The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold….
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburned hands, I used to hold
Since you went away, the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear ol’ winter’s song.
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.

Since you went away, the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear ol’ winter’s song.
But I miss you most of all my darling,
When autumn leaves start to fall.

Johnny Mercer

Autumn leaves

Makes 60 cookies:

100 g butter, softened
225 g brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
225 g of wheat flour

Beat butter with sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add egg and beat well.
Add flour and mix until smooth dough.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, wrapped in cling film.
Preheat oven to 180 º C.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough about 5 mm in thickness on a lightly floured surface.
Gather all the scraps of dough and stretch again.
Cut the biscuits with a cutter and place on the board.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly golden.
Allow to cool slightly in pan before removing them.

Oatmeal, almonds and rye cookies (no eggs, milk or butter)

Makes 20

100 g of oat flakes
90 g almonds, chopped
80 g demerara sugar (or muscovado)
40 ml extra virgin olive oil
40 g of honey
50 g of rye flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
50 ml of orange juice

Preheat oven to 200º C.
Line an oven tray with parchment paper.
Grind the oatmeal until fine.
Mix the flakes, almonds, rye flour and sugar.
Add honey, olive oil and orange juice and lemon.
Mix until it becomes smooth.
Form small balls of dough (about 20 g each) and flatten them, making cookies.
Bake for about 14 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool down.

Sometimes one enters the house with autumn
hanging by a thread(…)

Eugénio de Andrade

Alfajores con dulce de leche

Makes 40 (20 pairs):

Dulce de leche

(other recipe)

1 condensed milk can

Place the can totally immersed in water on a pan.
Bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce to low heat and keep boiling for 3 1/2 hours.
Add water as needed.
Open the can when completely cold (very important!).
You can also use a pressure cooker.

Alfajores:

112 g cornstarch
125 g wheat flour
1 egg
50 g butter, softened
62 g icing sugar
2 g baking powder (1/2 tsp.)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 250ºC.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and the vanilla extract and continue mixing until well combined.
Add the sifted flour with the cornstarch and baking powder and mix until smooth.
Roll out the dough (3-4mm thick) over a floured worksurface.
Cut 5 cm diameter cookies.
Place the alfajores into the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 4-5 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack until completely cool.

Spread the bottoms of half of the cookies with dulche de leche.
Sandwich together with remaining cookies.
Coat with chocolate or grated coconut.

Makes 42 (20 g each):

260 g peanut paste
112 g butter, softened
180 g light brown sugar
2 eggs
240 g all-purpose flour
5 g baking powder (1 tsp)
5 g vanilla extract (1 tsp)

250 g quince jelly

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the peanut paste, butter and brown sugar.
Beat until well blended.
Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla.
Sift together the flour and baking soda and add to the peanut mixture.
Mix just until blended.
Form the dough into 2,5 cms balls and place them on the baking sheets.
Use yout thumb to make a depression in the center of each ball.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes.
Let the cookies cool down on a rack.
While they are cooking, fill each depression with about 1 teaspoon of the jelly.

Summer is already announced by the Spring with hot blue days.
Night silence the breathing and the windows open themselves in a quest for a breeze.
Beach, tanned skin, fresh fish to dinner and a compliment to the dessert.

Chocolate and hazelnut cake with toffee, streusel and vanilla ice-cream

Serves 4-6:

Chocolate and hazelnut cake
4 eggs
150 g icing sugar
150 g butter, softened
200 g dark chocolate
16 g wheat flour
100 g hazelnuts, roasted and powdered

Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC.
Grease a round pan.
Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler.
Whisk the egg yolks with the icing sugar until creamy.
Add the melted chocolate to the yolk mixture.
Gently fold in the flour, the hazelnuts and the butter.
Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form and add gently to the mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Unmold when cold.

Milk chocolate ganache:
240 g de milk chocolate, chopped
120 ml cream (35% fat)
8 g corn syrup
40 g butter, softened

Place the chocolate in a bowl.
Bring the cream to boil.
Add the corn syrup to the hot cream.
Pour this mixture over the chocolate (start with only 1/3 of the cream).
Combine well gently.
When the mixture reaches 60ºC add the butter, stirring gently.

Toffee sauce:
50 g sugar
100 ml cream
10 g butter, softened

Bring the sugar to boil until it caramelizes.
Add the hot cream to the caramel and stir.
Remove from heat and add the butter.
Refrigerate.

Hazelnut streusel:
50 g hazelnuts, grinded
30 g butter, diced
20 g sugar
30 g wheat flour

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Combine the hazelnuts with the flour and sugar.
Add the butter and combine with your hands until crumbly.
Bake until golden brown.

Toffee tuile:
Werther´s original caramels

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Grind the caramels.
Spread a thin layer over a silpat.
Bake to melt.
Remove from oven and let it cool down.

Vanilla ice-cream

Serving:
Pour the ganache over the cake.
Serve with the tuile, the toffee sauce, cream, hazelnut streusel, vanilla ice-cream and berries.