All in 1 Holiday Bundt Cake - TWD

I was not excited to make this bundt cake. For some reason it didn't seem appealing to me in the slightest. Even though I kept reading good reviews about it. The cranberries and nuts really turned me off. But I knew that Ben would enjoy it. He loves cranberries, nuts, apples and pumpkin.

So I forced myself to make it...I have a really cool stoneware bundt cake pan that I enjoy using too and thought that this would be a good excuse.

SURPRISE!!! It is really good. I chopped up the apples, cranberries and nuts super fine. It baked last night before I went to sleep. I left it cooling in the bundt pan overnight and covered it with some foil. After lunch today I removed it from the pan and thought that it was really pretty, but was still not convinced that I would really like it. Before serving it I dusted it with some powdered sugar.


YUM! Here is another dessert that I am going to have to limit myself to one a day. I think that I will bring it to a mom's meeting that I have on Thursday. It would probably make a really good mid-morning snack. Ben really enjoyed it too!

Thanks to Britin for choosing it. Be sure to check out her blog to find the recipe.

Cran Apple Crisp - TWD

As I was frantically making a chili dinner with cornbread last night for our guests....I asked Ben to help me make dessert. He agreed!! I opened Dorie's cookbook and let him have at it. He did an awesome job and the crisp turned out great. We both liked it and so did our guests!!

I was a little scared of the cranberries, I will admit. I don't enjoy cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving...in.the.slightest. But this was great. There were raisins, apples (honeycrisp) and cranberries, along with the tasty, crunchy, oatmeal topping. I had Ben make the crisp "family style" in a 9 inch pie plate instead of individual portions.

We have been limiting ourselves to a piece a day. Not easy to do. I wasn't able to get a picture of the entire dessert before we dug into it. But at least I was able to snap a picture before we devoured more of it today. Try it with Edy's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Not that I blew my diet by eating ice cream with it. I wouldn't do that (insert extreme sarcasm)!

Thanks to The Repressed Pastry Chef for the selection. You can find the recipe HERE.

Dorie...how I have missed you!

I'm back!! At least for this week. I can't make any promises about next. I have missed baking so much, especially TWD. But we have been so good with our diets around this house. I had to splurge and try the cookies that Pamela picked for her turn this month. I have been following her Cookies with Boys blog for quite some time now.


These cookies are outstanding. I loved them. So did the rest of my guys. I don't know if we liked them so much because there hasn't been a lot any baked goods floating around my kitchen or because they were simply that fantastic. I think it is the latter.

These flat cookies have ginger, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, molasses and brown sugar in them. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. Everything a cookie should be and so perfect for fall. The recipe made 28 decent sized cookies. I am sure that Pamela will have the recipe posted on her blog very soon and I will link to it at that time.


Do try them though! It is not easy to stop at one.

TWD CATCH UP

I am going to cram 3 TWD posts into one. I have been so busy and have been baking along but have not been posting. Time to get my act together!

These applespice bars were OK. I thought that they tasted delicious right out of the oven after the frosting was just cooled. But the next day....not so much. I stored them in a Tupperware container and they were a little mushy and the frosting seemed to soak through the bars. The recipe was chosen by Karen from Something Sweet and can be found HERE. I think that if I would make them again I would halve the recipe and intend to eat them all at once maybe for a party.

This key lime pie was tasty. I might have left the pie under the broiler a tad too long though. It was almost black in spots. Still good though. The recipe was chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb and can be found HERE. My only criticism about this was too much butter. I should have used half. I would rather have more of a tart lime taste than a lime/butter combo.

These YUMMY espresso cheesecake brownies are PHENOMENAL! I wouldn't change a thing about them. I could sit down right now and eat half the pan they are that good. I used 4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and reduced fat cream cheese. I also only had about a half cup of sour cream and about a quarter cup of powdered sugar. Therefore, my topping wasn't that thick. I don't think that it mattered though. The recipe was chosen by Melissa from Life In a Peanut Shell and can be found HERE. Thank you for such a great pick!!

Brownie Buttons - TWD

These were not my favorite. I don't think that I liked the orange flavor. And I probably overcooked mine. Or maybe it was the fact that I forgot to add the brown sugar until the batter was already in the mini muffin tins. I just happened to glance back at the perfectly measured brown sugar sitting on the counter. CWAP! I actually just divided up the brown sugar in each invidual muffin portion and then mixed it with a toothpick. I don't think that I would attempt them again!

The recipe was chosen by Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. My batch made 24 buttons by doubling the recipe by 1/2.

Vanilla Ice Cream and Banana Bundt Cake

I have been awful about getting any blogging done lately. No excuses!

I made the vanilla ice cream last week. It was yummy and everyone enjoyed it. I followed Megan's recommendation and only used 3 eggs. The recipe was chosen by CafeLynnylu and can be found HERE.

