2010 Wrap up! My year in baking. (Part 1)

As the end of another year quickly comes upon us it is time for some reflection. Perhaps you're wondering what decisions you made over the course of the year and if these were good or bad. Maybe you're already putting the year behind you and looking forward. Perhaps you're just gorging this month and are certain you'll make up for all this holiday gluttony once the clock strikes midnight bringing us into January 1, 2011. Or maybe this has been the crappiest year ever and you just need to move on already. Either way, I think it's a good time to reflect on baking efforts (good and bad) this year and hope for some more deliciousness as we get further into the twenty-first century. Yeah, food heals if only for a bit.

And with that I bring you my baking for 2010! Don't be surprised to see many pumpkin entries. You know I have a thing for that tasty veg.

JANUARY

Pumpkin Bread a la Food Network.

Well the first baked goody of the new year was a bit of a bust. I had buttermilk and aimed to use it. The result was a pumpkin bread that was not very sweet, but had the taste of pumpkin due to puree and the traditional pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice/cloves, and ginger).

Since I had left over buttermilk and pumpkin and was going to be bringing a dessert for friends I decided to take another crack at a recipe that evening, meaning I put in an all-nighter.

The second dessert was pumpkin muffins and instead of pecans I used left over walnuts. I was very happy with the muffins as they were sweeter and just all-around tastier for me. So this recipe from Food Network was a win!

FEBRUARY

I was forwarded or simply saw a recipe in the New York Times and decided to go all out. Usually I stick with simple recipes, but decided to try something more difficult. A buttermilk poundcake with lemon glaze. I know! Tres fancy.

I made a brown sugar poundcake last year that was darn tasty. But nothing compares to the moisture and delicacy of this buttermilk poundcake. It's a lot of work in the beating, but well worth it in the end. While the edges browned a bit more than I would've liked from my bundt pan the taste was not affected whatsoever.

Next up was a marble orange tea bread. I'm not a huge fan of orange outside of juice and maybe some orange-flavored chicken a la my local Chinese restaurant or Trader Joe's frozen orange chicken, but dang it all this marbled chocolate and orange tea bread was tasty!

The orange was not too heavy, but very pungent with the zest. The chocolate taste was quite light in the swirls and I was shocked I made it look close to how it did in the Cakes and Bakes cookbook I used. So, this was good. I tried the same recipe another time and the center sunk, so I know not to peak at it while baking next time. My bad.

Cakes and Bakes was instrumental in another tasty treat that my husband loves and is addicted to and is our go-to dessert for when we go to people's houses the cinnamon blondie!

Goodness, the picture just doesn't do it justice.

Dependent on mixing you may get a couple of results texture-wise. You can get the dense-ness of a true bar or more cakey. My husband prefers the former and I don't care because it tastes amazing! The cinnamon is the star but not overpowering and within a blondie it's a perfect combination making it taste like a cookie in bar form. Good stuff.

MARCH

Giada DeLaurentiis has never steered me wrong and in a recipe of hers I found my new favorite cookie (and a fave of co-workers as well): lemon ricotta cookie (with lemon glaze, though I tend to go without it.)

This cookie can do no wrong. It's light, fluffy, and as some have told me "refreshing." That's the power of lemon zest, baby! The dough is just as good, trust me. I can eat a dozen of these and not feel full (both a good and bad thing). I strongly encourage you to make this cookie, ASAP. You'll thank me. (You're welcome.)

APRIL

And we are officially in spring! Ah, warmer temps and less layers. Good times. This recipe from Cakes and Bakes seemed simple enough and, as already stated, I love simple. I made ginger-topped fingers. A shortbread with ginger inside and on top in a syrup that was made with simple corn starch and ground ginger.

My husband is the ginger fan in our household. I like it in small doses and it wasn't too much in this recipe. The cookie was incredibly buttery and crisp, not crumbly which I enjoyed and the ginger syrup atop it made it a bit more moist. Delightful.

MAY

You and I both know that pumpkin is good year-round, year-round!, so I tackled it again as we approached summer. This recipe is from the grand dame herself of all things domestic, Martha Stewart! Pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing.

