What is butter? Butter is made up of milk fat, other milk solids (curd) and water. The percentages of each determine color and best uses. 

American style butter: Most Americans have grown up with grocery store "American style" butter, which usually comes in four, quarter-pound sticks. It is a pale white-yellow color, and usually contains about 80 percent milk fat, 16 to 18 percent water, and 1 to 2 percent milk solids (curd). This is the commodity type butter, and most cookie and cake recipes will be fine with this type of butter. In fact, your nana's recipes probably will turn out best with this type, as this is what she most likely used.

European style butter: This butter has a higher fat content, around 82 percent and up to 84 percent. European butter's lower water content is critical for laminated doughs, like croissants, and other pastries. We also like to use Euro butter for shortbreads and sable's, where butter's flavor is the star of the show. European butters tend to be more yellow, which can be a drawback for icings and other recipes where a whiter color is preferrable.

Salted vs Unsalted: When baking, you should choose unsalted butter for your recipes. If, like us, you shop around for the best price, this is the safest way to guarantee that you are in control of the salt content of your baked goods. Use salted butter on your bread and toast, or in sauces where the level of salt is adjusted along the way.

Whipped or Churned Butter: Use these only for breads. They are not appropriate for baking.

The following are some of our favorites, which you should be able to find in your local US ​grocery store (no sponsored listings here). We list some features that may encourage you to try them next time they go on sale.

AMERICAN STYLE
We think Challenge is a good choice in this category. It's readily available, has a good and reliable flavor, is hormone free, and won't break the bank even if you do a lot of baking. The fat content is around 80 percent. Challenge also offers Euro and Danish style butters, but they are not common in our area and we have not tried them.

EURO STYLE
We love Kerry Gold for its yellow color and delicious flavor. It's made from the milk of grass-fed cows, and is free of antibiotics and hormones. This Irish butter has 82 percent butterfat. It's a little spendy, but check out warehouse clubs for better pricing. (Plus they have great commercials that make you want to move to a farm in Ireland!)

We also like Plugra, a US brand of Euro style butter with 82 percent milk fat. It has good flavor and is antibiotic and hormone free. It is also available in most major supermarkets. The best feature here is its paler color. This makes it more appropriate for frostings and recipes that you are planning to color.

Feeling fancy? Create a little bit of France in your own kitchen with these lovely, easy pastries. Small sponge cakes baked in special shell-shaped baking tins, madeleines will really dress us your holiday buffet or brunch table. (Or your desk on your coffee break.)

Are you wondering who Madeleine was? Nobody knows, but this cake appeared in western Europe in the late 1700s and is popular today, in various incarnations, in France, Spain, Britain and Poland.

We used toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts, but you can substitute almonds, pecans or even macademia nuts and achieve a tasty result. Be sure not to overbake - the delicate genoise sponge cakes dry out quickly!

Properly baked, the cakes will have a small "belly" on the non-shaped side. If you overfill the tins and the cakes spill over the tops of the pan, you can trim the edges with a pair of clean scissors.

This recipe makes about 24 standard size madeleines.

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped or ground nuts + additional 1/4 cup for garnishing
• 3 ounces chocolate for melting for dipping and/or drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two madeleine pans with cooking spray and place on parchment lined baking sheets. (You can reuse one pan after letting it cool and respraying.)
2. Combine eggs and sugar in your mixer, fitted with SideSwipe, and mix on medium speed until foamy.
3. Add the flour and baking soda. Mix on low until combined.
4. Add melted butter and vanilla. Mix on low until combined.
5. Mix or fold in the chopped nuts.
6. Spoon or pipe the batter into the molds, filling the cavities about 3/4 of the way. 
7. Smack the pan on the counter once or twice to force any air bubbles to the top. (We forgot to do this - see in our photos that there are little holes. We decided they were cute.)
8. Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes, rotating halfway through for even cooking and browning. Mads are done when the center puffs up a bit and the edges are just beginning to turn a golden brown.
9. Allow mads to cool in the pans for a few minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely. 
10. Drizzle or dip with melted chocolate* and chopped nuts if desired. (*Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in a small, deep bowl. Use 50 percent power for 1 minute, then in 20 second intervals until melted).
11. Mads are best served the same day, To keep them moist, store for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Allow any chocolate decoration to dry before putting away.

There are a number of shapes, materials and sizes for madeleine pans. We used a traditional size and shape pan with a non-stick coating. You may also keep an eye out at second-hand shops, as it's frequently a rarely used baking pan and takes up space. If you're interested in the pan we used, you can click on the image below and be transferred to Amazon.
​ If you order this pan after transferring, we will receive a small referral fee.

Way back when I was a kid, animal crackers that came in a little circus box were only for special occasions. The taste of the actual cookie was a little bland, but we all loved the little box and playing with the lions, zebras, elephants and giraffes. Kids today have a lot more choices and, it seems, a lot more dietary restrictions.

Enter the new animal cracker/cookie. Because it's homemade, you can adjust the recipe to suit your tastes and diet. This recipe easily can be made gluten-free and it doesn't contain any refined sugar. Plus it's much tastier than the original circus crackers!

Our recipe, adapted from one by King Arthur Flour, uses almond flour instead of oat flour. We use the same style of spring-loaded cookie cutters (available in our store), but you can use any miniature size cookie cutter or just cut our little squares of dough and prick them with a knife to put a pattern on them.
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• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) soft butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Princess Cake and Cookie Flavor*, or flavor of your choice
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached is best)
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons oat flour or finely ground rolled oats or almond flour
• small spring-loaded animal cookie cutters*
• small paring knife

1. Beat together the butter, sugar, honey, salt, baking soda, and flavor until well combined.
2. Add the flour and oat flour, mixing to combine.
3. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half slightly to make a disk, then wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease several baking sheets, or line them with parchment.
5. Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and turn it out onto a lightly "floured" surface (use almond or oat flour for GF). Roll the dough 1/4" thick. Test using the cutters on the dough. TIP**
6. Dip animal cookie cutters in flour, tap them, then use them to cut the dough. Coat with flour each time you use the cutter. For best results, press cookie cutter into dough, lift and trim away excess dough from outer edge of cutter with paring knife. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, using plunger at the end to emboss and release the cookie onto the pan. 
7. Bake the cookies for 6 to 9 minutes, or until just beginning to become golden around the edges. For best results, bake shapes with thin parts (like giraffe) separately, as the thin pieces burn easily and should be baked for less time.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, or until set. They are still quite flexible when warm, so handle with care!
9. Transfer the cookies on parchment to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
10. Yield: about 5 dozen cookies.

**TIPS

• Test the cutters on a bit of dough to see how they work and if the dough is stiff enough. If they stick and/or fall apart, sprinkle flour on your dough and reroll. The cutters work better on dough that is a little bit stiffer.
• Freezing the cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes will help them retain their shape and imprint. This will help with wheat flour doughs.
• For the most authentic animal cracker flavor, use Princess Cake and Cookie Flavor — it makes a difference.

While you're whipping up some pumpkin treats for your family, how about making some cookies for your dog? These dog cookies use wholesome, pet-friendly ingredients to create a healthy snack for your dog. While these ingredients are fine for most dogs, you should check with your veterinarian if your pooch has some health or dietary restrictions.

You make these like cut-out cookies. You can use a cookie cutter like this one, which is about 3 inches long (7.5cm) or smaller, smooth-edged cutters (avoid sharp cornered treats) You also can use a pizza or pastry wheel to cut into strips in two directions to make little bit-size rectangles.

We poked indentations in some of our biscuits to give them a little pizzazz. We used a very rare and fancy tool - the end of a chopstick! 

These make a great holiday gift for neighbors, teachers with dogs and even pet shelters. If you give them as a gift, be sure to include the ingredient list.

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
2. In your stand mixer, combine the pumpkin, peanut butter and egg together until smooth. Stir in the flour all at once and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms. If the mixture is too shaggy and won't come together, add milk one Tablespoon at a time. The dough will be very thick and a little sandy.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 1/4 inch (6mm) thickness. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out additional shapes. 
4. Transfer to lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches (6cm) between biscuits. The dough will puff a little, but won't get when bigger when baking.
5. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.
6. Remove from oven, letting biscuits cool on the baking trays for about 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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STORAGE
Baked dog cookies will keep for about a week at room temperature in a sealed container; two weeks in your fridge.
You can freeze baked biscuits for 3 months. Don't forget to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before giving them to your pooch.
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