Pumpkin Pie

I love pumpkin pie. I love the custardy texture and the spicy flavour. It reminds me of Thanksgiving and cozy autumn evenings. It is also a relatively easy pie to make even if you do steam your own pumpkin. (I didn't this time but have in the past.)

The first thing you have to remember is to buy pumpkin puree - not pumpkin pie filling. (This stuff is already spiced.) I used a Wanda's recipe for this pie which fits a 10-inch pie plate right to the top. If you use a 9-inch plate, you may have some filling left over. The pumpkin is perfectly cinnamony and nutmegy. Not too overpowering and definitely not bland. Of course, you can play with the spicing to suit your tastes. This pie was also huge - almost like a deep-dish pie. It was delicious and lasted only two days. It tastes nice room temperature but tastes fantastic chilled with some whipped cream dolloped in top. Yum!

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

Pear Cranberry Crisp

Ok, here's another pear recipe for your reading pleasure. The bag I have seems to bottomless so I made some pear cranberry crumble to try and use them up.

This is a super simple recipe to prepare. Peeling and slicing the pears takes the most work in this classic fall dessert. Topping off the fruity filling is a oat crumble made with melted butter. Pop the dish in the oven and you'll have dessert on the table in about an hour.

Words cannot describe how yummy it is to eat hot crisp with cold vanilla ice cream. It is divine. The tart-sweet and crunchy crisp marries well with the smoothness of ice cream. If you'd prefer, try frozen yogurt or vanilla yogurt, however, I cannot vouch for the yumminess factor. I think I'm going to make this again soon!

Recipe: Pear Cranberry Crisp
(Note: Just replace raspberries in recipe with cranberries.)

Pear Cream Cheese Squares

The other day my aunt gave me a big bag of pears from the tree in her backyard. I don't know what kind they are but they were a little smaller than grocery store pears and very green. I knew they would go to good use.

As luck would have it, I was invited to dinner and knew there would be a large number of people there. I thought the pears were perfect for an autumn dessert so I replaced them for apples in a Wanda's recipe - Pear Cream Cheese Squares.

These squares have a few steps but the end result is worth it. Soft cooked pears sit atop a sweetened cream cheese layer and is surrounded by a wonderful buttery crust. It's the perfect dessert when you want something cheesecakey or pie-like but don't want to make a whole one. The cream cheese layer is soft and almost custard-like. All the flavours and textures combine well to make a wonderful square. They're tasty warm, room temperature or cold and the longer you let them stand, the cleaner the cuts you'll get. I have made both pear and apple and like them equally. They're great!

Recipe: Pear Cream Cheese Squares

Chocolate Raspberry Torte

Last week we were invited over for dinner at a friend's house and I wanted to bring something different. I didn't want it to be over-the-top difficult but it had to have familiar flavours so that it would be eaten. As I looked through Robin Hood's Home Baking I found that the Chocolate Raspberry Torte fit all my criteria.

I made the cake the night before and assembled it right before we went out. The cake was lovely, chocolatey and moist. Cutting was easy to do, though I think that cutting evenly is a bit trickier! (At least it was this time.) The raspberry jam was very subtle which I like but I was told that it would have been fine without it. One big change I made was to the icing. I followed the directions exactly but found that the end product was thick and very tangy. I didn't like it very much so I added icing sugar and cream until I got a flavour and consistency I liked. Unfortunately I didn't measure it out so I can't be specific about amounts.

Overall, I would make this cake again but maybe with a different icing. It was considered 'heavy' by some but, cutting smaller wedges can solve that problem. It is truly a dessert cake and one that would suit almost any occasion.

Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Torte

Toasted Granola

Making granola is fun, simple and very easy. All you need are some oats and your favourite add-ins and voila - delicious granola.

The recipe for toasted granola calls for oats, wheat germ, almonds and coconut to be tossed and toasted with honey with dried fruit being added in when it is finished. The thing I like about this recipe is that you don't toast the fruit. I've made other recipes where the raisins are put in the oven and come out bloated and burnt. Not yummy. This way you have perfectly chewy fruit and crunch oats.

