Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Cookies, cookies, and more cookies. You've got to eat them while you can before the wave of New Year's guilt, so here's an easy and plentiful recipe to get your end-of-the-year fix.

These cookies are a personal favorite - they look pretty and are made of chocolate. How can you lose?

This dough keeps well in the fridge for a few days so you don't have to bake them all at once. You can divide the dough into balls, freeze them in a ziploc bag and then sugar and bake them at the ready any day. Fresh cookies in an instant!

If you haven't gotten the picture, these are probably not diabetic-friendly snacks, so I apologize, but I don't feel guilty, because it's only Dec 29...

Chocolate Crackle Cookies
from Martha Stewart

yields 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop bittersweet chocolate into small bits, and melt over medium heat in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and light-brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

On a clean countertop, roll each portion of dough into a log approximately 16 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, using confectioners’ sugar to prevent sticking. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and transfer to a baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut each log into 1-inch pieces, toss in granulated sugar and then toss in confectioners’ sugar, a few at a time. Using your hands, roll the pieces into a ball shape. If any of the cocoa-colored dough is visible, roll dough in confectioners’ sugar again to coat completely. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar splits, 12 to15 minutes.

Transfer from oven to a wire rack to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

 Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Ok, I'm just going to skip to the end so I can wish you all a good Christmas and good night!

These gingerbread cupcakes were at hit a my family's Christmas celebration. They are moist, but not dense, and you can smell the wonderful gingerbread spices the moment you come near them.

The gingerbread men toppers with holly and candy canes and gingerbread mice turned out so cute, too!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Gingerbread Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart

yields 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup unsulphered molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
yields 4 cups

Ingredients:
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

With an electric mixer, beat butter for 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add vanilla.

Winter Bark

Tis the season for bark, and thank goodness for that, because bark is one of the simplest holiday treats to concoct!

After making cookies, pies, tarts, meringues, cakes, trifles, and truffles, this will almost feel like cheating but the taste is not cheated, not one bit. It's as easy as this: 1) Melt some chocolates. 2) Add some nuts, berries, or candies. 3) Stick in the fridge for an hour and Voila! 4) Marvel at the magic.

And best of all you can be an artist in your very own kitchen. That's right - it's time to break out your inner Matisse...

or Jackson Pollock...

Just have fun with it! You can't mess up the presentation of this, I promise. And even if you do, you can eat it all and no one will ever know ;-)

For this bark I stuck with the simplicity and used only white chocolate, dark chocolate, and peanuts, but feel free to let your imagination run wild.

Winter Bark
adapted from Martha Stewart

yields 1 1/4 pounds

Ingredients:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
7 ounces (1 1/2 cups) salted cocktail peanuts

Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water, stirring frequently, until chocolate melts. Remove from heat and set aside. Place bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt the same way as the white chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the peanuts.

Spread on a lined, rimmed baking sheet, spreading peanuts in a single layer, and drop spoonfuls of white chocolate on top.

Swirl chocolates with a skewer. Refrigerate until bark is set, about 1 hour. Break bark into large pieces. Bark will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks! Enjoy.

Ciambelle (Lemon Wreath Cookies)

Christmas time is here! The ground is covered in snow, A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio is spinning in the CD player, and the tree is decorated.

In my family, "Christmas" is also synonymous with "Baking" specifically Cookies. The house is covered with flour and frosting the days leading up to this beautiful holiday. So I invite you to join my family to live these cookie-filled moments with us. The first treat of the season is Ciambelle. 

"Ciambelle" in Italian can refer to any ring-shaped cookie, cake, or donut. In this case Ciambelle is a lemon wreath cookie, a buttery cookie base, covered in a lemon glaze, and decorated with nonpareils.

These flakey and flavorful cookies pair excellently with a warm cup of tea and are sure to become a Christmas classic, just like lights on the tree.

Ciambelle (Lemon Wreath Cookies)
adapted from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies 2010 Issue

yields 6 dozen lemon wreath cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 - 4 lemons depending on their size)
1 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
white nonpareils, for decorating

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk to combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Zest and juice lemons.

In a separate bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and zest with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until combined.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into a 4-inch rope. Bring ends together, overlapping slightly, and press together to form a ring.

