Change of Air Date: This segment will air Wednesday February 10th, all day on Channel 8 News Austin- Tune In!

Today Monday February 8th at 10AM, I will be on News 8 Austin sharing one my favorite Valentine’s Day entertaining treats. Tune in anytime to Channel 8 and you will probably catch a glimpse of the segment since it will air for 24 hours. I was lucky enough to be on News 8 Austin once before back in December 2008 and it was so much fun. They are such a great team over there. For those of you who live outside Austin here’s the yummy treat I’ll be demonstrating today.

Don’t forget to order your Valentine’s Day cookies now! The sweet holiday is this Sunday February 14th.

White Chocolate Lattice Hearts: (recipe below)

It’s really easy, fun and inexpensive to celebrate Valentine’s Day and make last minute festive gifts and delicious treats for friends and family. I bet you already have all the ingredients and supplies at home. This is great activity to do with your children.

Everything tastes better when you add chocolate and these white chocolate lattice hearts are not only simple and very cheap to make but they give a beautiful gourmet touch for Valentine’s Day. It’s so simple, takes only minutes to make.

If you have a heart shape cookie cutter, you can trace it with a permanent marker on wax paper (or you can just draw it) and then flip the paper over to avoid any marker mixing with your food. Next, you melt good quality white chocolate (or milk or dark works great too) in a microwave for 1 minute or until melted, stir it, and then pour it into a zip-lock bag, snip the corner and start to draw.

First, trace the outside of the heart then just go back and create the lattice. You can sprinkle red sugar to be festive or I love adding ginger, granulated espresso beans or kosher salt for a gourmet touch.  Also, you can infuse flavor into your chocolate by adding a few drops of pure extract, like orange, mint or raspberry.  If you want to make them into lollipops just insert a stick at the base, and then let them firm up in a fridge for about 15 minutes.  You can serve them facing either way up.

Lattice Hearts add a fancy touch to ice cream, or “covers” for hot drinks like, hot chocolate, coffee (turns it into turn a mocha) or if you’re feeling really festive, add it Kaluha and coffee. Also they make great gifts for loved ones or guests.  Package them in a food grade plastic bag with a red ribbon bow or you can put them on the top of cookies for a celebratory touch.  Because they are made of chocolate it is best to keep refrigerated until you are ready to serve them. The best part is that you can’t mess up; each heart will be unique, different and delicious!

Recipe: For 4 Large White Chocolate Lattice Hearts
Ingredients:
4 oz. Good quality white (dark or milk) chocolate
Garnish: red crystal sugar, granulated espresso beans, ginger or kosher salt
Directions:
1. Heat chocolate in a microwave safe bowl (approximately 1 minute)
2. Place a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Using a heart shape cookie cutter trace the hearts with a permanent marker or draw hearts free-style on wax paper. Flip the wax paper over.
3. Stir the melted chocolate and using a spatula pour the chocolate into a zip lock plastic bag. Push the chocolate down into the corner. Make a tiny snip in the corner with a scissor.
4. Begin to draw your hearts by tracing the outside of the heart first then fill in the center adding diagonal lines and then crossing them over to create the lattice.
5. Garnish as you like, gently sprinkling on your topping. You can add a stick here to create a lollipop.
6. Place hearts in the fridge to firm up (15 minutes). Keep them refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Sweetly,

Alexandra

New Limited Edition Cookie Flavor Alert:
Love At First Bite: Tart dried cherries, blueberries, and cranberries cuddle up with creamy Ghirardelli© white chocolate in a rich, seductive chocolate hug that is topped with kosher salt and sugar, guaranteeing that every bite tastes like love! Order now, and we will ship for Valentine’s Day! (February 14th).

Love Is In The Air…

Just Naughty! This 10-cookie chocolate fantasy is the ultimate way to spice it up! Our flavors, Love At First Bite and the All-Nighter come together to create an indulgent decadence of sweet and spice. From the sexy packaging to the last luscious cookie bite, this dream is sure to ignite the romance!

Please check out our complete line of Valentine’s Day Gifts with many options more suitable for grandma and your child’s teachers.