You can have the granola with some milk or yogurt for breakfast or use it in a recipe that calls for granola. I was going to do this but it all gone so I have to make a new batch. The granola is tasty, sweet and substantial and keeps you going those days you're to busy to eat. Try it, you might like it.

Recipe: Toasted Granola

Lethal Chocolate Cupcakes & Chocolate Buttercream Icing

One of the easiest, kid-friendly desserts to make for a birthday party are cupcakes. My little neighbour, The Princess, just turned six recently and requested two desserts - white chocolate strawberry cake and chocolate cupcakes. Initally her mom was supposed to bake for the occasion but things got changed around and I was given the honour. I love making cupcakes - they're easy and can be dressed up with some well-made icing and sugary star sprinkles.

The cupcakes are not difficult to make and, as a bonus for some, don't require eggs. I think I posted a while back on a mix-in-the-pan cake and these are a variation on that theme. The recipe comes from The Clueless Baker and is super easy and very tasty. They baked up beautiful and airy and thankfully I made them all the same size. Using muffin liners allowed me to bake two batches back-to-back with minimal clean-up.

The icing was also fun to make. The buttercream icing recipe comes from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and is not the usual type that requires 8 cups of icing sugar. After melting semi-sweet chocolate, you beat it into softened unsalted butter with only a little over a cup of sugar. The end result is heavenly - light and chocolaty. It was smooth and creamy and not too sweet. The kids liked it too - after the party many cupcakes were found with the icing completely licked off.

All in all, they're a good bet for a crowd of sugar seekers and I'm happy everyone enjoyed them.

Recipe: Lethal Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Buttercream Icing

SHF 23 - Chocolate Caramel Cookies

The theme of SHF this month is Surprise Inside hosted by Alanna at A Veggie Adventure.
The guidelines said you could use a surprise ingredient for your treat but I interpreted it quite literally - I wanted to make something with a surprise inside.

I decided to make Chocolate Caramel Cookies, a recipe I first tried years ago. I liked them but they were not my favourite. I gave them another try and made one adjustment by reducing the amount of cocoa powder and what a difference it made!

Before, I thought the cookies were a little bitter but, with only 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, I got a fudgy, brownie-like cookie that surrounds a square of Caramilk bar. Straight from the oven, the caramel if gooey and warm and succeptible to running down your chin. Once firm, as in the picture, the caramel still stays soft and the cookie is delectable as ever. They got the thumbs-up in my house and I would not hesitiate to make them again. Hopefully, I will have more to share next time! Thanks for hosting Alanna - your theme was truly original!

Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Cookies

The Happening Bagel Bakery

While I was in England visiting my sister, she showed me a bakery that was very close to her house. The Happening Bagel Bakery doesn't look like much from the outside but there are many treats to be had once you're inside. I saw mounds of fresh bread, savoury pastries and no shortage of sweets including cakes and tarts. We bought some spinach and cheese turnovers for lunch (which were very tasty) and said we'd return in the evening to pick up something to have with tea. Unfortunately, we never did get a chance to go back so I can't vouch for the for the pastries but I'm sure they were very yummy as well. Until I go back to Finsbury Park, I'll just have to look at my pictures and hope my sister goes there very often!

Peach Cobbler

With all the delicious Ontario peaches in the stores these days, its almost impossible to buy a basket and have any left over to make into something sweet. I really wanted to try them out in a baked good so I found a simple peach cobbler recipe that I could put together quickly before the peaches disappeared.

The recipe is super simple and very basic. The most time consuming part of the process is peeling the peaches which I did by plunging in hot water for 30 seconds. If you take the time to do this, the skin will come off very easily. You can add some flavouring to the peaches or cobbler - cinnamon and ginger may be good flavours to try. You could even throw in some berries for more colour. I didn't add anything to my cobbler and the dessert was yummy. Warm, soft juicy peaches in a not-too-sweet sauce topped with light biscuits. To make it extra special, try topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, gelato or frozen yogurt. It was homey and satisfying all at once and tasted great the next day for breakfast.

