Chocolate tartufini are the first recipe developed for MANI: they’re a really fun group of young people from Rome who devote themselves body and soul to children’s entertainment, traveling to every library in the capital to entertain kids with a perfect blend of culture and play! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be collaborating with them to teach children the importance of good nutrition through recipes inspired by the seasons and, above all, by the colors of life.

Thank goodness there are Cookies for dunking! Breakfast is pretty much my favorite time of day—if only I could have my tea all ready to go and eat breakfast while still in bed… They soak it up like nobody’s business—not even Banderas’s people! Without further ado, here are the

These** vegan oatmeal-chocolate cookies**, continuing with the vegan theme, are a reimagining of the** oatmeal-chocolate cookies (LINK).** Just like with the non-vegan recipe, I recommend using Quaker oats! This time, we’re using dark chocolate, which should be chopped into pieces that aren’t too small. Let’s get started!

Apple Pie, made even more famous by the hilarious movie American Pie and by Mickey Mouse with Grandma Duck’s pie. It’s a delicious American-style apple pie: beautiful to look at, delicious to eat—what more could you want? :)

Today we’re making** quinoa and orange cookies**—let’s get a taste of vegan desserts. Personally, I’ve never had the pleasure of eating many of them, but I hear so much about them—why not give them a try? As they say: you have to try everything in life, especially my recipe for quinoa cookies! Quinoa, for those who don’t know, is gluten-free (but be careful—these cookies are not if you use 00 flour!) and has many health benefits; in fact, it’s very high in protein , carbohydrates, and dietary fiber. If you’d like to learn more, I recommend this link (LINK). The following ingredients are for about 20 cookies using my disc-shaped cookie cutter!

As promised, here’s the recipe for** baked chiacchiere**. I’m writing this for everyone who, like me, hates deep-frying but can’t resist the temptation of chiacchiere during Carnival season!! The ingredients are enough for 6–8 people who aren’t too big of a sweet tooth! (That last part is very important: if it’s anything like at my house, they’re just enough for 2 people… :D )

Chiacchiere, bugie, cenci, frappe, crostoli—or whatever you call them in your area—have a very long history, which I’ll share with you here. I found it on an interesting Facebook page (LINK), from which I’m also borrowing the image that very clearly illustrates how widespread the name is in Italy! "Chiacchiere trace their origins to frictilia, fried pastries that women used to make in honor of the deities who protected fertility, specifically during Carnival. These pastries come in numerous recipe variations and perhaps even more so in their names, which frequently vary from province to province, reflecting the vast linguistic and dialectal diversity found in Italy, as well as its history." Cute, isn’t it? Did you know that? Let me know in the comments what you call these treats! This time, the recipe is from my dad: I spent an afternoon with him learning the art of making chiacchiere :). The ingredients are for six people, and it takes about an hour to make them!

Hi, everyone! How was your weekend? Did you have fun? Did you make the most of your free time? On Saturday, I had a lovely evening with friends, and on Sunday, I spent time with my parents! I hope you all had a great day today. Last week, I made this cake because… um, I hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet and I had these ingredients at home… WHAT A SURPRISE! It’s almost—ALMOST—become my favorite breakfast cake! The apple-oat cake is one of those desserts that feels incredibly light on the palate—you could easily eat half of it for breakfast (um, don’t do that!) and even take it to work for an afternoon snack. TRY IT—you won’t regret it!

With these apple-heart cookies, we’ve reached the end of this first month of 2017—it flew by for me; how about you? Today is one of the “Three Days of the Blackbird,” so why not bake some cookies and stay nice and warm with the oven on at home? :D For those who don’t know, these are the coldest days of the year! Brrrr! Cuor di Mela cookies are very sweet shortbread cookies that are perfect for breakfast and snacks. They’re very famous because they’re sold by Mulino Bianco, but above all because they’re DELICIOUS! I’d like to share my recipe with you, in case you want to try making them at home and/or can’t find them at the supermarket. The ingredients are enough for about 40 cookies!

Here’s one of the easiest recipes from my latest “obsession”: piadinas made with leftover sourdough starter! Ever since I was given sourdough starter, I’ve been doing nothing but studying and finding recipes—you learn so much! Sure, it takes a little getting used to at first—figuring out when to refresh it, how much to use, and what temperatures and humidity levels are needed—but if I managed to keep it alive for three months, I’m sure you can do it too!