tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17184396879452395982012-01-10T12:35:56.264-05:00A blog from a girl who bakes a lot and shares her food with friends, family, and coworkers.biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.comBlogger3631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-17205633960491982362010-09-06T09:09:00.003-04:002010-09-06T09:35:22.252-04:00

I was looking for a good end of summer desert to make and since we were having friends over for pork bbq I wanted something big enough to feed all of us. I had a couple of rum cakes in mind, but I decided to flip through my book Sky High -- Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes since I had not used it before even though I have owned it for several months now. The Pina Colada Cake struck me as perfect

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-10669323512096249722010-06-20T14:51:00.003-04:002010-06-20T15:03:23.564-04:00

I don't have a picture for this recipe since I didn't intend to post the recipe. However, I had a request for the recipe and if I'm going to type the recipe into the computer I might as well put it on the blog where I can find it again easily.This recipe came from a book in the stack of books I recently bought (scroll down for the pic) -- Cake Keepers Cakes. When I was looking for a recipe I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-6970045821810771192010-05-18T19:25:00.004-04:002010-05-19T19:32:00.823-04:00

Do you ever get focused on a flavor combination and you just can't get it out of your head? I was flipping through my new David Lebovitz book (My Best Desserts) and I saw an awesome looking recipe for almond chocolate chunk biscotti. However, it was the middle of the work week and biscotti, no matter how awesome looking, just seemed like too much work. But by then I had that flavor combo stuck

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-89043263572494775102010-05-18T05:47:00.004-04:002010-05-18T19:13:30.432-04:00

When we had our housewarming party a few weeks ago a couple of our friends gave us a coupon for a Costco membership. Before we bought the new house we simply didn't have room for bulk items that we would be buying at Costco, but in the new house we had plenty of room. We had talked off and on about getting a card for ourselves, but kept putting it off since with just the two of us in the house

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-69591072621520712402010-05-13T17:42:00.004-04:002010-05-13T18:36:41.094-04:00

Tomorrow is Friday and that seemed as good a reason as any to bake something. However, since it was already 5 pm when I had this idea, I wanted something quick and easy. I very nearly went with yet another bundt cake, just because I love them, but in the end I decided to vary things up a bit and started looking for another option. However, since I also wanted to use one of my new books I was

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-18889410569715979762010-05-10T18:09:00.011-04:002010-05-10T20:21:46.477-04:00

When I left my job where I worked 12-hour shifts, the team of people I worked with gave me two very generous gift cards. One was for Ann Taylor where I buy most of my clothes, and the other was for Amazon. The gifts from them were particularly generous in part because for the 20 months I worked with all of them I baked something for each and every shift (well... except that one which they never

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-74550478264549517572010-05-09T16:15:00.007-04:002010-05-09T18:23:42.897-04:00

It has been a really long time since I have blogged regularly... and I'm not sure it's going to stick this time around. But I am back to working regular 8-hour shifts, Monday through Friday, rather than rotating 12-hour shifts so I figured I would give it a try.I chose this particular recipe to get started with for a couple of reasons. The big reason was that I had two sorry looking pears

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-25347034295996790402009-07-18T18:39:00.004-04:002009-07-18T19:28:02.817-04:00

I had a really hard time deciding what cake to make for my birthday this year. I flipped through several books looking for inspiration, and nothing called out to me. I didn't want to make the usual carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, even though it is one of my favorite cakes, and I didn't want something bland and boring either. I considered coconut cakes, peanut butter cakes, maple cakes

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-32313577771469323722009-07-11T11:42:00.004-04:002009-07-12T10:46:57.487-04:00

I have definitely gotten better at making pies. Earlier posts talk about cursing, crying and throwing things in various failed attempts to get a flaky, great tasting pie crust, but I believe those days are now firmly behind me. Sure there may be relapses now and again, but the last several attempts have turned out decently.The technique that finally helped me succeed (as much as I have so far)

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-76364049251569419992009-07-04T16:28:00.005-04:002009-07-05T06:05:42.803-04:00

I wanted something red white and blue for the Fourth of July and had blueberries and rhubarb so decided to make it happen using my new book The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle which I got with one of the gift cards we got at the wedding. So far I have been quite pleased with the book, and these bars are definitely worth repeating even though they didn't quite fit the red white and blue theme I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-85365504801869643772009-06-22T14:45:00.008-04:002009-06-23T17:30:48.078-04:00

We are back safe and sound from Oregon. As you can see from the picture we had a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast for our beach wedding and we had a fantastic time celebrating with our family and friends. My goal was for a simple, easy, relaxed celebration and that is exactly what we got. Our only complaint is that our DJ was terrible, but that was funny more than anything (Du Hast was

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-59003068297579998662009-06-06T20:10:00.002-04:002009-06-06T20:23:15.661-04:00

Sorry I have not posted in so long but life has gotten crazy. A short break has turned into an extended absence and I'm not quite sure when I will be back. Just to reassure any readers who may remain -- there is nothing serious going on, and I do continue baking (I'm afraid of what my coworkers would do to me if I didn't) but I haven't managed to fit the blogging in with everything else.