Repeat with remaining dough. Transfer rings to a parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing at least 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake for 9 minutes. Then rotate the sheet and bake for another 9 minutes or until pale golden on bottoms and around edges. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Whisk confectioners' sugar and remaining lemon juice until smooth. Dip top of each cookie into the glaze, letting the excess drip off.

Return cookies to wire racks, glazed side up, and sprinkle with nonpareils. Let dry completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Carrot Cake Basket Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

We're so removed from our food as a society that I actually find it to be a novelty when they sell carrots with leafy tops in the grocery store (Don't carrots grow in the ground in groups of twelve in plastic bags!?).  Call me crazy, but they just look happier. Happy little carrots...

You know what would make you happier? A cupcake.

These cute carrot cake basket cupcakes can't help but make you smile. They are moist and comforting, with a hint of fall spice, and you can never go wrong with cream cheese frosting.

So go buy some happy carrots and get happy in your kitchen.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

yields two dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
3 cups shredded carrots

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a large bowl. Beat in eggs and oil until incorporated.

Stir in shredded carrots with a spatula. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Fill with batter 2/3 full.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for an hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Beat ingredients for one minute. Spread a thin layer of frosting onto cupcakes. Pipe basket as shown below using Ateco tip #47.

Royal Icing Carrots

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
Beat ingredients for three minutes. Separate batch in half. Use food coloring gel to color green and orange.

Line a baking tray with waxed paper. Pipe carrots onto waxed paper. Let dry (this process can be expediated by placing in the freezer for one hour). Place on top of cupcakes.

Nutella Rum Sherbet

For about the past three weeks, every night, roughly around 9:30 p.m., I complain to my friend Kristin on gchat that I desperately want to eat ice cream, even though there isn't any to be found in the house. I don't want to make any because it would take 4-6 hours to freeze. I don't want to bike alone to the store in the dark. I don't want to leave my bed (Ah, the real reason emerges: laziness!). I was forced to put an end to my slothful ways and to satisfy my nocturnal cravings when Tiffany sent me this amazing recipe for Nutella Ice Cream.

If you have never tried Nutella, then you haven't fully lived. If you are allergic to chocolate and/or hazelnuts, then I'm sorry, but you will never fully live. 

Tiffany, my faithful taste-tester, knowing what's good, wished to pay her respects to the Italian, chocolate-spread gods, but is a little lactose intolerant, so I substituted the dairy for almond milk. I also swapped the vodka for rum. 

So to recap: Nutella. Rum. Nutella Rum Sherbet. Go. Go get out you ice cream maker. Go make it now, and live (with a happy stomach).

Nutella Rum Sherbet

Yields 2 cups

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups almond milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup nutella
1 tablespoon extra dry white rum

Directions:
Beat all ingredients together until evenly incorporated and bubbles form.

Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions and freeze for at least 5 hours before serving.

Enjoy.

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

I have found the no-muss, no-fuss bite for you and another no-bake recipe for Kathleen. In less than half an hour, these chewy granola bars will be ready to satisfy both your sweet and salty cravings with plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week.

This is the simplest granola bar recipe I've come across and it's versatile that you can use whatever is hanging out in your cupboard. On this occasion I chose to add chocolate chips and peanut butter chips to the mix, but dried fruits, pretzels, cereal, candy, and marshmallows are all welcome here.

Granola bars are indispensable when it comes down to a snack on the run or breakfast on the fly. You get your grains, fruit, and a little sweet treat all in one. What more could you want?

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups granola
1 cup rice/puffed cereal (Rice Krispies, Kashi Go-Lean Honey Puff, etc.)
1/4 cup chocolate chips*
1/4 cup peanut butter chips*

*You can substitute anything you like here or add more.

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes). Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the granola and rice cereal (and pretzels if using them) to the saucepan and fold the ingredients to evenly coat with the sauce.

Transfer the granola mixture to a 9 x 13 inch ungreased baking pan. Press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill the tray. Gently press the chips onto the top.

Place the pan in the refrigerator until the mixture is firm (about 15 minutes). Cut into 2 1/4 x 3 inch bars.

Store in an airtight container or wrap in waxed paper.

Best Chocolate Pudding for Kathleen

My good friend Kathleen just moved to Istanbul. I admire her for a great many reasons, but in this case particularly for going to an entirely different place with nothing but courage and enthusiasm. She just began teaching, an unexpected fork in the road, but one that will allow her to share her gifts and knowledge while learning in turn from her experiences about this new culture. I am so proud to be friends with someone who can take up a challenge like that.