Recipe: Peach Cobbler

Italian Sweets

Before I left on my trip, I was excited about all the fanstastic desserts I would see and try. Upon arriving in Alberobello, I soon realized that I might not get to due to its size. It is a very small, rustic city paved with cobblestones and numerous tourist stores selling replica trullis. It was not until my sister-in-law Tanya said, "Did you see the great bakery in town?" that I had a glimmer of hope. I asked her to take me there next time we were in town.

When we got there I was excited - they sold pastries, cookies, chocolate and gelato. Everything (except gelato) was sold by weight so I pulled out 10 euros and said to give me an assortment.

Well, 10 euros bought an entire tray of tarts, cream-filled pastries and cakes. We couldn't believe what she gave us so we bought some gelato and took our treats back home. They all looked very pretty, some more than others. The same went with the flavour - some were very tasty and some tasted like "cake and cream". A few of these same pastries were served at the wedding, along with full slices of cakes and tarts so I think they are pretty common in the region of Italy that we were in. Yum! One of my favourite pastries (not shown) was shaped liked a croissant, glazed and filled with Nutella. Nutella! How fantastic is that?

Our tray of sweets

Back from Puglia

Two weeks sure do go by fast! I'm back from Italy where my family and I spent time in the Puglia region of Italy, specifically Alberobello. This great old city is the home of the trulli, a dwelling with a conical roof as in the picture to the left. We had a great time trying to talk to the locals, who were always ready and willing to help us with pronunciation, ate lots of gelato and had fun in the sun. There were fruit and olive orchards everywhere. You could literally hop the stone fence and grab a fresh plum off the tree. Also, the mozzarella in Italy was to die for and makes the stuff we eat here seem like rubber. It was delicious and soft.

The end of the trip was highlighted with a grand wedding at the Giardino del Mago in Canosa. We were treated to a seven-course meal, dancing and spectacular fireworks. (Pictures of the dessert table at the wedding will come later.) All in all it was a great holiday and I think I now officially have caught the travel bug! Who couldn't love a country that holds official festivals for Nutella?
View of the city

Italy here I come!

I just wanted to let you all know that tomorrow I'll be off to Italy for a couple weeks to attend a wedding. I'm not sure what kind of Internet access I'll have but I promise pictures of fabulous Italian desserts when I get back.

Have a great few last weeks of summer and if there any suggestions of what I should look for and try to bring back, by all means, please leave a comment. :)

Ciao for now!

Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars

When I was looking through my pantry the other day, I saw a big bag of raisins that were just asking to be made into something yummy. I looked at the oats and they were whispering the same thing so I grabbed the Christmas Cookies magazine I've had since 2000 and immediately flipped to the Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars recipe. This is the type of recipe where there are 4 different filling variations and one happened to be raisin so I got to work.

The recipe itself if not hard to prepare. First you make a oat crumble and the filling is made on the stove. Two changes that I made was to use orange juice instead of water in the filling and I added a dash of cinnamon to the oat mixture. This added some extra flavour to the finished bar that was very pleasing. The bar was just sweet enough with a good balance of oats to raisins. This is a recipe I'll always have on standby - It's perfect when you want something quick without having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to prepare it.

Update: The other recipe variations have been added. Just click the recipe link below.

Recipe: Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars

Lemon Coconut Crisps

Looking for a simple little tea cookie? Lemon coconut crisps would be welcome on any cookie tray - they're unassuming and simple with the light flavour of lemon. The texture is crispier than most cookies but they are not hard, just flaky. Most adults would like this cookie unless they absolutely abhor lemon and coconut but kids are a toss-up - some liked these cookies and some didn't. You just never know.

One ingredient in these cookies that is not always present is cream of tartar which acts as a stabilizer and adds volume to baked goods. (At least I think so.) It is easily obtained at bulk food stores so you need not buy a lot. It is also used to make icing for cakes and occurs naturally during the fermentation of grape juice into wine and crystallizes in the wine casks.

So with the cooler weather this morning here in Ontario, I think I'll make a cup of tea, grab a cookie and watch as my backyard transforms from a big dirt pile into a green grassy oasis.

Recipe: Lemon Coconut Crisps

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

After the last week of hot hot heat, it has cooled down enough to actually think of turning on the oven. Today is absolutely beautiful - blue skies, light breeze and sunshine. I had a request for peanut butter cookies and I wanted to try a recipe that was completely new. The ones I've tried before are good enough but not great enough to not have a look around.