Today I baked the banana bundt cake. Also a winner. It was moist and delicious. The recipe was chosen by The Food Librarian. I did use light sour cream though. I tried to make it less fattening. Yeah right:)!

Tribute To Katherine Hepburn Brownies - TWD

Lisa from Surviving Oz chose the recipe this week after she designed a fabulous logo for TWD. Check it out along with the recipe HERE.

The recipe is Katherine Hepburn brownies. They were good. Even though I did not really follow the recipe as Dorie suggested. I skipped the cinnamon and nuts. I also used espresso powder in place of instant coffee and only used half the amount.

The brownies are super fudgey and moist. Go ahead....try them. You won't be disappointed.

Perfect Party Cake - TWD

This is quite the party cake. I will make this one again in a heartbeat. Carol of mix, mix, stir, stir chose this party cake. It is a white, lemony cake layered with raspberry filling. The frosting is made with a buttercream and topped with shredded coconut.

You can find the recipe HERE or on pages 250-252 in Dorie's cookbook. It really is not that difficult of a recipe to bake and put together.

I baked the cake in celebration of my friend's birthday. We went camping together and I brought it to the campsite. It seemed to be enjoyed by all. When I make it again I plan on using some other frosting though. The amount of butter used is literally shocking! I will also skip the coconut next time. I just am not a big fan. Other than these two minor issues, it is a great cake.

My VERY late TWD

I am so behind!

I did make the pineapple dessert that was chosen by Andrea last week. I just didn't get around to posting it. The recipe can be found HERE or on page 293-295 in Dorie's cookbook.

This recipe was extremely time consuming. Not hard. Just took me a long time to make. And 3 hours in the oven with weather being 90+ degree heat plus high humidity that day was just awful. And the broiling of the pineapple and toasting of the coconut was just not my cup of tea. But my husband thought that it was one of the best desserts that he has eaten. In fact, he said that he is "in love" with this dessert. I really did not think that it was that good. Too sweet. Maybe I am just not that "in love" with pineapple as he is.

Unfortunately to Ben's dismay, I don't think that I will be making this one again.

Coming VERY soon: My late Taste & Create submission!

Honey Peach Ice Cream - TWD

This is a really bad picture and it does not do this ice cream any justice! We really enjoyed this honey peach ice cream in delicious, crunchy sugar cones. YUMMY!

Tommi from Brown Interior was the recipe chooser this week. It was a good choice. I just wish that it would get a little warmer here to really enjoy ice cream outside. You would think it was the beginning of fall with the awful weather we have been having. At least get to 70, please. I shouldn't complain though because yesterday was 80. I just wish it would stay like that.

You can find the recipe HERE or on page 437 in Dorie's cookbook.

Parisian Apple Tartlet - TWD

I am late with this one. I realize that today is Wednesday, not Tuesday. We have been so busy with last day of school stuff, cleaning the house, etc. I made this tonight.

The recipe was chosen by Jessica from My Baking Heart. You can find the recipe HERE. Her pictures are great and her tartlet looks fantastic.

My tartlet was not so pretty. I went with a puff pastry made from scratch. I really wish that I would have just used the store bought stuff though. I may try this again at some point. It was really simple and would be so easy just to put together with some frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry some night after dinner. I used this recipe for puff pastry that I found from reading the TWD P&Q. It was OK. Maybe a little bland and very greasy right after removing it from the oven. I had to place the tartlet on a paper towel to attempt to remove some of the grease. I also read the directions wrong and cut my fuji apple into smaller pieces than necessary.

This would have been better if I hadn't of run out of vanilla ice cream to put on top. Ben didn't care for it. My sister and her boyfriend thought that it was good. They gave it a 7 or 8 rating out of 10.

Cinnamon Squares - TWD

Cinnamon squares while baking = house that smells like a Yankee candle factory!

These cinnamon squares are wonderful! Not only did they make my house smell divine while baking but everyone really enjoyed them. Especially Brock, who inhaled them. He even requested that I make this "cake" for his birthday! I was quite surprised that he liked them as much as he did. There was a lot of cinnamon and coffee flavor. Especially for a 5 year old.

Tracey from Tracey's Culinary Adventures was the TWD chooser this week. I'll admit that I wasn't too excited to make these cake squares. I didn't think that the picture in Dorie's cookbook (pages 210-211) did them justice. But, they sure were a hit.

This recipe is easy and doesn't require a lot of thinking. Just the kind of recipe I really like. I used a mixture of semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate throughout.


Next Tuesday: Parisian Apple Tartlet

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream - TWD

Way back in August of last year this blueberry ice cream was chosen. It was originally chosen by Dolores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 434 in Dorie's cookbook.

