Blueberry Pie with Chocolate-Ginger Crust
March 27, 2013
This pie truly wanted to look like an actual pie, and I was actually craving a real pie. Instead, we ended up with a coquettish tart. Not quite the deep-dished deity I'd been hoping for but still very scrumptious & stuffed with enough blueberries to fulfill my latest yen for anything that's something-berry.
Okay then - now that we've sorted that out, lets speak of crumbly crusts and unintentional lattices, shall we?
Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies
March 23, 2013
Since I'm the only person within edible distance who enjoys the sweet flakes, I feel delightfully selfish when I bake with coconut - it almost makes me question the depths of my wickedness. Almost.
Alas, it had been far too long since my last coconut-ing - I may have gone overboard on the amount used in this recipe (although I don't recall hearing myself complain). Rather than traversing the preferred soft and chewy route, these cookies took an unexpected Friar Tuck-in-Sherwood Forest-like detour; one that was nubby, and bumpy, and plumpy and pleasantly crisp (unless inhaled directly from the oven).
*Think* ginormous versions of chocolate coconut haystacks!
Heartland Turtle Bars
March 18, 2013
Winter, in classic curmudgeonly style, refuses to relinquish it's icy grip and pass the seasonal crown over to reticent spring. Yet despite the frozen ground and breathy morning air, I am enjoying tiny prequels of what's to come - birds are singing at daybreak, the trees don't *feel* quite as stark as they did a month ago, and, joy of all joys, the sun is kind enough to emit a hazy light well past 4:30 pm! As a food blogger, longer days are as enticing as sweet cream butter on crusty farmer's bread.
Also, I am back in the kitchen - baking up quite a floury storm of bars, cookies, and brownies! It's strange, but I actually missed cleaning sinkfuls of bowls, measuring cups, and eggy whisks. {Don't tell my flustered future self I'm saying this, but right now, I'm kind of ok with not having a dishwasher. shhh} On second thought, maybe you should remind her...she's a bit fickle, that one.
Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies
March 15, 2013
I can't believe that it's been a week since we last saw each other - my fault, I'm afraid. Between house sitting, a pulled tooth & misplacing my camera, I have not had much time to play, sing, dance or bake in the kitchen. Luckily I know some fabulous food bloggers who are willing to step in and keep une gamine going; and my camera was discovered hiding inside the bowl of my stand mixer (apparently after enough wine, a silver bowl bears a striking resemblance to a wooden cabinet).
Last December I did a guest post on Roxana's Home Baking. Today I'm more than happy to have Roxana on une gamine Until I'm elbow deep in flour and sugar again, I'm positive that her delightful Cadbury Creme Egg brownies will satisfy your sweet teeth!
Thank you, Roxana! Take it away...
Ginger Rum Molasses Cookies
March 8, 2013
Happy Friday, everyone! Thank you for the kind well-wishes in my cookie butter blondie post. Having survived wire braces (thanks, early 90's), a retainer, and one root canal - the tooth extraction was not too traumatizing - I just like to be melodramatic, it makes the reality of a situation feel like a fluffy purple pillow.
Thanks to a hunger-induced shopping spree, I'm forced to extend the soft food "diet," slightly - Häagen-Dazs looks awkward and out of place amongst my frozen vegan, organic hippie food. Lucky me, I was able to enjoy these soft cookies (via several small mouse bites). White wine has also been a close companion these past few evenings - apologies to anyone who may have encountered some tipsy Tweets.
Cookie Butter Blondies
March 4, 2013
Cookie.Butter. Two words which, when combined, evoke dreamy images of golden, splendiferous bliss. Long before I ran an impatient spoon through a freshly opened jar, my mind had already made itself up - I was head-over-heels in love with the gingered elixir, long before we had been properly introduced. Rather presumptuous, I know, but my uncharacteristically bold assumption proved to be spot-on.
Lately, perhaps due to a mild case of cabin fever, I've had super-intense cravings for these bars (which were made about two weeks ago). To put things into perspective, last Thursday I finally had that troublesome molar pulled. It was a painless process, but the tugging and prodding are still all too fresh in my dentist-fearing mind. I've been on a soft food & wine diet, and a self-imposed lock down (vanity won't allow me to be seen in public with asymmetrical cheeks!). So of course, along with my neurotic over-thinking - "Is the pain normal?" "Did I just feel the adjacent tooth move when I pressed it with my tongue?"; I'm also craving popcorn, toasted bagels with copious amounts of sesame seeds, flaked coconut, kettle chips (salt & pepper), and, most of all, chunky, chewy bars.