Hi, bakers! Welcome to bread week! (Great British Bake-Off anyone?)
I haven't been baking much the last couple months since we've actually been getting out a bit on the weekends. I'm sure once we get back into Fall/Winter I'll be baking every weekend again. I have still been making homemade bread every other week as well as homemade pizza at least once a month, which I'm sure you can tell from this post!
First up is we made some strawberry jam with fresh berries from the garden! They've all been a little too small/mushy for regular consumption so making a quick jam was the perfect solution to enjoy them. Used on our dutch oven bread for breakfasts!
I was searching for a recipe that used instant masked potato flakes because my husband bought 2 boxes before the pandemic and we've hardly gone through the first box. (I don't like mashed potatoes and he forgets to remind me to make them for him at dinner, haha!) My loaf pan was a little too big so it doesn’t have the classic bread shape but who cares as long as it tastes good!
I will add more cinnamon sugar filling next time because I like a LOT of cinnamon flavor. But this is definitely a recipe I will make again. I may also double the recipe so it fills the loaf pan more.
I looooove focaccia and have made it a couple times before. This time I decided to use the mini currant tomatoes from our garden to make a colorful rosemary garlic focaccia! The first time I used a recipe that didn't have the dough do a long second rise. This recipe called for leaving the focaccia in the fridge after forming in the pan for at least an hour and up to 24. I left it for almost 24 hours. Soooo delicious! I like that now I have a quick recipe for last minute focaccia or one that develops a little more flavor.
Pizza with garden fresh basil & pepperoni and caramelized onions
More garden fresh ingredients for homemade baked goods! I used my trusty King Arthur recipe and topped with pepperoni and fresh basil and currant tomatoes from the garden. This recipe never fails. It's not traditional dough that you can toss in the air to form but I love how easy it is to make. I made another recently which is more our usual toppings - pepperoni, caramelized onions, pepperoncini (his half) and sweet piquante peppers my half.)
Normally when I make stromboli I use store bought pizza dough. I decided to try and make my own this time. I was always nervous to make my own dough for this because it has to be the right texture to stretch out and roll. It came out pretty tasty even though I stretched it a little too thin in some spots. But look at that nice puff! YUM!
P.S. Can you tell we love caramelized onions, haha!
More baking adventures to enjoy! This round involves some sort-of fails because nothing ever comes out perfect all the time. Gotta keep it real, right?
Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These were delicious but they came out super flat. I'll have to try it again and see if I can improve on them. I assume I didn't let the butter cool enough after browning. Next time I may chill the dough overnight to see if that helps!
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
I made these on a whim during our trip to visit Christian's family in Missouri. We had a small cookout and wanted a dessert so I whipped them up before everyone arrived! They were REALLY good and look how nice and fat they baked! Will definitely be making these again.
Gooey Chocolate Pizza Cookie from Handle The Heat's The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
This recipe was only a fail because we tried to grill it rather than cooking it in the oven. It's supposed to be kind of like a lava cake. The grill didn’t get to 400° so we left it on a little longer which was a mistake. The bottom and edges burned and it wasn't “gooey” like it was supposed to be. BUT the 3/4 that was edible was still good! (The foil we put on it to protect it from charcoal smell somehow stuck to the top resulting in a beautiful “design,” haha!) Next time we'll make it in the oven.
5 Minute Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Toast
Not sure if this counts as baking, but it's a dessert/breakfast and was delicious so I have to share! I was afraid to add too much chocolate when we made them,might add some more next time!
Lemon Meringue Pie
Used one of my recipe books so I don't have a link. I don't usually do lemon so this was a Christian only dessert. He loved it so I'd say it was a hit. Pretty sure it was similar to most other lemon meringue pie recipes so anything you choose will be delicious!
Not exactly baked, but another dessert. I needed to use leftover sweetened condensed milk so I halved the recipe. (After making it I bought a couple more cans so we can make it again!) It was so delicious and we both loved the texture! I can't wait to make it again. I feel like we should try something other than chocolate chip, so maybe I'll throw in some Oreos or something else to make it more fun!
Time for more baking! Today I'm sharing quite the mix of things - chocolate, savory, lemon, pastry! Everything and anything. Have you baked anything exciting lately? Anything I should try myself?? Always looking for new things to try.
Say the words molten and chocolate and I'm all in! I thought this pie would be a great twist on my usual favorite - chocohotopots. I used a storebought crust and it got a little bit mushy at the bottom, but the filling was amazing! The perfect mix of gooey and a little bit of crispyness on top.
Disney World Cheshire Cat Tails
I have yet to have these at Disney World and was trying to wait to make them until I had them in the park but I just couldn't wait anymore and decided to make them in February! It was super easy and they're delicious! I made a chocolate crème pâtissière instead of vanilla the recipe called for and it was super tasty. I found that with american puff pastry (at least the brand I bought) it was better to make 3 tails instead of 6 because of the size of the puff pastry square.
We made this for Christian since I don't like mac & cheese and we figured having smaller portions would be perfect for him to make for lunches/snacks. He loved this recipe and said it was really good! Plus it looks adorable in my ramekins from Le Creuset.
Another recipe from Nadiya Bakes on Netflix! This one didn't come out quite as good because the basil we got from the grocery store was dying and I didn't have many leaf options. The perils of using grocery store pickup, you can't be too sure of the quality! But it's a super fun bake that I will definitely be trying again with basil from our own garden!
Christian loves lemon and I don't so I made this planning to let him eat all of it. I did take a taste and thought it was super delicious! I only had a couple thin slices but next time he'll be splitting the loaf with me. The creator likens this to the Starbucks loaf and I can certainly see the resemblance, but this is way better in my opinion! Much more lemon flavor.
Easy Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch Knots
These knots are so delicious and chocolatey! I never think to bake with chocolate and cinnamon even though I know they go well together (I add cinnamon to my hot chocolate!) I don't think I'll be forgetting the combo any time soon! I actually used less chocolate than the recipe called for in case I didn't like how they turned out and I didn't want to "waste" my mini chocolate chips. Next time I'll use more.
