Author: Mari Vasseur

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies

To the indecisive German baker who invented marble cake, I thank you! Marble cake, sampler platters and tasting flights are the perfect solution for those times when you just can’t decide. Let’s take one more decision off the table. No longer will we have to decide between chocolate and strawberry cookies. These marble cookies are the best of both worlds. Chocolate and strawberry are opposites in many ways, but complement each other so well. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries?

The dark chocolate cocoa powder gives these cookies a deep chocolate flavor. Freeze dried strawberries provide the sweet strawberry flavor and color. I crushed the strawberries with a mini food processor, but you can also use a mortar and pestle, a clean spice grinder or a sturdy plastic bag and a rolling pin. When you crush the 1 1/2 cups of freeze dried strawberries called for in the recipe, you’ll end up with about 1/3 cup of strawberry powder. To find freeze dried strawberries, click here.

This recipe makes about eighteen cookies but you can also make nine large cookies. Follow the instructions in parentheses for large cookies.

Print Recipe
 Dark Chocolate Strawberry Marble Cookies
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies, marble, strawberry
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, cookies, marble, strawberry
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next.
  4. On low speed, mix in flour mixture just until combined.
  5. Divide the dough in half. Leave half of dough in the bowl and place the other half in a separate bowl.
  6. Add freeze dried strawberries to half of the dough and mix just until combined. Add cocoa powder to the other half of the dough and mix just until combined.
  7. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 teaspoon size balls. (For large cookies, roll the dough into tablespoon size balls.) To form the cookies, place two chocolate dough balls and two strawberry dough balls in your hand in a checkerboard pattern. Roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  8. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  9. Place the dough balls about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are golden. (For large cookies, bake 14-15 minutes.) Transfer to cooling rack. (For large cookies, cool on cookie sheet one minute, then transfer to cooling rack.

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

A good scone has a way of making you feel elegant, especially if you pronounce it ‘skon’ instead of ‘skōne’. I went to a lovely tea recently where scones were served, along with an array of dainty tea sandwiches and desserts. The scones were round with pink sugar sprinkled on top. Pretty pink food is always so promising. Unfortunately, the scones were hard, dry and bland. No amount of clotted cream slathered on them could help. There’s nothing elegant about a dry, hard bite of a scone that you have to struggle to choke down. Scones should be dense and slightly dry and crumbly, but there’s no reason we can’t make them more delicious. It’s fun to add fruit, chocolate, herbs, nuts or whatever you like to make them more delightful. These Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are tender and buttery with bursts of flavor from the fresh raspberries and white chocolate. I added pink sparkling sugar for texture and, of course, to make them look pretty!

Print Recipe
 Raspberry White Chocolate Scones
Tender scones with fresh raspberries and white chocolate, topped with crunchy sparkling sugar.
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword raspberry white chocolate, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Keyword raspberry white chocolate, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces form.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla.
  4. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms.
  5. Gently fold in the white chocolate and raspberries.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick round, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
  7. Place scones 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Chill the scones in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  8. Heat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  9. Bake until the edges look golden brown, about 20-24 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes

*To find pink sparkling sugar, click here.  

This recipe was updated on 3/23/2023.

Strawberry Sugar Hearts

strawberry sugar hearts
To watch the Strawberry Sugar Hearts video, click here.

I’ve always been enamored by sugar cubes. You can’t help but feel fancy dropping a lump of sugar or two into your teacup. Flavored sugar formed into cute shapes is so fancy, I may faint. Someone please get the smelling salts! Pardon me while I google “what exactly are smelling salts?” In the mean time please enjoy these sweet, dainty, positively precious Strawberry Sugar Hearts. Pop them into tea, lattes, lemonade, cocktails or sparkling water.

These cuties are fragrant, delicious and easy to make. The most tedious part is filling the molds. Make sure to fill them completely and press firmly for the most defined shape. It’s also important to use enough water. Think of building a sand castle at the beach. You want enough water to dampen the sugar, but not turn it to slush. I live in a dry climate so I used 3 teaspoons, but you may need less depending on your climate.

Feel free to use the freeze dried fruit of your choice. Most grocery stores carry freeze dried fruit and you can always find it online. The most interesting one I saw was an apple-cherry combination. I might try that next!

