Magnolia Bakery #20 – Cappuccino Chip Muffins

Now that it’s February of 2022, I am doubling down on my efforts to cook more recipes out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. January was a slow baking month for me. I only made one recipe from the book, and it didn’t really turn out as I had hoped. The other recipe I made was my son’s birthday cake, which was underwhelming as well.

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What I Cooked Last Weekend

If you happened to see my post from Saturday, you’ll know that my area of the country was hit by our first major winter-storm of the season. In fact, it was the first really major storm in the last couple of years. Parts of the state I live in experienced blizzard conditions. Though we had a lot of snow at my house, we didn’t lose power, have the blizzard conditions (according to meteorologists) and overall fared pretty well. The fact that it fell on a Saturday was also nice. In the end, it basically meant I was snowed in on Saturday which gave me plenty of time to hang out in the kitchen.

I did bake, though not from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I also tried my hand at some more vegan recipes. Here a rundown of my time in the kitchen last week.

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A Blizzard in New England

Today, we are experiencing blizzard conditions. Or at least we might be. It doesn’t look like much, but the wind is blowing the snow all around. This is truly the first major snowstorm of the season, so I guess I can’t be too upset.

At least it’s happening on a Saturday and I don’t have go anywhere. I plan to spend the day watching tv, making soup, doing laundry, and eating way too much left-over birthday cake.

A Quick Foray into Vegan Baking

Long-time readers of the blog will remember that every now and then I get on a “plant-based kick.” As I continue to read more and more about the health, ecological, and economical benefits of removing animal-based products from one’s diet, I keep getting the urge to do so. But one of the things that would be quite difficult for me to give up would be baking and making desserts. So, I am “testing the waters” so to speak.

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Magnolia Bakery #19 – Blueberry Crumb Pie

Being good on my goal to start the pie chapter of the MB cookbook this year, I decided my first bake out of the book for the year would be a recipe from that chapter. Blueberries were on sale last week at the grocery store, so I decided to make the Blueberry Crumb Pie. “It’ll be easy!” I said to myself. “Really, how difficult could pie crust be?”

Well, it turned out to not be as easy, or as exciting as I thought.

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January Bread Baking

In the colder months, I typically like to bake bread. It’s a process that kind of lends itself to needing to be done on days when you are home more. While a lot of the time is passive, I have found that the stretches of time are not exactly long enough for me to leave the house to run errands. I also tend to stay home more in the winter months. The darkness that comes at 4:30 isn’t fun.

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First Bake of 2022!

Now that the whirlwind of the holidays has ended, I am able to focus on blogging and baking once again. As the first bake of the new year, I decided to make something out of an Ina Garten cookbook. After looking over her recipe index, I decided that a fall/winter fruit dessert would be the perfect choice. So, Pear, Apple, and Cranberry Crisp!

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Holiday Week Update and MB Recipe 18

This week I only have time for a quick post. It’s not because I’m busy, but more so because I’m not really doing any baking or cooking this weekend. As you may recall, last year I made a Yule Log. But this year, I do not have the luxury of the time it takes (and to be honest, the energy or desire) to make a Yule Log.

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Magnolia Bakery 17 Chocolate Cake with Caramel Buttercream

The second dessert I made for Thanksgiving weekend was not the cake the was supposed to be made for Second Thanksgiving. The reason for the change? The frosting! However, I was able to make a quick change to the idea and get the flavor profile across that I was hoping to.

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Magnolia Bakery 16: The Thanksgiving Cake

I did a lot of baking for Thanksgiving this year. My celebrated twice, one day with one side of the family, another day with the other side of the family. I decided to make two different cakes, one for each day. Both are out of the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. This post is about the cake I made for Thanksgiving proper. The cake I made for Thanksgiving Round 2 will come out later in the week.

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