Thanksgiving baking

Ah, the feast of thanks is upon us. And so is my favorite baking season of the year. This week is my busiest baking week of season and I have it all planned out. Not only will I be baking three pies for Thanksgiving (and of course my family favorite cheesy potatoes) but I will also be spending the weekend heralding in the Christmas season with a cookie baking session. I am so excited!

But first, Thanksgiving pie. My husband and I will be spending Thanksgiving with his family and I will be bringing dessert. Go figure, right? I have chosen to do two different pies this year. I got lucky on the pumpkin pie recipe because it yields two pies. Of course it came from Martha Stewart (I think I need to broaden my recipe sources. Eh, I'll get there). I will also be making my favorite apple pie, Apple Crumb Pie, which I made earlier this year.

I'm actually not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. However, there are some non-traditional options you can try if you're feeling adventurous. For example, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch of these earlier this month. Ryan had been asking for cookies and my mom chimed in with a request for something chocolatey. I really wanted to try something with pumpkin so this worked for all three of us. The recipe is found here and originally calls for a chocolate drizzle. I wasn't feeling up to the challenge of rigging a double boiler so I just added the chocolate chips right into the batter. A revision that saved time and still tastes good = success!

These turned out a bit more cakey than I like but they seemed to be a hit. I will have to have an experiment in texture one of these days. The trick I believe is in the amount of leavener you use. My domestic goddess mentor, Liz, has some knowledge on this that I have heard before but have not yet fully retained. I feel a lesson on baking soda versus baking powder is due. And I think I might add a little more pumpkin pie spice. I like my pumpkin desserts to have a bit more kick than these turned out to have. So an experiment in spices should be in the works soon, too.

I hope to hear all the great baking stories that I am sure will happen this week. Get in that kitchen, enjoy the time you have, work with your hands, and give thanks for the blessings our wonderful God has given us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And Happy Baking!

Easy Batter Cobbler

Well, my search continues for pumpkin recipes and I have found a few that I am excited to try. I am going through each one to make sure that I not only have or can easily get all the ingredients but also that the recipe doesn't ask for anything outside my skill level. So, a few weekends ago (while I was still doing my research), I felt like the weather called for baking and I answered with an easy batter cobbler.

I have made this recipe many times over the past few years but never shared it here. It was a lucky find on allrecipes.com. It is called Easy Batter Fruit Cobbler and it is, as the name says, really easy and very versatile. The ingredients are always in my pantry, with special thanks to my grandma who makes sure that I can an extra can of home preserved peaches so that I can make this whenever I like. The recipe really can used with any fruit but I prefer peaches. Ryan's favorite is blackberry which is a delicious (and cheaper if you pick them yourself) option. I really want to see what this is like with bananas, like a variation on bananas foster. You can use any fruit that suits your fancy which means you can make this at any time of year with whatever is in season!

One of the coolest elements of this recipe is that a half stick of butter is added to the pie pan and melted in the oven as it pre-heats. Once melted, the batter is poured in the middle of the plate and the butter creates this amazing thin crust. I next add the fruit around the whole plate. When using peaches, I like to sprinkle the batter with a little nutmeg. Cinnamon is my spice of choice when using blackberries but both work well together.

The whole thing takes about 50 minutes to bake. The clean up is so easy (you don't need an electric mixer). Once golden and bubbly, it's ready! We love this Tillamook's Vanilla Bean ice cream. Serve and enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Back to baking

Wow, I can't believe I spent the whole Summer season not blogging! That's not to say I didn't bake at all; I baked like crazy this summer. Chocolate chip cookies, almond cake, many, many loafs of banana bread, and a successful experiment in transforming my Pumkpin Ginger Bundt into a bread loaf.

But, now that we have come to Fall (and the start of my favorite three months of the year), I feel like it is time to get back on the blog. It is my goal this Fall to experiment as much as I can with one ingredient (Almost Iron Chef style but not as intense). The ingredient of choice for this season: Pumpkin! Ah, I am so excited!

To introduce our home to the start of Fall I made what I think is my absolute favorite thing I have ever baked: Pumpkin Ginger Bundt. The desire to bake came to me late in the evening a weekend ago and so I followed my whim and whipped this up. The only issue this time was that I was still in search of a great vanilla glaze. My secondary goal this Fall was to find a vanilla glaze recipe worthy to be paired with my favorite cake and I think Martha Stewart once again came through with a winning recipe (see it here). The trick: sifting the powdered sugar. Whodda thunk?! The texture was ten times better than any other glaze recipe I have tried.

This brings me to my second trick: let the cake cool completely before adding any glaze or icing! I figure that this is a standard Baking 101 tip but I could hardly resist taking a slice once the cake was out of the oven (and I challenge anyone to resist this cake once you smell it). The glaze was not pretty but the whole thing tasted oh-so-good! I can't wait to make this again when I have time to let it completely cool.

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of Fall. Stayed tuned for my adventures with pumpkin!

Happy Baking!

What's in season

Spring is finally here! I am so excited to start baking new things. My goal this year is to focus on what is in season and bake with those ingredients. I have found several websites that are very helpful.

Epicurious has a great interactive map that shows you what is in season in your state during a certain month (I wasn't able to find anything on year-round produce). This is really helpful for cooking, as well. At this site you can find a description and definition as well as tips on how to pick out what produce is best. They also have a list of recipes and cooking and storing tips. The site is very easy to navigate. I also love their phone app for searching for recipes (thank you for the tip, Cherri Seese!). The app home page was recently updated to show Spring and Easter dishes.

Fruits and Veggies More Matters is another great site for researching what is in season. They also have a list of year-round produce. The site includes tips how to select and how to store produce but they also have great nutritional information on each item. The website has a lot more information and tools that I would encourage you to check out (I'm looking forward to digging further into the Healthy Meal Planning Guide!).

I love Martha Stewart's Seasonal Produce Recipe Guide. There is a short intro to the produce item, how to select and store, etc. And then it jumps right into recipes. There are so many to get inspired by (there are 40 recipes alone for rhubarb!).

These are just a few sites that have caught my eye. With their inspiration I have lots on the baking to-do list this week. I can't wait to share what happens!

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes... No, Bundt.

About a year ago I found a recipe on allrecipes.com for Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes. I made the attempt at cupcakes in late 2011 but I decided to try my luck at transferring the recipe to a bundt form instead. My little adventure was a success! It has become one of my favorite things to bake. It is great for the whole fall and winter baking season. The smell is amazing and my husband is always excited when I bake this.

I have played around with different amounts of the spices and different types of glazes. Currently I use rounded measurements for all the spices and I use about half of the amount of crystalized ginger that the recipe calls for. I also love the recipe I found for the glaze. Again, it was something I found online but I of course tweaked it a little. I can't wait to try other glazes and spices to make this a really unique recipe!

I was blessed to share this week's treat with our Bible study group. In sharing my excitement for learning all things baking the conversation quickly turned to the difference between baking soda and baking powder and of course cookbooks! I now have two great cookbooks on loan and I can't wait to go through them.