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Sugar Hearts
Servings
batch 1/2" sugar hearts
Ingredients
Servings
batch 1/2" sugar hearts
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Process freeze-dried strawberries in a small food processor or a clean spice grinder until a powdered consistency is reached.
  2. Pass powdered strawberries through a sieve to strain out seeds.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered strawberries and sugar.
  4. Add water, one teaspoon at a time, until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. Climate will effect how much water is needed.
  5. Press mixture firmly into *silicone heart molds or any shape silicone molds of your choice. Brush off excess sugar.
  6. Let dry, uncovered, at least 24 hours.
  7. Remove sugar hearts from molds and store in a covered container
Recipe Notes

*To find the silicone heart molds I used, click here

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Does anyone else remember those old peanut butter cup commercials where two people on the street would collide and a chocolate bar would miraculously end up inside of a jar of peanut butter? Then the person carrying the open jar of peanut butter would say, “Hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and they would suddenly discover it’s a delicious combination. The real question is, why was anyone walking around outside with an open jar of peanut butter? I miss those silly commercials.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you’ll absolutely love these tarts. The creamy peanut butter filling and the silky chocolate ganache topping are perfect together. The chocolate cookie crust adds a nice crunch. I used heart shaped tart pans to make the tarts a little more special for Valentine’s Day. To find the tart pans I used, click here. You can also use round tart pans if you prefer.

Print Recipe
 Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Topping
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts
Servings
tarts
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Topping
Instructions
Crust
  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Place four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, mix the crushed sandwich cookies with the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into the tart pans.
  3. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
Filling
  1. In a medium-size bowl, beat the peanut butter and softened butter until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well combined.
  2. Fill the cooled tart shells with the filling. Refrigerate the tarts until set, at least 2 hours.
Topping
  1. Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes then stir until smooth.
  3. Spoon over the peanut butter filling. Add toppings if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Carefully remove tarts from pans.
Recipe Notes

To find the tart pans I used, click here.

Lavender White Chocolate Scones

Lavender white chocolate scone
Click here to watch the video of Lavender White Chocolate Scones

If you headed over here from TikTok or Instagram, welcome! Most of my recipes can be found here. I share some recipes in the caption on Instagram reels and some recipes are written in text on TikTok videos. One major drawback of sharing recipes in Instagram captions is the character limit. For these reasons and a few others, my preferred method of sharing recipes is here on my website. I’m able to provide detailed instructions with the option for you to print out the recipe.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about lavender. I used one teaspoon of lavender in these scones, which I think is the perfect amount to give a hint of lavender, without tasting too floral. You can adjust the amount to your preference. Just taste the cream before adding it to the scones. You can use any culinary lavender in this recipe. English lavender is usually used for culinary purposes. Spanish and French varieties tend to be too strong. People are enchanted by lavender because of its beauty and soothing scent. A little touch of lavender makes these scones magical.


Print Recipe
 Lavender White Chocolate Scones
Keyword lavender white chocolate, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Keyword lavender white chocolate, scones
Servings
scones
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream and lavender over medium heat, just until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 minute. Strain the lavender cream into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  2. Heat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size chunks form.
  4. Whisk together 1/2 cup (118ml) of the chilled lavender cream with the sour cream. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough is formed. If your dough seems too dry, add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream. Fold in the white chocolate chunks.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a few times. Do not overwork the dough! Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. I used 2 3/4-inch heart biscuit cutter*** to cut out 9 scones.
  6. Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with the remaining cream. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake until golden, about 15-17 minutes.
Recipe Notes

*To find culinary lavender click here

** To find the lavender sparkling sugar I used click here

***To find the heart shape biscuit cutter I used click here

Cheddar Ham Biscuits

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up starving? It typically happens to me when I skip dinner the night before. So one morning that happened. My family and I were really hungry, there was a bit of leftover holiday ham in the fridge and these fluffy, satisfying biscuits were born. I think these biscuits need to be included in all lumberjack breakfasts from now on.

If you love ham and cheese anything, you’ll love these biscuits. You can also add fresh chives or swap out the ham for bacon if you like. I love baking them in a cast iron skillet because of the rustic, crispy sides and bottoms you get from the high heat conductivity of cast iron. To find the cast iron pan I used, click here. You can also bake them in a 9-inch cake pan or pie plate.

Print Recipe
 Cheddar Ham Biscuits
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings
biscuits
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings
biscuits
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet*
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  3. Work butter into flour mixture with your fingertips, until flat dime size pieces are formed.
  4. Gently stir in cheese and ham.
  5. Stir in buttermilk a little at a time until a shaggy dough is formed.
  6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  7. Fold dough over onto itself a few times. Form dough into a 7-inch diameter 3/4-inch thick round.
  8. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut dough into seven biscuits. Press the scraps together and cut one more biscuit. If dough becomes warm at any point, chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, then proceed with recipe.
  9. Transfer biscuits to prepared pan. Brush with melted butter.
  10. Bake until biscuits are puffy and tops are golden brown, about 22-25 minutes.
  11. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes

To find the skillet I used, click here.