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-44749145792886705632009-05-12T19:48:00.005-04:002009-05-15T09:20:40.029-04:00

This is actually a very nice loaf cake. The crumb is soft and has a great texture. The lemon flavor is there without being overwhelming. It is soft and after being well-wrapped on the counter for 3 days, still fairly moist. Which makes me feel like I'm damning it with faint praise.The problem is that I have a go-to lemon-poppy seed loaf that I like quite a lot more than this one. My go-to

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-43356302071003906382009-05-12T19:43:00.004-04:002009-05-14T06:13:39.002-04:00

I always get excited when I see brownies being offered because I happen to love brownies. However, I am also usually disappointed after I grab one and discover that they are dry and don't offer much chocolate flavor. Most people I know seem to think that you can get decent brownies out of a box which is pretty tragic because brownies aren't actually all that hard to make. The tough part is

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-62290274672007024802009-05-12T12:46:00.005-04:002009-05-13T06:13:50.253-04:00

What is ironic about this cake is that I made something similar just the other day from the same book -- my Passion For Baking book -- and the first version of this cake was excellent while this one is only so-so. I think part of my problem with this cake though was that I didn't get it into the pan correctly. The book said something about chilling the cake batter, then patting into the bottom

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-47330270750940243172009-05-06T05:22:00.006-04:002009-05-07T09:57:54.711-04:00

This is a great cake. Actually, the words I used to describe this cake were "stupid good", and I stand by them now. The cake itself is a really basic vanilla cake with a soft crumb and a great texture. It is sliced in half (easier done if you throw it in the fridge for an hour or two, but possible to do if you just let it cool on the counter for 45 minutes and work carefully), then you smear

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-6035418420133988432009-05-01T13:18:00.006-04:002009-05-04T05:49:26.673-04:00

This recipe, yet another from my KAF Cookie Companion, is actually for any kind of nut butter. I made it the first time using peanut butter since that's all I had on hand and it was pretty good. Not as good as my favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, but still pretty good. For the most part the cookies don't flatten out at all and you end up with round cookies with an almost fluffy

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-57789407725733475972009-05-01T12:56:00.003-04:002009-05-01T13:13:35.777-04:00

I know I have gone a little heavy on the cookies lately, but what can I say? They are quick, easy, portable, keep well, and feed a crowd -- which are all points I look for when I am looking for things to bake since I am mostly baking to feed my coworkers during 12-hour shifts. Of course, cookies also tend to get a little old after a time so I'm always interested in new flavor combinations to

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-41622679088644995182009-04-30T14:33:00.002-04:002009-04-30T14:34:37.076-04:00

For Lena: here is the recipe to this old post. This was the second recipe that really interested me when I was looking for recipes to use up all the apples I have. This is one of only three or four quick bread recipes in the Nick Malgieri book and every one of them looks excellent.This recipe combined the nutty, wholesome flavor and texture of whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat graham flour

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-57938796915193597912009-04-23T11:14:00.004-04:002009-04-23T11:40:23.204-04:00

Every now and again a particular recipe will start making it's way through the food blogging world. One person will make it and blog about it, and then slowly it will begin appearing across the blogosphere as more people try it and blog about it. The Dorie Greenspan World Peace cookies were one of these recipes a while back, and more recently Snickerdoodle Muffins started making the rounds.The

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-48640461556776527572009-04-14T15:28:00.005-04:002009-04-15T19:04:17.161-04:00

I didn't really expect to like these scones since figs, for the most part, don't do much for me. The only reason I made them was that they used up a lot of buttermilk (almost done with the 2 gallons now) and I figured Chris would like them since he likes figs.Imagine my surprise when I bit into one and realized just how good they are. The fig flavor melds very well with the rich, buttery

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-68220792007383756032009-04-14T15:22:00.005-04:002009-04-14T18:53:17.527-04:00

Mace is not a spice that tends to show up much in baked goods and even when it does it is usually a very small amount added to recipes that also call for lots of other spices. When I picked this recipe to make I wasn't really paying much attention to the spice combination though -- I was far more intent on the fact that it used a cup of buttermilk (since I am running out of time to use up the 2+

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-84156504026371739092009-04-10T13:18:00.004-04:002009-04-10T13:51:23.038-04:00

So far I have not been that impressed with my new book Baked. Granted, I have only made three recipes, and I have not yet attempted their signature recipes (the Baked Brownies which Oprah listed as one of her favorite things, and their Sweet and Salty Cake which Martha Stewart featured on her show) -- but none of the three recipes I have tried has been a standout.The maple walnut scones were

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-8878994962083853802009-04-08T13:58:00.004-04:002009-04-08T14:27:13.174-04:00

Like most food bloggers and want-to-be photographers my biggest challenge has been lighting. My kitchen gets decent morning light since my windows face east but really that's about it, and even that's no good on really overcast days. I have read various articles about different kinds of light and set-ups that other food bloggers use, but I never really considered investing in that sort of

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-74911368320752077102009-04-06T18:40:00.004-04:002009-04-06T19:01:11.474-04:00

Strawberries were on sale at Safeway the other day and I had to buy some even though they were a bit rough looking simply because it is Spring and I wanted berries. Of course once I got the berries I had to figure out what to do with them and I gave Chris several options including pie, cheesecake, shortcake, or pound cake. In the end Chris couldn't decide which left it up to me.I considered my

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-44015511324205554502009-04-02T17:36:00.005-04:002010-02-17T06:29:20.734-05:00