I made these for a friend's baby shower of sorts and it was a hit! I made a few dozen with the brown butter icing (not really brown in color, mind you) and a few without. Everyone loved this cakey, moist cookie with the icing. Without icing it was still loved, just not as much. I'd say that evaporated milk added to the moisture for this cake. It's in the method and also ingredients of course. The more dairy the better, I say!

JUNE

We get back to basics with the help of good ole reliable, Cakes and Bakes! This is a basic sugar cookie recipe with the addition of lemon zest. This is more a hard, crunchy cookie rather than a chewy one. I'm still in search of the perfect sugar cookie, much like many may be looking for the perfect chocolate chip recipe. These were tasty and good. The dough is meant to be cut and/or shaped rather than a drop cookie, so it'll pay to have cookie cutters for this one.

Another Cakes and Bakes recipe was chocolate caramel bars. The bar part, which includes oats, was too thin so it was pretty crispy. The caramel was made from (yum) sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar over an open flame as the next layer and add on some melted chocolate and you've got yourself a bar! Very tasty. Compliments noted.

Well, that's it for the first half of the year. I'll be back with the latter half. This past week was a baking bonanza for me! December is my busiest month it turns out.

Baked Good Spotlight: The Maple Bun

I usually hold my baked good reviews for end of year, but since this one is too good to hold and is in another state I figure I should spread the word to my loyal followers (all five of ya!) now. For the past 9 days or so I was in the lovely Green Mountain State (Vermont to the rest of the world). I was there for the Postgraduate Writers' Conference (PWC) and then for some extra time just to hang near Burlington.

Well, on Saturday PWC organizers scheduled in some time in the morning to go to the farmer's market in downtown Montpelier. So, I went, treading down a big hill (and then back up the hill later), to see what their market was like.

We got there as the market attendees were setting up and it was Vermont natural products galore. If you like food, this farmer's market was for you. I ended up replenishing my supply of maple sugar and syrup and passed by a booth for a nice bakery called Red Hen. I saw they had a lovely good called the maple bun and even though it had raisins in it I purchased it and then hoofed it up the hill in time for my workshop.

Well, an hour or so into workshop I dug into my paper bag, inhaled a lovely maple aroma, then took a bite out of this bun. My workshop leader (and conference director) asked as I chewed if I got the Red Hen maple bun. I nodded, enamored. "Isn't it the best thing in the world?" she asked. I agreed with another nod as I simultaneously took another bite.

Well folks, from there on out it was love. My husband came to pick me up and whisk me off to S. Burlington the next day and I told him about this lovely bun. On our way out of Montpelier we happened to pass Red Hen Baking Co. How crazy is that? And I said I wanted to go there the next day since we had time to kill and he likes to get his driving in.

Fast forward to the next day when I introduced my husband to the maple bun. We were lucky to get the last one of the day after 12pm. (Yes, those babies sell out fast!) And, I guess needless to say, he fell in love with it as much as I did. The maple goodness is slathered all over the bun and topped off with chopped walnuts. The raisins inside are sparse. The most I had in a bun was four and those were easy enough to pick off.

I called early the next morning to order a half dozen and we made our way back to Middlesex, VT to get ourselves some buns to take home. The idea was to share with others who'd appreciate it, but since supply is low (they make a set amount per day so you really should order ahead of time or just get there early) and I can just be plain greedy when it comes to baked goodies we hoarded the bunch for ourselves. On the drive back home I kept looking back at the box of buns, our precious cargo. We got home safe and sound, buns intact and I had one for breakfast this morning. They're even better warm!

So, I urge you to take a detour on your travels to or through Vermont to visit the town of Middlesex and more importantly get in on some maple bun action.

Red Hen Baking Co. makes their goods on-site everyday! So get a nice sandwich with avocado mayonnaise, or a gallon of maple syrup, or a pain du chocolat or any of their freshly baked artisan breads.

If looking at this bun doesn't tempt you, I don't know what will.

How to have a successful cookie (and bar) competition!

