Christmas cookies

At the last minute I decided to bake my neighbors cookies for Christmas.  This year I made chocolate thumbprint cookies w/strawberry jelly, caramel pecan bars, shortbread cookies w/ chocolate centers, chocolate chip cookies, and Santa whiskers.  I surely hope my neighbors enjoyed these yummy treats, because it was extremely hard getting everything done with Guppy on my hip.

Also, here is a picture of my latest pie creation - a chocolate hazelnut tart...

I am bound and determined to gain 20 pounds (which is odd, since I really need to lose about 20 pounds).

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

This is a strawberry rhubarb pie.  OH MY GOD - I love this pie.  I am not good with a camera, so my picture really doesn't do it justice.  But trust me, this pie tastes like a little slice of heaven right here on earth.  Here is a link to the the recipe, because you'll definitely want to make one pronto.

Mmmmm...pie

Okay, so my children look nothing alike.  Every single person guessed correctly.  I think Guppy and Porgie both look like John.  Izzy resembles my side of the family.  None of my children actually look like me, although they all have my nose, which is kind of fun.  It is the one feature that unites all three of them - cute little pudgy noses!

Guppy and Izzy have a doctor appointment in the morning (4 month and 4 year check-up).  I am not looking forward it.  I am always convinced that my kids are going to get sick whenever we enter the doctor's office. That place is germ central.  Ugh.

I bought a new cookbook!  I am super excited about making new pies!  So, be expecting lots of fun pie pictures.  To get the party started, here is my first pie...

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

My first cherry pie

I bought a bag of cherries for my son last week. Cherries are EXPENSIVE, so I was reluctant to purchase them. But Izzy insisted that he would eat them, so I relented. As expected, after a week in our fridge, he had only eaten a handful of cherries. My suzie homemaker attitude kicked in, and I decided to make a cherry pie...This was my first attempt at cherry pie, and it turned out perfect. We sliced it up, and placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. DELICIOUS!

Bread woes

As I mentioned several weeks ago, I bought a bread machine off of Craigslist. A very nice woman sold me the machine for a mere $20. And she even gave me the instruction manual, which was packed full of yummy bread recipes. I was super duper excited. I raced home and promptly started baking some bread.

My first loaf turned out okay. It was a little burnt on the sides and was slightly too tall for our sandwiches, but I thought the bread tasted okay. John, on the other hand, was disappointed. He lamented that it didn't taste as good as my regular bread. I rolled my eyes. WHATEVER.

So, I made another batch of bread last night. I decided to use a recipe from the instruction manual, hoping for better results. Unfortunately, the bread was a disaster. For some reason, the entire center caved in. I was pretty pissed.

I am giving the bread machine one more chance. I have printed out a new recipe, which I am going to try this afternoon. If the recipe flops, I think I'll just resale the damn machine on Craigslist.

Christmas Cookies

Because I have assumed the role of Suzie Homemaker, I decided to bake all of my neighbors cookies this year. I baked everything one Saturday morning, and I delivered them that evening. Honestly, it felt good to do something nice and unexpected for other people. And almost everyone invited us inside, so it was fun chatting and getting up-to-date on all the neighborhood gossip:)

Below is the cookie line-up. Everything turned out GREAT. Seriously, almost every batch was perfect. I was super proud of my awesome baking skills...

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Santa Whiskers

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Cherry Almond Cookies

Magical Coconut Bars

I divided the cookies up onto 9 plates...

Then I wrapped them in plastic wrap and tied them with a ribbon. Easy peezy...

A weekend filled with baking...

Peanut Butter Crisscross Cookies...

Banana Bread...

Eggnog Muffins with Boozy Raisins...

Next up, Cowboy Cookies!

Cast Iron Bread Pan!

After CSN contacted me to review a product, I decided that I wanted to purchase a cast iron bread pan. BUT, they were sold out of their cast iron bread pans. I had to wait several weeks before they restocked. A few days ago, my lovely pan finally arrived...

I know you'll probably think I am a little crazy, but I really don't like to use non-stick cookware. The coating can flake off and get into your food. I don’t like the idea of my family eating chemicals that have rubbed off of a pan. I have also read that nonstick coatings emit toxic fumes when they are overheated. And who really knows the long-term effects of breathing in these gases? So, I like to play it safe with my family and only use cast iron cookware. Well, that isn't entirely true. I have a few nonstick items left in my kitchen - my bread pan, cake pans, and cookie sheets.

For a few months, I was searching high and low for a cast iron bread pan. My search would have been much easier if I had looked online, but cast iron is heavy, and I didn't want to pay for the shipping cost. Although I didn't find a cast iron bread pan at a local store, I did find a few very nice glass bread pans. But before I could make a purchase, CSN invited me to select a product from their store. So, now I have my coveted cast iron bread pan (and I didn't pay a penny for it!).