Sweetly,

Alexandra

Thank you to everyone who entered our Valentine’s Day contest to create and name the next ACD Valentine’s Day Cookie. Also, a very special thank you to the awesome Anna Ginsberg of CookieMadness.net for spreading the word. We were overwhelmed by your creativity and delicious entries (check out these incredibly decadent and delicious cookie flavor ideas). We may use some of your ideas in the future for new cookie creations (and of course you’ll get a dozen free Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams). But, for this Valentine’s Day contest, we are thrilled to announce two winners, one for the name of the cookie and one for the cookie flavor. Drum-roll please…our new Valentine’s Day Cookie is named “Love At First Bite” by Kathryn and the cookie flavor  is “chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips) and cranberries” by Joyce Bolt. Congratulations Kathryn and Joyce, you each won a dozen free cookies! (You will receive an email from me with your gift certificates.)

While we did use Joyce’s suggestion, we added some additional festive ingredients to create the Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams version.

“Love At First Bite”: Tart dried cherries, blueberries and cranberries cuddle up with creamy Ghirardelli© white chocolate chunks forming a rich seductive chocolate hug that is topped with kosher salt and sprinkled with sugar guaranteeing that every bite tastes like love!”

These limited-edition cookies packaged in our festive Valentine’s Day wrapping will be available on “Our Shop“ in the beginning of February. So get ready to share the love…
Sweetly,
Alexandra

Valentine’s Day is one month from today (February 14th) and to celebrate we are releasing a new limited-edition cookie flavor.  We want your ideas for a luscious, delicious, festive cookie of love, you can even name it. If we pick your cookie flavor, you’ll win a dozen free cookies from Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams. Please write your ideas here in our “comments” section or post them on Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams Facebook page.

Entries must be received by this Sunday, January 17th, 2010.

Last year we featured: “Heart-Pumping Cherry Chocolate: Sweet dried cherries cuddle up with hand cut chunks of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate in a rich, seductive chocolate hug that’s sure to make love taste sweeter.”

As always, 3% of all profits go to Donorschoose.org to support public school education in Austin and New York City.

What will this year’s cookie be? You tell us!

Sweetly,

Alexandra

Last September 30th, Rich and I became parents to our amazing daughter Georgina Hille. It has the been the most surreal and incredible journey. People have babies every minute (even two, three or eight at a time!) and honestly, I still can’t believe where babies come from. I have a new found respect for my parents and all good parents in this world. It is not an easy job, but one that pushes all other accomplishments in my life to the sideline (sorry ACD!). Thank you to my family, friends, customers, vendors, colleagues and employees for your patience, enthusiasm, generosity and advice during the last few months. And of course the biggest thank you to Rich for being such a loving, supportive, fun and incredible father to Georgie and husband to me! I’m sure I will be sharing lots of my adventures in parenting on my blog, and I’d love to hear from you too. For example, I used to text my mom when I found an awesome pair of shoes, now I text her when Georgie makes a poop! Oh how times have changed!

Ok now back to business - Free cookies anyone?

FREE ACD Cookie Tasting this Friday & Saturday at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf! Stop by and try our six signature cookie flavors , a perfect pairing for your favorite CB &TL coffee or tea drink. The Details : This Friday, January 15th at 9 a.m. at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 1000 East 41st street (Hancock Shopping Center)! This Saturday, January 16th at 11 a.m. at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 3718 N. Lamar! Just like their first location, “The Bean” will feature ACD Cookies in their bakery case and packaged for “to-go”. Like ACD supports public education in Austin & NYC through the organization DonorsChoose.org, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is also committed to helping our local Austin community by partnering with local non-profit organizations, Heart Gift and Blue Dog Rescue as it’s official charitable partners.

Sweetly,

Alexandra

This month officially marks the two year anniversary of  Rich and I moving  to Austin from New York City. Since arriving in Austin, we have moved apartments three times, I created and opened Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams (with much of RB’s support), we’re about to have a baby girl, and we have tasted Texas life- literally!  As newbies to Texas, we wanted to experience the culture and take advantage of everything Austin and Texas offers.  We indulged in food festivals, enjoyed music and film festivals, cheered at high school football games to feel like extras on “Friday Night Lights”, danced at rodeos cowboy hats and all, and fearlessly ate and drank a lot. I feel fairly confident in saying we have tried almost every restaurant in a 30 mile radius from downtown Austin.  Clearly you can see where our priorities lie. It is well known that Austin is an incredible place to live and recently touted by Forbes as “the most relaxed” place to reside, it’s also a fabulous place to visit. We have had many friends and family visit us and everyone lets loose like they are on spring break. I thought it would be fun to put together a list of our favorite food spots in and near Austin to be used as a light guide for locals and visitors but mostly to let me relive our best moments here. As always, I encourage your feedback and suggestions.

