February Thrifty - Week 3 #2 ~ Nutcraker Sweet and Sweet Miniatures

Sweet Miniatures - The Art of Making Bite Size Desserts, published in 2000.  Recipes perfect for tea parties and other occasions where a small sweet treat is just the ticket. The author ran a catering company and also taught cooking classes. The most popular subject and food items were her miniature treats. This book is the revised edition of a former imprint.

To begin, there is an informational chapter on equipment, various shaping methods and tools (molds, dowels, cornets and spritz), baking pans, decorative utensils (pastry bags, tips & cones) plus many more tips and hints. Throughout the book are many helpful illustrations on techniques used in the recipes.

The recipes start with Miniature Cookies and at the beginning of the chapter are methods for mixing, shaping and rolling, there are 22 recipes for shortbread with notes on baking and variations. Some of the flavor options include coffee, cinnamon, apricot, chocolate chip, coconut and lemon.  Up next are Chewy Miniatures with 8 recipes for almond, Swiss and Italian dishes. The Crispy Miniatures follow with 12 recipes including Florentines, wafers and Chantilly fans.

The Spicy Miniatures feature 6 options for gingersnaps, Belgian almond cookies, Pfeffernusse and lebkuchen, while Chocolate Miniatures have a total of 15 recipes ~macaroons, thimbles, chocolate coins & tulips, starlets, cavaliers and cigarettes. In the Mini Pastries section, there are hints and tips for mixing along with illustrations, while Tartlets gives us 15 choices including chocolate, cherry, lemon meringue, raspberry lemon and lemon drop.

Flaky Miniatures  offers 24 dough & pastry dishes ~ sweet cheese puffs, rugelach, cinnamon strudel and cheesecake turnovers among others. and Mini Cakes has 11 recipes for Petit Fours, dominoes, S'Mores squares and a few fruit meringues. The last section of recipes - Mini Sweets - has recipes for lollipops, caramels, lady apples, jellies, wafers and marshmallows. The very last chapter has information on prepping ahead of baking, plus freezing and storing of miniatures.

Nutcracker Sweet, published in 1992. Part of the Music & Menus series,  this books offers desserts inspired by the music of the Nutcracker ballet. The recipes were collected from bakeries, restaurants, gourmet shops, hotels (and their restaurants) , farms and companies from around the world. The book opens with a quick story of the Nutcracker with notes on the composer and the first performance -  St. Petersburg (Russia) in 1892.

The first chapter titled Desserts & Confections for Holidays and Special Occasions features a 15th century Polish Cake ~ Kolacz ~ basically a yellow cake with raisins & poppy seeds, a sugar plum pudding with bourbon sauce, tarts, bombes, pies and souffles, plus cheesecakes, parfaits, creme brulee, kringle and truffles. The dishes span the globe with selections from the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. A few other notable sweet treats are a Chocolate Decadence Cake, Turkish Delight and a rich custard from Spain whose name translates to "fat from heaven"  made with 12 (!!) egg yolks.

Sweets as Gifts offer brownies, cookies, breads, toffee, Madelines, baklava, spiced nuts, pralines and contributed by See's Candies - Peanut Brittle cookies. Light Desserts gives us applesauce, stuffed apples, sorbet, key lime pie, poached fruit, sherbert, a mousse or two, plus a Chocolate Orange cake made with Grand Marnier. The final section is Easy Treats with recipes for muffins, breads, cookies, cake, pudding, cheesecake, trifle, ice cream and Lucy's Christmas Persimmon cake - credited to Lucille Ball.