April always seems to be a busy month. Back in college it was well known on campus that April was the month everyone was crazy busy. This year April seems to be particularly busy. Between my daughter’s Spring Break, having two sets of house guests, planning for a little vacation, my home improvement project, and keeping up with day-to-day tasks, I’m maxed out! Luckily it’s all fun stuff, so I’m not too stressed out about it.
Unfortunately the thing that seems to get put on the back burner when I’m really busy is my blogging. I don’t get much time to write, and I also can’t seem to find time to read and comment on others’ blogs. I feel bad that I’m not able to reciprocate when I get such nice comments!
I am still keeping up with my French Fridays with Dorie cooking and this week we made tasty little cakes called Financiers.
Financiers only contain six ingredients: butter (which is browned), sugar, almond flour, egg whites, and all-purpose flour. The result is very flavorful, moist, dense, little cakes. I swear I can taste vanilla in these!
I really liked these cakes and couldn’t stop eating them. My daughter liked them too. Good thing I froze half of them for future enjoyment!
Last week we made some interesting little cookies called Pierre Hermé’s Olive Sablés.
I’m actually not sure if I liked these or not. I liked the texture of the cookies, but they were sweeter than I expected and the olive flavor wasn’t very prominent. My husband didn’t even detect the olives (I didn’t tell him what they were until after he tasted the cookies).
I think it comes down to a problem of atmosphere. If I were nibbling these little cookies with a nice glass of wine at a cocktail party I’m sure they would have been wonderful! But trying these on a wine-free weeknight just didn’t quite cut it. I think I need to host a “French Fridays with Dorie”-themed cocktail party so I can serve and enjoy all the little nibbles we’ve made the proper way.
From Scratch 
Both of your desserts look perfectly tasty 🙂 We really enjoyed both the financiers and the sables.
Yes, April IS a crazy month. Forget the ides of March, they should call it the ides of April…
April is such a busy month for us too! We have a bunch of birthdays to celebrate. Both of your desserts look wonderfully delicious! I loved both of these treats! Have a great weekend, Karen!
Looks like a good week for Dorie recipes in your kitchen!! They both look just delicious and would be perfect served at a FFWD themed cocktail party!
I had to look three times to make sure there was no vanilla in these! lol. I’m glad there isn’t because I found the subtle almond/nutty flavor to be very enjoyable and was happy not to be hit over the head with an extract taste. A definite ‘do again’ if you ask me!
I enjoyed both of these, though I agree that the olive sables were hard to characterize with their sweet and savory mix of flavors. I think you should definitely have a FFWD cocktail party. So many great choices for the menu. I’ll come!
Yes, I think you have to set the scene for the olive sablés. But yours look very tasty. And, I agree with your daughter, the financiers were delicious. I’ve found whatever time I have right now, it gets filled up pretty quicky. You’re right.
Your financiers are beautiful, Karen, and they rose perfectly. Such a lovely presentation.
Karen your olive sables and financiers both look perfect. I wasn’t sure about the olive sables but everyone I served the to loved them!
I think a French Fridays themed cocktail party would be very much in order and the olive sables do benefit from a nice glass of wine. I’ve finally made the financiers and am now catching up on everyone’s posts. We really enjoyed these, too.