Happy New Year Reader(s)! Now that we've been through the worst of the snowfall this winter let's look on to happier times. Late last year I got to thinking... what with the worsening recession and the rise of unemployment I was wondering how, in times of financial constraints, one can have a fun and successful party where no one will think about the dire straits of our country? Something that has united me and those around me has always been the effect of good food, particularly yummy baked goods. So, it only made sense to have a cookie (and bar) competition to celebrate my birthday, the beginning of a new year, hopefully the end of the recession, and above all sugar-infused treats!

I have to tip my hat to Jason Lam, the man behind MeSoHungry, who hosts an annual cookie competition before the Christmas holiday. And hearing how successful his parties had been I thought "Hot damn it's solidified!" I'd have a cookie (and bar) competition and hope my friends would be kind enough to participate. The bars came into play when a friend of mine mentioned a preference for making them. Plus, I didn't want to be prejudice against bars because they're so damn delicious.

Once the plan was set I got to thinking how this could all work out...

Step 1) The Contestants! Luckily I have many baking inclined friends or those who are just into trying new things. Some are into cooking/baking to wow the masses, like my husband, while others were happy to do me a solid and get some accolades in the process.  If you're throwing a competition and don't have enough entries then there may be trouble afoot and you may have  lie and say Paula Deen is going to be there and give out heaping amounts of deep-fried goods to all who attend. I won't say I didn't politely urge some people into baking, especially if I knew they could bring it and bring it hard.  There were about a dozen or so contestants resulting in a might fine spread. And all were more than happy to partake.

Step 2) Location, Location: I've had my birthday party at Stone Creek Bar & Lounge for the past few years because the service is phenomenal and the back room is spacey. I reserve ahead of time and usually get the room on the date I request. With no time constraints, a private room and bar the party can go all night long! You should look into where you can have said competition ahead of time and hope it can hold all the aspiring bakers and empty bellies. Also try to negotiate pricing or learn of fees beforehand.

Step 3) Advertise! I made sure to contact people ahead of time and let them know this was a "COOKIE PARTY." Of course this doesn't stop people from looking at you with raised eyebrows wondering how they'll get "real food." I couldn't help but stare at some people as I emphasized the words "Baking party!" as they headed out to try and find protein and vegetables or whatever leaving perfectly good sugary goods behind.

If you're really nice have some finger foods available for consumption before everyone digs into the sugary pile. (I'd also recommend asking or strongly urging people who don't enter the competition to make donations to help pay for healthy spreads like crudite, chicken fingers, or cheese and crackers for people to nosh on before the competition begins or even to help cover costs for the room/space if there's a set fee.)

Step 4) Prizes! What good is a competition if you just get glory "in name"? Yes, we compete for the accolades but dang it if I weren't also in it for prizes. The Olympians of yester-year used to get a simple olive branch wreath. Now they get medals that they can show off and pimp themselves regularly for endorsements of various foods and athletic apparel. Prizes are the way to go so try to find some that will make your guests happy or at least smile. In my case I offered different tiers of movie passes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, which really made people excited about entering. Even those that didn't rank for the top prizes got a cute lil' button proclaiming their badassness in the kitchen. Or as my friend BLee says "official cookie aficionado, JBH approved." Heck yeah!

Step 5) Democracy! This is America dammit (the U. S. of A.) and as such the competition was a democracy. Just because it was my birthday party doesn't mean I was fit to judge. My husband entered for crying out loud how am I expected to be impartial? So I made ballots AND labels so people could be voted on appropriately. We wouldn't want any Indecision 2000 stuff going on at a cookie party as things could get dangerous with a few dozen people on a sugar high.

And those are my steps to having an awesome and democratic cookie/bar competition. Follow said steps, allow the masses to enjoy the spread, stand back and watch the good times roll, then repeat as necessary.

As you can see from the pictures the entries were vast and awfully tasty. There were vegan options and none, many bar entries, and things I'd never think would taste good in a cookie like cardamom. Who knew?

The winners of my inaugural 2010 competition were as follows and you can get the recipes for these tasty treats online by clicking on their respective links:

1st place: Key Lime Coconut Bars made by the lovely mistress behind Dessert Landscape!

2nd place: Orange Citrus Bars made by my hubby!

3rd place: Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies made by my co-worker KP!

