Are your guests opting to skip the afternoon treats?

I have an assortment of cakes and cookies and pound cake left over from this past week. Is anyone else noticing that desserts are being skipped?
If guests are eating the desserts, what are you making?
Having leftover sweets is not good for me! But not offering anything bothers me. Even gorgeous, fresh-picked strawberries were uneaten!

I don't serve any... and sell my "cookies" as someone on here called them. But why don't you make biscotti. If they aren't eaten one day, they stay to the next and the next and the next. And they are great with tea or coffee for dunking, so you don't lose a tooth. Easiest part is you bake them twice. As a load, then you cut them and bake a second time. The harder the better.

Jon Sable said:

I don't serve any... and sell my "cookies" as someone on here called them. But why don't you make biscotti. If they aren't eaten one day, they stay to the next and the next and the next. And they are great with tea or coffee for dunking, so you don't lose a tooth. Easiest part is you bake them twice. As a load, then you cut them and bake a second time. The harder the better..

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I've thought about biscotti or scones. My grandson makes wicked good shortbread but he lives 3000 miles away. I have his recipe now so I might try that.
Something not sweet-sweet might do the trick.

We don't serve a special afternoon treat, but we have our signature cookies in a jar all the time, then red vines (I can't believe how many people eat them), a canister with purchased individually wrapped biscotti and individually wrapped biscotti-like thin biscuits and individually wrapped granola bars. My cookies are homemade but the others are purchased. The biscotti, biscuits and granola bars are mostly eaten early in the morning by those that haven't yet gotten on west coast time. They love that they can come and make a cup of coffee and get something to snack on in the early morning before my 9:00 or 9:30 breakfast is delivered.

Breakfast Diva said:

We don't serve a special afternoon treat, but we have our signature cookies in a jar all the time, then red vines (I can't believe how many people eat them), a canister with purchased individually wrapped biscotti and individually wrapped biscotti-like thin biscuits and individually wrapped granola bars. My cookies are homemade but the others are purchased. The biscotti, biscuits and granola bars are mostly eaten early in the morning by those that haven't yet gotten on west coast time. They love that they can come and make a cup of coffee and get something to snack on in the early morning before my 9:00 or 9:30 breakfast is delivered..

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I've always wanted to know about the cookies. Whenever I make cookies, other than sugar cookies, they just crumble up in the jar and make a mess. It's like I've lost my cookie mojo.
I need a good, solid cookie that will hold up. Like the biscotti I guess!

The last two nights, our guests have cleaned out the cookie jar! I put 2 approx 72 cookies (2 sheets of them, they're small but deadly) and they're gone by the time guests checked out. I had to make another emergency batch this afternoon. Sheesh, where do these people put all this food! I've also noticed that most of the people are eating every crumb on their breakfast tray. It's a 4 course breakfast and I'm guessing about 2000 calories!

I do not do treats in tyhe afternoon. I never know when mine will be arriving. Never did the aftrnoon cookies/cupcakes thing. I give a "care package" of muffins when they leave. So I guess I give them a reward for going away.

Madeleine said:

Jon Sable said:

I don't serve any... and sell my "cookies" as someone on here called them. But why don't you make biscotti. If they aren't eaten one day, they stay to the next and the next and the next. And they are great with tea or coffee for dunking, so you don't lose a tooth. Easiest part is you bake them twice. As a load, then you cut them and bake a second time. The harder the better..

Click to expand...

I've thought about biscotti or scones. My grandson makes wicked good shortbread but he lives 3000 miles away. I have his recipe now so I might try that.
Something not sweet-sweet might do the trick.
.

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Jewish Biscotti (Mandelbrot - Almond Bread)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mandelbrot-recipe.html
Italian Biscotti
http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/biscotti-recipes.html
and finally unobjectionable Biscotti (Vegan, Gluten Free, but still has nuts)
http://fitfoodiefinds.com/2013/12/easy-gluten-free-almond-biscotti/

About 3pm each day (start of check-in) I put out a platter of cookies or brownies or buttercream frosted cupcakes or homemade pretzels. I usually make one large pretzel or cupcake for each person and plan for 2 cookies each with a 1/2 dozen or so extra in case I get a cookie monster. Almost every day the cookies are entirely gone. I have seen people grab 4 each before others have even arrived and head to the deck so sometimes I do have to make an emergency batch. I do not put them in a cookie jar - I have a cake plate that they are on or a large serving platter that I lay them on. I hate broken or stuck together cookies so this keeps them looking perfect. I've had guests knock on the door at 10pm asking me for more cookies because they were all gone - I had seen this guy with an entire handful earlier for himself. Politely told him I wasn't going to start up the oven at that hour, I'd have more tomorrow. Guests write TA reviews about how great it was to have the treats. I often thought about the biscotti's and I'm gonna try that myself next week and see how it goes.