Now these are some cookies. The type of cookie you make when you are craving chocolate and nothing but chocolate. These cookies offer the best of both worlds -- the texture and flavor of the best sorts of fudgie brownies in an easy to eat and carry cookie form. The only thing that might possibly make these better in my mind is adding some toasted walnuts or pecans, but even without those

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-68133204084044762352009-03-28T16:12:00.004-04:002009-03-28T19:06:28.535-04:00

I have to admit, the red velvet cake is very striking looking with the white frosting and red cake. This was my first experience with red velvet cake -- both making it and eating it. Flavor-wise it's not much of a standout, just a regular, nice, moist, buttermilk cake that happens to be dyed red. The cream cheese frosting on this particular version (found in my Sweet Melissa Baking Book) is

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-40739176100739370362009-03-26T16:35:00.006-04:002009-03-27T19:30:43.172-04:00

I got a new baking book in the mail today -- Baked -- and of course had to make something out of it immediately. I have seen many references to this book throughout the food blogging world over the last several months and have even printed several recipes that come from the book for future use. I knew I wanted to buy the book though, so I added it to my Amazon shopping cart and then promptly

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-81883783229193172212009-03-26T16:21:00.004-04:002009-03-26T19:09:36.277-04:00

You would think that with my raging sweet tooth I would be all about candy bars, but the truth is that I rarely eat them and they almost never really tempt me. In fact, if you put an assortment of full-sized candy bars in front of me I would be able to say no to them 99% of the time with no regret. However, if you put the same assortment of mini candy bars in front of me I would be tempted, but

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-39637973722305971702009-03-25T15:35:00.003-04:002009-03-25T22:06:09.483-04:00

I have made a lot of banana bread over the years and I have to say this is one of the better versions I have made. The banana flavor is light and delicate, but still clearly there. The texture is soft and moist without being oily in any way and the edges are just firm enough to allow even and smooth slicing, without being tough. One of Chris' coworkers had requested banana bread the other day

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-14197133578681363792009-03-20T15:29:00.002-04:002009-03-24T20:23:30.073-04:00

My favorite kind of brownie is fairly simple: lots of chocolate, chewy -- never cakey, with toasted walnuts or pecans to add some crunch. To me the perfect brownie should be simplicity in itself. Perfect all by itself with no need of fancy toppings or frosting. However, every now and again it's good to up the ante and make something a little fancier. It also helps that I happened to have some

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-64367854421156751812009-03-20T15:26:00.003-04:002009-03-23T22:06:39.975-04:00

For Pi day my first choice was banana cream pie. It helped of course that Chris had already chosen pecan pie since pecan and banana cream are pretty much my favorites. I'm not a huge pie person to begin with, but of all the pies in the world the top of my list would definitely have to be pecan and banana cream.Fruit pie just doesn't really do much for me at all. Of all the fruit pies in the

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-42468762151010492692009-03-20T15:24:00.003-04:002009-03-21T00:57:07.511-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while. I've been baking as usual, I just haven't had the time or energy to post anything on the blog. However, every time I think I should just shut it down, someone asks me for a recipe, or I get a random note from a stranger who stumbled across the blog looking for a recipe, and I decide I should continue for a while. I got very excited this year about Pi day (3/

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-7364243711412813822009-03-09T11:17:00.003-04:002009-03-09T11:39:42.128-04:00

Yesterday was a great day mostly because the weather was great which allowed us to break out of the winter routine. After our grocery shopping running around we went for an outdoor bicycle ride and rode our regular 17 mile loop. In the afternoon we bottled beer, and then we lit up the grill and Chris grilled us a couple of rib-eyes while I steamed some baby asparagus. Such a great day.And all

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-65779863481602677562009-03-06T18:48:00.004-05:002009-03-07T05:47:26.637-05:00

I tend to scroll through all the pictures on Tastespotting 3 or 4 times a week looking for inspiration in my baking. Some days I will only look at one or two links from the pictures and won't copy any recipes into my gmail documents folder where I store my online discoveries. Other days I will copy dozens of recipes for some vague future use, but then won't actually get around to making one of

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-88949781621061963102009-03-03T10:27:00.005-05:002009-03-04T19:52:12.119-05:00

I have made many loaves of banana bread over the years, but I have to say, this is one of the prettiest loaves I've ever baked, plus the ingredients make it sound awesome. I have 7 variations of banana bread on my blog (look under the link for Quick Breads) and that doesn't even count the versions of banana muffins that I have made using a quick bread recipe. This one, by far, has the most

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-42498959087238149752009-03-03T08:46:00.005-05:002009-03-03T10:24:47.573-05:00

I noticed that my weight was starting to creep up again, so I did what most females seem to do and freaked out about it. My first response was to simply increase my bicycle riding which was easy enough because Chris and I decided that we wanted to ride a century (100 mile event) this year and we knew we would need a lot of training to prepare for it. For the last three weeks we have been on our

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-59902001479945108002009-02-22T09:07:00.008-05:002009-04-12T22:58:16.950-04:00

If you are a lover of butter and sugar in a pure form then these bars are for you since they are pretty much straight butter and sugar in various combinations. Sure, there is some flour binding the crust and crumb together, but it's really only there to hold everything together, and doesn't get in the way of the flavors at all.I knew I had to try this recipe before too terribly long because it

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-36941932453742238352009-02-19T13:42:00.006-05:002009-02-20T09:19:08.200-05:00