Other entries included Amaretto Bars, Good ole Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal "amazingness" Cookies, Vegan Cardamom Pistachio Cookies, Lemon Bars, Sugar Lemon Cookies, Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies, Banana Tart, Cookie Concoction (a colored sugar cookie with a spice-laden surprise), and so on and so forth.  Some were family recipes others were open to the public but all and I mean all were good.

Thanks again to everyone who participated and came out for a successful birthday celebration and competition! See you next year!

Wrap up! My year in baking...(Pt. 2)

And here are my remaining baking efforts for the year. The second half of the year brought a lot of use of my oven. Thankfully, it can take it. August:

The Dish: If it isn't already evident that I'm a lemon nut then here's more proof. My baked good for August was: Lemon Poppyseed Cake. Hell, I had left over lemons and, as mentioned, a whole lot of poppyseeds. Why not make bread?

End result: Also from Sweet Melissa's Cookbook, but I was not a fan of this one. Too tart and not sugary enough for me. Plus, I believe I left one loaf in a bit longer than necessary so it was a bit too crisp on the bottom. But, I brought it to work and people enjoyed it. I was told that the fact it was more lemony than sugary made it taste more like a traditional bread rather than cake. Go fig.

September:

The Dish: The previous month I had gone to Vermont for a Writer's Conference. My roomie at the conference went to a Maple shop and I implored her to get me maple sugar if she could find it. She did! (Thanks, Iris!) And so I made it a point to find something to use this decadent sugar for. And so I found a simple recipe, because I like simple, for Mapledoodles.

End result: For me, I think these cookies tasted better cool rather than warm. I got a metallic like taste from either the maple extract or the maple sugar. And lastly, too much maple! This recipe called for maple extract and maple sugar in the cookie along with maple sugar outside of the cookie and an (optional) maple glaze! I had to hold off from doing maple outside of the cookie because the taste was too darn strong! Decent enough cookies, but I've seen alternate mapledoodle recipes I'll try.

The Dish: In addition to the, somewhat disappointing, mapledoodles I made a classic fave: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! My same friend who is a gifted baker introduced me to pumpkin chocolate chip bars, which are amazing! This is a take on that.

End result: These have a cakey texture rather than your normal cookie texture. And to eat these warm is amazing! The moist cakey-ness along with melty chocolate chips makes these to die for. It's filled with the same spices you'd use to make pumpkin pie as well as pumpkin filling and is amazing!

You'll fall in love with these and the recipe I use makes five dozen or more which is never enough! People in the office loved them and I found the adult mentors liked them too. Kids and teenagers may be a bit sketched out by pumpkin cookies, but once they try them they'll be reformed. I'm drooling just thinking about them.

October:

The Dish: Of course one would think that I'd save the pumpkin treats for October, but in all honest they're good any time! But this month I actually delved into a treat I've eaten a lot, but never had the cajones to make: pound cake!

Turns out it's super-easy!

End result: Main difference is that it is made with light brown sugar rather than regular granulated as per the recipe on the back of the Domino's sugar box. So it looks a bit darker as well. Tasted really good and familiar, almost like my grandma's!

Made it for my drinking group (hey ladies!) and they enjoyed it. Moistness keeps if sealed well for a couple of days, but definitely tastes best right out of the oven and with some accoutrements such as cream or berries.

The Dish: I also did a pumpkin recipe for Halloween! Last year I had an awful pumpkin bar recipe. The bars were incredibly dense and not sweet at all. Not happy. So I went with a Paula Deen recipe this year because, quite frankly, you can trust her butter-filled delicacies. And I wasn't disappointed!

End result: I just couldn't be bothered with icing and didn't want to deter from the pumpkin taste, so there you go. I have to say that this was more of a cake then a bar. It was mighty fluffy and could've used icing. It tasted fabulous and I'll make again instead calling it Ms. Deen's pumpkin cake!

November:

The Dish: And as the year comes full circle so does this month's dessert which was, well, lemon of course! This time lemon cupcakes with lemony cream on top. I made it for my department's first ever Dessert Hour before Thanksgiving and these cupcakes were a hit! If you're not a big dessert person lemon is excellent because it's not too strong and complements the sweet just right.