Basically, this pan baked my bread EXACTLY like my non-stick pan. The bread tasted fabulous. And the best part is that this pan will last a lifetime. I'll never have to replace it because of a damaged nonstick coating.

So, if you are looking for a quality bread pan, look no further.

P.S. Marni is hosting a $75 CSN giveaway right now. You could buy so much stuff with $75! Go enter NOW!

Santa

We are going to get a double dose of Santa today. I am going to pick up my Christmas pictures at the mall, so I intend to multi-task and get photos with Santa done this morning too. Santa is also going to be at our city's annual lighting of the Christmas tree this evening. I am hoping that Izzy has warmed up to the idea of Santa, because otherwise, this could be a very traumatic day.

I am meeting a friend for lunch today, which I am oddly excited about. I never go out to eat with my friends. I am much too frugal, and always end up suggesting a picnic lunch instead. But I have been feeling a little depressed lately, so I am taking this opportunity to do something fun that I normally wouldn't do. I usually try to eat a healthy lunch, so I'll be splurging on the diet front too. I can't wait!

Speaking of splurging, I made a new cookie last night. HOLY COW! So flippin' good. Basically, they are chocolate cookies with a peanut butter fudge center. They were labor intensive, but soooooo worth it.
I have to admit, baking can be very therapeutic for me. If you are feeling stress, I highly recommend finding a fabulous new cookie recipe. It will turn that frown upside down:)

The birthday cake...

This was my attempt at a yellow digger cake. My yellow icing was a little runny. That seems to be the story of my life lately. Why can't I make good icing? Anyways, I think it turned out pretty cute. Izzy loves it, so that is all that really matters.

Yummy stuff

This week I tried a new muffin recipe. These little beauties are ginger-raisin-bran muffins...

I also made some lemon cupcakes. The icing turned out a little too runny, but they still tasted delicious...

I am gearing up to make Izzy's "test" birthday cake. This project should push my baking skills too the limit. I am predicting that the cake will be a flop. Get ready for some laughs:)

Halloween Cupcakes

We were invited to a little get together yesterday at my friend's house. Because I am little miss Suzie Homemaker, I decided to bring some Halloween themed cupcakes...

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin pie!

My pumpkin pie was delicious. Seriously - the best vegan pumpkin pie I have ever had. John and I have attempted vegan pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving, and it has always been too runny. But this pie? PERFECT. So, I thought I would give you the recipe (you know, just in case you decide to go vegan - or if someone in your family is vegan - or maybe just because you don't have any eggs in the house.)

Vegan Pumpkin Pie: A Novel

First things first, you need a medium sized pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half and scrap out the stringy guts and seeds. Next, place the pumpkin pieces in a shallow baking dish (with the open part facing down), cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about 2 hours. When the pumpkin is nice and soft, scrap the pumpkin flesh out and throw the skin away. Now, this is where it can get a little tricky. My pumpkin was VERY watery. So, I placed it in a fine mesh strainer and let it sit for about an hour (I actually made my crust during this time). If you don't have a fine mesh strainer, I read that you can also use cheesecloth. Finally, I mashed the pumpkin with a potato masher for a few minutes. At this point you are ready to make your pie!

This is the recipe I used for the crust. Please note that is it for a double crust, so there will be a little extra. I placed the extra dough in the freezer to use for my next pie.

Finally, the pie filling...

2 cups pumpkin
1 1/4 cups milk (I use soymilk)
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
Pinch of salt

Add salt, spices, and cornstarch to pumpkin and stir. Then add the brown sugar, milk, and lemon extract. Mix well. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower to 350 degrees and cook for 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream!).

Enjoy!

Yummy yummy yummy I got good stuff in my tummy

This week I made almond cherry muffins...

homemade apple pie...
And last, but certainly not least, rum pudding cake...

In case you are wondering, why yes I am trying to gain 150 pounds. I plan on being morbidly obese by December. I am hopelessly addicted to sugar.

What you got cooking?

Monday is baking day in Cakerwakerville. This week I made these delicious vegan pumpkin muffins. They really are some of the best pumpkin muffins I've ever tasted.


We were supposed to go apple picking again last Friday, but it rained all day. By that time, I was already craving apple crisp. Yesterday I headed to the grocery store for the ingredients. It turned out great. Of course, I topped the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream:)


This afternoon I need to bake some bread. Then we'll be set for the week!

Baked Goods

This week I baked vegan chocolate mocha muffins for my husband's breakfast...
These are John's favorite muffins, so I bake them frequently. They are tasty, and you should definitely try them.

My daughter kept asking me to bake her some chocolate chip cookies, so I finally relented...
These are also vegan. They are, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookies EVER. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the recipe online. Sorry friends.