Kathleen's between her old life and her new one, and unfortunately this transition does not involve a kitchen with an oven. She asked me if I could post some no-bake dessert recipes. She was tired of only eating fruit and whipped cream, which is a pretty good problem to have as far as problems go, but some days you just want something rich and filling. I have those "some days" every day that ends in the letter y.

Luckily, chocolate is always a solution.

This is my favorite chocolate pudding recipe. It's like being a kid again, but with higher quality chocolate than Jello. The rewards are reaped in under an hour with this pudding, made on the stovetop for 20 minutes and then set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

So I send my chocolate-covered wishes of happiness, hope, and good dessert half way around the globe and into your kitchen. Fruit with whipped cream can be the addition here, not the main focus, allowing you to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Best Chocolate Pudding

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

yields 6 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
6 ounces chocolate (I used 71% cacao Swiss dark. Use your favorite!)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract*

*You could add any number of flavorings to this: peppermint extract, orange juice, Baileys, Kahlua, fruit liquors...

Bring 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan to a simmer on medium-low heat. Combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a bowl heatproof bowl (not plastic). Place bowl over the saucepan (double broiler) and slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients.

Stir contents of the bowl occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk as necessary should lumps begin to form. After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate (chopped, if not using baking chips).

Whisk for about 3 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the extract.

Pour into serving bowls. If you like pudding skin, pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dishes before refrigerating. If you dislike pudding skin, place plastic wrap on top of the pudding itself and smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

Almond Cream Cheese Tartelettes

Ok, so I'm lying. These aren't really tartelettes... this a recipe for bars, but I didn't have enough confectioners' sugar for the whole recipe, so I halved it, and tartelette pans are adorable, so here we are. By all means double this recipe and make bars, an unexpected alternative to brownies or lemon squares (Three desserts mentioned in one sentence. Oh, I'm hungry now.). This recipe is beautiful, no matter the shape or size.

Almond Cream Cheese Tartelettes
adapted from Cooking.com

yields 4 tartlettes or 8 mini tartelettes (tartelettettes?)
(if the recipe is doubled, you get a 9 x 13 pan of about 24 bars)

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup flour

Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract if desired

Frosting:
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons almond milk
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Crust: Cut butter into dry ingredients (you can use a pastry cutter or a food processor). Pat into pans. Bake 15-20 minutes until just starting to become golden around the edges. Remove from oven.

Filling: Cream sugar and cream cheese until blended. Beat in egg and extract until fluffy.

Pour over warm crusts and return to oven to bake for about another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Frosting: Cream sugar and butter, add almond milk and beat for 2 minutes.

Spread evenly on cooled tartelettes. Sprinkle with almonds.

Sweet Basil Ice Cream with Strawberries in Balsamic Syrup

A massive basil plant resides in my backyard, growing faster than its leaves can be consumed. I wanted to take advantage of this abundant fresh herb as much as possible so I began searching for recipes - capreses, pestos, sauces, herb spreads galore - but then, then I stumbled across basil ice cream. Studying physics all these years must have made me gravitate towards the most nonintuitive recipe. I took a quantum leap of faith and set out to make an herb dessert.

I'm glad I did. This ice cream is sweet with a kick of flavor. I can't say that if you don't like basil, you will like this recipe, but the basil is not the only dominant flavor. Spoon after spoon of creamy, sweet ice cream, you are ever so much happier that you dropped the pasta sauce seasoning into your ice cream maker.

To make matters even more untraditional, I concocted a sweet balsamic reduction and marinated strawberries in it. We all know ice cream and strawberries go together like basil and balsamic, but the two couples are a double date made in heaven. So treat yourself, and your stomach, to this delicious treat.

Sweet Basil Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
the zest of one lemon

Directions:
Grind the basil leaves, sugar, and 1 cup of the cream in a blender until the leaves are as fine as possible.

Pour half of the mixture into a large bowl and add the other cup of cream. Place the bowl in an ice bath and place a strainer above the bowl.

Warm the rest of the mixture in a saucepan with the milk and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warmed basil mixture into the egg yolks a little at a time while continuously whisking. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and constantly stir over medium heat. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Stir until cool. Pour the custard into a quart-sized container and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Freeze according to your ice cream manufacturer's instructions.
Serve (with strawberries in balsamic syrup, perhaps - recipe follows!).

