Cookie of the Month: Bringing best of everything to bars

A couple of years ago, or so it seems, I saw a video recipe for something that looked extra delicious. The recipe, from Bob’s Red Mill (https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/cherry-lime-butter-bars/), featured an almond-y cake type of crust (made with almond flour, lots of butter and lime zest). On top was a filling of a cream cheese . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Bringing best of everything to bars

Cookie of the Month: Cheering for cherry rugelach

Rugelach — little bites of buttery, cream cheese dough rolled up with fillings (jam, fruits, chocolate and nuts) into crescent-like swirls and baked to a golden brown — fall somewhere between a cookie and a pastry. I was excited to run across the term “pastry cookie” recently in my rugelach research. I was . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Cheering for cherry rugelach

Taking the cake(s)

Summer crawled along this year, dimmed by our lengthy pandemic status and an early wildfire season. By the time my birthday — as well as that of my blog’s — rolled around, celebrating —  as it has felt for much of the last year —  seemed a bit ridiculous.

The year has been . . . → Read More: Taking the cake(s)

Scone of the Month: Cheering almonds, cherries and sour cream

I went on a wander when getting ready to make my next monthly scone. What I had in mind was a scone with plump, tart-sweet dried cherries, of the kind one would make a pie (in their fresh form). Building from that, I wanted a scone made rich and moist with sour cream . . . → Read More: Scone of the Month: Cheering almonds, cherries and sour cream

Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

Sometimes, when you are in a slump (writing/cooking/baking/working/living), the best thing to do is make one. Never heard of a slump? I had, but had not made one until the Baked Sunday Mornings group put a recipe (see here: http://bakedsundaymornings.com/2018/07/20/in-the-oven-sour-cherry-slump/) for Sour Cherry Slump from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

Baked Sunday Mornings: Doubling up with big biscotti

Biscotti, by description, seem something that would defy enthusiasm. Their name, derived from the cookie-version of “biscuit” and meaning “twice-baked,” is just an inkling of what they are. This double baking is meant to make them dry and hard (not typically the aim for most baked goods), for a longer shelf-life and desirable (and necessary) . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Doubling up with big biscotti

Baked Sunday Mornings: Exploring a Black Forest cookie

I almost opted out of the Black Forest Chocolate Cookies on the Baked Sunday Mornings schedule. I had a number of deadlines and other cooking projects on my docket, and thought I might be too busy. Then, I thought: Too busy to bake cookies? That doesn’t even make sense!

Looking over the recipe, a . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Exploring a Black Forest cookie

Dancing with ‘sugarplums’

Just what are sugarplums, anyway? According to Clement Moore’s classic holiday story poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” children had visions of them dancing in their heads. And sugarplum fairies flit magically in the most well-known and traditional of holiday ballets, “The Nutcracker.”

When I have done my own envisioning of what a sugarplum might . . . → Read More: Dancing with ‘sugarplums’

Trying out two winter tonics

I like the word “tonic.” It has a reality-based sense of comfort and a tinge of humor for the extent it’s been applied to things that aren’t necessarily…good for you. What it seems to connote most, for me, is something you can make to heal yourself. Whether it’s a hair oil or a skin treatment . . . → Read More: Trying out two winter tonics