Food

Best Sushi: Musashino Sushi Dokoro - hands down my favorite restaurant in Austin! I think the quality of the fish rivals the best sushi in the country, pretty amazing for a land-locked state. To pass your “waiting for a table time”  since they don’t take reservations and it’s always busy, you can go upstairs and order a cocktail, I love their Lychee Martini. Once at your table,  I suggest skipping the rolls and going right for the sushi. Order the seared no-vein tuna, spicy lobster, scallop, Unagi (eel), really anything that catches your eye. The rice is even exceptionally delicious, sweet and light. Also for a starter don’t miss the U Zaki (seared eel skewers).  If you don’t believe me, check out the book Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg  which devotes a whole chapter to the glory of Musashino.

Best BBQ: Ok so I know this is a touchy and controversial topic here in TX so I thought I would break it down by type of meat and bring in my meat-loving husband to fill in this category.

RB says ….

Brisket: Salt Lick: The Carne Negra “dark meat”. This is the burnt, sweet, non-fatty ends of the brisket that is cut off before they serve the regular brisket. When we go, we ask specifically for an entire plate of just the “burn ends”. Sometimes we are met with a raised eyebrow from our server, since this special cut is usually saved for the employees but stand strong, it’s worth it.

Chicken: Black’s Barbeque in Lockhardt. Juicy, crispy, and smoked -sweet perfection!

Sausage: Meyers and Southside Market: both located about a 45 minute drive from downtown Austin in Elgin, Texas. Enjoy the beef sausage and garlic pork sausage.

Ribs: Sam’s BBQ in Austin. You can’t get more authentic plus they’re open late-night. Smitty’s Market in Lockhardt, also don’t miss their Jalapeno Jack cheese squares and saltines.

Mexican : El Borrego De Oro: unpretentious, authentic, inexpensive and satisfying. (I couldn’t find a website for them so I linked to a great review in the Austin Chronicle by Mick Vann in 2005). If your looking for atmosphere, Fonda San Miquel is an old Austin standby open since 1975. It’s where RB and I first learned about Cielo tequila, and actually finished out their supply (over several visits!), not sure why they haven’t reordered? Also Fonda offers a festive Sunday brunch, the perfect send off your out-of-town guests.

Tex-Mex: This is a hard one for me to judge, so many great places; El Chile, Maudie’s Cafe, Chuy’s. Even the worst Tex-Mex in Austin is better then the Tex-Mex in NYC, so I’m not the most critical judge in this category.

Pizza: Home Slice: And this is coming from a New Yorker! It’s as close as I can get to my hometown favorite. Crust has a good crunch, sauce is flavorful and the cheese isn’t too greasy. I suggest ordering your pie well done. Their Greek salad and house red wine is also a nice way to start off. Be prepared to wait awhile for a table since this place is always crowded, sometimes you can grab a seat at the bar or pre-order for take out.

Burger (red meat): Casino El Camino and Houston’s Restaurant. (The Houston’s in Austin is actually locally and individually owned, go know!) I have yet to have a less than overwhelmingly satisfying experience eating the burgers at both these places. My only suggestion is asking for a “dry bun” meaning no butter to avoid any sogginess in the bread.

Turkey Burger: Galaxy Cafe: the burger is juicy, flavorful and not greasy- perfect!

Chinese: Din Ho Chinese BBQ: Seriously the best Wonton Soup I have ever had. Each wonton is like a juicy dumpling waiting to explode in your mouth. We usually eat one there (portions are family style) and bring an extra home.  I also suggest the BBQ Pork and the Roast Duck. It’s BYOB (I love BYOB!) so you can pick up some beer or sake from the market next door to complete the meal.

Italian: Vespaio: Order the Tartare Di Tonno as a starter (huge portion) and Spaghetti Pomodoro E Melanzane for an entree. Rich and I love a bottle (or two) of the Riesling Loosing Brothers - Alsace (Semi- Sweet) - you won’t be disappointed.

Sandwiches: Another category that I’m leaving to Rich. RB’s picks: Fricano’s Deli Catering for the Cajun Turkey with Jalapeno Spread, Hog Island Italian Deli for the Turkey Diablo and Little Deli & Pizzeria for the Chicken Salad Sandwich on Rye Bread.

Exotic Meats: Hudson’s On The Bend: I’m pretty sure when we went there Rich ate an entire farm. Having never seen photos of former President Bush’s Crawford Texas ranch, in my mind this restaurant is what it looks like.

