More Christmas Cookies

Getting a little burnt out on the Christmas cookies... :)

From December 2010

It's that time of year - COOKIES!

I've started making cookies for the holiday season. Have you? Here's what I've got so far....

Of course, classic Chocolate Chip Cookies:

From November 2010

From November 2010

Some Spritz cookies, almond and chocolate:

From November 2010

From November 2010

From November 2010

And some classic Snickerdoodles...

From November 2010

From November 2010

More to come!

Busy Weekend

My first pumpkin pie:

From SUGAR: A Bakehouse

From SUGAR: A Bakehouse

Not perfect, but a solid, first attempt.


A loaf of whole wheat bread:

From SUGAR: A Bakehouse

From SUGAR: A Bakehouse

And some banana bread:

From November 2010

I used a recipe that I got from the King Arthur Flour's traveling baking demos that suggested adding coconut flakes...what a great idea!

Fougasse

After a ciabatta disaster over the weekend, I was determined to make a nice yeast bread.  I took a break from ciabatta, though, and decided to try fougasse.  I was really nervous since the giant, leafy pictures just look so incredible.  I was surprised how well it turned out and how easy it was!  Next time I think I'll add some spices for some extra flavor now that I've got the basic recipe under my belt.  Here are a couple of pictures...sorry, no pictures of the messed up ciabatta! 

I learned from Wikipedia that the leaf shapes are actually supposed to look like an "ear of wheat":

I can't really say mine is a perfect match, but you get the idea! 

The history of the bread (according to Wikipedia) says that fougasse was a provincial bread and there were different variations regionally in France.  Some versions included different savory ingredients (olives, anchovies) and were like pizza without sauce.  Eventually the recipe made its way over to Italy where fougasse evolved into focaccia.  Yum...focaccia may be the next bread recipe to try! 

Punkinhead

The crisp, autumn weather has made me slightly obsessed with baking with pumpkin.  And now that the shortage is over, I don't even feel guilty about picking up some pumpkin puree at the store.  The great thing about pumpkins is that not only do they taste good, but they're also good for you...low in calories, lots of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.  Anyway, I made some Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Squares from a recipe on Martha Stewart's website.  I'm not sure why I keep using her recipes lately, but the bars were delicious.  They didn't taste too pumpkin-y and were very chocolatey.  The pumpkin added lots of moisture to the bars, so they didn't taste dry like blondies sometimes seem to be.  Here are some pictures:

Not wanting to leave anyone out, I also made some pumpkin dog treats.  The recipe came from The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook by Jessica Disbrow Talley and Eric Talley.  This was the first time I've ever made dog treats, although I'm not sure it really counts since I didn't use any scary ingredients (okay, really I just mean liver).    Here they are:

Birthday Cupcakes!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful person in my world - my girlfriend.  To celebrate, I made some red velvet cupcakes:

The taste was really delicious.  The only problem was the red coloring.  I used a recipe on Martha Stewart's website.  Although I used gel-paste red food coloring rather than liquid, I definitely needed some more.  I've never made red velvet anything before, and I didn't want it to be too artificial looking, so I hesitated before adding more food coloring.  I should have trusted by instincts and added another tablespoon, but otherwise, the recipe was a success.  See the process below:

Great Cupcake Frosting Video

I found this great video today on four different techniques to frost a cupcake.  Very helpful!

Check it out if you're interested!  The instruction is by Xanthe Milton, author of Eat Me!: The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes According to Cookie Girl.

Farmhouse White Bread

After attending one of the King Arthur Flour Traveling Baking Demos on Thursday, I was inspired to start baking with some yeast!  I made the Farmhouse White Bread from the Good Housekeeping Great Baking cookbook.  The recipe took a long time to make because of all the rising time, but it was really good.  I love making homemade bread!  The pictures are a little dark, but you get the idea.  

If you have a chance to go to the King Arthur Flour Traveling Baking Demos, definitely check it out!  It was really fun and we left with lots of fun goodies, tips, and recipes!  

National Chocolate Cupcake Day

So last Monday, October 18, was National Chocolate Cupcake Day.  To celebrate, I made some chocolate cupcakes, of course!  Sadly, they were not my best work.  While they look delicious, the taste was kind of sad.  The cupcakes themselves were just kind of boring.  Like they came from a box or something.  Which was surprising since Sarah and I sampled the batter, and it was so yummy!  I read that cupcakes often come out dry because of their small size, so I'm on the hunt for a moist, yummy, chocolate cupcake recipe.  The frosting recipe came from King Arthur Flour's website.  The frosting was really good, but the combination was just too rich.  I'll keep this frosting recipe in mind for a lighter cake in the future.  Here are the pics!  

Do you like the cupcake liners?  They are Martha Stewart Crafts Halloween Blood Splatter Cupcake Wrappers by Martha Stewart Crafts.  They are very spooky and fun.

While these cupcakes aren't my favorite, I'm glad I got some practice in!  Sarah asked for some Red Velvet Cupakes for her birthday.  So I'll be whipping them up today. 

Happy Dessert Day!

Cardamom Buttermilk Cake with blackberry whipped cream...

Putting it all together:  


The cake is made with buttermilk, ground cardamom and ginger, orange juice (freshly squeezed), and some vanilla.  The texture is firm, but light tasting...sort of similar to pound cake.  The cake pan is lined with ground pecans mixed with sugar and some orange rind to give the cake a little crust.  

The filling is just some Cool Whip and blackberries gently folded together.     

It was the best way to celebrate National Dessert Day!

Gingerbread

I made some gingerbread over the weekend.  A big warm slice tasted great on a cool, fall night, topped of course, with my favorite whipped topping.  

