Now that my free time is limited, being an accountant who is studying for the CPA and all, I blow my hard-earned paychecks towards purchasing artisanal and unique tummy-pleasing gifts for my family and friends.

If I were to pick out a box of cookies, I don’t find an arrangement of identical cookies particularly stimulating (macarons are the sole exception). I need a chaotic assortment of cookies to achieve a box full of order. That’s where Kukees come in this holiday season!

great texture, suprising it's baked so evenly!

Imagine a full-size sheet pan, lined with parchment paper and adorned with scoops of sticky cookie dough ready to pop into the oven. That’s what baked Kukees resemble – 3 oz. mounds of individually handmade cookies, perfectly unique from one another and baked evenly all the way through.  They’re made without preservatives (so eat/freeze ‘em fast), without hydrogenated oils (yum), and with three grams of fiber (why the hell not!?)

who wouldn't want that delivered to their office? (borrowed from www.kukees.com)

Oh, and the packaging is darling! Shipped in pink cardboard is a shoe box-esque, glossy pink and chocolate brown package with two pull-out drawers. Each level unveils imperfectly-shaped kukees, with scrumptious dimples and crevices and crumbs. Disclaimer — Kukees graciously shipped me a box to my office to sample. Since I wanted to taste each one within the recommended consumption period (five days for ultimate freshness), my coworkers and I split them up; one gal even purchased one and shipped it to a manager at another office.

where storing cookies in drawers is an acceptable practice

Anyway, there are three fairly simple ways to enter the spooky Kukee Halloween giveaway. Three lucky kukee monsters will be shipped a three pound box of cookies ($50 value!) To enter, you must:

(1) Follow @kukeescookies and tweet the following:

“@foodismynish No tricks, just treats — I want to win a box of @kukeescookies for Halloween http://52desserts.com/2011/10/31/kukees-gourmet-cookie-giveaway/ ”

Remember to comment that you’ve tweeted with your username so I can cross-check (accountants know how to tick and tie.)

AND/OR

(2) Check out the flavors on www.kukees.com and comment here with the flavor that you’re dying to try!

AND/OR

(3) Invent your own flavor! What do you want to see Kukees bake up next? Comment here with your kukee-vention!

BONUS ENTRY! because you’re paying attention…

(4)Since it’s Halloween, I’ll throw in a fourth way to enter — sign up for the Kukee’s mailing list via their website (www.kukees.com) and comment here if you’ve done so! You’ll be signed up for “sweet offers,” their word, not mine. 

Remember to include your email address/Twitter handle for your entries to be valid! You have until Monday, November 7th at 5PM PST to enter.

The more entries, the higher chances you’ll win a box! I’m using www.random.org to randomly select three winners. Winners will be announced and contacted on the 4th at 9PM.

Thanks to the folks at Kukees for sponsoring the giveaway and Happy Halloween!

There’s nothing outlandish about pot de crème, its merits lie in the simplicity of the dessert. A handful of restaurants around Los Angeles boast the top pots:

There’s Fig + Olive Melrose Place’s signature chocolate pot de crème. Executive Pastry Chef Andrew LeStourgeon serves it with prailine financiers, vanilla cream, and the zest of an orange ($9).

One of my favorite dessert haunts, AOC Wine Bar currently has a butterscotch pot de creme with salted cashew cookies and fleur de sel ($10).  AOC’s commitment to seasonal ingredients is proven by their ever-changing dessert menu. Needless to say, when summer stone fruits are in season, there’s a peach cobbler on the menu.  

I’m going to head to Bouchon in Beverly Hills next week (down the street from my client’s office, score!) to try their pot de creme with infused custard ($9).

Gjelina’s butterscotch pot de crème with salted caramel (always a winner) and creme fraîche ($8) sounds delightful after some pizza action.

At BREADBAR, for the ”Ramen Bull” series, Chef Noriyuki Sugie just added a toasted coconut and miso pot de crème. I rescind my “nothing outlandish” about pot de crème comment from up above!

What’d I like to spoon next, other than my darling @browndondraper? Maybe a Turkish coffee or a pot de crème à la menthe fraîche. Happy National Pot de Crème Day!

I’m thrilled I work only a few blocks away from Bottega Louie in DTLA and if you’ve been following my tweets, you’ll notice I’m big on brunching. Just a week ago, a coworker and I decided to get our brunch on, since we were in the office on a Sunday. Mentally taxed, we spent over an hour and a half indulging in the Louie salad, caprese, and a 50% bianco, 50% clam pizza. We were stuffed, but the dessert menu looked too darn good to put aside.

After asking for a recommendation from our server, we settled on the butterscotch budino. What is budino? Plain and simple, budino is just Italian for pudding. I’m going to be bourgeois and keep calling it budino, because “pudding” brings back memories of peeling back foil lids and flimsy plastic cups.

As I was saying, balance is tops in my book! This budino captures that ideal perfectly–it’s a dessert is that it isn’t too sweet, you know…for being butterscotch pudding topped with caramel sauce and a dab of creme fraiche.  If you look real close at the picture above, you’ll notice the essential, chunky granules of sea salt. Not only did the sea salt add another level of flavor, but it provided a slight crunch to the smooth budino. If I were to make this in my own kitchen, I’d serve it with a rosemary or lavender shortbread.

Thanks to Bottega Louie, I didn’t get much work done that Sunday, but I left on a sweet note and with a new appreciation for puddin’. I’ll be hitting up Osteria Mozza next. Word on sweet street is that it’s the best butterscotch budino in Los Angeles!