Out came Great Canadian Cookies and I flipped and flipped until I ended up at Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. It was submitted from Kanata, Ontario and the little blurb said, "These are the best cookies anyone has ever tasted." Well that's high praise indeed, so I set out to see if it was true or not.

About an hour later they were done and delicious. I'm not joking - the cookies were substantial and did not flatten out at all. The batter was a dream to work with and they kept their shape and tasted great even though I left out some sugar and used natural peanut butter. MiltonMama said these were probably the best peanut butter cookies ever and she would know, Cookie Queen that she is.

Have a great long weekend!

Recipe: Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Not all banana cakes are made equal. This version from Canadian Living is moist, delicious and could be used for any special occasion. The secret is adding orange rind into the batter. This infuses the cake but does not take away from the banana flavour - it enhances it. Add some chocolate chips to the mix and wow! A great cake for snacking and sharing.

You can add the icing as it says in the recipe or just leave it plain with a light dusting of icing sugar. Of course, you can leave out the rind if you wish or add nuts - most add-ins will work in this cake. The recipe makes a lot of cake and it travels well so why not try it for your next picnic or potluck?

Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies for a get together last week with sour cream leftover from an earlier batch of cookies. They're a take on regular chocolate chip cookies with the addition of raisins and walnuts. I opted to leave out the raisins since the no one likes them but I would have liked to leave them in because I think the chewiness would have added another texture dimension that would have complemented the smooth chocolate and crunchy nuts.

These cookies are quite tasty and you get a really nice cookie dough that holds it shape in a scooper. I found that if you flatten them a bit before baking they are more circular but if you leave it as a mound, it stays that way. Either way is fine, it just depends on your preferences. The cookies brown nicely and are a little cakey but not dry. They were all gone by the end of the night so I guess everyone liked them as well. They really are a great Canadian cookie.

Recipe: Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

Key Lime Pie

This isn't a Key lime pie in the truest sense - I made it with Persian limes, the ones most commonly found in the average grocery store. I have never tried a real Key lime but, it seems that you don't really need it to make a nice lime pie.

The recipe comes from Wanda's Pie in the Sky and is very easy to make. It is the first pie I've made that uses uncooked egg yolks. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was great. It didn't taste eggy and the filling firmed up nicely and was sliceable. The filling was sweet-tart and the coconut in the crust complemented the lime, making it taste more tropical. Overall, I was happy witht the results and would not hesitate to make it again.

Recipe: Key Lime Pie

Spicy Ginger Crinkle Cookies

After reading about the Cocoa Cappuccino Cookies at Tea and Cookies and seeing their lovely sparkle, I decided to make a favourite cookie that is also rolled in coarse sugar - Spicy Ginger Crinkles.

I've made these cookies for years and they are yummy. They consist of a molasses/ginger dough that is rolled onto balls, rolled in sugar and then baked. The result is a crackled, spicy cookie that is perfect with milk and tea. Kids who like strong flavours will like them too. The longer you bake then the crispier they become.

Another reason that I made these is that my little neighbour, The Princess, asked me to and, as the obedient baker that I am, I quickly set out to to make her happy. Time to make a delivery!

Recipe: Spicy Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Lollipops

Make someone happy!

1. Get chocolate, molds, sticks, sprinkles and candy bags. (optional - for wrapping.)
2. Melt chocolate and pour into molds. Add sticks. Decorate if desired.
3. Place in refrigerator until chilled and solid.
4. Pop out and enjoy!

No baking required!

Sour Cream Cookies

First off, I'd like to apologize for the poor picture quality. It was dark and gloomy all day and this was the best I could do before the cookies all got eaten. I wouldn't have even bothered to post them but they were so tasty I just had to.

These Sour Cream Cookies are amazing. They are fluffy and cakey with the subtle tang of sour cream. If you have eaten a snickerdoodle, these taste very similar except that they are not rolled in cinnamon sugar - it is just sprinkled on top. The dough is very soft and not easily shaped into a ball for rolling as a snickerdoodle is.

