I took a little unplanned break from baking new things the past few months. You'll also notice I didn't really post anything all of November. I was on a bunch of trips on the weekends and some personal stuff came up where I wasn't really in the mood. I tried to get myself back into it but most weekends I was home I didn't bake. Then towards the end of November I started back up again for various holiday gatherings.
Sugar Cookies
I made these cookies for a collaboration post with Ocean State Job Lot that I posted in November. They're super easy to make, I just need to work on my frosting skills, ha ha. This time the border icing was a little thick so I wasn't able to get super smooth lines. But the flood icing was perfect!
Muffaletta Roll Ups
Christian loves Muffuletta sandwiches so when I saw this recipe pop up on Budget Bytes I knew we had to make it! We also love stromboli so this seemed like a perfect match. The only problem I had with it was I didn't love the flavor of the Muffaletta Salad we bought. Next time I'll try to make my own like the recipe says (we wanted it to be a quicker meal and the pre-made was on sale, ha ha!)
Sweet Potato Bread with Meringue Frosting
I made sweet potato muffins with leftover mashed sweet potatoes a couple years ago so when this recipe popped up on Jenna's Instagram I knew I would enjoy it. It was a fun Thanksgiving dessert! I don't have a kitchen torch so I improvised on the toasted meringue topping with a heavy duty lighter, hah! Then when I got to my Mom's I remembered she had one so I touched up a bit. The slideshow below also includes photos of the other 2 Thanksgiving bakes I did.
Jamaican Toto Cake
For Thanksgiving #2 with my Dad's side of the family we went with a Jamaican theme for our meal instead of traditional. Fun fact: my Dad's side of the family has some Jamaican heritage (among many other nationalities, ha ha) I googled Jamaican desserts and this one sounded fun and easy. It was tasty but the family thought it could use some sort of icing.
Honey & Olive Oil Rosemary Cornbread
I don't usually make recipes that are only posted on Instagram, but this one was too pretty to resist when it came up on my suggested Reels. I made this for Thanksgiving #2 (even though it didn't really go with the Jamaican theme) because one of my aunt's is lactose intolerant and this is diary free because it uses almond milk! It could also be gluten free but I used regular flour. They were a little cakier than I like for a cornbread but super tasty!
Almond Snowflake Cake
I got this shortbread and cake pan from the King Arthur Baking store on my birthday weekend and I wasn't exactly sure what to make in it first. I decided to just google snowflake cake and see what google popped out. I found this recipe for an almond cake and then decided to search America's Test Kitchen for an almond cake recipe to see if they were similar, since I had never heard of the blog before. I was originally going to go with the Test Kitchen recipe because it used less butter but when I actually went to bake it I didn't have enough almond flour so I went back to the original recipe I found. I also only had enough butter out for the original recipe so I had to do 2/3 of the recipe. What a struggle! (AND I used almond milk instead of regular since I had a ton leftover from the cornbread)
Unfortunately it didn't want to come out of the pan nicely even though I vigorously sprayed it. I guess next time I'll flour it too even though the recipe said just spray. But the flavor was great! Just not the best fit for the pan. Most of it came out clean but it wasn't the right texture for all the intricate details to be fully visible. I think I need something denser. Guess I'll try shortbread next since that's it's main purpose!
Chocolate Pecan Pie
I've had this pie recipe saved for a few years and finally got around to making it over Labor Day weekend. Christian helped me make it because he wants to perfect making pie crust. It was delicious and everyone who had a piece said it was good! They might have been being nice, but I believe them, ha ha! There's not much chocolate in it but you can definitely taste it! Sadly you need an America's Test Kitchen account for the recipe. I had downloaded it when I did a free trial in 2020. Might be time to get it again to refresh my recipes!
Coffee Cake
We barely needed sour cream for the pie crust recipe above but I didn't want to go off recipe so we bought it and I planned to make this coffee cake with the rest! I made it on a slow Monday morning (they're usually slow for me with the end of the week being busier) and had a piece for lunch, so good! I had to freeze half of it because I was leaving for a business trip in a few days so I got to enjoy the rest when I was home!
Hostess Sheet Cake as Birthday Cake
I made this back in June and Christian loved it so much he wanted it for his birthday cake. I made it into an 8x8 square so it would be more cake-like. This did present a bit of a problem because the cake was thicker and heavier so the filling oozed out a bit. I saved it by putting it back into the cake pan, so it's not the most photogenic cake, but was still delicious! As with last time I combined two recipes My Messy Kitchenn for the cake batter and Bakerella for the rest! (my phone was not cooperating so the colors are way off in this picture)
Giant Pretzel Bread
One weekend when I was over at my parents house my mom & I decided to make her giant pretzel bread. This is always a hit when she makes it, so fluffy with a healthy amount of salt (obviously you can put less on if you don't like salty pretzels.) I don't know where she got the recipe so typed it out if anyone wants to make it. It's super simple.
