Diggin' these Mocha Toffee Crescents...

Bumping up the totals a bit this week with 13 new recipes - narrowing down favorites was a little tough, but I suppose we would choose the Acorn Squash with Brown Rice and Turkey Sausage, Chunky Spiced Applesauce and the Grilled Apples with Cheese and Honey.

After I made the pie yesterday, we decided to hit up a local theater as this was the opening weekend for the 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas! We are big fans of this movie and since it is only around for 3 weeks, we decided to run out and see it. We both enjoyed it - I was hoping for a few more "in your face" 3D experiences, but nonetheless, we were not disappointed. The picture was stunning and it seemed to have much more depth than before - we recommend it, especially if you are fans of the original! You also get to keep the sturdy 3D glasses (individually wrapped even!)... because, you never know when your going to run across another 3D movie or something - right? *shrugs*

You could also be somewhat cruel and decide that your pup would like to strut around the neighborhood with them on!

I guess we should jump back into the food as that's why you are probably here! Since I try not to waste leftover ingredients (it doesn't always work out this well!), I had just enough of that silken tofu we used in the tomato bisque leftover to make a couple filling Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothies for us this afternoon. I kept the leftover tofu covered with filtered water in the refrigerator - I think it stays well for at least a couple days (probably longer?) as long as you change the water.

To give some body to the smoothie, the bananas are first sliced and frozen - this works well in most drinks using fruit so you don't end up watering down the flavor with ice cubes. I only left them in the freezer for about 45 minutes and they were fairly solid by then. The leftover silken tofu, some soymilk, cocoa powder and a few squirts of honey are first whizzed together until completely combined. The frozen bananas are then dropped in and you let 'er rip until the mixture is smooth. Seriously, banana, chocolate and honey - what's not to like?

Since Jeff is intent on us making the entire index of that Holiday cookie magazine, I asked him which recipe he would like us to make just for us. After looking at it for what seemed like an hour, he finally settled on these Mocha Toffee Crescents.

While these cookies are quite uncomplicated, they have that sophisticated melt-in-your-mouth buttery quality to them with a slight hint of coffee lingering around after each bite. The dough for the cookie is studded with crunchy toffee bits - I thought the bits may be a little obtrusive to the smooth cookie, but they melted into the cookies and left a caramel-esque bite that played well with espresso powder. The dough was a little soft and a touch tacky, but I could easily roll and shape them without them falling apart. You want to bake these until they are firm and set, but be sure to remove them before they take on any color to keep them from drying out. Since the cookies look a little plain on their own, just the ends are dipped in melted bittersweet chocolate for an extra special touch - you could also gently toss them in confectioners' sugar to sweeten up their appearance.

Recipes
Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothie
Mocha Toffee Crescents