The recipe comes from Great Canadian Cookies by Pamela Steel which is full of cookie and bar recipes sent in from all over Canada. This particular one come from Sherwood Park, Alberta and I'm glad it made it in. They are easy to prepare even for the novice baker and use all the basic baking ingredients. You could even throw in some chocolate chips if you wanted to. The recipe uses a whole cup of sour cream so they're indulgent but worth it if you like this type of cookie texture. Don't be fooled by the picture - yesterday I was told that "These are the best cookies ever!" What could be more satisfying than that? :)

Recipe: Sour Cream Cookies

Hot Chocolate Pudding

Sixty four percent of moms say JELL-O Pudding is a favorite snack for kids. Jello Website

That's a lot of pudding! I can see the appeal (or repulsion) of pudding - smooth creamy custard that just slides down the throat. No chewing required. A healthy alternative to buying premade pudding or powder from the store is to make your own. By doing this, you can avoid the added chemicals and that strange aftertaste that lingers in the mouth.

This hot chocolate pudding is very easy to assemble and uses ingredients found in most kitchens - milk, sugar, cocoa powder, flour and milk. It only takes about 10 minutes to whisk everything together and pour into dishes. The pudding is smooth and chocolately and is best enjoyed thoroughly chilled. Just remember to stay vigilant - if you leave it unattended it will burn quickly.

If you like, throw in a strip of orange rind for flavouring and fish it out before you pour out the pudding. Add a dollop of whipped cream and/or a few fresh berries and you have a quick and yummy dessert that everyone will enjoy.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Miguel de Cervantes

Recipe: Hot Chocolate Pudding

Blueberry Cheese Coffeecake

I love cheesecake coffeecakes. Cream cheese adds an extra dimension to the ever-popular crumb cake - a smooth melt-on-the-tongue creaminess that comes from eating a real cheesecake. Throw in some fresh blueberries and you have a cake worthy of any occasion.

The cake is best served warm or at room temperature. It is moist and flavourful, bursting with juicy blueberries. The crumb topping is very complementary to the cake by adding a little bit of sweet crunch which finishes off the cake perfectly. There are three components to prepare for the cake - topping, cheese filling and cake but, if you give yourself enough time to assemble and bake it, you will be greatly rewarded. There is also a raspberry variation that, no doubt, would taste fantastic as well.

Recipe: Blueberry Cheese Coffeecake

Simply Lovely Lemon Squares

Making a really good lemon square is tricky business. All the components have to be there - a tender shortbread crust supporting a tart, creamy lemon filling. Some problems that can occur are that your square ends up tasting eggy or that your filling gets overcooked thus becoming a solid mass. They would probaby still be edible but not nearly as pleasurable as a proper lemon bar should be.

I have had my share of hits and misses with the lemon square and I think this attempt falls somewhere in the middle. Though they were enjoyed by Mr. CB, they were not 100% perfect. The shortbread was lovely and buttery but the filling could have used a little work. It was tart and lemony but not quite right somehow. Some of the filling leaked underneath the crust so some bars really had no filling to speak of - just lemon flavour. I am not discouraged though - the perfect lemon bar recipe is out there somewhere and I will find it.

Recipe: Simply Lovely Lemon Squares

Cheddar Apple Bars

I really look forward to the weekends but mine are turning out to be so busy that they fly right by. I did, however, get some time to make Cheddar Apple Bars but had to wait until this morning to post about it.

This is another great recipe for using any apples you have hanging around. The filling consists of simmered apples layered between a cheddar-oat crumble. The cheese adds a subtle tang to the sweet apples and it tastes reminiscent of apple crisp or pie, just in bar form.

I would make these again because I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Also, I would recommend waiting until the bars are completely cooled before cutting. I cut mine when they were still warm so I didn't get clean edges but they do cut cleanly if you wait.

Recipe: Cheddar Apple Bars

Oreo Muffins

I don't usually have Oreos on hand at my house. My mom gave me a package on the weekend and, of course, I couldn't just eat them - that would be too easy so I decided to do something creative with them. I remember seeing a recipe on Bakingsheet for Oreo Cupcakes and with that inspiration I looked around for a similar recipe that didn't require a whole package of cookies. I found an easy recipe for Oreo Muffins on AAA Recipes. It looked reasonable with all the proper ingredients so I decided to go ahead.

