Spring is here- I can feel it. That means tons of beautiful, sunny days with warm breezes, long, uninterrupted, afternoon naps and plenty of opportunities to just hang out and catch up with old friends are well ahead of us. However, that also means tons of gloomy, rain-soaked afternoons are ahead of us as well. Today was one of those gray, disagreeable-looking days.

What do you do when you can't/don't feel like going outside on your day off? You bake! Or, at least that's what we do in the Adams household. I've been baking a lot of cake recently so, today, I thought I would shake things up and bake some of my favorite Spring cookies- Alfajores. Alfajores are traditionally from Spain but all sorts of variations exist, spanning all across the globe. My recipe most closely mirrors the peruvian version. Typically two shortbread cookies are sandwiched between a thick Dulce de Leche filling and the tops are sprinkled with powdered sugar. Of course, I've tweaked the recipe a bit. I've swapped out the lime zest/juice in the cookie for lemon zest/juice and instead of decorating the tops with powdered sugar, I've simply used a chocolate drizzle.

These gooey sweet treats are great for parties (easy to make ahead, portable & portion-controlled) or even for a simple night at home. The lemon zest adds just the perfect amount of tartness to the cookies. I find, with every bite I take of a cookie, that little bit of zest brings a smile to my face. There's nothing quite like celebrating the little things on your day off.

Alfajores
(Adpated from Relish Magazine)

10 Tbsp room-temp unsalted Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Salt
3 room-temp Eggs
1 Tbsp Pisco or Cognac (optional)
2 tsp Lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 1/2 cups Cornstarch
1 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder

Filling-
14 oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Beat the butter and sugar together in a small bowl. They should be light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt. Beat once again. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until well-incorporated. Stir in the cognac, lemon rind and lemon juice.

Sift the cornstarch, flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Scrape the butter mixture into the dry ingredients. Whip until smooth. (Tip- if you use extra-large eggs you will have to add a little more flour to the dough, otherwise, it will be too sticky.) Cover the dough and let it firm up in the fridge- about an hour.

When the dough is cooled, divide it into thirds. Place the 2 other portions back into the fridge. Roll the remaining dough out on a floured surface to about an 1/8 of an inch thickness (actually, the thicker, the better). Use a 2 inch cookie cutter to cut out 18 circles. (Tip- if you don't get 18 circles, just gather together the scraps, mush them together and roll the dough out again.) Transfer the circles to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies start to brown on the edges.

When the cookies are cooling, begin the filling. Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into an 8 inch baking dish. Cover the top with aluminum foil. Place the baking dish into a larger dish and fill the outer dish halfway with boiling water. Bake at 425 degrees for 1.5 hours. (Tip- make sure to check your water level every half hour. Refill with more boiling water if it gets too low.)

Take the 8 in dish out of the water, remove the top and stir the filling until it's smooth. It should be a nice caramel color. Let sit 15 minutes.

To assemble- spread about 2 Tbsp of filling on half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, to create a sandwich. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate or caramel sauce.

Growing up, I was a very picky kid when it came to food- I still am to an extent. Thankfully, I can now list more than 2 fruits and vegetables that I am willing to eat on a regular basis that aren't served in juice form.

Perhaps one of my most perplexing and inexplicable food aversions is to Jello. Yes, Jello- everybody's favorite gelatinous dessert, first introduced to the world in 1845. Jello has always been considered one of the best mess-free, kid-friendly desserts out there, which is why I would frequently find it decorating tables at my friend's birthday parties and various family-related celebrations. I hated it's smell, it's fun jiggly nature and the fact that it contained absolutely nothing of substance. What it really boiled down to was that everything about Jello was synthetic. I've always believed that habitually digesting food pumped with chemicals will eventually lead to a third eye or a permanent full body rash.

One 4th of July, however, I was invited to a neighbor's party. Among the many delicious dishes prepared for the evening was a type of Jello I had never seen before. I was extremely hesitant to try it but the minute I took a bite, I was hooked; I experienced heaven in Jello form. Cold layers of berry goodness mixed in between thick layers of rich creaminess- it was like crack, I couldn't get enough of it. That night my mother nicked the recipe from our neighbor and ever since then we've been making that dish every 4th of July/Labor Day. 13+ years later, I still refuse to eat Jello- this recipe is the only exception.

