This week, I wanted to make a roll-out cookie. Because once again, I have new cookie cutters. Yay! It’s kinda sad how happy they make me. But I loooove kitchen stuff. And I’m very lucky in that I live in a neighbourhood with several really nice kitchen stores within walking distance. Lucky for me? Unlucky for my wallet. These cutters are actually designed to create a multi-layer filled cookie, but I’m just using them as a regular textured cookie cutter. (more…)
I’m still on the pumpkin love train, and since I needed to bake some muffins this week, I decided to turn to pumpkin yet again. I’ve done two recipes now that combine pumpkin and chocolate (delicious!), so I wanted to switch it up and try something else this week. What else works with pumpkin? If you’ve ever had pumpkin cheesecake, the answer is obvious. (more…)
Is everyone sick of pumpkin yet? Too bad. Haha! I’m still totally into it, and since I’m the one choosing the recipes, we get pumpkin again. After the pumpkin muffins I made the other week with the chocolate chunks, I really wanted to try a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie this week. So here we go… (more…)
I was browsing eGullet the other day, and someone had posted a photo of some alfajores they’d made. I’d never even heard of them, and they looked amazing. So of course, I had to google and find a recipe. This is the first recipe I looked at, and it sounded good, so I pinned it and added any ingredients I was missing to my shopping list. (more…)
As I mentioned last week, it is officially apple season, and the farmer’s market is absolutely bursting with so many different varieties of apples. Most fruit I can take or leave, but I really enjoy a nice tart juicy apple. They’re great on their own, but I also love them with peanut butter or cheese. And of course they’re perfect with caramel too (mmmmm, caramel apples). One day some lovely person sent us a fruit bouquet, including some green apples dipped in dark chocolate – I’d never had apples with chocolate before, but they were amazingly good! Who knew? Sometimes I’ll just have an apple and some cheese and call it lunch. And while I’ve personally never tried it, I hear that apple pie is great with a piece of cheddar cheese too. (more…)
I occasionally read about people who don’t like carrot cake, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually met one. Everyone I know loves it (or at least they’re too ashamed to admit that they don’t – as they should be). I think it’s the cream cheese frosting. Who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting? What’s not to love? I’ve never had a carrot cake cookie before, but doesn’t it sound ideal? Bite-sized goodness! In my travels through my cookbooks, I’ve run into two different carrot cake cookie recipes and I’ve kind’ve kept them in mind ever since. This is the first I’m trying. (more…)
In addition to fall being pumpkin season, it’s also a perfect time for anyone who loves apples. At the farmer’s market, the berries and peaches of the summer are making way for so many different varieties of apples. I haven’t even heard of half of them, and I want to try them all. I’m not a big fan of most fruit (gasp!), but a fresh, tart apple makes a great mid-day snack, especially with a bit of cheese or a spoonful of peanut butter. And I’ve mentioned before that I love fresh apples and cranberries in my oatmeal (and yes, I’m looking forward to oatmeal on the weekends again now that the weather is cooling down). And of course they’re great in baking. This week I’m going to share a recipe that has become one of my favourites over the years. I’ve baked this for my friends several times in the past (before I’d started this blog, though), and it gets requested again and again. (more…)
So it’s officially fall. The weather is starting to turn cooler, especially in the evenings. And here in Vancouver we’re finally seeing rain after a long hot and dry summer. Although it’s by no means cold yet – I can still keep my windows open and it’s still warm enough to be wearing my sandals (in spite of the rain). Actually, I’m still wearing exactly the same clothes I wore throughout the summer, except now I’m adding a sweater to the mix, because it’s that lovely season when it’s cool in the morning and evening, but the afternoon is determined to still be summer. But it’s definitely baking weather. And it’s the season for pumpkin. I know the market is ridiculously inundated with pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that. But here’s the thing – it became popular for a reason. Because it’s awesome. Pumpkin tarts and pumpkin pies and omg pumpkin cheesecakes. And if you’ve never tried pumpkin with chocolate? Read on. You need to try it. (more…)
