6 Months in Limbo

I have no other explanation.

So, how about 6 months in one post?! Pics and brief thoughts, here we go:

I have no idea when I made this or what the recipe was. But it looks pretty, doesn't it?

APRIL

Fairy Bites. I thought they were perfect for Easter. Along with the Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies (I think they qualify as Whoopie Pies) below. Both were truly delicious.

Ordered this, but have yet to make anything out of it. I also have intentions to order just about every sprinkle she has in her etsy sprinkle store.

Chocolate Strawberry Oasis Pie. Another super delicious thing.

MAY

mr just wanted a simple chocolate cake for his birthday, so I made smitten kitchen's 'i want chocolate cake' cake. Yes, simple. Yes, delicious.

Think what you like, I'm not apologizing for that word up there. Cancer took my friend Mike, who gave me the recipe for this Texas Buttermilk Pecan Pie. I made this as a cheer-me-up in his last days.

JUNE (I have no idea what I did)

JULY

This amazing Tomato Pie. What an unexpected delight. I halved the amount of mayo and cheese and it was still creamy and unbelievably delicious. Tastes like summer.

I'm >this< close to perfecting my Rhubarb Pie recipe. I have succeeded with fresh rhubarb, now I have some experimenting to do with frozen to see if I can get acceptable results. More to come...

I made myself the most amazing birthday cake. This Blackberry Chocolate Cake that I've ogled for ages but was afraid of because it was a food styling challenge, so I didn't know if it would turn out well. IT DID. Seriously.

AUGUST

Sangria Cupcakes for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'm not big on baked fruits (other than cherries), so I was completely surprised and pleased with how yummy these turned out. Fresh tasting and perfect.

Seconda turned 13. This turned out to be WAY too much cake for a gaggle of teenage girls.

*phew* August is a big birthday month. My best boyfriend turned 40 and he's a manly man, so I made him this super dark, masculine cake. Cake portion of this Midnight Sin Chocolate Cake, topped with my own Coffee Buttercream. Just about the richest thing I've ever baked.

SEPTEMBER

I'm acting in a play right now about a woman who bakes to battle her "nerve-riddled insomnia" (she's managing the care of her mother, who is dealing with Alzheimer's). She recites the recipe for a Coconut Cake in the play and I decided I should try to make it. A few altitude alterations, plus a frosting recipe I threw together and it turned out delicious. Also super rich, but worth it. Here's a picture of the recipe, printed in the program (note, "unsalted butt" is a typo, in case you couldn't guess):

The cake recipe comes from the mum of this sweet (and super smart and talented) guy:

It's Autumn now. Pie season. Time for squash-y, nutty, cinnamon-y things. I've got one million irons in the fire, but still plan to bake when time permits. Otherwise I'll literally drive myself crazy. 

Next up: Sweet Potato Speculoos Pie. I just can't find anything wrong with that idea.

Buttery Pecan Pumpkin Spice Cookies (Averie Cooks)

I've been baking oversized cookies for...oh, probably a year or so now, and I don't think I can ever go back. With normal sized cookies you can't really ever achieve that nice, crispy outside with a slightly doughy inside. You also have to eat 3...or maybe 4...or 5. Oversized? All you need is 1.

These cookies are lovely. They're not like Pecan Sandies in that sort of explode into dust in your mouth way. They're more hearty than that. They have more texture. If they were a wine, I'd say they also have more body. I love the combination of pecan and pumpkin pie spice. For my taste, these were a little lacking in the flavor department. But only a little. I used salted, toasted pecans and I think I still could have added a hefty pinch of salt to bring out the flavors. I also could have added half again as much pumpkin pie spice. Then, I think they'd be perfect. Because everything else about them is right on. No need to alter for high altitude, which, in my world is like hitting the jackpot. Easy to make (although this is one of those recipes you need to plan ahead for because the dough has to be refrigerated before baking). Yummy.

Although...alterations can be good...I might make them again and dip one side in a little melted chocolate for my kids (they like pumpkin and chocolate together--me, I'm not such a fan). My best girl made a batch and dipped the dough balls in rum and then rolled them in a combination of brown and ultra fine white sugars before baking. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. I would also consider rolling the dough balls in cinnamon sugar. The point, I guess, being that this is a good starting point for some potentially amazing cookies. Alter at will.

