Saturday, September 27, 2008

Making Whoopie (Pies)

The season of pumpkin continues! I saw this pumpkin version of old-fashioned whoopie pies on RR's website and had to make them immediately. (Mostly due to the fact that I had to use up my leftover pumpkin puree from the bread before it went bad.) And did I mention - they are awesome! Kind of like a cross between a muffin and cake. I only made four so that I won't gain 20 pounds this week. As Rachael would say: Yumm-o!

Note the platter in the photo: this is a "friendship platter", meant to be passed around between friends along with baked goods. Someone might be receiving this from me real soon!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Pumpkin Bread


Last week I bought a bunch of cans of pumpkin puree to make difference recipes with this fall, and the first one was this pumpkin bread. Yum! I found a recipe online called Downeast Maine pumpkin bread, so naturally I had to try that one. I really liked this one because it has good pumpkin flavor, unlike others I've tried. I used my four mini loaf pans (only three are pictured because I couldn't wait to try some) and I still had batter left over. Next time I'll do two 9X5's. I'll probably freeze two of these little guys for later this fall.


With all this pumpkin, I'm can't wait to do pumpkin scones, oatmeal, muffins, and my pumpkin roll that I've done for a few years now, plus whatever else I can find. I love how the house smells after baking these things. Stay tuned!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Peanut Butter Chocolate Lava Cake


This might be the ultimate decadent dessert. I actually found this recipe in Food & Wine magazine while getting a manicure and then came home and printed it out from their website. Believe it or not, I'm usually not a fan of souffles for dessert because it's too much chocolate (if there is such a thing). But given that peanut butter and chocolate is my favorite all-time flavor combination, this was a "must try." And I have to say, it has turned out fantastic each time I've made it, which is five times now. The peanut butter filling allows it to be not too sweet, so after you've eaten the whole thing you feel ok.

Friday, September 19, 2008

An Apple a Day


Now that it's fall and apples are in season, (at least in other parts of the country), I wanted to take advantage and try a few new apple recipes. I had a few leftover apples from another recipe so I thought I'd attempt making apple butter. I had no idea what apple butter was until I started browsing recipes on some of my favorite websites, and it looked really good. I was a little jealous to read about people actually picking apples from their own trees and then doing this.

I made this apple butter in the crock pot, using 4 lbs. of Granny Smith apples, and 1-1/2 cups each of white sugar and brown sugar, plus a couple good teaspoons of cinnamon and cloves. I also used my food processor to grate the apples before placing them in the slow cooker which made it a lot easier. Loosely following a recipe I found, I cooked the mixture on high for one hour, and then let it go 10 hours overnight, and then one hour uncovered in the morning. The original recipe called for another cup of sugar, but I couldn't imagine it being much sweeter. Not only are you adding several cups of sugar, but the natural apple sugar caramelizes during the cooking process. All in all, it turned out great! Excellent on any kind of breakfast bread: toast, english muffins, bagels, etc.
As you can see in the photo, I saved some of the apple butter in an airtight glass container and I also canned some in a mason jar for later use.

Welcome to my blog!

So the other day I was thinking how I could share with everyone all of the yummy food I've been making recently and I decided to start my own blog. And by share, I mean pictures and text, not necessarily tasting. :-) I don't know if anyone will be even remotely interested in reading this, but it's still fun for me. Several of my friends have also asked me for recipes for certain things I've made, so I'll try to post those as well. Enjoy!