End result: These cupcakes are somewhat of a semi-homemade approach and you just do your own thing after using the cake mix. Lemon curd is the secret ingredient for these minicakes and it's really good. I have to say my main delight was in the lemony cream (heavy whipping cream, lemon curd, and confectioner's sugar that you beat the hell out of). I've made it again since I had left over ingredients and it was well received with some brown sugar bundt cake on Christmas. Also, used the lemony cream on a pumpkin tart with friends for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! So it just goes to show that again...lemon shows its versatility!

The Dish: And lastly for the year of the pumpkin (and lemon) was pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from the same book I got the lemon cupcake recipe Cupcakes from the Cake (mix) Doctor by Anne Byrn It was hard for my husband to find a chocolate chip muffin mix, but when he did I went buck wild with left over pumpkin filling and enjoyed the results merrily.

End result: Pumpkin and chocolate is basically the best combination...ever. Just don't argue with me on this one. These muffins kept, when well sealed, and I brought some in for co-workers who are also pumpkin fanatics. Needless to say they loved them also.

December:

Well, another marathon baking month for moi this month.

The Dishes:

First up, Almond toffee crunch cookies from Cookies to Die for. Another hunt for me, but I found toffee bits! You put almond extract, chopped almonds (which I left out so my husband could eat the cookies), toffee bits, and your basic cookie ingredients to make this decadent type cookie.

End result: Well, the recipe said you could make five dozen and I stayed up making about eight or nine dozen. Almond extract has quite a particular taste so if you're a fan of that (or say almond croissants and such) then you'll enjoy these cookies immensely. They're soft and slightly crispy. The toffee sticks to your teeth, but that's the best part about toffee! I'll probably try these again and use vanilla extract instead of almond and see how much more you can taste the toffee.

Next up, peanut butter cookies (from scratch!) from the Sweet Melissa book. Another super easy recipe, hoorah! I added chocolate chips because I think most things with chocolate are awesome so I just keep adding. I made these for a friend's holiday cookie party when my original cookie dough went up in smoke or crumbles I should say.

End result: The recipe calls these chewy peanut butter cookies, but if you cook them a bit longer they become crunchy, which isn't a bad thing really. I've gotten them in the middle for the past two times I've made them. Very enjoyable and I have the ingredients at home so I'll make these again and again.

And then there were maple chocolate chip cookies! This was the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe (courtesy of Hershey's) and instead of brown sugar I added in maple sugar and a smidge of maple extract.

End result: Again, better the next day. I dunno if it's the maple extract or sugar but right out of the oven there's a bit of a metallic taste. However, the next day when cool (and super chewy) these cookies tasted awesome with a hint of maple. Co-workers loved this holiday treat!

And for me that's it for the year in baking. I look forward to the new year and new recipes and experiments in the kitchen.

Happy Holidays and Happy Baking!

Wrap up! My year in baking... (Pt. 1)

I enjoy baking and cooking. Baking more so because of the fact that I actually seem to be good at it and things turn out the way they're supposed to (most of the time). I can't always say the same for savory or meat dishes in my hands. Since I started my current job I found I was surrounded by people who enjoyed baking and even more so enjoyed eating what someone else baked. It only seemed fair that I participate in the activities since I enjoyed their offerings. I usually only baked for the holidays (cheap gifts!) and to say "thank you" for donating to a special cause (hundreds raised for AIDS Walk and rewarded by cupcakes!) And so within the past year my baking efforts have quadrupled. I bake new recipes regularly and am happy to offer my services for others including my current mentoring group.

Many of my baking successes have been posted to my Facebook album page, but I wanted to also include them here because, well, I like y'alls.

I present...my baking efforts of 2009!

January:

The Dish: For my cupcake-themed birthday party I made lemon-raspberry cupcakes and my husband contributed red velvet cupcakes with a cinnamon buttercream icing. Both were well regarded at the party. I first made the lemon-raspberry cupcakes for my mom and mother-in-law on Mother's Day in 2008, I made them again to say "thanks for donating to AIDS Walk in my name" that same year, and then again this year.

This recipe is from Bon Appetit magazine. And thus far my husband and I have not been let down by the recipes we've tried in there.

