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The header image is from making apple cider caramelsSome more sweets on the Christmas Cookie Page (including the caramels)
Pumpkin Gingerbread with Orange Glaze
Pumpkin Gingerbread with Orange Glaze
I made this as muffins for the quicker cooking and cooling time on a school night. They've been well received. The only things I changed were: 1) there was no ginger in the batter except for the candied ginger bits so I added 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger; 2) the glaze called for milk or water, but I used the juice from the orange I had zested instead.
The molded pans always make beautiful cakes and the Vegalene spray works wonders on avoiding sticking.
I was concerned when I made this that the pumpkin wouldn't be a strong enough flavor. But actually, it came out nicely. I did use the suggested soak. It had a nice texture, was flavorful and moist. The sourcream in the vanilla part adds nice flavor as well as moisture.
Coffee Walnut Cupcakes
Coffee Walnut Cupcakes
This is going to become a go-to recipe (except when I have to take things to school -- nuts!). Very easy to make in the food processors and absolutely scrumptious. Another great NYTimes recipe.
Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake
Lemon Raspberry Cornmeal Cake
So good! But it's amazing how fast fresh raspberries go over. Luckily I'd bought extras. A great summer recipe from the NYTimes.
Rather than having the initial mixture of starter, milk, and flour sit out 2-3 hrs, I refrigerated it overnight. They emphasize gentle mixing to avoid toughness, but given how the starter-mixture is hesitant to blend with the chocolate mixture, I did use a stand mixer and it came out lovely. It is a moist cake with nice crumb. The frosting is poured over the cake warm, then semi-sweet chocolate is drizzled on top. A great sheet cake. Got lots of raves.
They've a mix of milk chocolate and really dark chocolate chunks and uses brown butter for a more caramelized undertaste. Good, but of course you can't eat the raw dough 😏
I made my own marizpan first, using pasteurized egg whites (I tried a recipe without egg whites but it lacked the pliability of a true marzipan). I should have used super-fine for the granulated portion, but I've been buying vegan crystalized sugar and didn't have that in superfine. But for baking the marzipan, it didn't really matter. Great marzipan, okay cookies (my friends liked them better than I did).
Cupcakes!
Cupcakes!
It's a friend's birthday. She loves coffee, but has a daughter who would not be a fan. So, half the cupcakes has strawberry frosting and the other half have coffee. The cupcakes are KAB's simple, rich chocolate cake. The strawberry frosting is make with freeze-dried strawberries (pulverized in a food processor and whisked in with the powdered sugar) plus some fresh strawberries that had marinated in a little lemon juice and sugar, than pureed (the acid of the lemon juice brightens the flavor). The coffee frosting uses a combination of espresso powder and coffee extract.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Ras el Hanout
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal with Ras el Hanout
A new favorite from the NYTimes. As the recipe says, the flavor is subtle but very nice -- adds warmth to the cookie. Every ras el hanout blend is different (like chili spice blends) and I used one from Stock and Spice in Portsmouth, NH
Amber Ale Ginger Molasses
Amber Ale Ginger Molasses
A long time favorite from King Arthur -- I used the Bell's Amber Ale. It boils down from 12 oz. to 1.5 oz. The bitter undertone offsets the sweetness of the cookie nicely. A touch of all spice and black pepper also included. Made both of these (and the shortbread below) for the fantastic folks at the great NEH Teacher's Institute I'm attending).
Salted Rosemary Shortbread
Salted Rosemary Shortbread
Finally remembered to take a picture. I chop the rosemary and add it to the butter a couple of days before making the cookies. Add salt flakes to the top of the cookies in the pan (what will become the bottom) before baking.
Muesli cookies
Muesli cookies
I really enjoy this recipe. When I've made it for school, I've substituted in pumpkin seeds for the nuts to avoid allergy issues and really like that (and did so for these). I've made it with cranberries, which are nice, but these last two times with dried cherries and some of Trader Joe's unsweetened chocolate chips. The resulting cookies are not that sweet, but tasty and a great snack. Besides the added chocolate chips, I tend to up the quantity of some of the other add-ins, so that the dough just barely holds together before baking, but they still come out great.
Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake
Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake
Nice cake from NYTimes Cooking, but not strawberry enough for my tastes. I might try it again with pulverized freeze-dried strawberries added to it. But if you are looking for a nice loaf cake with a touch of strawberry, this is a good candidate. The lemon glaze is nice on top -- mine came out thicker than pictured on NYTimes despite following directions and weighing the ingredients, but I liked the consistency.