- 4 - 4½ cups flour
- 1 pkg. yeast
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
- 1 egg, beaten with 2 tsp. water
- Coarse salt
- In a large bowl, mix 1 ½ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
- Heat milk, water and oil to 120-125° and add to dry ingredients.
- Beat 2 minutes on low, then increase to high and beat 2 minutes more.
- Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough.
- Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic (5 minutes).
- Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size (40-50 min).
- Punch dough down.
- Roll dough to 1" diameter rope (5 ½' long)
- Shape into a pretzel on greased baking sheet.
- Cover and let rest 15 minutes.
- Brush with beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake 375° for 25-30 minutes.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
I wasn't going to include these but thought it was funny! I went to a marketing convention at the end of last month and one of the exhibitors was giving out cookie mixes. Of course I had to grab one to see how they were. I ended up with shortbread cookies and chocolate chip because my client gave me his bag. I made the shortbread first with my mom & we used salted butter because I always do. Big mistake. They were SO SALTY. I couldn't even eat them after making a lemon glaze. When I made the chocolate chip cookies I decided to use my homemade butter that I left unsalted. Even that was not enough. If I took a bite of a cookie without a chocolate chip it was pure salt. GROSS! Note to self: don't trust pre-made mixes anymore. At least I have an amusing story to tell.
Birthday Cake
Saving the best for last. My birthday was last Friday and Christian insisted on making me a cake because I always make something for him. So cute! He used Butternut Bakery's funfetti cake recipe and it came out great! (he used unsalted butter and the frosting tasted a little funky to me becasue I don't like unsalted butter, haha! Funny how I don't like the butter you're supposed to use) We ate a couple slices and then froze the rest so we could enjoy it slowly.
It's been a while (exactly 2 months) since my last baking roundup! With our vacation to Florida at the beginning of July and a lot of weekend plans I haven't had much time to bake on the weekends. We have a wide variety of bakes this time, which is always fun to see! Of course I baked some of my old standbys, like the focaccia, but there are also a few new recipes here. One of which Christian has declared one of his favorite bakes ever...
Lemon Blueberry Loaf
The first time I made this I used small wild blueberries and they made it too dense. This time I used regular sized blueberries and it worked much better. Which is a shame because I actually don't like large blueberries, haha! So I may have to figure out a solution to use wild ones, probably half the amount.
Whipped Cream Dream Cake
This recipe popped up on King Arthur's Instagram and since I had some leftover cream from another recipe it was perfect timing! It was super easy to make, although I accidentally set the oven to 350 instead of 375 - oh no! I baked it a bit longer until it bounced back and a toothpick came out clean so no harm done. But I definitely panicked for a minute. The topping was a fun added touch to the super fluffy cake. Will definitely be making this again any time I have extra heavy cream.
Pillsbury Boxed Brownies - Upgraded
Sometimes you just want a quick and easy dessert. I always grab some boxed brownie mix if its on good sale for those nights when I want dessert but don't feel like actually baking. In this instance I did make a few modifications. I added chocolate chips and made a quick frosting (recipe from Butternut Bakery's Lunch Lady Brownies.) It only took a few extra minutes and made the boxed brownies feel even more homemade!
Rosemary Focaccia
I looooove focaccia and whenever we have little tomatoes ready to harvest from the garden I like to make a rosemary focaccia and sprinkle them on top as well. I can't remember if I had used this recipe before because I usually want a quick focaccia and this recipe has a longer rise. It can rest in the fridge until I am ready to bake. I made the dough on Sunday and baked it up on Tuesday for the rest of our weekly lunches! Since extra virgin olive oil is one of the main ingredients in focaccia, I figured it was the perfect time to use our super fancy California Olive Ranch Reserve Collection: Arbequina olive oil.
Lemon Love Notes
I wanted to make something light for a last minute barbecue my mom had. I looked in one of my few actual cookbooks - Bar Cookies A to Z - and found these lemon love notes bars. We had a lemon I wanted to use up as well as sweetened coconut flakes so it was perfect! I halved the recipe and made it in my Le Creuset Heritage Rectangle dish instead of a 9x13in pan.
Homemade Fudge Rounds
The second Christian saw photos of these cookies pop up on my feed he said I had to make them. They were also part of Handle the Heat's August Baking Challenge so I entered a giveaway when making them! You can still enter for a few more days just by baking them and submitting a photo on her site (linked above!) They were super easy to make and Christian declared them a top 5 dessert. High praise!
