Mom throws a "Christmas Cookie Party" during December every couple of years and I'm always invited. I tend to use the cookie party to try out the most unique/beautiful/hard recipe I can find. Why? I have no idea, considering all attendees have to make (by hand) 6 dozen of these suckers!

One year I decided I was going to try and make my favorite cookie at the Viktor-Benes Bakery at our local Gelson's, a Chantilly.

I got the cookie part ok...its basically a Florentine, but you have to roll them and then fill them with a mixture of creme fraise, sugar, vanilla, etc. That, my dears is where it all went wrong.

The creme fraise - no matter how long I whipped, no matter what cuss words I thrust at it, no matter what I did, REFUSED to thicken. So I could not fill my tubes of Florentine. I had about 3 dozen of these flat and 3 dozen rolled....I needed them ALL flat for dipping (in melted chocolate) to correctly save face and look like I had INTENDED Florentines...but 1/2 of them were rolled!

I ended up pretending I "felt" like rolling 1/2 of my batches just to try a new look for my Florentines....they bought it, but I was so mad at that stupid creme fraise!!!!