TGIP Rating--Buttery Pecan Pumpkin Spice Cookies--KEEPER with alterations to be tried.

Next up: Big baking project coming up for a family party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of my grandmother's birth. I'll let you in on the reasons why when I post about them, but I'm making churro cupcakes (A LOT of churro cupcakes). I don't yet know how or...how, but that's the plan. If you have an idea, send it my way!

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

Seriously? Yes, seriously. This is the only picture I took. Because I wasn't planning on blogging about these cookies. But they are my everything. As much as I love chocolate, nothing hits my sweet spot like a good, crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside frosted sugar cookie. Nothing. It makes me feel like I'm 5 years old and don't have a care in the world and can just be in the moment of eating that cookie. But, as I've said before I hate the refrigerating, rolling, cutting aspect of making sugar cookies. Remember when I said I'd never use another sugar cookie recipe ever, when I made these? Yeah, I lied. THIS is the recipe I'll never cheat on. I want to make and eat these bars every day. For every holiday. Independence Day coming up? Yeah, Imma make them and sprinkle them with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Halloween? Orange and black sprinkles. Or maybe I'll use those teeny tiny bones and googly eyes sprinkles I have in my pantry. Christmas? Red and green. You see where I'm going. I can't think of a holiday (or a day of the week that ends with Y) when I wouldn't want to eat these. In fact, Monday is Memorial Day. What sprinkles should I use? Because I'm making them. And so should you. You're welcome.


TGIP Rating--Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars--KEEPER.

Next up: I'm just about finished with the first phase of my super secret project. And school's almost out. And maybe we need cupcakes up in here. Like these ones.

Easiest Sugar Cookies

And they are. As easy as

1.

2.

3.

Go make them. Make up a holiday. Dye your frosting pink or blue or something appetizing. Sprinkle some sprinkles and then eat them. Because these won't take you 12 hours like normal sugar cookies do. And you'll be so pleased with the softy chewy crunchiness of them. In fact, you'll make them for your kids and then you'll eat them all yourself.

TGIP Rating--Easiest Sugar Cookies--KEEPER. I'm never using any other recipe. Ever.

Next up: Okay, so I didn't make the cake I was going to make. We had planned a gathering that got waylaid by sickness, so a fancy layer cake seemed like too much for our little family. Which still leaves me wanting cake. But something simple. A Sunday night cake, if you know what I mean. I think I'll try this one. 

Cookie Time!

It's cookie season at my house. Apparently. I've been making a big batch of oversize cookies every weekend to get my people through the week. I think mainly I'm just trying to keep them off the Oreo wagon. Although, speaking of Oreos, mr. mentioned the other day that he'd really like a salted Oreo. Ideas? Recipes you can fling my way?

Anyway, mostly I've been making regular Nestle Toll House Cookies, but adding a 1/2 cup of coconut and scooping the dough into double-sized cookies. A couple of weeks ago I gave these a try (and *shame* didn't take any pictures). My kids objected to the nutty flavor of the whole wheat, but my husband quite liked them. For my taste, the coconut oil made them a little greasy. So, I'm not sure I'm a fan. This last weekend I made these. They're really delicious. I think the salt is what brings the recipe together and makes the flavor unique. They get stale really quickly, though. So, if you are a person who restricts your kids to one (giant) cookie a day, (this is mainly a reminder to me) you might want to roll and refrigerate or freeze some of the dough to bake another day.

TGIP Rating--Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookies--MEH. Maybe just not to my taste.
Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles--KEEPER. Beware of quick-staling.

Next up: As cookie season continues, I'm going to give these a try. I cannot bear to refrigerate, roll out, and cut cookie dough. It's just dreadful. Bonus, I really like this blogger's recipes. Partly for deliciousness, but also partly because I don't have to make altitude adjustments.

AND, as I'm not one to let a holiday cake opportunity go to waste. I'm ALSO going to make this cake for the people I love on Valentines Day. I'm feeling a little daunted by it as I haven't made a layer cake in several months. But it looks too delicious to pass up.

2013 Year in Review

Who'd have guessed?! Snowcaps was my most visited post this year. Yeah, they're super delicious!

Personally, I can't pick a favorite. But here are some highlights:

Stuff I altered/combined from other people's amazing recipes...

          

Excellent pies/tarts...

     

Super delicious cookies...

Yummy bread I'm about to alter for a Sunday morning breakfast treat...

