Cookie of the Month: Going old-school oatmeal

Back in the day, the cookies — dropped from a teaspoon — were softer, rounder and, yes, smaller, and the world was good. I discovered this recently when I revisited a retro recipe for oatmeal cookies.

A wee bit of ground cloves (along with a generous dose of cinnamon) gave the Old-Fashioned Oatmeal . . . → Read More: Cookie of the Month: Going old-school oatmeal

Scone of the Month: Sheltering with whole wheat, ‘nutty’ oats

Earlier this month, I celebrated Ireland through a molasses biscuit/cookie recipe I found in “The Little Irish Baking Book” (St. Martin’s Press; 1995), a charming work by the late Ruth Isabel Ross. 

Sometimes you fall under the spell of someone at the right time. Though I’d had Ross’s cookbook for a few years . . . → Read More: Scone of the Month: Sheltering with whole wheat, ‘nutty’ oats

Pleasing the plum palate

Is it possible I’ve been hypnotized by a fruit? If so, it is the plum that has seduced me, once again. Fortunately — or not, really — the season is woefully short, but during it, I find myself drawn, again and again, to the stunning array of plums, pluots and plum/cherry hybrids, gleaming like jewels . . . → Read More: Pleasing the plum palate

Baked Sunday Mornings: Sizing up a Monster Cookie

Many memories were stirred up as I mixed and baked a batch of Monster Cookies for the Baked Sunday Mornings online baking group this week. The recipe (you’ll find it here: http://bakedsundaymornings.com/2018/08/31/in-the-oven-monster-cookies/), from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking,” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (2008), is an old-fashioned drop cookie, described as “One part oatmeal . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Sizing up a Monster Cookie

Baked Sunday Mornings: Jamming with a breakfast bar

I have plenty on my plate, but I’ve enjoyed adding trying out the recipes from Baked Sunday Mornings to my “to-do” baking schedule. It gives me a chance to attempt things I might not have otherwise and share with fellow bakers the results! While I cannot commit to making each recipe on the roster, I . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Jamming with a breakfast bar

Baked Sunday Mornings: Recalling ‘butterscotch days’ through tarts

I love my first paging through a cookbook, particularly one as visually and deliciously stunning as “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (2008). Usually, this initial “walkthrough” establishes my “must-make” list. Without question, the Butterscotch Pudding Tarts in the book has always been number one.

It’s easy to understand why, . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Recalling ‘butterscotch days’ through tarts

Bread of the Month: Considering a muffin with flax appeal

I’m not sure where flaxseeds currently sit among the healthy food trend “it girls.” For awhile, it was nearly insisted upon to put flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, flaxseed meal or some other interpretation in nearly everything, from cereals to smoothies to breads. I believe now that chia seeds are claiming more attention, but I don’t keep . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Considering a muffin with flax appeal

Bread of the Month: Sowing it simply with oats

Of the vast array of grains available to cook and bake with on the market, I continue to return again and again to a favorite — oats. The old standby, the stick-to-your-ribs standard, that reminds one of childhood and the comforting warmth a bowl can bring. So humble, yet versatile. They give a human and . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Sowing it simply with oats