The muffins came together nicely and I added an extra smidge of milk to get the batter a little softer. I would recommend leaving the cookie part in big chunks. Crumbs just dissolve and with the big chunks, the muffins stay black and white. The muffins, surprisngly, weren't very sweet (and oddly tasteless) and had a dense crumb. I didn't really detect an overt Oreo flavour but I was happy about how they baked - these are solid muffins. They went over well with the kids and I just added melted white chocolate on top to decorate and give them some extra flavour.

Recipe: Oreo Muffins

Banana Nut Quick Bread

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Mine was fun and busy - one activity after another. Yesterday I found some time to make some banana bread with the three bananas on my counter. I wanted a recipe that would use them all and I found one in the Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook by Jennifer Appel, one of the co-founders of Magnolia Bakery.

I haven't delved into this book enough to say its good or not but, the banana bread was tasty. It was very dense and chewy, not light and airy. If you like this type of texture then you'll like this bread, if not you may have to put those three bananas to another use. The batter was easy to prepare and if you have no nuts, some type of dry add-in would work or you can just leave it plain.

Now that summer vacation is here, I'm hoping to have more time to put into trying out new recipes. I will definitely explore this book some more. Have a great day!

Recipe: Banana Nut Quick Bread

Strawberry Scones

On a trip to Springridge Farm this past weekend, I picked up some lovely, sweet red strawberries. I had seen some in the grocery store and didn't buy them knowing I could eat local and support a family business at the same time. Springridge is a great place to visit - there is tons to do with kids and a quaint country store to do some shopping. They also serve yummy baked goods too - strawberry tarts and pies!

Unfortunately, strawberry season is quickly coming to an end this year but we do have raspberries to look forward to. If you happen to have some berries around, an easy treat is to make scones. Just use your favourite recipe and fold in fresh chopped strawberries. Simple and tasty. To dress them up, add a drizzle of white chocolate and you have a nice summertime treat.

Recipe: Basic Scones

Tweed Crisps

These cookies:

a) originate from the Municipality of Tweed, Ontario
b) were created by Canadian actress, Shannon Tweed
c) resemble a fabric made fashionable by Coco Chanel.

If you guessed "C", you're correct! These cookies are meant to have a tweedy look due to the chocolate speckled throughout. They're easy enough to make but plan ahead - they require a few hours of chilling time. A bonus is that you can have refrigerated logs of dough in your refrigerator up to 3 days before you bake.

The cookies also have coconut in them, giving them a nice chewy texture that contrasts nicely with the crispiness of the cookie. One thing about the recipe that should not daunt you is the measurement for slicing the logs. The recipe calls for 3/16-inch slices. My ruler was not that exact in its measurement so I interpreted it as 'thin', but not too thin. Overall, the cookies are pleasing and a change from chewy cookies. They're small and neat, perfect for a cookie tray and afternoon tea.

Recipe: Tweed Crisps

Recipe Meme

No recipes, just a meme for today. Thanks to Linda at Make Life Sweeter for the tag.

From where do you obtain the recipes you prepare?

I usually get recipes from the cookbooks I have and Canadian Living magazines. They are a staple in my house – I’ve had a subscription since 1999.

How often do you cook a new recipe?

I try to do at least one new recipe a week to post on my blog.

Where do you store your favourite recipes?

If the recipe comes from a book or magazine, that’s where they’ll stay. I don’t have a huge collection of books so I remember where a recipe comes from. Sometime I have to bookmark magazine recipes because they’re harder to find when you have so many. I keep the magazines sorted by year in Ikea magazine holders. If I print a recipe from the Internet, they go in their own file as well as hand-written ones. This doesn’t always work because I’m always finding folded recipes in the pages of my books.

How large is your recipe pile? Is it organized? If so, how?

It used to be very large but I weeded through it and threw a lot of random stuff out. Now I have two full binders of recipes arranged by author and/or book title, a lot of magazine holders and my books take up two shelves on my bookshelf.

What is the oldest recipe in your “to try" pile?

