Category Archives: Baking

“Patrick” – Flourless Double Chocolate Truffle

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Ah, Patrick. I’ve been so excited to make this dessert, I cannot even tell you.

First, about Patrick the person. He is our ever-present sound tech at church. He LOVES chocolate. Which is why this is a chocolate dessert, but it’s more than that. This truffle has no flour or cocoa mixed in with the chocolate because Patrick has no “filler”. He is 100% the real deal. He is one of the most honest, purely service driven people I have ever met and everything he does is with purpose and excellence.    Stop arguing with me in your head Patrick. No. Just stop. This is all true.

Every ingredient that makes up my friend is rich and awesome, and this truffle is the same way. Topped with a second layer of chocolate ganache, this truffle is so good, you’ll want to sing, possibly into a microphone. Using his mastery of sound and balance, Patrick enables our entire worship team to do just that every week. We all worship God easily because there’s no crazy feedback or off levels to mess with our voices/instruments.  Serve this truffle up with a raspberry coulis. The perfect hint of tart to blend with a totally decadent dessert. Hmmm. A perfect blend. Like what Patrick makes happen on the sound board each Sunday.

Patrick, if I have to tell you again to stop arguing, I won’t bring this for you tomorrow. Seriously man. Learn to take a compliment. Continue reading →

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“Zacharies” – Super Peanutty Peanut Butter Cookies

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It is a well documented fact that my husband (Zachary) is not a fan of sweet things. Cookies, cakes, fudge, candy – none of it tempts him. It drives me crazy. However, even his lack of a sweet tooth cannot resist my peanut butter cookies. Probably because they are so nutty and awesome, rather than being just something sweet. There are a couple keys to a great peanut butter cookie. First of all, extra super chunk peanut butter is a must. Mine also have a full cup of chopped peanuts – imagine that, actual peanuts in a peanutty cookie. Secondly, make sure you take these cookies out when the edges are just starting to golden. They won’t look done, but trust me, if you want a soft cookie – take them out of the oven.

"Zacharies"

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Spiced Cranberry Compote

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So, compote is a pretty fancy term for fruit in a sugar syrup. In this case, it reminds me very much of the most awesome cranberry sauce you’ve ever had. Spiced and fragrant instead of just the blah dash of color on the corner of your Thanksgiving plate. Delicious with “Colleen”, my Pumpkin Eggnog Bread Pudding. The post for the bread pudding has a photo of the compote along side it.

Spiced Cranberry Compote

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

1. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan combine the cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, orange juice and zest. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat then reduce heat to medium. Let cook until cranberries are popped and mixture is a nice compote consistency, about 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

The compote can be made ahead, refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days. Remove 1 hour before serving; serve at room temperature.

Copyright 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios(r)

“Colleen” Pumpkin Eggnog Bread Pudding

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My friend Colleen sent me the link to this recipe – and upon first sight I couldn’t wait to make it. So, I’m naming it after her. Today, I just did the recipe as it was listed in the original article in the Seattle Times Food & Wine section – except that I coated my baking pan with butter, drizzled more butter on top, and broiled it prior to taking it out of the oven to crust up the top a little. I was having a girls night with my three sisters, and brought it for dessert.

Obviously this is a fall to Christmas baked good since eggnog and cranberries are only really available around this time of year. My youngest sister said this tastes like Christmas on a spoon. I’d have to agree. It’s a moist delicious bread that tastes a little like pumpkin pie, with the richness of eggnog and the spices of the holidays. The cranberry compote it’s served with it tart and tangy, the perfect offset to the rich bread pudding. However – with the sweet tooth that runs deep in our family, my sisters and I kind of agreed that we’d rather have it with a vanilla dipping sauce/custard the next time. And, I’ll probably do up the bread pudding in individual ramekins next time for a prettier presentation.

Pumpkin Eggnog Bread Pudding

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Triple Layer Oreo® Pie

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Bible study tonight! I whipped up this decadent (totally easy) no-bake pie to get rid of the package of Oreo® Cookies that have been calling my name for the past couple days. Make sure you use only the amount of milk in the recipe, not what the pudding box calls for. Otherwise you’ll end up with Oreo® soup instead of a nicely layered pie.

Triple Layer Oreo Pie

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Lemon Pancakes

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My Auntie Julie used to make lemon pancakes when I was little. I always loved having breakfast over there. I asked her a while back what she did to make them so delicious and she laughed and told me it’s just basic pancakes thinned out topped with lemon and powdered sugar. So, yesterday when making breakfast for my family (I love lazy Saturday morning breakfast) – I decided to try my own spin on this childhood favorite.

Lemon Pancakes

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Shortbread Three Ways

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I love versatile recipes. This one I got from my cousin’s blog – care of the Barefoot Contessa. Today, I made it into three different cookies. Part of it I turned into Emilys. Others into Raspberry Linzers and then just cut out some pretty leaf shapes and did a little chocolate and roasted peanut action on top of the rest.

Emilys, Linzers, Shortbread

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Emilys

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Yesterday I made an amazing discovery. I love people and I love food. Well, I already knew those things, but here’s the discovery. I bake because I enjoy it, but more because I love the people in my life and want them to have delicious things. I’ve made a decision. Someday, when I have my own bakery, all the goodies will be named for the people I love that had a hand in the creation of those things. So, instead of having a cookie called “Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies”, they will simply be named “Phil”. As in, I’d like a dozen “Phils”. Because I created that cookie specifically for my pastor. And each item will have a photo of that person next to the name. I’m thinking of calling my bakery “Bakerlady’s House” – because it will be filled with all the people I love…in the form of delicious treats. We’ll see, I’m still working on it.

Today, I created what will be known as Emily. Emily (the person) is a friend from church. She is generous and organized. I love that she always seems to know when I need a play date to walk with our strollers and just talk. I made these cookies today to recreate some that I purchased (gasp!) for her baby shower last week. I have an excuse, I could not use my kitchen that day. Here’s what the purchased (Trader Joe’s) cookies looked like: Continue reading →

Vanilla Dipping Sauce

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When I made my Applesauce Drop Doughnuts the other day, I felt it was missing something. I found this recipe from pastry chef Amy Foster of Tallula, and decided it would perfectly complement the fluffy doughnuts. I added vanilla bean innards to mine, which gives it the beautiful specks of black. I took the remaining innards and the hull of the vanilla bean and added them to some powdered sugar in a ziplock bag for coating this batch of doughnuts.

Vanilla Dipping Sauce

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