Category Archives: Baking

Awesomely Good Blueberry Muffins

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Ok. This is way more like it. I decided to whip up another batch of muffins. I couldn’t just let my baking failure stay with me all day long. Since I didn’t have anymore sour cream and didn’t want to make a trip to the store, I used this recipe instead of trying the other one again.

The thing that drew me to this recipe was the strudel topping. I’ll admit it – I love me some buttery sugary topping. Mmmmm. It’s the delicious final gorgeousness on an already yummy muffin. And, they come out of the wrapper perfectly! Hooray! I’d suggest making a double batch though – this recipe yields 8 muffins. Big ones, but still…only 8. Continue reading →

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Bad Blueberry Muffins

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Holy cow. It has been a long time since I baked something that turned out so badly. I’m posting this because I want you all to know that sometimes, even people who bake all the time with great success have total disasters. Messing up is no reason to stop trying! I’m sure this recipe is really great as it’s written – but I seriously goofed up by substituting  applesauce for the oil. That’s what I get for thinking  I could make a muffin that has lots of sour cream as an ingredient more healthy. Continue reading →

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

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I’ve only been to Red Lobster a couple of times, and the only memorable thing about my visits was their biscuits. Light cheddar biscuits filled with savory seasonings. Yum yum. This makes about 24 biscuits – so if you’ve got a small family, you might want to cut the recipe in half. I guarantee that you’ll eat however many you make – and these aren’t exactly diet food.

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Glazed Cinnamon Raisin Scones

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We got new neighbors last weekend (total bummer to be moving New Year weekend) – and I’ve been waiting until the dust settles next door to bring over some baked goodies and say “hello!”. My super awesome talented cousin posted this recipe on her blog today and I decided it was perfect for saying “Welcome to the neighborhood”.

I prepped these scones in my food processor. I love that you pulse, pulse, pulse the dry ingredients, add the shortening, pulse some more, add the milk and raisins, pulse some more and you’re basically done. (does pulse not look like a word anymore to you too?) And only one thing to clean! As always with scones, don’t over mix your dough. I just knead it two or three times to make sure it’s all combined and then pat out the dough lightly with my palm. Continue reading →

Blueberry Bran Muffins

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A little healthy snack for those of you watching your calories at the start of the new year. Don’t we all have those 5 (cough!) – ok, 15 “Christmas cookie pounds” to lose? I certainly do. All my baking caught up with me this year. I modified this recipe so each muffin has a mere 100 calories – a perfect afternoon snack! And a terrific source of fiber. Did you know that women should be eating 25 grams of fiber daily? Men should be taking in 38 grams! Maybe let your guy have two of these muffins to help him along. They are moist and delicious – you wouldn’t even know how healthy they are if I didn’t tell you so.
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Melting Moments

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I first had this cookie at a tea party thrown by my good friend Lauren. She’s from Australia and has the most delightful accent ever. Also, she made some delicious treats from her homeland. These cookies were one of my favorites. I went searching for a recipe for them (probably just should have asked “Loz” for hers). Anyway, found this on an Aussie baking blog.  Had to do some calculations since the original recipe was in grams – here it is for you all translated!

These cookies are delightfully delicate and practically dissolve in your mouth (thus the name). The slightly tart lemon filling is perfect with the rich buttery cookie. Enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee and a few good friends. Continue reading →

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

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If you’ve ever been to the Macaroni Grill, you know all about this bread. It’s served before the meal with olive oil and fresh cracked pepper to dip it in. It’s warm, fragrant and just delicious. I found this knockoff recipe and just had to try it. Since becoming kid poor, Zack and I don’t get the real stuff at the restaurant more than once a year (if that). 

This recipe is pretty darn close – it’s really delicious. I shaped mine into a flat-ish loaf, but you could do a round or even rolls with this if you like. I knead my bread in my Kitchen Aid. If you don’t have one, do it by hand until the dough is smooth – about 10 minutes. If you have a bread machine, you can just throw everything in and turn it on. Continue reading →

Baked Eggnog French Toast

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It’s a Christmas morning tradition in our home to have a big gorgeous breakfast together. For many years I’ve made french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage etc. for my family. This year, I decided to try something that would keep me away from all that flipping bread over a hot griddle. I’ve tried overnight french toast before, but didn’t want to go that route since I had zero time before Christmas day to prepare it. So, I kind of made up this version – and included some eggnog to give it a holiday twist. For the rest of the year, I’ll just use all milk instead of part nog. The great thing is that it came together in about 10 minutes, and then baked while we were reading the Christmas story and opening gifts. Easy and delicious. Continue reading →

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

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Gingerbread is classic Christmas fare. Most people think of cookies shaped like little men when they hear the word gingerbread – but ever since I discovered the old-fashioned kind, I’ve given up the little men with gumdrop buttons. This stuff is just so much better! This recipe is really versatile – you can make this in a loaf pan, 9 inch square, cupcake tins or (like I did) a bundt pan…which turns it into an absolutely gorgeous cake. I just like making bundts – because it reminds me of my favorite scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Ha! Cracks me up every time. Continue reading →

Almond Roca

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This is probably my most favorite Christmas baking item. It’s also the most difficult to get done. Not because the recipe itself is particularly hard, but because candy making is a little bit of a science.

In the area that I live, the weather is my biggest obstacle when trying to make almond roca. When making any candy, you have to bring your ingredients to a certain temperature in order for it to set properly. On rainy (or humid) days, the cooking time for candy can increase substantially. Candy making requires the perfect ratio of sugar to moisture and since you’re boiling the mixture longer to get the temperature up, you may lose all your moisture in the process. And you get a completely opposite problem once the candy is done and cooling. Because sugar attracts moisture, your cooling candy will absorb all that humidity in the air, making the finished product softer than you want it. Continue reading →