The Baking Girl: Summer Goodies

This series of the blog has been sorely neglected! The Baking Girl, despite the absence of blog posts, continues to be busy in the kitchen with birthday cakes, donuts, breads, and other yummies. Summer temps notwithstanding, there was no hiatus from the baking, not when you have a household of boys who are always hungry for a treat. Since she did not have any new recipes to share, I haven't posted any of her baking adventures but I did take pictures. This post is for y'all who wondered if The Baking Girl has abandoned the kitchen :-) 

a cake for the boy who turned five

he was so thrilled to have a cake made to his specifications

cupcakes to feed hungry brothers

my favorite garlic cheese bread, the girl is a gem

cinnamon buns ready to go in the oven

brownies!!!

and then there was apple pie

another birthday cake for a brother who requested green icing, ick to the icing color, yum to the cake

birthday cake for the oldest brother who recently turned fourteen!

not sure if we are celebrating the Buckeyes or the brother lol

The Baking Girl getting a second piercing for her birthday while hanging on to her friend's hand.  No, she didn't bake her own birthday cake ;-)

and before I forget...cinnamon sugar covered donut holes

With this baking talent in our home you now know the real reason I took up running.

The Baking Girl: Oreo Cookies

The Baking Girl has been busy in the kitchen despite the absence of baking posts here.  Part of the reason is that I gave up sugar for Lent so I ignored her baking!  I don't think I could have given up sugar if it wasn't Lent. And there I was thinking it was such a paltry sacrifice since I am not a big sugar fan (or at least it's not my comfort food). So wrong. So in denial. Coffee without sugar? Eek! Life without Panera cinnamon crunch bagel, Krispy Kreme donuts, truffles, cakes, ice cream, root beer, even gum?!  Have you eaten oatmeal with no sugar? Gross. Don't do it. Life without refined sugar is torture of the purest kind!

But I survived. My on-going love affair with sugar-less coffee and 90 percent dark chocolate is going strong. Trading one addiction for another, what can I say.  It's amazing what 40 days of no sugar can do to the palate. I have zero cravings. I am past the 40 days and there's no going back for me. But just in case I'm sounding like a purist, let me make it real, I have a treat day (Sunday) where I allow myself a sugary treat. My palate doesn't seek it but I give myself the freedom to trick my brain into thinking I am not a slave to sugar-deprivation.  Everything in moderation or some cliche like that.

So since it is a Sunday, my sugar-treat day, I am posting The Baking Girl's recent baking adventure - homemade Oreo cookies- recipe here -   http://gayathriscookspot.com/2012/10/eggless-oreo-cookies/

It is really good (even without the filling!) and the boys really enjoy it. I prefer it without the filling so I'm essentially getting a chocolate cookie. My kids think I'm crazy.  Oh well.  The challenge now is for the Baking Girl to find sugar-free treats for this mama.  I will keep you posted.

As usual, I have pictures to share the deliciousness:

scooping the batter

flattening to size

sugar filling

beating to a creamy consistency

happy baker

yum!!!

Happy Trinity Sunday!

The Baking Girl: Apple Pie Bites and Parmesan Herb Bread

I know apples and parmesan do not necessarily go together.  But in the interest of time I am posting these two different recipes in one entry.  Okay, the real story is that the bread was baked during my busy hour so I didn't have the chance to take pictures during the baking process.  The Baking Girl isn't the kind to bake and take pictures, she bakes I take pictures so if I don't take pictures it doesn't end up on the blog :-)

Anyhow, one of our new favorites here is what we call Apple Pie Bites.  Bite-sized servings when you have five children is a good way to stretch the baking budget.  The Baking Girl did not really follow any recipe here.  On a whim she just decided to make a mini version of the apple pie using mini-muffin pans.  It is a no-brainer so you don't need me to give you the step-by-step recipe.

Apple goodness in pictures -

standard apple pie filling recipe

cutting out the (store-bought) crust to size using a small bowl as guide

crust and filling into the mini-muffin pan - bake at 350 for about 25 minutes

open-faced pies

perfect for little hands with big appetites

another fine job by The Baking Girl

The parmesan-herb bread is reminiscent of foccacia bread.  I am dipping this on a balsamic/olive oil combination. Really impressed at how this turned out or maybe my girl is just becoming really good at this baking thing ;-)

Here is the lone picture,  the real thing doesn't look as pretty as the magazine picture but I promise you it tastes so good.

recipe is here - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/comfort-foods/easy-comfort-food-recipes/50-quick-breads.page-5.html

Happy Winter Baking!!!

The Baking Girl (and Cousins): Christmas Baking Extravaganza

Happy New Year! I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season so far. Christmas week was also sick week for us. That's an (epic) story for another time, for now this post will be dedicated to the fun and delicious stuff.  The Baking Girl had plenty of help from (Texan) cousins and oldest brother.  All I did was take pictures and sample all the goodies. They made cookies, cake pops, puppy chow (for humans), rice crispy treats, cinnamon buns, etc. I have to log in a lot of exercise time after this holiday season! 

 Here are pictures to share -

Christmas puppy chow - colored candy melts, rice Chex and powdered sugar

bagging the goodies

ready to distribute

crushed candy cane for the pretzels

pretzels coated with candy melt and topped with crushed candy cane

my sister cheering on the baking cousins

rice crispy Christmas tree treats

 

 giving the Baking Girl tips and tricks for red velvet cake

red velvet cake for cake pops

sugar cookie batter

olaf in the making

melting snowman cookie

making cinnamon buns with cousin Andre

if you teach a man to cook...

...he will never go hungry again

 it's the big brother's turn to help

 the little brother is trying to steal a cookie

 the Christmas cookie batter

Christmas treats!

 my fave

The Baking Girl : Mini Apple Galettes

The Baking Girl is a fan of the Pioneer Woman.  After a recent episode on mini blueberry galettes, the Baking Girl and I decided we would love an apple version.  Fancy as the name sounds, a galette is really just an apple pie with no top crust. I think I posted a regular sized galette before but I can't seem to find it.  Anyhow this is just a miniature version, perfect for little hands and mouths.

There is nothing complicated with this recipe, it uses a typical pie crust and apple pie recipe. It's an easy recipe for children to follow and if you are a fan of convenience you can always use store bought crust.  We have done that a few times.  The original inspiration, if you are a fan of blueberry is here - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/07/mini-blueberry-galettes/

Pictures to share:

cutting the crust down to size using a soup bowl

apple filling

hard working little hands

ready for the oven

the caramel on the bottom of the pan is yummy!

another baking success