You ever have one of those days where you begin to wonder why you even bothered to get out of bed in the morning? This was one of those days for me.A few weeks ago I got a letter from my county court system telling me I had jury duty. With the nature of my job I was pretty sure I could get out of it, so I put the letter in my bag and brought it to work so that I could ask someone about it. I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-52000736833385110582009-02-17T07:21:00.009-05:002009-02-19T13:31:57.283-05:00

sweet and bitter. bitter and sweet. such a good combination. I had one of these after lunch, after the bars had come back to room temperature since they had spent the night in the fridge -- and damn they are good. Cold, they are fine, but underwhelming. At room temp the coffee flavor pops out, complementing the sweet toffee and crunchy almonds even more and turning them into something

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-45575247676587096412009-02-14T19:43:00.003-05:002009-02-15T17:39:18.959-05:00

When I first had a kitchen of my own I didn't know much about cooking or baking and I certainly didn't know anything about gourmet food. I could make a few basic things of course, but my food education was limited at best. My mom did most of the cooking when I was growing up, but she has always worked full time and is a fairly picky eater so between the two, the dishes she made focused on easy,

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-51219955117106642822009-02-14T19:31:00.006-05:002009-02-15T11:22:05.209-05:00

The name of this cake is problematic. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen's site (she made cupcakes instead of a cake) and she had originally named it Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes -- however she caught a LOT of grief from people for using that distasteful name. The problem is that the drink or the cake is actually pretty hard to describe, but if you just say Irish Car Bomb (most) people

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-82185132856871380502009-02-10T22:09:00.007-05:002009-02-11T13:46:47.706-05:00

I am in love with this recipe. I figured it would be pretty good when I found it after doing a random search of the Food Blog Search, but I didn't know it would be this good.I did change it up a bit, both for practical reasons, and because I thought it would be good this way too. The original recipe had dried cherries and walnuts, but I like the almond/cherry combination and I don't use almonds

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-18331150144062739912009-02-09T16:12:00.004-05:002009-02-09T20:36:52.133-05:00

There are a few blogs that I visit almost every day and one of them is Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I have made a few of her recipes before, but even if I don't want to make the recipes that she has posted that day I always enjoy looking at her pictures and reading her blog.This recipe looked perfect for my work-schedule needs. Quick and easy like a good blondie should be, but with a twist

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-39701390496409594592009-02-02T15:34:00.005-05:002009-02-02T18:18:58.742-05:00

I am pretty picky about my brownies. Brownies should be rich, dense, and full of chocolate flavor. Chocoholics should swoon at the taste of a tiny corner of the good brownie and then do a happy dance as they finish eating the delectable goodness of a brownie. Brownies should never be cakey, and they should not need frosting or any other embellishment to make them perfect. These brownies do

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-16973742228220128832009-01-31T20:41:00.004-05:002009-01-31T21:02:19.805-05:00

When I first bought my Nick Malgieri The Modern Baker book there were a few recipes that jumped out at me immediately, recipes that I knew I would have to make sooner rather than later, and this was definitely one of them. One simple cake combining three of my favorites: coconut, banana, and rum -- yes, this was on the short list.The cake is banana flavored with dense, moist cake that has a lot

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-21044396831336919612009-01-30T13:54:00.004-05:002009-01-30T14:14:02.422-05:00

I had a bunch of egg whites left after making the big-ass cake last week and I figured I could find a way to use them so I threw them in a tupperware container and put them in the fridge. I looked through a few recipes and considered financiers and madeleines, but this meringue recipe from the Nick Malgiere Modern Baker book won the day with its simplicity.The recipe is easy, beat the egg whites

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-92132936874366093582009-01-25T11:42:00.004-05:002009-01-25T12:10:01.836-05:00

From the looks of it I have been neglecting my blog -- over a week since my last post, the longest I've gone between blog entries in the year and change I have been doing this. *gasp*Don't let the lack of blog entries fool you though, because I have been baking, I just haven't been blogging. A big part of that is that I have been attempting to develop a cookie recipe and have made at least 6

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-57751738339781348372009-01-17T16:05:00.005-05:002009-01-17T20:55:49.511-05:00

This is the first recipe that I have tried from my new Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and I have to say that I was underwhelmed. Actually, I've been underwhelmed by the entire book, which is pretty ironic considering I've had it on a my wish list of baking books for well over a year now.One of the problems (well, I think it's a problem) was the size of the recipe. It makes a 12x18 inch jelly roll

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-51885783429755024472009-01-17T15:29:00.004-05:002009-01-17T19:07:37.094-05:00

One of my coworkers had some baking supplies that she wasn't planning to use, so she gave them to me, knowing that they would be used up, and quite likely the results of the baking would end up back at work anyway. I already had coconut, graham cracker crumbs, and peanut butter chips, but with how often I bake I can always use more of all of those things, but there was also a bag of cherry chips

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-73132403210564142572009-01-14T15:33:00.005-05:002009-04-30T14:32:49.287-04:00

This was the second recipe that really interested me when I was looking for recipes to use up all the apples I have. This is one of only three or four quick bread recipes in the Nick Malgieri book and every one of them looks excellent.This recipe combined the nutty, wholesome flavor and texture of whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat graham flour 'cause that's the first whole wheat flour I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-73464436263281231182009-01-13T17:26:00.003-05:002009-01-13T17:45:27.318-05:00