Peach Raspberry Cobbler
Peach Raspberry Cobbler
This is obviously a combo I like (see the crumble below). I even added some candied ginger (1/4 c.) and powdered ginger (1/4 tsp.) to the cake base of this. The ginger wasn't pronounced (I might add more next time) butt probably built the background flavor. I was intrigued by this recipe as it used simmered sherry with the fruit, which added some nice aroma. While the tips say to peel the fruit (which I did for the peaches) I nottice they didn't peel them in the accompanying photo and I probably won't the next time.
Pistachio Cake
Pistachio Cake
From Smitten Kitchen, this is a lovely recipe. The loaf pan size isn't specified in the directions, but in the comments she mentions 8.5x4.5" (a friend made it was a 9x5 and it worked fine, just didn't get the expected rise). Easy to make in the food processor and wonderful texture. Moist and soft. I only simmered the drizzle for 2 mins. but probably would go 3 next time to get it a little thicker. The syrup part ran all over, but once cooler, I did scrape much of the syrup back onto the cake.
Perfect Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls
Perfect Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls
King Arthur Baking's Recipe of the Year for 2021. I made them for New Year's Breakfast. As promised, soft and fluffy. Uses the tangzhong method that produces not only a very soft texture but keeps its freshness longer. Yum. I do prefer the Cardamon Brioche Rolls, but really, they're like a different species, with a more laminated dough (croissant) like texture.
Chocolate cupcakes with coffee frosting
Chocolate cupcakes with coffee frosting
For a socially-distanced small birthday gathering in the outdoors. The recipe called for dutched cocoa, but I didn't have any. I used a combination of natural cocoa and black cocoa. The frosting is an American buttercream with a little meringue powder for stability and a combo of espresso powder and coffee extract.
Peach Raspberry Ginger Crumble
Peach Raspberry Ginger Crumble
Just a touch of powdered ginger in the filling and minced crystalized ginger in the crumble topping. Crumble topping just once baked, with oatmeal, flaxmeal, wheat germ. Good texture (if not as crunchy as the NYTimes twice baked one) and better flavor.
The crystalized ginger adds a touch of chew to the topping as well as flavor. If only we had ice cream.
Triple Berry Crumble
Triple Berry Crumble
I tried out this NYTimes recipe, which twice bakes the topping for an extra crunch (and indeed, the crunch held up even for the leftovers when they had been microwaved to reheat), although otherwise not my favorite.
Chai Spiced Macarons with a Hazelnut praline filling
Chai Spiced Macarons with a Hazelnut praline filling
I adapted this macaron recipe, adding the spice to the almond flour and confectioners sugar before pulsing in the food processor. The cookie came out great. Not so happy with the filing (though it got a "tasty" rating from my taste-tester). I didn't like the consistency; it was hard to spread. But I'll keep playing with the filling next time I make them.
A King Cake
A King Cake
Made from a mix of recipes from the NYTimes and KAF. Stuffed with an almond paste mixture. Skipped the plastic baby. Perfect for Mardi Gras
BIENENSTICH (BEE STING) CAKE
BIENENSTICH (BEE STING) CAKE
Not yet filled with pastry cream. Another KAF cooking school product, made with a brioche dough
The perfect summer tart! Especially if you like key lime pie but feel a little goes a long way. The blueberries really balance out the key lime filing. I've made the crust with both a regular gramcracker crust and a gluten free one (which was actually quite good). Also a good albariño in the background (Martin Codax), which is a nice summer wine.
Brioche-dough jelly doughnuts
Brioche-dough jelly doughnuts
Some Jelly donuts made with brioche dough at the KAF school in Vermont. Didn't last long. Thank goodness I had folks back in the dorm of my summer school to share them with.
This one gets regular requests. They suggest a caramel topping, but it is so good just naked. The sour cream (or yogurt) adds to its moistness. It is sweetened with honey and brown sugar rather than white sugar, which adds to its flavorfulness. The spices, of course, are great. I think of it as a fall cake, but friends with high summer birthdays have requested this one no matter the season.
Given the ingredients, I wanted to like these more than I did. They were good but not great. Nice pâte sucrée crust. I think the pistachios were just a little lost in the crumb topping.
Puff pastry
Puff pastry
An Apple Galette made during a KAF class and some palmiers learned during that class, but made later for my father. What's great about these palmiers is that they are savory (and thus don't really belong on this page). The filing is parmesan and mustard (with a touch of cayenne).
The second time I made them, I made them as actual cookies and liked them better that way. I added salted caramel chips and walnuts to the oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, and cereal already in the recipe (actually skipped the cereal the second time and upped the walnuts). Eventually, they evolved into my Kitchen Sink cookies, which have proved to be very popular.
Blueberry Handpies
Blueberry Handpies
Another KAF school bake. Used the same crust in Empanadas.
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