I honestly couldn’t tell you…all the really old recipes got thrown out because I knew I’d never make them.

Are you ever going to make those recipes in your to try pile?

I would like to think so but, I’ll never get around to making all the things I want to.

Do you follow a recipe exactly or modify as you go?

I follow a recipe to the letter the first time I make it and every time after that. I really like the structure of a good recipe – how it will always turn out well every time as long as you follow the instructions. With baking, you don’t have a lot of leeway to experiment with basic ingredients but I will sometimes do substitutions for add-ins.

What is one new recipe that you’re scared to try?

I’m not afraid to try anything once.

Tag at least one new food blogger for this meme (“new" as in only blogging a few months).

Tanna from My Kitchen In Half Cups

Tag at least one food blogger you visit regularly but never interacted with?

Save Your Fork
She isn’t a fan of memes but her site is fun to read, very honest and amusing.

Tag at least one food blogger you constantly visit and leave comments.

I think everyone I visit has already participated in this meme! Have a great weekend!

Apple Squares

Here's another recipe that's great for using up apples that are getting soft. Apple Squares are exactly what the name implies - an apple filling mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon that is spread over a buttery batter. The batter is soft and easy to work - using your hands to pat down the dough works well. The recipe also calls for the extra dough to be arranged on top like a lattice. This makes the squares look pretty but one change I would make is to roll the lattice strips thinner and use more that just 5 x 5 because they do puff up when they bake.

Overall, the square is tasty, versatile and simple. I think pears would work as well and if you like dried cranberries, they would go nicely with the apples. I would make it again and serve a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Perfect!

Recipe: Apple Squares

Rocky Road Brownies

I've had a package of marshmallows in my cupboard for a while waiting to be made into brownies. An occasion popped up yesterday where I was be able to make them and have the opportunity to share as much as I could with friends and not have too much left at my house.

The recipe for Rocky Road Brownies comes from my Baker's Best Chocolate Cookbook that I mail-ordered years ago. The marshmallows I had were the large ones, so I cut them up and sprinkled them over the hot brownies and let them melt a bit more in the oven. They spread out on their own and covered the entire brownie base. When they were cool I drizzled the top with melted semisweet chocolate to make them look pretty. They were a bit difficult to cut as the marshmallow is very sticky but they tasted very nice - the brownie was moist and studded with walnuts and the topping was chewy and gooey. They're definitely a kid-pleasing bar and tastier than, dare I say, store-bought. :)

Recipe: Baker's Rocky Road Brownies

Banana Coconut Muffins

Need to use up those ripe bananas? Banana Coconut Muffins are simple to make with ingredients found in most kitchens. The recipe only makes eight muffins and they bake up golden with nicely browned coconut on top. There is no liquid add-in for this recipe - the moisture comes from the mashed banana, butter and an egg.

The muffins are moist and flavourful and don't require a lot of time or effort to prepare. If you wanted to make mini-muffins you absolutely could - just reduce the baking time. The recipe comes from epicurious.com and if you don't like coconut, I believe chocolate chips or dried cranberries would work equally as well. Give 'em a try!

Recipe: Banana Coconut Muffins

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

What is rhubarb? This distinctly colourful plant is seen all over Ontario in the summer yet many have never cooked or baked with it, including myself. What do you do with those red stalks? Well, you can use them to make ice cream as the Candied Quince did or you can make it into a tasty Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

Rhubarb, or Rheum rhabarbarum, is a vegetable with a unique taste that makes it a favorite in many pies and desserts. It originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago. It was initially cultivated for its medicinal qualities, it was not until the 18th century that rhubarb was grown for culinary purposes in Britain and America. Rhubarb is often commonly mistaken to be a fruit but rhubarb is actually a close relative of garden sorrel, and is therefore a member of the vegetable family. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. The Rhubarb Compendium

The cake I made called for fresh chopped rhubarb and was a snap to prepare. The recipe introduction stated that the cake was "studded with juicy pink rhubarb" which I thought would look pretty but when I chopped up the rhubarb it was more of a light lime green - only the outside was pink. I got a bit nervous cutting it up because it looked like celery and I didn't want to make celery cake. My fears were intensified when I actually took a bite and it was sour, ack! Mr. CB came over and picked up a couple chunks and said "Yum rhubarb!" I asked him if this was how rhubarb was supposed to taste and he said yes so I proceeded to make the cake completely unsure of how it would come out.

