Teacher Appreciation Week!

Our school takes Teacher Appreciation Week very seriously.  Each day of the week is planned out on what the kids are expected to do to show their teacher's and the staff how much they are appreciated.  This past week was no different than any other year (we have been a Westwood Charter Family since 2003).

Although we partake in all the obligatory, daily givings, I still have to do my part and bake something special. I think it is now expected that I walk through those doors, early Monday morning with a plethora of multi colored boxes,  filled with treats for not only my kids specific teachers, but the office staff, the P.E. coaches, the art teacher, etc.  

Baking is my thing and I do it well, so why not share the love, wrapped in a tiny little box, tied with ribbon.

This year I made Walnut and lemon tea cakes from Carole Bloom's Bite Size Desserts.  I also made, from the same book, Toasted Pecan Shortbread Bites.  The third (cuz I always like things in 3's!) was a "Fantastic Fudgewiche" from The All American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett.  

The tea cakes were AMAZING.  However, the recipe called for lemon extract which I was out of.  So instead, I used orange extract and grated some orange zest into the batter.  This is going to be a basic batter for me and I will concoct a variety of combos for this tiny little bite of heaven.  The recipe called for a dusting of powdered sugar.  I decided to make a simple glaze instead.  I took 1 cup of powdered sugar and added 2-3 tablespoons of fresh squeeze orange juice (squeezed the orange that I had previously zested) and drizzled it over the little cakes.  They were a winner!

The Toasted Pecan Shortbread Bite were equally good. So far, this book, has not let me down.  I happen to love shortbread.  This was the perfect combo of butter and toasted pecans.  These will be a staple in my freezer.  I like to bake and have some stored for a rainy day.  These will be part of that secret stash!

The Fabulous Fudgewiches were okay.  This was the first recipe I had tested from this book.  The book is beautiful and the photos are inspiring.  Everyone liked this cookie except for me.  I liked the cookie part.  The dough was really easy to work with, yet I did not like the fudge filling at all.  I have some extra dough in the freezer and I am going to experiment with some other fillings.  Maybe a mocha filling or I do an amazingly delicious white chocolate ganache.  That could be the ticket.  Will keep you posted.

All in all it was a good week.  I do love all our teachers and they all deserve to keep their jobs.  Lord knows, I couldn't do what they do.  We all have to give them more credit for what they do, day in and day out.