I had apples on the grocery list the other day when Chris went to the store by himself. I didn't really have any recipes in mind, I just like to keep fresh fruit in the house, and I like snacking on fresh apples. However, the apples at the grocery store were a little rough looking and Chris ended up bringing home one of those pre-packed bags of apples -- far more apples then we needed or could

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-21554420331774795822009-01-10T15:10:00.003-05:002009-01-10T15:17:33.078-05:00

One of my Christmas gifts was an amazon gift certificate, and one of my treats to myself with that was madeleine pans. I clearly have much to learn about properly making madeleines though because I seriously over-filled the cavities in the pan the first time and ended up trying to trim the finished cookies, with not-so great results.The good news is that they are very good. Light and fluffy

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-14476011513646143162009-01-07T11:42:00.004-05:002009-01-07T12:05:58.022-05:00

I got three new baking books for Christmas, but so far the Nick Malgieri one is the only one to get me really excited about various recipes. Maybe it's all the pictures... there are a lot of recipes that sound good in the Sweet Melissa book that I will make eventually, but the pictures keep drawing me back into the Malgieri book. Well, that and these cookies just sounded really good. Lots of

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-56783441780242477202009-01-05T14:54:00.005-05:002009-01-05T15:21:01.349-05:00

I find it kind of funny that just a few weeks after writing about how little figs do for me I have featured them in a recipe yet again. Of course in that earlier post I also wrote that fig newtons are an exception to that rule, so an opportunity to make them at home seemed too good to pass up. Combine that with the fact that the recipe is in one of my new cookbooks -- Nick Malgieri's The Modern

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-17990039337867441392009-01-04T16:23:00.004-05:002009-01-04T16:38:14.218-05:00

My friend JB has settled on trying as many of the recipes from the "The New Best Recipe" from America's Test Kitchen book for his 2009 cooking project. Considering the book is 1,000 pages long and has 1,000 recipes, I think he's got plenty of material to work with. One of the very first recipes he tried was "The Best" banana bread, which of course peaked my interest because I happen to love

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-16555089991432142932009-01-01T18:27:00.004-05:002009-01-02T06:27:20.946-05:00

I didn't intend to bake yesterday (how often do I say that?) but I had an awesome home-made cranberry sauce (my standard for holiday season that I found on epicurious years ago) sitting in the fridge waiting to be used up and I hated to throw it away. This was actually a recipe for a quick bread that I found on the blog A Cookie A Day, but I opted for muffins since they bake so much faster.This

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-47907712500483957402008-12-31T14:38:00.003-05:002008-12-31T15:00:11.451-05:00

I have been taking a bit of a break from baking the last couple of weeks, mainly because of the relentless stream of sugar that has been in my face since mid-December. And while I did contribute to the stream of sugar, it got really ridiculous the week of Christmas at work with almost every flat surface sporting a platter or a tin with some sort of sugary goodness for the "poor, pathetic souls

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-11934112221645715362008-12-24T19:01:00.004-05:002008-12-25T06:15:10.019-05:00

I have to say, figs just don't do that much for me. I like fig newtons, but unless the cookie package is sitting open on a counter that I walk past several times a day, they aren't something that tempt me that much. I made the Dorie Greenspan upside down fig cake last year sometime, but that has been one of my least favorite recipe from Baking From My Home To Yours so far.Chris likes figs quite

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-47657405160533111982008-12-23T08:12:00.004-05:002008-12-23T08:43:02.576-05:00

I have always been puzzled by the fruit cake conundrum. As a food it is pretty much the butt of every Christmas joke, described as hard and dry and nasty tasting, and often filled with strange, candied fruit things that as far as I can tell never started out as fruit. Very few people actually admit to liking it, and when they do it's more of an admission of guilt than a proud proclamation.

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-53141121325267060602008-12-18T14:51:00.004-05:002008-12-18T15:07:59.304-05:00

I saw this post last year on Cake Journal's site and have been looking for the #12 Wilton tip ever since. Of course I only looked a couple of places and did a few half-hearted searches online but never ran across it. Today, while doing some unrelated Christmas shopping, I noticed that a store that I go to infrequently now has a cake decorating display, including a whole rack of tips. Sure

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-68487760150600248302008-12-15T19:16:00.004-05:002008-12-15T19:38:24.621-05:00

Now I know that I have gotten very comfortable baking certain things because I didn't think twice about adapting this recipe when I saw the open bag of yogurt covered pretzels sitting on the counter. Yogurt covered pretzels make me think of raisins so when I wanted a cookie to chop them up into oatmeal raisin came to mind immediately.Once again I adapted the wonderful chewy oatmeal cookie recipe

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-9088608059693331732008-12-13T15:27:00.004-05:002008-12-13T15:56:04.422-05:00

Sometimes it's a little scary modifying a recipe -- especially if you modify it before you ever try it to begin with. I used to get upset when I read reviews of recipes on Epicurious and the person said something along the lines of "oh this beef stew was great. only I used tofu, and added tomatoes and broccoli and corn. and I baked it instead of cooked it on the stove." or something equally

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-68622777115221567702008-12-11T14:05:00.005-05:002008-12-11T14:22:14.870-05:00