Best birthday cake ever...

Favorite new frosting technique...

TGIP Rating--2013--A good year. Not very much inventiveness on my part, but I loved a lot of what I baked.

Next up: I'm going to alter that Coconut Bread with some toasted almonds and lime zest. See how that turns out!

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Recipe is here. Go look. And then make them. Just do it.

I think I probably did something wrong because my cookies ended up more crispy than soft.

Also sort of shaggy looking, whereas hers are quite smooth and roundy. ANYWAY. They were still amazing. I took the liberty of toasting my marshmallows with my handy-dandy kitchen torch. Which--why wouldn't you?!

And I'm planning to make these again IF ONLY so I can figure out a way to incorporate graham crackers and make them more s'more-like.

They're just so easy. And so yummy. Have you started on a batch yet?

P.S. This is what I look like when I'm baking. So, one might ask, why do I not do it ALL THE TIME? I wish I knew the answer to that question.

TGIP Rating--Chocolate Covered Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies--KEEPER. Graham cracker element yet to be figured out...

Next up: On our Baker Family (yes, I'm a Baker by blood) Facebook page, my baby sister put out a call for old family recipes. My amazing, crafty, and apparently incredibly organized Aunt Vickie (who just has these things at her fingertips!) answered by starting a new page which she is peopling with photographs of handwritten heirloom recipes from that side of the family. One of the recipes she posted is called Mystery Cake. And I'm letting it stay a mystery for now. Apparently it's a type of fruitcake with a secret ingredient. I KNOW it's the wrong time of year for a fruitcake, but this just came up and I'm DELICIOUSLY curious about it. So I'm trying it!

TGIP Field Trip: Eva's Bakery & Christiansen's Family Farm

Took a visit to a lovely new bakery in downtown Salt Lake, Eva's Bakery. So many delicious breads and pastries, I'll have to make a return visit to give some things a first try, and, of course, to pick up a second round of some new favorites. In this picture from lower left clockwise to lower right: chocolate nib cookie, coconut macaroon, apple half-pocket, pistachio snail, mountain loaf, Italian brioche, beehive brioche, kouing aman (both peeking out from under the Italian brioche), chicken pesto pizza. All of their pastry was lovely. Their dough in general is tender and flaky and easily takes to different applications.

 

Things I especially loved:

• the pistachio snail--has dark chocolate nibs in such a delicious combination with the pistachios.
• the Italian brioche--has a raspberry filling that is perfect, not too sweet, no gooey texture, you know, as if it's made from ACTUAL raspberries, which I'm sure it is.
• the beehive brioche--a brilliant combination of crunchy almonds, fleur de sel, and honey with a really beautiful, tender brioche dough.
• the mountain loaf--a blend of flours, including rye and whole wheat with sunflower seeds (I think) and tart dried cherries. Yeah, the cherries were what got me, but even my cherry-hating mr. liked this bread. It's just a really balanced combination of flavors and textures. Hearty breakfast-y goodness.

Unfortunately for Eva's, we have Les Madeleines here in town, where we all learned about Kouing Aman. Eva's suffers in the comparison on this one count. But next time I visit I'm buying every kind of bread I can get my hands on, as that appears to be their specialty.

A while back I saw an article in the newspaper about a local family farm that was starting to offer lard. Jumped, is what I did. Because the last time I obtained leaf lard it was about $30 for 5 pounds, and even more for shipping (I think it was coming from Wisconsin, and had to be sent overnight in special dry-ice packaging). Oy. Not to mention the fact that I'm trying to do what I can to buy local. I really am trying. And these people have made it easy for me. I can order online, and then pick it up from one of several stops they make throughout the valley on Saturday mornings. Where, as it turns out, there are scores of other people sitting in their cars (like junkies) waiting for the truck (their dealer). It's a funny thing to witness. Their lard is a combination of leaf and back fat and comes from their super-happy pigs that are petted by the family's children. No, for real. Go look at their website. Of course, not all the junkies were waiting in the parking lot for lard. The family raises pigs, cows, and chickens. And maybe I need a deep freeze in my garage so I can order well-handled meat from them, with knowledge of the source and their practices...

And after a first attempt at using this lard, I am thrilled to report that it is perfect. Perfect texture, dough is elastic and easy to handle. Perfect taste, adds that tiny bit of saltiness that I like for my lard to bring to the pastry party. And it bakes up beautifully as you can see above.