A cookie/treat plate is made up for each room. The plate goes in their own room so there is always enough for all. (you can't keep the kids out of the cookie jar!)

I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe for a spice biscotti and set them out with early coffee every morning. They keep for a month in a ziplock bag although they never lasted that long anyway. Not too sweet - they had currants in them. I can't post the recipe because CI is very fussy about online sharing, but I have it.

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches.

We did away with afternoon deserts in the common room years ago. DH was wearing most of it as a trophy!
We have at times tried putting a little sweet item in the room but 9/10 were left at check out. We are now putting 2 small indiv. serving wine bottles in each room. Jury is still out but more are being consumed here 7/10 (monitoring garbage), 1/10 take with, and the other 2/10 leave them. Only been doing it for a month so jury still out.
One made a comment - like the nice extra touch, I just don't drink XX wine, I prefer YY wine so glad I bought my own.

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches..

Click to expand...

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches.

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It requires a time commitment to be in the kitchen - 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but I didn't find the actual work involved to be that bad. And I don't consider myself a baker - not my favorite thing to do. I made a single batch of dough, formed three logs to bake for about 35 minutes, they cooled for 10, sliced while cooling, then back in the oven for 15 minutes. I used a wire rack to put them in the oven for the second baking so I wouldn't have to turn them. I made somewhat smaller and skinnier biscotti (like half what you get at Starbucks) but they were fine for a snack and not a meal replacement.
When I made them - usually no more than once a week, and more like once every two or three weeks, I would get them in the oven then do my other breakfast prep while they were cooking.

I'm going for scones. Cranberry-macadamia. We got a bucket load of macadamia nuts from a guest from HI!

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches..

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It takes me about an hour not including baking time but you can also freeze the whole loaves and then slice and bake as needed. Just to make the loaves takes less time than regular cookies.

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches..

Click to expand...

I make my own biscotti, but only for us. For the guests I put out individually wrapped Nonnie's chocolate dipped biscotti. These are very convenient to stand up in a cookie jar and they don't go stale before they are eaten. The biscotti are always available. In addition I put out baked goods in the afternoon if I have time to bake or have something I can pull out of the freezer. Brownies and macaroons are two favorites, although my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are really popular too.
I do find that the baked goods in the afternoon are more popular in the shoulder season. When guests are thinking about being in a bathing suite on the beach their willpower kicks in!

Silverspoon said:

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches..

Click to expand...

I make my own biscotti, but only for us. For the guests I put out individually wrapped Nonnie's chocolate dipped biscotti. These are very convenient to stand up in a cookie jar and they don't go stale before they are eaten. The biscotti are always available. In addition I put out baked goods in the afternoon if I have time to bake or have something I can pull out of the freezer. Brownies and macaroons are two favorites, although my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are really popular too.
I do find that the baked goods in the afternoon are more popular in the shoulder season. When guests are thinking about being in a bathing suite on the beach their willpower kicks in!
.

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I use the Nonnie's also. Good quality and individually wrapped.

Breakfast Diva said:

Silverspoon said:

Breakfast Diva said:

For those who make their own biscotti, isn't it pretty time consuming? I've made them a couple times and it took me hours to complete double batches..

Click to expand...

I make my own biscotti, but only for us. For the guests I put out individually wrapped Nonnie's chocolate dipped biscotti. These are very convenient to stand up in a cookie jar and they don't go stale before they are eaten. The biscotti are always available. In addition I put out baked goods in the afternoon if I have time to bake or have something I can pull out of the freezer. Brownies and macaroons are two favorites, although my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies are really popular too.
I do find that the baked goods in the afternoon are more popular in the shoulder season. When guests are thinking about being in a bathing suite on the beach their willpower kicks in!
.

Click to expand...

I use the Nonnie's also. Good quality and individually wrapped.
.

Click to expand...

Breakfast Diva said:

I use the Nonnie's also. Good quality and individually wrapped.

Click to expand...

Love Nonnie's!