuca!
 
3. BLACK FOOD COLOR.

The best bet is to color your own vodka black.

Before McCormick introduced black food color to consumers in 2007, black was approximated by combining 10 drops each of blue and red food coloring and 8 drops of green food (this is enough to color a 750 ml bottle of clear spirits).

The problem with mixing the three colors in a clear liquid, as opposed to anchoring the color in frosting, is that the colors will precipitate out of the spirit, requiring shaking the bottle before pouring a drink.

Best bet: McCormick black food color. It’s available in supermarkets nationwide, and online.

You can also find professional black gels and pastes at baking supply stores, or online from companies like Wilton.
 
4. SQUID INK

If you have access to a fish market that sells squid ink or sepia ink (the latter from cuttlefish, a different species), you can use it in a Martini or other savory cocktail. Used in moderation, it has a slight salty tasted.

Want to try it? Here’s how.
 
5. BLACK RICE INFUSION

According to an About.com reader, you can infuse black rice into a bottle of vodka and achieve a good black color, with no added taste. Infuse it in a cool dark place for three days or until it achieves the desired color, shaking the bottle once a day. Infuse in a large jar and strain the vodka into a clean bottle.
 
WHEN TO MAKE BLACK COCKTAILS

In addition to Black Friday, you can have fun with black drinks for for:

________________
*If you’re looking for another occasion to drink, October 19, 1987 saw the collapse of stock prices on Wall Street. The original Black Monday in America was October 28, 1929, when the stock markets began to crash, engendering the Depression. In 1987, the crash began in Hong Kong and spread west to Europe, then to the U.S. There are several other Black Mondays that mark disasters around the world.

[1] This cocktail was made with squid ink. Here’s how from Honestly Yum. [2] Black Jack, a “shooter vodka” made by Znaps in Sweden. [3] Eristoff black vodka from Russia (photo courtesy Bev Mo). [4] McCormick black food color (photo courtesy Love From The Oven). [5] You can also use black sugar or black Hawaiian sea salt to make a rim (photo courtesy Martini Drizly).

[6] Black sambuca is relatively easy to find (photo courtesy Fine Wine House). [7] Great garnish for a black sambuca cocktail: licorice wheels (photo courtesy Smart Candy Shopper). [8] For a creepy garnish, use black licorice shoestrings (photo courtesy Candy Warehouse) as in this cocktail from Freutcake.

RECIPE #1: BLACK MARTINI

Use black vodka in your favorite Martini recipe. Unflavored brands include Blavod, from the U.K., Fruko-Schulz from Czechoslovakia.

If you have a flavored vodka, like Znaps Black Jack, you get a licorice Martini.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. SHAKE or stir the vodka and liqueur and pour into a rocks glass over ice. Top with whipped cream and other garnishes as desired.
 
RECIPE #3: HARVEST CINNAMON

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. STIR the vodka and liqueur and pour into a rocks glass over ice. Top with whipped cream and other garnishes as desired.
 
RECIPE #r: LICORICE MARTINI

Ingredients Per Drink

1. CREATE a sugar rim on a Martini glass.

2. COMBINE the alcohols in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into the glass.

RECIPE #5: CHERRY MARTINI

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the vodka and juice in a mixing glass with ice. Stir with ice and strain into the glass.

2. GARNISH and serve.
 
RECIPE #6: MIDNIGHT TUTTI FRUTTI

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the alcohol in a mixing glass with ice. Stir with ice and strain into the glass.

2. GARNISH and serve.

When you mix black vodka with orange juice, the drink turns green. Consider it for Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day or the first day of spring.
 
ARTY COCKTAILS

Clever mixologogists layer black vodka with colored mixers for groovy effects. Try it!