Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made an Ina recipe. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve made any recipe and then wrote a blog post about it. But last weekend for the first time in a while, I actually had a reason to bake! So I took advantage of it and decided that perhaps it might be good to write a blog post, too.
Over the weekend I attended an Oktoberfest party and I was asked to bake something. Sticking with the German theme, I quickly decided on making a German chocolate cake. But then I realized that for a party, cupcakes might be easier to both make and eat. The dessert becomes finger food, perfect for an outdoor gathering during the last few warms days of the year. Luckily for me, Ina Garten had a German chocolate cupcake recipe. It was like the stars aligned.
Fall has officially arrived! Pumpkin spice lattes, large crisp apples, cooler days and nights, and soon the leaves will be changing colors. Fair season is in full swing in New England. This year, I was able make the trip to The Big E in Massachusetts. It’s New England’s largest fair and runs over two weeks every year. I was really happy to get back there this year, after missing it last year due to my work schedule.
As the weather changes, and I’ve settled into my new work schedule, I’m going to make an effort to return to baking and blogging.
A couple weeks ago, I decided to reactivate my baking bug. I made something that I’ve made a few times before and blogged about before. It was Ina Garten’s Banana Chocolate Crumb Cake. You can read more about it here.
Of course my most recent iteration of it didn’t look quite as good as the original. The picture is below. Ignore the sunken spot in the middle. I have yet to buy a proper cake tester for the condo, so I had to use a butter knife.
It’s fall in New England. That only means one thing: I’m pretty much obligated to bake at least one thing with apples. Since I am not, by any means, a pie person, I decided to go a different route. Apple cake. Luckily for me, Ina Garten has a recipe that combines wonderful flavors and had the entire kitchen spelling like fall.
You know, sometimes you just NEED to have a brownie.
This weekend was time-change weekend for most of us in the United States. The fall back one always hits me a little harder than the spring one. I think it has to do with the sun setting before I walk out of work at 5:00 for the next four months. As a way to cope with this, I decided to do one of the healthiest, and therapy-approved methods: bake something sweet!
Believe it or not, we are less than one week away from Halloween! Whether you love the holiday, or hate it, more often than not, kids will be ringing your doorbell looking for candy.
If you have kids of your own, you may even find yourself having to host (or wanting to host, depending on how you feel about it) a Halloween party for their friends. If you’re having trouble deciding on what you should make, here are three awesome ideas. Each one of these will surely bring Halloween cheer to your guests.
Note: For the recipes shown in the photos below, simply click on the photo.
Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
These cute treats are a spin on the classic peanut butter cookie. Easily make them holiday appropriate by adding a miniature Reese’s peanut butter cup on top and some chocolate drizzle for the legs. This recipe from Love in My Oven uses only a handful of ingredients and can be whipped up in no time!
Need to avoid peanuts? Use sugar cookies instead and you a mini Snickers bar instead of the peanut butter cup. It won’t give you the exact effect, but still similar enough to be fun!
A Halloween-ified Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie Boards are all the rage right now! Whether it’s meats and cheeses, a butter board, or a dessert board. Why not try this Halloween option for your party? Its super easy to make and you can customize what you put on the board to your guests’ taste. Take inspiration from Two Peas and Their Pod to make life even easier.
Monster Rice Krispy Treats
No kids party is complete without Rice Krispie Treats! Instead of serving the standard one, take this kid-favorite treat into the holiday spirit by turning them into Monsters! With only a few ingredients and about 45 minutes worth of work, you’ll have a unique treat that kids will love! You can even go a step further and make witches as well! That would be super fun. Check out Chelsea’s Messy Apron for more quick and easy Halloween treat ideas!
Well, there you have it! A few quick and easy Halloween treats for your Halloween party. While I did find these with kids in mind, I’m sure many adults will gobble them up just as quickly. It’s okay, we won’t tell anyone if you wanna make these for yourself too!
It’s October and that means its now socially acceptable to bake pumpkin things without getting an eye-roll from pumpkin haters. I had an extra day off earlier this week so I decided to see if the baking bug was still within my soul. (Hint: it was.) What did I bake? None other than Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Mascarpone Filling.
Fall has officially arrived! Pumpkin spice, large crisp apples, cooler days and nights, and soon the leaves will change colors. Fair season is in full swing in New England with the Big E now in its final week. Sadly, I won’t be able to make it this year due to my new work schedule and lack of time off. But there’s always next year!
Last week, I told you all that I misjudged the Bake From Scratch cookbooks. The one I originally reviewed didn’t have much appeal to me. However, I will now admit that I was wrong. Baking a recipe out of the fifth volume proves it!
“What is that?”, you may ask. It’s the term I coined this weekend when trying to find a recipe. It’s when it’s too late in the summer to get enough flavor from the stone fruit and berries, so you don’t really want to use them in your baking. But it’s still too early for all the “fall bakes:” things like pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, and ginger. These things are inching their way towards the spotlight, but not quite yet. Plus I can’t bring myself to bake something pumpkin-related until at least after Labor Day.