End result: I'm a lemon lover so this is a great treat. You use lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cupcake so that it has a light (not overpowering) lemony taste. In addition you put in a teaspoon scoop of raspberry jelly inside as a nice treat and top it all off with an intensely sugary lemon icing (lemon juice, confectioners sugar; add some jam if you want to make it pink).

Voila...you have lemon goodness! Party-goers enjoyed this treat a lot and many raved about it even against the well loved red velvet.

April:

I will say not much went down during the winter months baking wise.

The Dish: Lemon strikes again! In cookie form this time. Lemon Poppyseed Cookies have become a staple for me this year. The people love 'em, and I have to give the people what they want. And since I have a crap load of poppyseed's I might as well make these treats as often as possible.

End result: The lemon comes from, again, lemon zest! Which is amazing in every sense of the word. You can't add too much so don't be afraid to add more than the recipe dictates.

Did I mention people love these cookies? I most recently made them for my department's book club and these things were ravaged. A co-worker even said she was introduced to a flavor she didn't know she liked. That's right, baking causes miracles!

May:

My oven started getting heavy use when NY AIDS Walk came around and I was basically pimping my baking skills for donations. And dagnabbit it worked! Even during a recession I was able to raise several hundred dollars for the cause. Heck yeah!

Requests were varied and some people just got some of what I made others. But let me tell you it was a baking bonanza for a good couple weeks.

There were brownies, yawn. But then I made cupcakes!

The Dishes:

1) Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I skimped on the icing and bought some whipped. After spending almost an hour zesting (not smart on my part) 2 cups of carrots I was tired and it was late on a school night no less.

End result: Those who donated enjoyed this treat as well. Though, I felt it tasted more like a muffin than a cupcake. Moist and good and all but light on the sugar taste. So perhaps it's better for you?

2) Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese icing: Since I had left over icing from the carrot cake cupcakes you know where it went. This recipe was interesting because it called for coconut flakes in and on top of the cupcake as well as coconut extract. But, in a war of extracts the vanilla won because I tasted that more than the coconut. And toasting the coconut then sprinkling it on top gave off a nice effect I think.

End result: My donator who is a coconut lover really enjoyed this cupcake. So I'm pretty sure he'll be donating again next year.

June:

The Dish: May was also busy in that I went to Book Expo of America and don't think I didn't go about trying to get as many cookbooks (books in general) as I could. I did snag Cookies to Die For by Bev Shaffer and found one of the easiest recipes to make and went for it: Maple Butter Cookies. One thing to note is that you have to refrigerate the dough after making so it's a day affair to make these cookies.

End result: Unfortunately the supermarkets nearest me don't have the best brands of maple syrup that was called for in this recipe. So I don't think the maple taste was as heavy as it should be. But the public enjoyed. Personally, I think they're biased by butter, which I am as well.

The Dish: I also made Blondies for the first time. Not realizing how easy it is to make these things these have now become a staple when visiting people. Need me to bring something? Heck, I'll make blondies! Anyone probably has the ingredients for these in their home: flour, butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and perhaps chocolate chips. There you know the recipe, now go out there and bake!

End result: I've made these three times this year because they're so easy. If you're nervous about blondies don't be. It's basically a chocolate chip cookie in bar form. Sounds delicious right? My co-workers thought so and so I'll continue to make them.

July:

My husband and I had visited Sweet Melissa Patisserie in Brooklyn a little while earlier and I tried her pumpkin bread pudding, which I liked. So when I found out she had a book and additionally saw her win a decorating competition on FoodNetwork I knew I had to get her recipes! She had pumpkin recipes for crying out loud!

The Dish: And so, with book in hand, I made Snickerdoodles. A friend first introduced me to this and she is also a phenomenal baker. Hers are quite moist, these are moist but a bit firmer.

End result: Pretty easy to make and I've had requests for these. I made some for a friend's birthday party and even though the cookies were still a bit warm in the dense humidity of July the three or four dozen cookies I bought were ravished within the first 30 minutes I set them down. Someone asked if this was a family recipe and I had to give credit where it was due. Thanks, Melissa!

The remainder of the year to be summed up in the next post...