This photo from Things Organized Neatly shows a variety of discarded, mismatched spoons dipped in a spectrum of muted paint colors. The resulting rainbow gradient is striking, and although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t so, it made me hope that a matching rainbow of dishes lay waiting just off-camera to aid these spoons in fulfilling their destinies..

Clockwise from top left:
Macaroni and cheese casserole with asiago and white cheddar on Kait’s Plate
Traditional creamed corn recipe on MarthaStewart.com
Roasted butternut squash with sage, pecans and cheese from Blisstree.com
Blood orange tart recipe by Lottie + Doof
Beet dip recipe created by Seaweed Snacks
Purple cauliflower soup from Chez Us
Blue Russian potato photo from Cracked Pot
Blueberry macarons with orange blossom butter cream baked by Not So Humble
Blue velvet cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes
Braised kale with sesame seeds from the Gluten Free Mommy
Vegan spinach linguine with basil cilantro pesto and artichokes on Go Vegan Meow
Honeydew cucumber salad with lime and mint by The Cilantropist
Burnt honey, orange and yogurt panna cotta from taste.com
Cheesecake with blueberry lavender topping featured on Kat Bakes
Salted watermelon sorbet found on Flickr’s foodiehunter photostream

Dessert and candy buffets are all the rage at weddings and events this year. Photos of stylized buffets, like this one above from a Martha Weddings magazine spread, are almost unavoidable when doing party planning research. As someone who likes to bake and decorate, I’ve yet to come across a buffet of treats that seems difficult to replicate.

This blue, brown and wintery white tablescape is no exception. The linens are simple, the cake stands are plain, candies are in clear glass vases and the display pedastals for bite-sized goodies are clean and modest. This modern style uses enough basic pieces to allow even those with a tight budget to find a perfect match.

Below are some easy recipes for elegant-looking desserts that you can whip up in your own kitchen. For a smaller crowd, downsize your table and swap out some of the tiered cakes shown above for tiered platters with cupcakes or petit fours.

I have a thing for packaging, and these vintage Polish jam labels from pan tu nie stal (via Made In England) caught my eye.  The bold colors and cute, simple graphics on were likely a fitting match for their original contents.

More importantly, coming across these labels reminded me that I had a couple of jars of jam in my kitchen just waiting to be eaten! What better way to use up different flavors of jam than to bake these guys? Definitely one of my favorite types of cookies, especially when you don’t skimp on the fruity preserves.

I followed this Jam Thumbprint Cookie recipe by Ina Garten, and it was surprisingly easy! I  do bake often, but this was an exceptionally successful batch of cookies. Delicious, too!


Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I did 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
• Raspberry and/or apricot jam (I did both, plus strawberry)

1. Toss all of that decadent butter into your mixer! Cream together with one cup of sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Measure out your extracts! I incorporated a bit of almond extract because I just can’t get enough of it in my baking. Add these into your butter and sugar.

3. Add flour and salt slowly but surely, at a low speed. No need to create flour clouds in your kitchen.

4. Mix until a moist dough forms. This happened pretty quickly for me, and the dough was a perfect consistency. Wonder if it was those 3 sticks of butter…?

5.  Shape your dough into a nice flat disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

6.  In the meantime, beat together one egg with one tablespoon water to create an egg wash. Spread some of the coconut out on a plate for easy rolling access.

7. Once the dough is chilled, unwrap and begin rolling into 1 1/4″ balls. I was able to get 30 cookies out of my dough–not too shabby!

8. Dip the dough balls into your egg wash, then roll on plate to lightly coat with coconut. I found that one bag of coconut was just enough to cover them all.

9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

9. Use your thumb or the back of a spoon to make indentations in your cookies. You could make them shallow or deep–I preferred to make them a bit deep to hold more jam.

10. Step back and admire your work. Place your cookie sheets in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until coconut begins to turn golden brown.  After 25 minutes, my coconut still wasn’t completely toasted, but I didn’t want to risk overcooking them.  I removed them and they turned out just fine.

Ta-da!

Strawberry, raspberry and apricot jam in amazing little buttery cookies. I’m really glad this recipe yields just over 2 dozen. Plenty to share and plenty to eat all by myself!

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Clockwise from top left:
Invisible Dogs from Improv Everywhere
Whale Pitcher from Jonathan Adler
Vintage Ram Pin from Purple Daisy Jewelry
Halloween bird masks from Whip Up
Vintage chair from Hazel & Hunter
Porcelain plate from Studio Violet
Autumn Bird barley candy from Fancy Flours
Bulldog print from The Little Friends of Printmaking
Emily Anderson’s home and whale pillow on DesignSponge
Autumn Bird barley candy from Fancy Flours
Owls from Matt Pugh Design
Hedgehog cupcake from Martha Stewart
Ark textile pattern from Rilla
Elephant Bank from Cross Design
Modern Wilderness Rhinos from A+R Store
Gold deco Snake bangle from Luxury Vintage
Enchanted forest rings from Soop
Mini Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder from Too Faced

This wooden block set from notNeutral may be listed as a kids toy, but I could definitely imagine it having a place on my desk. Each side of the 12 blocks is printed with something to love: letters and numbers in classic and contemporary fonts, two-tone flora and fauna graphics (think leaves, bird, flowers, butterfly, etc.), a tree puzzle and the apple puzzle featured above.

When I saw this photo in If it’s Hip it’s Here’s feature on designer blocks, my mind drifted to apples and Fall. One of my favorite parts of Fall is being able to (comfortably) bake again in my small kitchen. Another would definitely have to be the delicious fruits that come into season as the Summer comes to an end. What better way to combine these two things than to bake some wonderfully fruity desserts? I’m drawing a blank. If you are too, why not try some of the recipes below?

Clockwise from top left:
Baked apples with walnut raisin filling by Meghan Telpner
Fried apple pies on The Prepared Pantry
Vanilla pomegranate pot-de-creme from Sass & Veracity
Anise-scented fig and date swirls from Gourmet.com’s favorite cookies list
Clementine cake adapted from Nigella Lawson by Smitten Kitchen
Upside-down pear tartlets on Country Living
Honey rosemary ice cream recipe from Pastry Studio
Pumpkin cranberry oatmeal cookies on Sugarcrafter
Ginger and pink grapefruit cheesecake from Bon Appetit on Epicurious
Oven-baked apple cider donuts by Diana’s Desserts