Finally, finally, fall is truly here. We’ve turned on the heaters, we’ve put on our sweaters, and baked goods are emerging from the oven. Without a doubt, this apple cake is not only the best thing I’ve baked so far this fall, but one of the best things I’ve ever baked: big chunks of flavorful…
Spiced Apple Cider Caramels
Caramel is magic. Caramelization (and its close cousin, the Maillard reaction; colloquially we use the term “caramelization’ for both) takes bland foods and makes them incredibly complex and delicious. It’s responsible for so much of the deliciousness of cooked foods. And you can just unwrap all that and pop it in your mouth. Recently, caramel…
Joe Froggers – the chewiest, spiciest, best molasses cookies
I love molasses spice cookies. Almost any molasses spice cookies, from simple gingersnaps to those packaged Archway cookies to the triple-ginger cookies at Flying Star. (Those really are awesome.) But none come close to this oddly named cookie I found in the pages of the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. So dark brown they’re almost…
My Favorite Chocolate Chip-and-Chunk Cookies
This one doesn’t really take a lot of explanation. Who doesn’t like cookies? And who among us cookie-lovers doesn’t count chocolate chip near the top of the list? Sure, I love all kinds of cookies: oatmeal-raisin, peanut butter, a wide variety of molasses-spice (Joe Froggers recipe coming soon!), butter cookies with or without fruit fillings,…
Eating PDX: Lauretta Jean’s, and Oregon Baked Goods
Oregon is a mecca for baked goods. It must be the weather. When it’s cold and rainy for most of the year, who wouldn’t want to spend a lot of their time in a warm, steamy kitchen, whisking and stirring and pouring and molding and turning out beautiful nuggets of comfort for friends and family?…
Master Recipe: Crunchy, Toasty Granola
I’ve been experimenting with granola for years now, as long-time readers of my blog know: I’ve posted two recipes for it, as well as one for granola bars. Granola is my favorite weekday breakfast; I’ve taken to making it every other week or so, and I think my flavorful, deeply brown, super-crisp granola is the…
Salted Honey and Olive Oil Granola
I’ve been refining my granola technique for several years now, starting with the revelation that was my first taste of Alta Lodge Granola, which I posted about four years ago. That granola is still incredible, better than (dare I say it?) any other artisan or packaged granola I’ve tasted (though Udi’s will do in a pinch)….
Soft Red Velvet Cream Cheese Crinkle Cookies
I’m a sucker for red velvet cake. I can’t fully explain why. It’s really just a mild chocolate with a ton of red food coloring, but it’s so festive and beautiful, and it always comes with cheesecake icing. I know I’m not alone. Bakeries always seem to have red velvet cupcakes, red velvet doughnuts,…
Fluffy Biscuit-Topped Blueberry Cobbler with Pear
I didn’t really grow up with dessert. Not that my family never made sweets; the heirloom box of Grandma’s recipes is practically nothing but sweets, written in an endearing yet frustrating shorthand style with helpful instructions like “Mix. Bake.” But we certainly didn’t have dessert every night, and when cakes and cookies and butterscotch haystacks…
Quick and Easy Whole-Wheat Flatbread
It happens to me all the time. I have a good idea for dinner, and all the components are in the house, but it sure would be nice to have some kind of bread with it. Something delicious and whole grain. But it’s too late to throw something in the breadmaker, and I’m too lazy…