Ice Cream: Blue Bell: Made in Brenham Texas since 1908, this creamy treat is really special. It’s sold all around town in markets and if your heading to Kreutz’s Market in Lockhardt save room for a scoop after your meat-fest.

Drinks

Tequila: Don Julio, Herradura, Cielo or a Mexican Martini from Trudy’s (where this drink is so strong they will only serve you two- now that’s a restaurant with a conscious!

Vodka: Loving Titos Handmade Vodka right now, made here in Austin Texas. You can pretty much order it at any restaurant or bar in Austin and any cool spot nation-wide.

Bloody Mary’s: South Congress Cafe: First they infuse the vodka with peppers and spices and then they add the tomato mix resulting in a full-bodied Mary that’s unique and awesome.

Other Fun Stuff

Atmosphere (good spot to take take out of towners):  Hula Hut: You’ve got the lake, margaritas and complimentary chips and salsa - Austin never looked so good.

Movie Theater: Alamo Drafthouse: Eat, drink and be entertained- is there a better way to spend a couple of hours?

Day Trip: Fredericksburg,  Enchanted Rock (check my blog entry on Fredericksburg and on Enchanted Rock for all the details), Lake Austin Spa with the ladies (amazing fresh guacamole).

And After All That Eating…

Best Workout: Robert Reed’s Cardio Kickboxing Class every week day at noon at Castle Hill Fitness, followed by an invigorating “Berry White” smoothie at Castle Hill Fitness Cafe.

We’re always on the hunt for something delicious, so please email me your thoughts and suggestions for other great spots worth trying. Enjoy!

Sweetly,

Alexandra

Yesterday I was in Office Max, crowded with eager kids and teens shopping with their grown-ups for new school supplies.  I could see the excitement of a fresh school year, a clean start, a chance to learn, socialize, accomplish and grow. The new paper, pens and binders serving as a physical example to the children of the investment both monetarily and emotionally that their families are contributing. As I strolled up and down the aisles, I reminisced about my days back in school and how proud I felt when I got a good grade on hard test or made the winning stroke in a tennis match.

Don’t all kids deserve to feel a sense of accomplishment in school?

This is not a trick question and the obvious answer is yes. The trick is how do we create an environment where this is possibility. The list of needed improvements in our public schools is lengthy, and attempting to tackle the list could understandable overwhelm the noblest attempt. Many of the desperately needed changes are simple in their design but remain unimplemented due to political disparities, lack of monetary distribution or unfortunately a societal list of priorities that doesn’t place our children and teachers in the forefront. With that being said, the situation is not hopeless and there are many things we can do on a daily basis that will make positive changes in our schools and children.

Personally, I suggest donating to DonorsChoose.org. It is an incredible organization  that allows individuals to donate directly to the public school and lesson plan of their choice. Simply put, teachers fill-out detailed forms requesting the supplies they need and how these supplies will be implemented into the curriculum. The materials can be as basic as pens and paper to books, art supplies, even sporting equipment. As the donor, you read through the requests and select what project(s) you would like to support, donating the total amount needed or just a small portion. Clearly every cent is valuable. The schools are categorized by location, grade level, subject, urgency and school’s poverty level. Once a project has been funded, DonorsChoose.org purchases and delivers the materials directly to the school, guaranteeing every donated cent is used. I think the final part of the process is the most valuable for the children and helps raise their level of self-esteem. Once the students have used the materials, the teacher and students write (or draw for younger children) thank you notes to the donor. Understanding that people support your education and believe in you is a powerful message, especially when it comes from strangers.

According to DonorsChoose.org’s website, the organization was “pioneered by teachers at a Bronx, New York public high school in 2000 who saw first-hand the scarcity of material in the public school classrooms. They created a nation-wide website as a forum for citizens to donate directed contributions that provide materials for out-lined projects in public schools.”

At Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams we donate 3% of all profits to support New York and Austin Public Schools with the highest poverty level through DonorsChoose.org . I love this organization because it is so simple, direct and immediately helps our children today. As a former school teacher, I couldn’t be more impressed with the work this organization is doing. Otherwise teachers would need to pay for these projects out of their own salary or forfeit the curriculum all together.

You can check out the Sharing Page here at Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams website to learn about the projects ‘ACD’ has supported and read quotes from the teachers who submitted the proposals. I think this is the best way to kick start the school year. Click here to go directly to DonorsChoose.org website. You’ll be glad you did.