I'm not sure when these cookie cutters hit the markets, but I know they were pretty popular last year. I knew I wanted a set of my very own for this Christmas, so I ordered them from Amazon a couple of weeks ago so that I too could make the slightly disturbing, but very cute gingerbread men. Maybe I should have made my gingerbread men with smiles instead of frowns, but I kept thinking that they

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-73492267194313498032008-12-08T18:53:00.005-05:002008-12-09T08:10:54.837-05:00

I found this recipe on Baking Blonde's website and liked the idea of butterscotch, heath bars and pecans all in one recipe. The cookies are meant to be slice and bake -- prep the dough, roll into a log and throw in the fridge, slicing off cookies to bake as you want them, or bake them all at once. However, Baking Blonde made hers as both drop cookies, and slice and bake and said they work well

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-86293157524998149362008-12-06T16:56:00.007-05:002008-12-07T12:26:19.364-05:00

Normally I don't like shortbread or slice & bake cookies all that much. There are always exceptions of course, and this recipe is most definitely one of them. Rich, deep maple cookies in a shortbread-type cookie that is rolled in walnuts -- oh yeah, this is an exception. And except for a little bit of mess trying to roll the log of dough in walnuts, it is also quite easy to make. Baking them

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-60456342005446765292008-12-06T16:40:00.004-05:002008-12-06T16:55:59.628-05:00

I can't believe it took me this long to make these cookies. I have had my Pastry Queen book for years now and I have always looked at this recipe, but then picked something else to bake. The only reason I picked them this time was that I was out of light brown sugar and needed a recipe that didn't call for any.These are deep, dark chocolaty cookies with lots and lots of walnuts and pecans for

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-58890069006346095322008-12-02T16:00:00.004-05:002008-12-02T23:54:12.839-05:00

I love cranberries. Of course that should be pretty obvious by now to anyone who reads my blog. The cranberry orange quick bread I made the other day is one of my standards that I make several times during the cold months. The white chocolate cranberry orange cookies are a favorite amongst my friends and frequently requested. And of course I tend to make all sorts of cranberry recipes when I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-41026393500229961432008-12-01T15:29:00.005-05:002008-12-01T18:22:21.604-05:00

I saw several versions of these cookies on Tastespotting several weeks back and instantly wanted to make them but of course never quite got around to it. Today I didn't really have much in mind to bake beyond cookies but when I saw this recipe in my KAF cookies book I knew it was the one.I have to say, it wasn't as good as I was hoping for. As far as I was concerned there wasn't nearly enough

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-18471469745061758072008-11-23T16:18:00.003-05:002008-11-24T04:17:04.189-05:00

There are some recipes that I try once and never try again. Then there are recipes like this one, a classic that I turn to time and time again, especially on Thanksgiving rolls around. This particular recipe comes from one of my first books dedicated to baking -- The Best Quick Breads book by Beth Hensperger -- and the page in this book is spattered, spilled-on, and a little (or a lot) worse

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-71349580524335126582008-11-22T19:44:00.004-05:002008-11-22T20:27:10.971-05:00

Woohoo! I did it. I finally did it. I made a good pie crust. Not just an okay pie crust, or a so-so pie crust. But an honest to goodness good pie crust. One that is flaky and buttery and that you save a little piece to eat after you finish your slice of pie because it's just that good. No plastic texture, not overdone or underdone, and probably most amazing of all, made with no crying,

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-28030800331869585182008-11-16T12:55:00.004-05:002008-11-16T13:13:03.270-05:00

Inspiration for my baking comes from all over the place, but I suspect that the inspiration for these cookies came from the strangest place yet: Chris' body wash. Every time I smelled the stuff I would start thinking about making lemon ginger cookies, which is pretty ironic since I'm pretty sure there is no ginger or lemon in his body wash. So after my shower this morning I decided to actually

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-12025974128941565262008-11-13T17:26:00.004-05:002008-11-14T05:27:38.140-05:00

When I was thinking about cookie flavors that I rarely make the other day, it occurred to me that I rarely mess with traditional peanut butter cookies. Sure I make several different versions of chocolate and peanut butter cookies (my favorite ones being these), but I almost never make old-fashioned peanut butter cookies.So, in an attempt to even the score a bit I turned to my current cookie

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-73446907752011027832008-11-13T17:05:00.003-05:002008-11-13T17:26:12.278-05:00

It all started with this cake. I saw the cake on Peabody's site and told a coworker I would make it for the office. Who wouldn't want to make that cake? Chocolate cake, irish cream, caramel, buttercream frosting, chocolate caramel ganache... I mean, really. It's an awesome looking cake with a flavor combination that looks like a grand slam home run batted right out of the park.But after

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-41213211749516515272008-11-11T18:19:00.003-05:002008-11-13T07:59:01.044-05:00

I realized the other day that despite the fact that spice cookies are among Chris' favorite kinds of cookies, I don't actually make them that often, probably because they don't do all that much for me. I actually made these cookies weeks ago as part of a care package that never got sent out. One thing I did discover though was that after sitting in a plastic bag for 2 weeks, these cookies were

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-24502713807851964632008-11-08T14:52:00.005-05:002008-11-08T22:09:09.221-05:00