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes

The tradition of enjoying the Nutcracker Ballet at Christmastime has been in my family for over 20 years. The Nutcracker Land of Sweets is a magical theme that has me mesmerized. Gingerbread, candy canes, gumdrops and billowy clouds of pink frosting are what dreams are made of. And that’s exactly what these dreamy cupcakes are made of. The cupcake flavor is a subtle spice cake. The recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart cake recipe I made last summer. The original cake was paired with blackberry jam, but I knew plum jam would be perfect for these cupcakes. I topped them with a mildly sweet, fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream.

Part of the fun of making these cupcakes began at the store as I collected the sweets to decorate the cupcakes. Another perk of the job is taste testing the candy. I discovered that purple spice drops are licorice flavored and red spice drops are cinnamon. Who knew?

You might also like my Nutcracker Land of Sweets inspired candy bark. It’s a delightful holiday bark I designed that is often imitated. To view it, click here.

Print Recipe
 The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Cupcakes
Spice cupcakes filled with plum jam, topped with fluffy pink frosting, gingerbread men and Christmas candy, and dusted with sugar snow
Course Dessert
Keyword cupcakes
Servings
cupcakes
Ingredients
Spice cupcakes
Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Decorations
Course Dessert
Keyword cupcakes
Servings
cupcakes
Ingredients
Spice cupcakes
Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Decorations
Instructions
Spice Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 serving muffin pan with disposable baking cups. (I used silver foil liners.)
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  4. Add egg, egg white, and vanilla, one at a time, mixing until well combined.
  5. Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.
  6. Divide batter evenly into wells of prepared muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full.
  7. Bake until light golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 16-18 minutes.
  8. Let cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes. Gently transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely.
  9. Core the center of each cupcake, removing a 3/4-inch deep circle. Fill with jam and replace the circle top.
  10. Frost cupcakes with pink Swiss meringue buttercream. Decorate with cookies and candies. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Pink Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercreamgue Buttercream
  1. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of gently simmering water.
  2. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and temperature of 160ºF is reached.
  3. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixture with a whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Whisk until glossy, stiff peaks form and mixture reaches room temperature.
  4. Turn mixer to medium-low speed. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, allowing the butter to fully incorporate each time before adding more.
  5. Switch to paddle attachment. On low speed, mix in vanilla, salt and food color. Continue mixing on low speed for a few minutes until smooth.
Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Spice Cake

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Bark

The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Bark
To watch the original Nutcracker Land of Sweets Bark video click here
Print Recipe
 The Nutcracker Land of Sweets Bark
White chocolate candy bark topped with mini gingerbread cookies, gumdrops and candy canes. Inspired by The Nutcracker Ballet.
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Spread melted white chocolate onto a parchment lined quarter sheet pan. Drizzle on lines of pink chocolate and make swirls with a skewer. Top with remaining ingredients. Cut or break into pieces when set.

Raspberry Sauce

Homemade raspberry sauce is a delicious addition to desserts, drinks or pancakes & waffles. This recipe works with fresh or frozen raspberries.

Print Recipe
 Raspberry Sauce
Course Dessert
Keyword raspberry, sauce
Servings
cup
Ingredients
Course Dessert
Keyword raspberry, sauce
Servings
cup
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Purée the raspberries with the lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Pass the purée through a fine mesh sieve* to remove the seeds.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch.**
  3. In a small saucepan, heat the raspberry purée with the sugar and cornstarch slurry to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
Recipe Notes

*To find a fine mesh sieve, click here.

**To find a mini whisk for whisking small amounts, click here.

Maple Pecan Brownies

maple pecan brownies

Pecan pie was my mom’s favorite, but she didn’t bake pies, so I always used to bake her one for Thanksgiving. One year, I made a chocolate version. It was delicious, but let’s just say it wasn’t user friendly. It was gooey and hard to serve. Over the years, it eventually morphed into these Maple Pecan Brownies. The brownie version is still delicious, rich and gooey with toasty pecans, but much more user friendly.

Enjoying Maple Pecan Brownies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee is a must. Thinking of it brings back memories. I can practically smell my dad brewing the coffee to go with these brownies.

Print Recipe
 Maple Pecan Brownies
Rich, gooey brownies topped with pecan pie filling
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, chocolate, maple pecan
Servings
brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
Pecan Topping
Course Dessert
Keyword brownies, chocolate, maple pecan
Servings
brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
Pecan Topping
Instructions
Brownies
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, overlapping the sides an inch or two. Spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined.
  3. Mix in eggs and vanilla, one at a time, until well combined.
  4. Mix in cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
  5. Stir in flour just until combined.
  6. Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Bake just until top is set, about 25 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, prepare pecan topping.
  8. When brownie top is set, remove from oven. Gently pour pecan topping around the outer perimeter of brownies, to avoid making brownies sink in the middle. Evenly distribute the pecan topping over the top gently with a spoon.
  9. Return the brownies to the oven and continue baking until the topping is set, about 20-25 minutes. Brownies will stop jiggling and topping will look deep golden brown. Toothpick inserted inside will have a few moist crumbs on it. (If your topping starts to brown too much on the edges before the inside is done, apply aluminum foil around the edges as you would with a pie.)
  10. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting, about 2- 2 1/2 hours.
  11. Cut into squares, wiping knife between cuts.
Pecan Topping
  1. In a medium bowl, stir together maple syrup, butter, brown sugar, egg, maple extract and salt until well combined.
  2. Stir in pecans until well coated with maple syrup mixture.
  3. Set aside until brownies are partially baked.