Let me know your thoughts on this organization …

Sweetly,

Alexandra

ACD “Sweet Baby” Collection has arrived!… because when you celebrate a new baby, life get sweeter!

ACD is thrilled to announce the newest addition to our cookie family! Festive & delicious cookie gifts and favors for celebrating baby and family in style. Whether it’s a girl, a boy, or a sweet surprise, ACD has the perfect gift for you!

Baby Shower favors, gifts for families of newborns, Baby Naming, Bris and Christening celebration favors, and thank you gifts for those you helped you along the way, Doctors, Nurses, Family & Friends.

We offer a full line of Sweet Baby cookie gifts on “Our Shop” and personalized cookie packets and cookie boxes for “Special Order”.
For our Austin neighbors we offer Sweet Baby Cookie Basket, delivered to local hospitals, residences, or any place you celebrate baby!

Sign up for our e-newsletter, The ACD Cookie Scoop, and receive a 10% discount on any of our cookie gifts in “Our Shop” valid until Sunday August 16th. The sign-up  is on the right side of this blog, where it says “Join Our Mailing List”.  After you sign-up you will receive an email from me with in 24 hours with the exclusive discount promo code. Please note this is the last week to take advantage of  Free Texas Shipping, so enjoy double your savings. Simply purchase a cookie package this week and you can choose a future delivery date.

A special congratulations to my sister Alana and my future brother-in-law Aaron who got engaged last weekend in NYC! Rich and I were there to celebrate with our favorite couple. Here are some pictures from the fabulous weekend!

Sweetly,

Alexandra

Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams just turned 1, now meet our newest addition…

ACD “Sweet Baby” Collection!

When you celebrate a new baby, life gets sweeter!
Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams is thrilled to announce the newest addition to our cookie family, ACD “Sweet Baby” Collection! Festive & delicious cookie gifts & favors for celebrating baby and family in style! Whether it’s a girl, a boy, or a sweet surprise, ACD has the perfect gift for you.

Here’s a sneak preview of our new logo and labels. Stay tuned for our official launch coming soon!

This Wednesday July 22nd from 2-4 PM Free ACD cookie samples at the Coffee Bean & Teal Leaf! Come by and enjoy our 6 Signature Flavors. I’ll be there, looking forward to meeting you! (221 South Lamar Blvd, Austin Texas 78704. p: 512.351.8680)

The Winner of A Dozen ACD Cookies and Summer To Me Contest is Hattie… Congratulations Hattie!  Hattie’s entry was selected at random from all the comments submitted on our blog and e-newsletter sign-ups. Here’s Hattie’s answer to the question, “It’s summer to me when the thermostat reads 105 for three weeks straight, without rain, and it finally cools when it is 3am, but it is only 90. And your family only and just then decides to do an outdoor project to your house. That is when it’s summer to me.” (Hattie, we know how you feel!) At ACD we love giving cookies away, so please check back often to enter our latest cookie contests! Thanks to everyone who played, we enjoyed reading your entries and having you join The ACD Cookie Scoop!

ACD ON TWITTER! Come follow us http://twitter.com/acookiedreams

Sweetly,

Alexandra

ACD ON TWITTER! Come follow us http://twitter.com/acookiedreams

“It’s summer to me when…

1. Hawaiian Tropic 50-plus coconut scented sun-tan lotion becomes my daily perfume.
2. Rose’ wine replaces diet coke at our lunch table.
3. A casual stroll around Lady Bird Lake is more of a sweat-fest than a sauna.“

“Summer To Me’ Contest:

Now that July 4th holiday is behind us, I feel like summer is in full swing and it is time to give-away a dozen FREE Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams cookies. To enter this free contest all you have to do is finish this sentence, “It’s summer to me when…” and share your idea(s) in the “comments” section below. Or simply sign up (on the right-hand side of this page) for our bi-monthly E-Newsletter, Talk Is Sweet and you will automatically be entered in this contest. One winner will be selected at random from the entries and e-newsletter sign-ups. Contest ends Sunday, July 19th, 2009. I can’t wait to hear your summer time thoughts!

Here are the details:

One lucky person will win  “Share The Dream”, our 12-cookie package to be enjoyed by him/herself or gifted to another person. The cookie package includes a gift message and Free shipping via UPS Ground, anywhere ACD ships. You can select 2 cookie flavors for this gift.
Winner will be selected and notified on Monday July 20th, 2009.

Thanks for playing and good luck!

Sweetly,

Alexandra