I used an 8x8 pan since I didn't have a 9x9 sized one.  This seemed to work, but the pieces are very tall!  

Cinnamon & Yeast

My first attempt at cooking with active, dry yeast.   A loaf of cinnamon bread.  I can't believe it worked!  And it was so good!  The recipe said to tell if the loaf was done baking, to knock on the bottom of the pan...if there is a 'hollow sound' it should be done.  I had a hard time telling if what I was hearing was 'hollow'.  Especially since I had a hot loaf pan next to my face so I could listen closely...there must be a better way! 

 

Strawberry Shortcake

It seemed like the perfect compliment to our grilled veggie burgers last night.  I don't know if I've ever had real strawberry shortcake before.  Growing up, my mom would buy lady fingers or sponge cake dessert shells in the bakery at the grocery store, and we'd fill them with strawberries and top them off with Cool Whip.  The old-fashioned version was also a wonderful treat.  The recipe came from Cooking Light, and definitely one I'll add to the line up.  I like how the shortcake was sweet...I expected it to taste more like a biscuit and was pleasantly surprised.  Not the most beautiful presentation, but trust me, it was very good! 

I can make a decent whipped cream from scratch, but I prefer to use Cool Whip.  There is such a huge difference in terms of calories and fat, and personally, I prefer the taste of Cool Whip.  For me the only downside is appearance...cool whip just doesn't look as light and fluffy as the real thing. 

Sweet & Savory

This is the first cake I've made from scratch in a long time.  Friends
came to visit, including one with a birthday.  She likes white
cake with white frosting.  I'm pretty proud of what I came up with.
The icing was a fluffy light variety, but was kind of melty with the
cake.  Next time I'll try a more standard buttercream.  The flavor was
great...very light and airy. I'd like to try a fruit filling in
between layers...maybe peach?

 We also had some friends over Saturday night.  I baked a batch of vegetarian Samosas from a recipe I found in Cooking Light.  The took forever to make, but were sooooo yummy.  

Ginger Snap Remix

Just a quick recap of the ginger snaps.  The first batch (seen on the
left in picture below) was rolled in turbinado sugar.  The result was
a shiny, chewy ginger snap that was slightly lighter in color compared
to traditional ginger snaps.  The next batch (right) was rolled in
plain old granulated sugar and I baked them for an extra minute or so.
 Out came a more traditional molasses cookie.  Both batches were a hit
among friends.  I preferred the crispier, traditional variety, but a
lot of friends liked the softer, chewier rendition.

Marionberry Scones

My attempt to copy the Marionberry Scone from Great Harvest Bread Co.  

Great Harvest Scone:  

My Scones:  

The recipe comes from Food to Live By by Myra Goodman.  It is the first recipe I've made from the book & turned out pretty well.  I substituted blackberries for the raspberries in Myra's version.  We quickly gobbled some up for breakfast.  I'm stuffed now.  Great start to Saturday.  :) 

Oh Snap!

So that's why the recipe says 6 per pan...

Pumpkin Bread - Take 2

What a difference a cranberry makes. With the second batch, I ditched the walnuts on top and added about 1/3 cup of cranberries. I am a huge fan of walnuts, but for some reason, they just didn't work with this pumpkin bread recipe.  The cranberries added a great pop of flavor and sweetness.  As my girlfriend says, "it tastes like fall!".  I ran out of time & didn't get to ice the top...maybe I will tomorrow night.  


Tonight I also whipped up a half batch of ginger snap batter and put it in the fridge...cookies tomorrow!  Another fall favorite. 


Here is a picture of the un-iced, but sampled pumpkin bread:  

I know it looks a little squatty.  I think when I divided the batter, the first loaf may have been bigger.  Otherwise, it was delish.  Moist and full of flavor. 

Pumpkin Bread & My New Dowel

Since it's officially fall, I wanted to make a 'fall food'.  I've never made pumpkin bread before.  Actually, I've never even tried pumpkin bread before.  I like pumpkin pie, but I think that's probably the only food I've ever eaten with pumpkin in it.  So I manned up to the challenge and whipped up a batch.  


Obviously, pumpkin bread is a quick bread.  I found a recipe from Cooking Light for Spicy Pumpkin Bread.  It was a success (kind of).  

While there were no disasters, it was just kind of boring.  I was proud of myself because I included a vanilla glaze on top that was not included in the recipe.  Personally, I think the vanilla glaze was the best part.  The recipe made 2 loaves, but I only made one and froze the rest of the batter.  Today I plan to make the second loaf, but I'm going to add cranberries to make it a little sweeter, and I want to try to make a vanilla icing on top instead of just a glaze.  


I have been trying to avoid making too many cookies, since it is not really outside my comfort zone.  But I just got a new rolling pin, or dowel if you want to be fancy about it, so I had to try it out.  Here is the result:  

So cute, I know...  :)  
Stay tuned for my revised Spicy Cranberry Pumpkin Bread! 

A Chronicle of my Baking Adventures

I love to bake.  However, my repertoire is limited and safe.  Without being too Julie & Julia, I’m on a never ending quest to broaden my baking skills away from Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies (not that I don't loooove a chocolate chip cookie).  My basic objectives include: 

·         Using new ingredients

·         Trying new techniques

·         Learning from the masters

·         Sharing with my friends

I hope you enjoy! 

Here is a picture of some Oatmeal Cookies from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook.  They are my absolute favorite oatmeal cookie.  Instead of raisins, cranberries are used which adds a much more intense flavor.  The recipe is less sweet than the traditional oatmeal-raisin variety, allowing you to really appreciate the flavor of the cranberries, walnuts, and of course, chocolate.