Well , it turned out just fine and the rhubarb got soft except I had juicy green chunks instead of pink. Mr. CB loved the cake and when I tried it, it was not sour at all! Wow, I was surprised. It was moist and yummy - definitely a recipe to try again. Maybe the rhubarb I bought wasn't ready to be eaten yet. Should the stalks be pink all the way through? Any insights would be appreciated because I would love to continue my Summer Adventures in Rhubarb!

Recipe: Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Plum Sour Cream Kuchen

I know that plums aren't in season just yet in Ontario but, I couldn't resist picking some up at the grocery store this weekend. (Months of buying apples, pears and bananas will do that to you.) The recipe I had in mind was one I had wanted to try for a while - Plum Sour Cream Kuchen.

Kuchen is a German word for a "coffeecake raised with yeast, often contaianing fruits and nuts."Dictionary.com
Epicurious.com defines kuchen as "A fruit- or cheese-filled yeast-raised cake, usually served for breakfast but also enjoyed as a dessert. It originated in Germany but is now enjoyed in many variations throughout much of Europe and the United States. The word kaffeekuchen is German for "coffee cake."

The plum kuchen is a variation of the above because it is not yeasted. A orange scented cake batter is topped with cinnamon-sprinkled plums which, an hour or so later, turns into a moist, wonderful cake. Next to apples in pie, cooked plums rank high in my books. They soften while they bake, yet stay semi-firm, juicy and delicious. The cake is fantastic on its own any time of the day (or night) with a hot beverage. A scoop of vanilla ice cream wouldn't hurt either.Recipe: Plum Sour Cream Kuchen

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

I've had the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook for a long while now and decided it was about time I made their famous cupcakes. I was going to take them to the bakesale but ended up taking them to a birthday party on Saturday instead where they were very much appreciated.

The cupcakes were easy to mix together and only contain the very basic of ingredients - butter, flour, sugar and milk. It does call for self-rising flour (which I don't have) so I added some baking powder. The first batch I made came out fine and golden , though some were bigger than others. The second batch came out more evenly sized. Once they were cooled, I iced half blue and half pink. (I was going for red but ran out of the red food colour paste.) The Magnolia buttercream is also very basic - icing sugar, butter and milk. It was sweet and creamy and tasted exactly how you'd imagine it to taste - like icing. The more you beat it, the creamier it got, almost to the point of melting in your mouth.

The cupcakes won rave reviews in my house. My taste testers said the cake was great and seven were eaten before we got to the party. I think cupcakes are fun to make and look really nice all dressed up with icing and sprinkles. They're portable, not too messy and kids and adults like them. I have some leftover pink icing so I think I'll make some more. I'm sure they won't last long!

Recipe: Traditional Vanilla Birthday Cake

New York Black & White Cookies

"The thing about eating the Black and White cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet still somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie all our problems would be solved." - Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld (The Dinner Party) Episode 77

I never watched Seinfeld but somehow I knew there was a connection between the show and possibly New York's most famous cookie. After a little searching my thoughts were confirmed and I found the above quote and realized that the Black & White is as important to New York as the butter tart is to Canada.

Black & White cookies are sold all over the city and there are big discussions on where to find the perfect one. I don't think and self-respecting deli would be caught not selling them. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but they are definitely a New York staple. The recipe I made comes from The Good Cookie. I've been eying this recipe for a while because it sounded amazing. A big vanilla cookie topped with two glazes sounded super yummy and, as I have no plans of visiting The Big Apple anytime soon, I made them.

Well, the cookie baked up perfectly. They are big, cakey and can be described as more of a flat cake than a cookie. The glazes were easy to make and icing them was not hard although I'll have to work on making them look smoother. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how they taste because I sent them off to the local public school for a bakesale tomorrow. No matter though. Now I have a reason to make them again. If Seinfeld was right and the cookies could increase racial harmony, I'd make them every day.

Recipe: New York Black & White Cookies