On this particular Labor Day, in the true spirit of "sharing with one's neighbor", I've decided to pass on this recipe to you.

Enjoy...let me know if you grow any extra toes or foster a sudden Jello addiction.

Red, White & Blue Jello

7 pkg Knox Gelatin
14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 3oz boxes Blue Berry Jello
3 3oz boxes Red Raspberry Jello

Begin by dissolving 2 packages of the gelatin in a 1/2 cup of cold water. In a medium bowl, mix together the can of Condensed Milk with 1 cup of boiling water. Add in the gelatin mixture.

In a large bowl, combine 1 package of jello with 1 cup of boiling water. Dissolve 1 package of gelatin in 1/4 cup of cold water. Add the gelatin to the jello mixture.

Pour the jello mixture into a 9 x 13" glass dish. Set it in a level space in a freezer to chill for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

Add 3/4 cups of the milk mixture over the top of the now solidified jello layer. Once again, let it rest in the freezer for 9-10 minutes.

Repeat process with another layer of Jello. Freeze this time only for 6 minutes. (Tip- Make the Jello layer that's going on top of the cream layer a little in advance so that it's not scalding. The cream will start to melt/flake if the Jello layer is too hot.)

By the end of this you should have 9 layers altogether. Make sure to end with the same flavor that you used on the bottom. To copy the picture above, the layers are as follows: Red, White, Blue, White, Red, White Blue, White, Red.

If you've been following my latest status updates on Facebook you are probably aware of my ongoing obsession with winning first place at the Chesterfield County Fair for one of my baked treats. It was my second year entering something food-related. Last year I placed 3rd for my Apple pie. It was the first pie I had ever made, but I was still furious with my ranking. To this day I still feel like I was gypped out of that blue medal.

This year I wanted to try something a little different. I asked the great interwebz what I should bake and it responded, in a great booming voice- "MAKE A GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE." Intrigued by the suggestion, I pieced together a recipe that not only is ridiculously decadent but extremely satisfying. Although I somehow managed to walk away with yet another 3rd place medal, at least I can say I delivered something this county hasn't seen in ages- innovation.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust-
2 cups Chocolate Graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp Sugar
7 Tbsp Butter
3/4 cup shredded Coconut
5 oz. chopped Pecans

Begin by preparing the crust. Melt the butter in a large bowl. Pour in the crackers and sugar. Stir well. Finish by adding in the coconut and finely chopped nuts. Press into the bottom (not the sides) of a 10" spring-form pan.

To get a crisper crust, bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool. 


Filling-
8 oz German Chocolate, chopped
4 pkg Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa powder
4 large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla

Chop up your chocolate into very fine pieces. The best way to ensure that your chocolate doesn't burn or clump, is to melt it either in a double boiler or a heat-resistant bowl, set over a pot of simmering water. I used a heat-resistant bowl. Once velvety smooth, remove immediately from the water and let sit until the chocolate is lukewarm but still pourable.

Blend the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder together in another bowl. Add in the eggs one at a time, until fully blended. Finish by pouring in the warm chocolate. Make sure it has been fully and completely mixed, otherwise your cheesecake will have streaks. Pour the filling over the crust; smooth top as best as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until the center is set and just appears dry.

Let cool 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before adding topping.

Topping-
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1 bar Bittersweet chocolate

Probably the most time-intensive part of this entire recipe is the topping, but trust me when I say- it's well worth the effort.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. For 3 hours let a can of sweetened condensed milk cook, completely submerged in the water. Make sure to check every couple of minutes, to refill the water that has been evaporated. Once done, let the can sit out for about 45 minutes-hour. It should still be pretty warm.

Open it and pour it into a small bowl. The condensed milk should be a dark brown and have a thick, sticky consistency, similar to caramel. Use a spatula to smoothen the mixture. Pour it onto the center of the cheesecake and spread it to within 1/2" of the edge. Let chill 30 minutes.

The final touch- melt half a bar of bittersweet chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the cheesecake. If you want to get really fancy- like Cheesecake Factory fancy, you can create chocolate curls with the other half of the bar. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 5 second intervals until it's just warm to the touch. Starting at the far end of the bar, using a vegetable peeler, move it towards your body. You can make the curls as tight or as loose as you want; they're best used immediately.

All that's left to do is enjoy.