More baking fun! We've got a bit of a circle theme going on for this roundup. The only non-round item is based on something that is usually round, so I think that counts, ha ha!
Hostess Cupcake Sheet Cake
A suggested Instagram reel got me to make this treat. I used this recipe for the cake batter (didn't have buttermilk) but followed the rest of the recipe from Bakerella because I think a ganache is more proper than a buttercream to get the right textures and it used far less butter (which is getting quite expensive so I don't have as much in my freezer as usual, haha!) The second recipe also made the assembly easier by baking in a sheet pan and cutting in half that way versus having to horizontally cut a cake from a 9x13in pan. Mine baked a little uneven so I ended up with 2 slightly smaller rectangles and then a small square, ha ha.
Martin's Bagels - King Arthur Baking
I have made bagels a few times already, always using the same King Arthur Baking recipe from a series they did during the pandemic. Recently Christian and I were scrolling YouTube and came across a video for Martin's Bagels. Another KAB recipe! They looked very simple (and delish) so I decided to give them a go! I even got a little more experimental with toppings and made one with cheese for Christian! They came out great! Nice and brown, cripsy exterior and fluffy interior. YUM! Definitely found my new bagel recipe.
Conchas
I have been wanting to remake these for a family gathering since Christian and I were the only ones who got to enjoy the conchas when I first baked them last October. I was going to make them for Easter but then we decided to drive to Missouri that weekend instead, so Mother's Day seemed like the perfect opportunity! I decided to make the topping in a bright pink and light purple and they came out great! I made them half the size of the original recipe so people could easily grab and eat one without it being a huge portion.
Hamburger Buns
We planned to have veggie burgers one week last month and over the weekend I decided I didn't want to go to the grocery store becasue we had basically everything we needed for the week, except burger buns. Sooo....I decided to finally try my hand at making my own. I trusted Tessa of Handle the Heat's track record with other recipes and chose hers over King Arthur Baking. They were so easy and came out great! I should have put more sesame seeds on them, but didn't want to waste too many if they came out wrong, ha ha!
Deep Dish Cookie Bowls for Two
On National Chocolate Chip Day I wanted to make something quick and easy and remembered I had this recipe saved! It was super easy, melt butter, mix ingredients, put into ramekins and bake! Definitely a nice, quick dessert that I'll make again.
Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes
We loved Butternut Bakery's Chocolate Mousse Cake so when she posted a cupcake version I knew I had to try them! The cupcake part is flourless and more like a brownie so they are super rich and tasty! They're much easier to make than the cake too, so if you want a quick but still impressive dessert to whip up, this one is for you!
Lunch Lady Brownies
Christian requested brownies a few weekends ago so I decided to make Jenna's version of Lunch Lady Brownies. I looove fudgy brownies and these have frosting and sprinkles too, what's not to love? They're super quick and easy to make. He said they're his new favorite. I still think extra fudgy brownies slightly edge these out, but I love the frosting and sprinkles for added yummy-ness!
Scones 2 Ways
Handle the Heat's March baking challenge was Scones so I made a batch and split the dough in two to make lemon poppyseed and chocolate chip scones! I'm still not perfect at cutting the butter into the flour, it always seems to melt out of the scones. But they were still tasty!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
One weekend I wanted to bake cookies but didn't have any butter thawed from the freezer so I searched brown butter recipes and saw these bars. I love a good chocolate chip cookie but bars are so much easier. Overall it took about 45 minutes to make, that includes the 30 minutes to bake!
Braided Stromboli
I was making stromboli for dinner and decided to try out a new recipe. I searched King Arthur Baking for a recipe and found this braided version. Instead of their filling I did pepperoni and caramelized onions. I had way too much pepperoni for what they called for so now I can still make MORE stromboli with it, haha! I split it in half rather than making one large one so I could put more cheese in Christian's. The dough was very easy to work with and came out so tasty. The texture of the bread was perfectly fluffy.
Molten Peanut Butter Fudge Cake
While visiting Christian's family we had a birthday get together for his older brother and I wanted to bake something special to celebrate. He likes dark chocolate and peanut butter so this peanut butter fudge cake sounded perfect! Unfortunately I made a mistake and decided to reheat it the day of the party (I made it Friday, we drove up to Missouri on Saturday and had the "party" on Sunday) so it would be molten again, and it made the cake a little greasy. So it is definitely NOT a looker. Lesson learned.
Pizza
I had to make something round for Pi Day so pizza it was! I've been trying to find a substitute for the amazing pesto we get at the local farmers market but this one also failed the test. I used the recipe from our King Arthur Baking School class.