Biscotti is meant to be dipped in coffee. Especially into milky lattes or coffee sweetened by cream. That's my opinion anyway, and since it's my blog I'm free to write what I want.I tried a piece of biscotti by itself and it just didn't do that much for me. It was crunchy which I don't like in cookies and there wasn't enough chocolate flavor to wow me either. But the next day I took the other

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-5360662688587216132008-11-07T16:40:00.005-05:002008-11-08T22:09:24.981-05:00

I hate it when recipes disappoint me.Despite all the spices in these scones, they just don't have a lot of flavor. I even added a 1/2 tsp of pumpkin extract because I had it, but it just wasn't enough. I'm not sure it's possible get a full-flavor pumpkin scone though because of the different nature in the two. Scones don't need a lot of moisture, but pumpkin has a lot of moisture in it. I

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-81428055168443548102008-11-06T16:12:00.005-05:002008-11-08T22:09:40.042-05:00

Yes, more cookies. They are quick and easy and everybody likes to eat them. When I make cake or pie or anything that needs to scooped or eaten with a plate or bowl I almost always have leftovers that I can't get rid of. But not with cookies or brownies or anything else that people can pick up and carry off. Nope, those always get finished and that's the way I like it.I haven't made oatmeal

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-4094407506788564972008-11-05T15:25:00.007-05:002008-11-08T01:20:38.137-05:00

So there I was at 2 am last night when I realized that I had run out of stupid t.v. shows on my DVR, there was nothing on t.v. except talking heads rehashing every last minute of Obama's win and the really bad infomercials that only come out after 1 am. I didn't feel like reading, and I didn't feel like playing a video game and yet I had 3 hours to kill until Chris woke up and I could go to bed.

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-25586800806780244382008-11-03T22:10:00.005-05:002008-11-08T22:09:54.133-05:00

Last year the big thing for baking seemed to be chocolate and salt. This year, salted caramel seems to have taken over. I really wanted to make the Smitten Kitchen Salted Caramel Ice Cream this summer, but we never quite got to that recipe. I also saw a recipe for making salted caramel that seemed pretty awesome, but I have a pretty low tolerance for standing over the stove and stirring

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-9940669690213411092008-11-01T16:14:00.005-04:002008-11-01T18:57:57.258-04:00

I wanted something fast to make this evening, and I needed to use up some bananas because the pile in the freezer was getting a bit out of hand so muffins seemed like an ideal choice since they mix up quickly and are out of the oven in about 20 minutes.I don't have a favorite banana bread/muffin mix which kind of surprises me considering how often I have bananas to use up. I do like the java

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-83613119447702479782008-10-30T13:16:00.005-04:002008-10-31T17:47:58.926-04:00

I am not normally a huge fan of fudge -- it's just too sweet -- but this recipe for bittersweet walnut fudge caught my eye when I first saw it on Epicurious some time last year. I figured toasted walnuts and a good bittersweet chocolate would cut some of the sweet and I was right. I used Ghiradeli 60% for most of this chocolate, but I think if I had used a 70% cocoa chocolate it would have been

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-53241248206368792502008-10-30T12:54:00.005-04:002008-10-30T22:18:56.699-04:00

Yet more sweet yeast baking from my Carole Walter Coffee Cake book. I have had the chocolate babka recipe from Smitten Kitchen on my to-bake list for well over a year but when it came time to pick a recipe for babka I didn't feel like going upstairs and printing the recipe, so instead I chose a recipe that didn't involve all that "effort". Yup, sometimes my laziness surprises even me. :)Of

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-78688448062244033042008-10-28T10:32:00.006-04:002008-11-08T22:10:09.593-05:00

It may be hard to tell, but I have a pretty strong sweet tooth. I know, I know... shocking... right? But it's true. I managed to resist most of the day sitting at home the other day, but then the damn sweet tooth kicked in and I started looking for a recipe to make. I wanted chocolate and was going to make fudge but discovered I didn't have everything for it. With chocolate on my mind though

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-49701064830683277952008-10-28T10:09:00.004-04:002008-11-08T22:10:21.379-05:00

Chris and I are almost perfectly matched in the kitchen. He does 99% of the cooking and is always interested in trying new recipes and learning new techniques. I make most of the desserts and am in my element with flour and sugar and my Kitchen Aid. There have been a few areas though where Chris' interests have crossed over into what would normally be my territory. Bread is one of those areas

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-59151023043399268522008-10-28T09:44:00.006-04:002008-11-08T01:21:12.166-05:00

I have wanted to make this cake from my Passion for Baking book for a long time because I was intrigued by the old-timey feel of sourdough in a cake. I have also wanted a sourdough starter for a long time, but I kept putting off starting one because I had serious doubts about my ability to take care of it. Then Chris got interested in bread baking and we ordered a starter from King Arthur and

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-9193753166871394672008-10-22T15:20:00.005-04:002008-10-24T06:24:52.495-04:00

Chris and I did a much better job than usual planning our menu this week. The whole roasted chicken on Sunday turned into soup and then pot pies and the mashed potatoes that we had with the chicken turned into this loaf of bread which accompanied soup one night, and then turned into sandwiches last night.I pulled this recipe from my Passion For Baking book and while it is a yeast bread, it was

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-87868737932990206272008-10-22T12:53:00.007-04:002008-11-08T22:10:40.161-05:00