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

These Apple Spice Cookies were one of my most popular cookies last fall so I decided to bring them back a little early this year. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this cookie dough will remind you of cinnamon rolls and apple pie and inspire you look forward to fall.

The apples in this recipe are cooked briefly on the stovetop to bring out the flavor and create the perfect texture. Dropping raw apple chunks into cookie dough or cake batter is usually not a good idea. If you’ve ever baked an apple pie, you know that apples release liquid as they cook and that liquid will end up in your baked cookies, creating soggy spots. So definitely don’t skip this step!

These gorgeous, golden brown cookies are perfectly delicious on their own, but extra credit goes to the Brown Butter Icing for taking them over the top!

apple spice cookies with brown butter icing

Make sure to head over to Instagram to watch the video of these Apple Spice Cookies being created: Click here

Print Recipe
 Apple Spice Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Spice cookies with fresh apples and brown butter icing
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cooked Apples
Apple Spice Cookie Dough
Brown Butter Icing
Course Dessert
Keyword cookies, holiday, thanksgiving
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Cooked Apples
Apple Spice Cookie Dough
Brown Butter Icing
Instructions
Cooked Apples
  1. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar and cinnamon to the skillet.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Drain any excess liquid from the cooled apples.
Apple Spice Cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract, one at a time, until well combined
  5. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
  6. Fold the the cooled apples into the cookie dough.
  7. Divide the dough into 12 equal golf ball size portions and place them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  8. Bake until golden brown, about 11-13 minutes. Let cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Brown Butter Icing
  1. In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. When brown specks start to form in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat.
  2. Immediately transfer the browned butter to a small bowl. Whisk in the the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
  3. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
Recipe Notes

NOTE:  If your cookies spread too much when baking, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then bake as directed.

Fairy Tale Meringue Cookies

Fairy tale meringue cookies

Sometimes we need a little magic in our lives. These pretty, dainty meringue cookies sparked a bit of magic in my life that I want to share with you. It started when I washed some beautiful little violas. Watching them float in a bowl of clear water was positively therapeutic. After pressing and weighing them down with a heavy book overnight, the reveal of perfectly flat, delicate blossoms was so satisfying. The process of making meringue is also very satisfying for me. I love the moment when the frothy egg and sugar mixture magically turns to glossy, billowy sweetness.

Piping the meringue circles was fun! I traced circles on the bottom of the parchment paper to use as a guide for stress-free piping. I used white chocolate to fill the center of the meringue circles, but you can also use white chocolate chips or candy melts. You can use any small edible flowers or flower petals. Feel free to express your creativity! Try using sprinkles, edible glitter or tint the meringue mixture with a few drops of gel food color.

fairy tale meringue cookies

Print Recipe
 Fairy Tale Meringue Cookies
Meringue cookies filled with white chocolate and topped with pressed edible flowers
Keyword cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Pressed edible flowers
Meringue cookies
Keyword cookies
Servings
cookies
Ingredients
Pressed edible flowers
Meringue cookies
Instructions
Pressed edible flowers
  1. Gently wash edible flowers. Pat dry with paper towels.
  2. Press between parchment paper. Weigh down with a heavy book for at least 24 hours.
Meringue cookies
  1. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until frothy.
  2. Add cream of tartar and beat to soft peaks.
  3. Continue beating and gradually add sugar and almond extract.
  4. Turn mixer to high speed and beat to glossy, stiff peaks.
  5. Preheat oven to 200ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  6. Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. *I used Ateco #864
  7. Pipe two-inch circles about an inch apart onto prepared baking sheets.
  8. Bake for one hour. Turn off oven and let meringues cool in oven.
  9. In a microwave safe container, microwave white chocolate for 10 second intervals until melted or melt on the stovetop in a double boiler.
  10. Transfer melted white chocolate to a squeeze bottle or a piping bag. Fill holes of meringue circles with white chocolate. Top each with a pressed flower.
  11. Let chocolate set at room temperature. Do not refrigerate.
Recipe Notes

*To find Ateco tip #864, click here.