With a Cherry on Top: What's Baking

Showing posts with label What's Baking. Show all posts

Saturday, February 5, 2011

What's Baking Challenge - Try Something New for the New Year

Posted by Dunne' at 8:45 AM

So I skipped out on our challenge for December because of the holiday craziness and I was really excited about doing our January challenge. Jen, from Beantown Baker, was the host for the month and and wanted to encourage us to try something new, so she chose the theme of "Try Something New for the New Year" where we would, literally, try something new! It could be a new ingredient, a new technique, a new recipe, etc.

Well, peeps, I'm sorry to say that "Trying Something New for the New Year" turned into a BAKING FAIL!!! I set out to make Cinnamon Spritzes....I've had the recipe for a long time and have been wanting to make them even longer but I don't own a cookie press. But I had found another recipe to make them using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip to pipe the cookies instead....genius! Well, not so much! I don't know what happened, but I could not get the darn things to pipe for the life of me! They were waayyy too thick and certainly did not come out like the picture I had! So, once again, I was not able to participate (but not for a lack of trying)!

But I will definitely be back for the next one; it's a special month since I've been chosen to host it! The theme for February is "Baked with Love"....I have asked everyone to bake something worthy of being on a Valentine's menu! I'm excited to see what everyone comes up with; there is a lot of versatility with this one and can't wait to see what turns up (maybe some fun appetizers, tasty breads, a decadent entree or a sweet treat)!

But in the meantime, definitely check out what everyone else made for January......

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread

Source: Carrie's Sweet Life

Cheese Souffle

Source: Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness

Pistachio Cake

Source: The Tiny Tyrant's Kitchen

Coconut Madeleines

Source: The Boys Made Me Do it!

Gluten-Free Breadsticks

Source: Our Share of the Harvest

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Source: Brownies and Blondies

Warm Apple Bread Pudding

Source: The Mess Pot

Cinnamon Chip Bread

Source: The Jey of Cooking

Cinnamon Rolls

Source: Cloud 8 1/2

Cranberry Orange Scones

Source: Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Mini-Whole Wheat Bagels

Source: Beantown Baker

Friday, December 3, 2010

What's Baking Challenge - Thanksgiving

Posted by Dunne' at 7:39 AM

Well, it's that time again and I can hardly believe we're already rounding up recipes from last month's What's Baking Challenge (it seems like just about a week ago, we were doing our first round up for October). Wow, how time flies!

This was an interesting month because it was about Thanksgiving and it was really nice to see everyone's interpretations of the theme and what reminded them of this special holiday. It was also nice to see a wide variety of baked goods made and not just desserts!

Below are the entries from most everyone (I know that some people stepped out for the month due to time commitments)...hopefully you'll find something that catches your eye and also some other blogs that may be of interest to you!

And before I go, our host chosen for December is Stephanie from Brownies and Blondies. The theme she has chosen is Holiday Colors! I think it will be really fun to see how everyone interprets it and whether they stick with the typical red and green for Christmas, blue and white for Hanukkah, red/green/black for Kwanzaa, black and gold for New Years Eve, a simple red and white combination or maybe even something Wintry in light blue/silver/white! Stay tuned next month to find out....

Edible Cornucopia

Source: Our Italian Kitchen

Rustic Apple Crostata

Source: The Boys Made Me Do It

Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake

Source: Beantown Baker

"The Pie That Won't Die"

Souce: The Tiny Tyrant's Kitchen

Cranberry Apple Mini Pies

Source: Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Sweet Potato Trifle

Source: Carrie's Sweet Life

Bacon and Cheddar Apple Pie

Source: The Jey of Cooking

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

Source: Our Share of the Harvest

Pilgrim Bread

Source: Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness

**For what it's worth, please excuse the formatting above with the caption sourcing of the pictures. Blogger isn't working with me the way I'd like and for some reason some of the captions are not properly placed under each picture. I'll keep working on it to hopefully get it fixed!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Apple Pecan Cheesecake - What's Baking Challenge

Posted by Dunne' at 8:29 AM

It's that time again....it's time for the What's Baking Challenge! First of all, I'm so sorry y'all for being such a slacker on the blog front. Despite how it may look, I really haven't been slacking at home (promise). We've been very busy and my computer is very, very sick. I am "temporarily" on Chris' computer for now which is my why my posts have been few and far between.

But it's nearing the end of the month and with that comes the What's Baking Challenge. If you remember from last month's post, the theme chosen for November is Thanksgiving! What better way to celebrate Turkey Day than with a non-traditional dessert! While I love me some pumpkin pie, I'm feeling a little overkill with all of the pumpkin recipes I've been seeing lately. So I thought I'd liven things up a bit with a cheesecake. But not just your usual New York cheesecake. This one has a delightful little mixture of apples and pecans tossed in cinnamon and sugar on top....YUM!

I'm telling you, this is definitely a great alternative (or addition) to the typical dessert fare you see on Thanksgiving. The cheesecake with the apples and pecans on top really give a warm, comforting feeling in your mouth and really brings it home. It could definitely stand on it's own at the table next to the turkey and dressing but if you have to go with the traditional T-Day dessert(s), you really should throw this in as an accompaniment...I promise, you won't be disappointed and neither will your guests!

Apple Pecan Cheesecake

Ingredients - Crust
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup Butter, melted
2 Tbsp. Sugar plus

Ingredients - Cheesecake
4 - 8oz. pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
3 Lg. Apples, peeled, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup Pecans, chopped
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Directions
To make the crust, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add in sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between additions until blended together.

In a medium bowl, combine the apples, pecans, remaining sugar and cinnamon. Mix until the pecans and apples are coated with cinnamon and sugar.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled graham cracker crust. Spoon the apples and pecans over the cheesecake mixture and bake for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours to let cool and set. Using the foil, pull the cheesecake out of the dish and cut into serving-size squares.

Yield: 16 Servings
Source: Adapted from Kraft Foods

Friday, October 29, 2010

What's Baking Challenge - Fall Cupcakes

Posted by Dunne' at 10:04 AM

So y'all probably remember me mentioning the What's Baking challenge a group of us recently started up, right?! If you don't, maybe these will jog your memory!

Well, it's that time of the month where we do a round-up of the recipes everyone made (pictures included)! It was so much fun to see what everyone came up and while I was trying to be different with my recipe, it turns out that I wasn't the only one thinking that way! But even though a lot of us made similar items, all of our recipes are unique and different in their own way, which is still really cool!

Definitely check out these other goodies my fellow foodie friends came up with and definitely feel free to check out the rest of their blogs too! And stay tuned for next month's challenge: Thanksgiving! Catherine, from Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness, will be hosting and it will be fun to see what we all come up with and how we interpret Thanksgiving into baked goodies!

Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream