lemon poppyseed bread.

ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup poppy seed

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

Cream butter, gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add poppy seed, vanilla, eggs and mix well. Combine remaining ingredients in a seperate bowl. Start with your flour mixture and add a little and then your buttermilk. Alternate until mixed well. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. (Because i used the mini loaf pans, i started watching the bread at about 30 minutes.)
Glaze: 1-2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tbsp. butter (melted), juice and peel of one lemon. When cake is cooling poke some holes in it. When it has cooled enough pour your glaze over it. I'm big on the presentation of things. I loved this twine i found at Hobby Lobby that gave it a little bit of an Anthropologie feel.

chocolate thumbprints.

ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups pecans, toasted and ground fine (optional)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16

pieces and softened

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

2 tbsp. corn syrup

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. With electric mixer on low speed, combine flour, nuts, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter, and mix until crumbly and slightly wet, about 2 minutes. Add yolks, vanilla, and 2 tbsp. heavy cream and mix until dough forms cohesive mass.
2. Roll dough into 1-1/4 inch thick balls and place 1-1/2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Press indent into each cookie using thumb dipped into water. Bake 10 minutes, then remove cookies from oven and gently reshape indentation with bottom of rounded teaspoon measure. Switch and rotate baking sheets and continue to bake until just beginning to brown on edges, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes, than transfer to wire rack and cool completely. 3. In saucepan over medium-low heat, combine chocolate, remaining cream, and corn syrup, stirring constantly until smooth; cool 1 hour. Fill indentation of each cookie with generous teaspoon of chocolate mixture. Let sit until firm, about 1 hour.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.