I was not part of the group at that time. But last week I found an ice cream maker and decided to practice and use it for the first time with this recipe.

Maybe I shouldn't have got an ice cream maker. I really should be concentrating on my diet and exercising. But...this was really good. It was also fun to make. Ben and Brock loved it and were disappointed that it only made a pint. I assured them that they would have ice cream again within the next 2 weeks. That peach honey choice is going to be good!

Chipster-Topped Brownies - TWD

I love brownies....I love chocolate chip cookies. Who wouldn't like them layered together? Needless to say I was stoked to make this recipe! They were even made way earlier in the week than I normally make any of my TWD recipes. While preparing them and getting the ingredients ready I wish that I would have thought to halve the recipe though. This makes an insane amount of brownies that only Ben and I ended up eating. The boys didn't seem to enjoy them.

The recipe was chosen by Beth from Supplicious. It can be found on pages 94-95 in Dorie's book as well.

The only modification I did was substitute peanut butter chips for the bittersweet ones in the cookie layer. I also skipped the walnuts. My brownies baked up strange though. The bottom layer of brownies were fine. The problem came in with the cookie layer. While it was baking the top seemed to get very brown and seemed done. However, when I removed it from the oven and let it cool I noticed that it was still very gooey inside after the top cracked. We still ate it but it certainly wasn't done all the way through. And if I would have left it in the oven more to bake I am certain that the cookie layer would have been black.

While this recipe was fun to make I probably wouldn't make try it again. Although we did eat all the brownies, raw or not...they were good.

You Capture. Sweet

I participated in another You Capture Challenge. The theme for this week was to capture something 'Sweet'.

Beth is the creator of this fun event and her pictures are always awesome. Her "sweet" pictures today do not disappoint either. You have to check them out and also see everyone's pictures. There are some really good ones and always are.

This is a French Brownie I made a couple of weeks ago doing a catch-up for TWD. They were delicious and sweet. Especially with vanilla ice cream. You can find the recipe HERE.

My last picture is of my youngest son, Brady. He was sharing his popcorn with his rubber duckie today at snack.


Does that get any sweeter?

Fresh Mango Bread - TWD

This mango bread was chosen by Kelly of Baking with Boys. You can get the recipe and see how Kelly's turned out HERE. Hers looks much better than mine. I thought that it would be a simple recipe, easy ingredients to get together and be similar to banana or strawberry bread that I make. I was wrong. Well, it was simple to make and the ingredients were all in my cupboards (except for the mango) but it was not similar to banana or strawberry bread.

To begin, my mango didn't even come close to being 1 cup of cubed fruit. More like 3/4 cup. I didn't want to go to the grocery store for another mango so I threw in some fresh raspberries and a little bit of sliced cubed bananas. I baked it for the 90 minutes that it called for and then let it cool overnight.

My results:

Maybe I overbaked mine because it was quite dry. I like moist breads and baked goods. Or maybe I should have covered it with a foil tent. Or it could have been better with the right amount of mango and not raspberries or bananas in the mix. Not sure? Whatever it was.....I wasn't very fond of it and won't be making this one again.

Be sure to check out how everyone else's bread turned out HERE.

Next Tuesday: Chipster Topped Brownies.

Tartest Lemon Tart - TWD

Rest assured....even though I don't have any pictures to share, I did make this tart. But not many liked it. My boys and I went to visit my sister this weekend and I forgot my camera. But I did remember to bring my blender, food processor and tart pan though. She doesn't have any baking equipment and I wanted to bake this for her and my mom. OK. I take that back. She does have baking stuff, just very limited baking stuff.

Obviously I didn't read the P&Q very carefully before making this eye popping sour tart. I used the entire lemon, with the exception of the seeds. It. was. very. sour. My kids didn't like it at all. Neither did my sister. I thought that the crust was delicious (I skipped the nuts and made it plain) but wasn't so keen on the lemon filling. Very sour! My mom liked the tart and my sister's boyfriend thought that it was fine.

This was not a tart that I would try again. I do like lemon desserts and think that this would have been fantastic if the tartness would have been tamed down some. Alot some! It was fun to make though.

The recipe was chosen by Babette. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 336 in Dorie's cookbook.

I will be back next week with Mango Bread. And pictures!

Chocolate Cream Tart - TWD

I am going to make this short and sweet. This recipe was chosen by Kim at Scrumptious Photography.

We thought it was good. Not spectacular or a TWD favorite though.

I decided at the last minute to add strawberries because I thought that it needed some color or something to offset all the chocolate.

Kim has the recipe posted on her blog HERE. Or you can find it on pages 352-353 in Dorie's cookbook. You really should check out Kim's blog though. She has some amazing pictures and is an awesome photographer. You will be impressed, I promise.