Balsamic Syrup
Ingredients:
1 cup aged balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint strawberries, cut to your fancy
squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:
Reduce the balsamic vinegar, sugar, and lemon juice over low heat for about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Transfer to a bowl with cut strawberries, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Pour over ice cream.  Enjoy.

Flaked Coconut Jujube Balls

Until this past Sunday, the only Jujubes I'd ever heard of were the ones in the glass counter at the movie theater. Apparently they are a fruit, most common in Persian, Indian, and east Asian cuisine.  For some reason they showed up at the local farmers' market in Tucson for 15/$1. I was intrigued and paid the dollar to satisfy my curiosity.

To a simple jujube-newbie (say that five times fast!) like myself, a jujube is basically a mini apple. I decided to add some complementary flavors from my cupboard and came up with this delightful and easy to make snack.

If you don't run into a jujube, apples would be an appropriate substitute, and a great way to trick your friends and family into eating fruit. I think they make a cute bite-sized gift as well.

Flaked Coconut Jujube Balls

yields about one dozen 1-inch balls

15 jujubes, cored and chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds (whole or slivered)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 flaked coconut

Pulse jujubes, almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor until a paste forms. Transfer paste to a cool surface and roll into 1-inch balls.

Roll balls in flaked coconut. Can be stored in refrigerator up to two days.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Lemon

It's the weekend, and you know what that means: pancakes. I'm not going to lie - I'm the kind of girl who likes to drench her pancakes in syrup and butter. However once I realized that the butter is a solid hunk in the freezer and the cabinets are bare of real maple syrup (once you've tasted the good stuff it becomes difficult to keep up strong friendships with Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemima), I set out to make a different kind of pancake - one that didn't have to hide behind all that butter and syrup.

This cottage cheese (I know, I know... but it's delicious. If I hadn't told you, you wouldn't have known it was in there) pancake with lemon is perfection: airy, moist, and filling. It's a good thing I have roommates because I definitely would have eaten the entire batch. Going out on a limb and trying something new can yield good (and tasty) results. Lesson learned.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Lemon
adapted from Martha Stewart

yields one dozen pancakes

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 lemons (1 zested, 1 cut into wedges)
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
Separate the eggs. Lightly beat the yolks.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs whites until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Stir together the yolks, cottage cheese, granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in one third of the egg whites.

 With a spatula, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Grease the griddle/skillet with cooking spray or butter; heat until a drop of batter sizzles upon contact. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the griddle/skillet.

Cook until the surface of the pancake bubbles and the edges are slightly dry (this takes only about 1 minute). Flip pancakes. Cook until undersides are golden brown (about 3 more minutes). Serve sprinkled with lemon zest and confectioners' sugar with lemon wedges on the side (they tastes SO GOOD if you squeeze lemon juice onto them). Start your day happy.

Ricotta Chocolate Tart with Strawberries

So, the original recipe for this called for kumquats, but I just couldn't handle that. The word "kumquat" is inherently hilarious. I can't say kumquat with a straight face. Go ahead. Say kumquat without giggling. There's a reason Patrick Henry didn't say, "Give me kumquats, or give me death!" No one would have taken our country seriously for as long as they did.

In order to save myself from cramping of the abdomen and a permanent fracture to the funny bone, I decided to substitute in strawberries. Any fruit would fill your need here (even, dare I say it... the k-word). How can something chocolatey, creamy, and fruity not hit the spot?

It's a simple tart that can be made on the fly, leaving you time to lay on the floor, crippled with amusement after reading the words "discombobulate", "turdiform", and "weenis"* in your dictionary.
*discombobulate (v) - to throw into a state of confusion
turdiform (adj) - shaped like a thrush
weenis (n) - slang for the extra skin on your elbow

Ricotta Chocolate Tart with Strawberries
adapted from Martha Stewart

yields 8 servings

Ingredients:
Crust
5 ounces (~24 cookies) chocolate wafers
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt


Filling
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 strawberries, thinly sliced crosswise

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Pulse wafers in a food processor (or smash if on a low-budget, low-tech life) until crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining crust ingredients (melted butter, sugar, salt). Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

To make the filling, beat together ricotta, cream, sugar, and cinnamon until fluffy.

Fold in half of the strawberries. Pour into cooled crust. Top with the remaining strawberries. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (preferably overnight) before serving.