TGIP Rating--Eva's--KEEPER. They also have a seating area and a beautiful espresso machine. One of these mornings you'll find me there enjoying a croissant and a real cappuccino.
--Christiansen's Family Farm--KEEPER. Thank goodness people like this exist. In my general neighborhood. Maybe I'll make them a pie just for being awesome.

Next up: I have to take a few weeks off baking. I know. Trust me, it hurts me more than it hurts you. But sometimes the theatre is a brutal taskmaster. When I'm back at it, I think I'm going to do cupcakes. Probably using some elements of this.

Malted Milk Sandwich Cookies

You know, I had never even attempted making sandwich cookies until about 2 years ago when I made these. Which were amazing. Probably my favorite sandwich cookie EVER. I don't know why I'd never thought to try them before. They seem like something that can only be done in a factory? With very exact equipment so all the cookie halves turn out exactly the same size? I don't know, but it turns out they're really easy to make at home. I mean, REALLY EASY.

And if you end up with some flaws (like different-sized cookie halves), it doesn't matter at all. They're time-consuming, sure. I generally avoid making rolled cookies because they take so much time. But the only real difficulty I had with this recipe was figuring out what combination of dough thickness and baking time was going to give me the result I wanted: slightly crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. That's especially important with homemade sandwich cookies because the filling is so soft and fresh it will squidge right out if the cookies are too crispy.

Trial and error got me there with delightful results.

Prima isn't a huge fan of the malt flavor. She said tonight that it tastes like chicken. Um. I think what she's getting at is that it lends an intensity to the overall flavor that she's only experienced with meat. If that makes sense. I understand why she finds that odd in a sweet. And, if I'm being honest, the baked cookies on their own have a flavor that is a little off-putting.

But the whole combination, with the lovely flavor and texture of the filling, is just perfect. Sweet, but not too. Rich, but not too.

Unusual and interesting and, much like the Salt-N-Pepper cookies, so packed with flavor and punch, I didn't feel the need to eat a plateful in order to feel like I'd had a treat.


TGIP Rating--Malted Milk Sandwich Cookies--KEEPER.

Next up: It's almost St. Patrick's Day. So, you know, whiskey is in order. I'm making Salted Whiskey Caramels. Wish me luck, candies and I don't get along terribly well. Also, I'm going to try a recently-discovered Soda Bread recipe, handwritten by mr.'s Irish grandmother.

Snowcaps

I have no idea where this cookie recipe came from, I only know that it was one of my favorite childhood treats. And they are the easiest cookies in the world to make. And they only require a few ingredients. AND, they are the best meringue cookies in the world. Oftentimes, store-bought meringue cookies are too hard or they're tender but turn to dust (and sometimes chalky dust) when you bite into them. These are tender, yes. They crumble/shatter when you bite into them. But rather than turning to dust, what's left is this chewy, light, amazing cookie.

They're not too sweet, because the chocolate chips add a teensy hint of bitterness. And they're only about 70 calories per cookie!

Here's the recipe:


Snowcaps  *click here for printable version*
Yield: 2 - 2-1/2 dozen cookies

Beat until soft peaks:
2 egg whites
½ tsp vanilla extract (or other flavoring)
⅛ tsp cream of tartar
dash of salt

Gradually add until stiff peaks:
¾ c. sugar

Fold in 1 c. chocolate chips.

Spoon onto parchment paper-lined baking pan and bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes.

 

Allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Best no more than 2 days after baking.


In those pictures above, I had used the organic sugar I always use, which has crystals that I think are slightly larger than regular granulated sugar. It seemed really noticeable to me, so I made a second batch using that sugar after running it through the food processor to make my own "superfine" sugar. I also used 1/4 tsp peppermint extract and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, rather than all vanilla. Oh, and I used mini chocolate chips, just to see how that would turn out. For reasons that I'm still not clear on, the batter didn't get to the "peak" point that it should. The cookies were kind of flat.

But they still had that marvelous texture and lots of chewy caves inside. And we all liked the mini chocolate chips better, more even distribution, I guess.

(I always think these cookies look like the inside of the Matterhorn)

TGIP Rating--Snowcaps--KEEPER of course. Already an old reliable.

Next up: Honey Banana Poppy Seed Bread. Another Baked Sunday Mornings project.