I have had this recipe in my files since May and naturally when I finally decided to make it I didn't have enough dried cranberries. Never one to let something like that deter me, I threw in the last of a bag of dried cherries and some raisins to round out the 1 1/2 cups I needed. I also discovered that I was mostly out of walnuts too, so in went some pecans.I have a link to the blog Genesis

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-33934784893404032172008-10-22T08:22:00.004-04:002008-10-22T09:00:19.505-04:00

Look at that crust. Isn't it beautiful? It looks exactly the way a tart crust should look which is pretty amazing considering I made it from scratch. I have to admit though, I did cheat a bit, and despite the fact that it is perfect to look at, it doesn't quite taste as good as I hoped it would, but the texture is almost perfect.It all started with Sunday night's dinner. Chris and I roasted a

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-49998145884739460672008-10-21T09:08:00.006-04:002008-11-08T01:25:25.067-05:00

I washed a lot of dishes to get this pumpkin roll made. It's not that it's a hard recipe really, or even all that time consuming, but I don't have a hand-held mixer, only my stand mixer, and I hate whisking egg whites and cream by hand to stiff peaks -- which means moving the contents of the stand mixer to another bowl, washing it, drying it, and then beating the egg whites/heavy cream to stiff

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-15623835251764896662008-10-20T13:10:00.006-04:002008-11-08T02:13:33.303-05:00

Sometimes mistakes are a good thing.I asked Chris to help me out by bringing the bourbon into the kitchen while I was busy making this cake. He brought it in, then asked me how much I needed and where I needed it. I handed him the 1/4 cup measure and said "here" bumping the measuring bowl with the molasses and buttermilk while I said it. When I turned around again I found the bourbon in the

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-39290864885600354142008-10-16T19:15:00.005-04:002008-10-17T05:45:48.303-04:00

We still have apples from the apple picking we did a couple of weeks back so I was looking for a way to use some more of them up. I actually saw this very cool apple "pie" with an oatmeal cookie crust that looked awesome, but in the end I took the lazy way and just made a crisp. I saw a couple of recipes for crisps around the internet, but I didn't really follow any particular one. I had Chris

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-52301587830348329792008-10-14T15:49:00.004-04:002008-10-14T15:50:58.214-04:00

The picture of the uh... rather creative cookie I managed to create. You tell me... what does it look like?

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-48862849670829224952008-10-13T13:29:00.008-04:002008-11-08T22:11:01.278-05:00

Once again my love affair with cookie cutters has proven to be far superior to my ability to actually decorate cookies. I did however discover an awesome version of sugar cookies perfect for cutouts. I used the base recipe in the Cookie Craft book and substituted half a cup of maple sugar for a half a cup of the granulated sugar and used 1/2 tsp of maple extract creating a lovely maple cookie

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-91049268810050273532008-10-09T12:07:00.006-04:002008-11-08T22:11:15.859-05:00

In my quest for quick recipes this week I ran across an older post from Peabody where she baked peanut butter chocolate bars that she swore were quick, easy and indulgent. She also mentioned she got the recipe from Death By Chocolate Cookies by Marcel Desaulniers which really piqued my interest since I have owned that book for years (two of my favorite blondie recipes are from that book -- here

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-92033175016178381222008-10-09T11:44:00.006-04:002008-11-08T01:22:04.929-05:00

Lots of baking over the past few days, but very little blogging. That's what four 12-hour shifts in a row will do to ya. Well, at least to me.Not getting home until 5:30 or 6:00 and being ready for bed by 8:00 leaves a very small window for baking. Most people would probably just say forget it, but by the time I get home I am tired of sitting still and want to do something active. Plus,

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-8155020396587496342008-10-04T19:38:00.004-04:002008-10-05T08:13:06.939-04:00

I had three new experiences on Saturday. The first was going to a u-pick farm and picking apples with Chris. It was a beautiful day (a little on the warm side but that's okay) and we got to walk around the farm and get some produce. For the most part we stuck with apples (lots of apples on the blog over the next week or so), although we also got a couple of sugar pumpkins to roast and a couple

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-52664994413621275082008-10-04T18:18:00.004-04:002008-10-04T18:47:00.413-04:00

I had a few days off in a row which got me to thinking about sweet yeast baking again. Something that would take a little more time and effort so that I didn't end up baking three kinds of cookies, and a pie... oh crap! that's what I did end up baking on top of two sweet yeast yummies from my Carole Walter Great Coffee Cake book. Ah well. I tried.And of course the readers are wondering where

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-37662587614022197882008-09-29T19:17:00.007-04:002008-11-08T01:22:27.298-05:00

Mellow pumpkin. Tart cranberries. Crunchy pecans. Sweet, sticky caramel. Yeah, cake doesn't get much better than this.The flavors in this cake work amazingly well together and yet are all fairly distinct. The uber mellow pumpkin cake tastes great on it's own, but is also great when you get bites of tart cranberries. The cranberries are mellowed and sweetened by the thick layer of caramel that

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718439687945239598.post-20120621707767085952008-09-28T19:46:00.006-04:002008-09-30T09:57:42.434-04:00

Bread pudding is probably one of the hardest things to photograph. It's just not attractive. At all. However, the flavor more than makes up for the homeliness of this dish. Especially when the base of the bread pudding is Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread and leftover Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Those two things are pretty awesome all on their own, but then you add a pumpkin bourbon custard mix to

biscuitpusherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03475762408500206723noreply@blogger.com2