I made two pumpkin pies last fall to find my favorite one, and I ended up combining two recipes. I used the crust from this pie, which was a quick puff pastry. It produces an ultra-flaky crust with a great butter flavor. The filling in this pie was good, but the burnt sugar caramel was a little strong, and I loved the filling of the Flour cookbook pumpkin pie more. Then I used the mascarpone whipped cream (very yummy) and the decorations of this pie. I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was pretty well-liked. I will still experiment with pie recipes to find my favorites. However, it is often the case that I cannot find a recipe I really like, so I then tweak several to how I like it. It takes practice and learning from mistakes, but it often brings sweeter results.
These cookies were tasty. They came from the Joy the Baker Cookbook, which has many delicious looking recipes. I like Joy's book and website because she puts new spins on classic recipes. A good and bad thing about these cookies is that they were so moist and soft, but that made it difficult to ice without breaking the cookie. They taste so yummy but presentation is not the best, at least for me. I'm okay with that sometimes. The chocolate and cinnamon icings worked so well with the pumpkin cookie, and I liked the small size of the cookies. I love fall baking!
Lemon is one my favorite cake flavors. Cake is often quite rich and dense, but lemon flavor lightens the cake and adds interest to flavor. This cake recipe came from the Miette cookbook. This cookbook is full of beautiful cakes, tarts, cookies, etc. Different than most cakes, this is a 6-inch cake. I really liked this size, because it yielded smaller and more realistic servings. The three-layered cake is filled with lemon curd and topped with a lemon buttercream. Lemon curd is near the top of my list of favorite sweet indulgences. It is too yummy to resist, and homemade curd is the only way to go. The more I make it, the more I like swiss meringue buttercream. It was intimidating at first, but after practice I became more comfortable with making it. Real buttercream (not butter frosting- powdered sugar, butter, and milk) is light and fluffy, melts in your mouth, sturdy for frosting, and is totally versatile with flavors. It is now my first choice in frosting cakes. Edible flowers were a pretty adornment for this tasty and sophisticated lemon debutante cake.
These were perfect little cookies. I loved them! They were soft yet crumbly butter cookies topped with strawberry jam. Thumbprint cookies are named so because as soon as they are taken out of the oven, they are pressed in the middle (can use your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon) and filled with the jam. The jam then thickens as the cookies cool. The small size allows you to pop them in your mouth! These are pretty little cookies that are great for a party or a delivery gift!
These were yummy and healthy muffins! I am impressed when those two factors can go together, and the Flour cookbook does it so well. There is creme fraiche in them, which is one of the best ingredients to yield moist baked goods. The "bird seed" topping has sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds. It adds great texture. I love healthy baked goods, and these are very filling!
I wish I had better photography/presentation skills, because this photo does not do this sundae justice. The bottom layer is a chocolate sheet cake (from The Pioneer Woman Cooks-great cookbook!) . It is what converted me to chocolate desserts, and is the perfect base for ice cream. Then comes three different types of homemade ice cream: salted caramel, vanilla bean, and rocky road. All came from the cookbook Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Every recipe from that book is so yummy! On top of the ice cream there is a praline sauce, which is similar to caramel sauce. They use similar ingredients but follow a different cooking process. Finally comes the homemade vanilla bean marshmallows. Ever since I first made marshmallows at home, I could never enjoy store-bought marshmallows. Homemade are so much softer, more flavorful, and melt easily. They are a sticky mess to make, but they are fast and simple. Well, that is the sugarbomb sundae and it should equal your weekly intake of sugar, but it will leave you satisfied and happy!
From my experience, the majority of homemade versions of store-bought treats are much more preferable. These sandwich cookies had a great chocolate flavor filled with a yummy vanilla cream. This recipe came from the Flour cookbook, one of my favorites. The author remakes several popular treats. These cookies did not last long!