I looove the taste of coffee. Generally I can take it or leave it (I’m not addicted to the caffeine – phew!), but I really enjoy a cup in the morning, especially in the fall and winter. I just don’t need to have it. When I do, though, I like it unadulterated. Black. No sweeteners or cream, just strong coffee. If I’m going to have a fancy coffee drink? – which I do really rarely – it’s going to be a mocha. No question. I love the combination of coffee and chocolate. Does anyone not? Espresso, chocolate syrup, and as little milk as possible. Perfection. Those two flavours were made for each other. Both great on their own, but even better when combined. And I’ve also learned that when baking something chocolate, the addition of a small amount of espresso powder will actually enhance the flavours of the chocolate without adding its own flavour. Making brownies? Toss in a teaspoon of espresso powder. You’ll love it! And just add more to transform regular brownies into mocha brownies. Baking is awesome. (more…)
I’m not usually a big peanut butter fan, but for some reason I was craving peanut butter cookies this week. I’ve already shared my usual recipe with you guys, so this week I had to delve into my pile of cookbooks to find a new one. Peanut butter cookies is one of those staples that’s in almost every book, so I had lots of options to choose from. Eventually I’ll get to them all, but for this week I decided to go with a chewy cookie. (more…)
This is the second brown sugar butterscotch cookie I’m posting here (coincidentally both from the same cookbook), and I learned an important lesson from last time. As good as they taste, the Guittard butterscotch chips bake up a horrific orange colour. Seriously, if you click that link, try not to look at the pictures. That was not an attractive cookie (it tasted great though!). This time, however, I used a different brand and the cookies are much prettier. I mentioned before that flavour-wise? I prefer the Guittard. But now I save them for recipes where the colour isn’t an issue. (more…)
After a summer of no-bake cookies and popsicles (omg, so many popsicles!), I was really starting to miss baking. So when I saw rain and a dip in temperature forecast for the weekend, I got a little excited. Finally, I get to make some proper cookies again! Our summer is far from over though. Vancouver summers usually start late, but then we usually have beautiful weather straight through October. Some years I’m still wearing my sandals in November! So I may not be done with no-bake cookies quite yet. I was hoping to make some whoopie pies, but when it came down to it, I was missing one ingredient. D’oh! And as it was the last day of the long weekend, and raining, and I really didn’t feel like leaving my apartment, I decided to shelve that recipe for another day and pick something else. And I gotta tell you, I had a really hard time deciding. After being away from baking for so long (it feels like a long time, anyway – how long has it been?), I wanted to make everything. My coffee table is still completely covered by all the cookbooks I was looking through. (more…)
Who here hasn’t had Rice Krispie treats? We’ve all had them, right? And they’re pretty sweet, right? With all the marshmallow? Well the addition of dark chocolate cuts that sweetness down considerably, resulting in a slightly more grown-up treat (only slightly, because face it, they’re still Rice Krispie treats!). Trying chocolate Rice Krispie treats for the first time was a revelation for me. Personally, I’ll never make the plain ones again. (more…)
This is going to sound weird to those of you already familiar with this blog. You know I love to bake, and when I bake, I don’t generally take shortcuts or make “healthy” substitutions. If it’s a sugary treat? It’s going to be loaded with sugar and butter. That’s what it’s all about. However, when it comes to “real food”? I try to eat as healthy as I can. I eat mostly vegetarian food, and cook everything from scratch. Yes, there’s occasionally lasagna or baked ziti (omg, so good), but mostly a lot of vegetable stews and lentils and ridiculously good-for-you type foods. (more…)
Something about the combination of peaches and bourbon just sounds so right. I think it’s because it’s evocative of the southern states. Kentucky bourbon & Georgia peaches. Well I’m nowhere near there, so while I am using Kentucky bourbon (YUM), these are home-grown BC peaches. I don’t know how we compare to Georgia, but BC, especially the Okanagan, is well known for its fruit (and wineries!). If you ever want to take a road trip in the summer, you’ll find fruit stands everywhere (and wine tastings!). And if you time it just right, you can even buy fresh buttered corn on the cob at the side of the road. Now that’s my kind of road trip. (more…)
