Weeknight Baking: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie

It's the height or rhubarb season and I'm determined not to let the short season of my favorite fruit (that's actually a vegetable) pass me by! Last week, I made Smitten Kitchen's almond rhubarb picnic bars, this week was Joy the Baker's strawberry rhubarb crumble pie atop my favorite butter crust, also from Joy the Baker's cookbook, Homemade Decadence. Whoever thought to marry strawberry + rhubarb is a bonafide genius in my mind's eye. Utterly delicious! With our cool temperature these past few days, it's been the perfect weather for pie baking, where the oven makes the kitchen feel cozy instead of stifling. Bon appetite!

image/joythebaker

Weeknight Baking: Almond Rhubarb Picnic Bars

Finally got around to making these almond rhubarb picnic bars a la Smitten Kitchen, and oh my, were they spectacular!  My intention of trying the recipe on a random weeknight was to practice for making these for a baby shower I'm co-hosting in a few weeks.  Always a fan of rhubarb, I always lament when the short rhubarb season ends and I haven't taken advantage of the bountiful tartness this unsuspecting red vegetable has to offer. Note to self: next time, better make two batches...since I polished off half this batch by myself in a flash!

image/smittenkitchen

Weeknight Baking: Chocolate Coconut Almond Scones

Joy the Baker saves the day yet again.  After day 3 of straight rain, we procured an especially large haul from the library, my kids cozied up with their new books and I scoured our pantry for sweet ingredients to make scones.  Chocolate - check!  Coconut - check!  Almonds - check!  They were sumptuous, light, fluffy, and delicious.  The perfect recipe, also worth noting the entire batch was devoured within 24 hours.  Maybe make a double batch next time...

image/joythebaker

Weeknight Baking: Banana Bread

We are big fans of snack bread in our home.  Pumpkin bread. Banana bread.  Cinnamon toast.  Basically all the gluten.  My usually go-to is this scrumptious double chocolate banana bread a la Smitten Kitchen, but I figured my kids should have some recognition of banana bread that isn't a deep chocolate brown from the added cocoa powder.  I found this recipe via a quick google search and it yielded tasty results.  I used 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar because mentally I convince myself I'm being "healthy" by doing this.  Whatever works, right?  Well it was delicious, and we've already torn half of the loaf in a few short hours.  Perhaps we'll save a sliver for my dear husband when he comes home.  Or not...

image/tastesbetterfromscratch

Weeknight Baking: Pumpkin Banana Bread

What do you make when you have an abundance of browning bananas in October?  Well...after googling "pumpkin banana bread," and deciding it's a legitimate thing, that's what!  Why have I never tried this combination before!?  I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe, because she's proven to have a pretty good track record, so why not?  Oh, and I added a handful of chocolate chips for good measure.  Again, because...why not?  It's not quite as nutmegy or clovey as my usual go-to pumpkin bread, but it still retains the flavors of fall plus the added moist density of banana bread.

Happy fall!

image/pioneerwoman

Weeknight Baking: Fresh Strawberry Pie

Earlier in the week, we met up with friends for some strawberry picking.  It's our third year in a row at the same field.  It's become a little tradition of sorts.  We pick / they nibble until our basket is satisfactorily full and their lips and t-shirts are stained by rings of red juices.  We celebrate our pickings with a picnic lunch under a shady oak tree, usually followed by running shenanigans in the grass.  All in all, it's a wonderful day.  

The first year, my son was in the carrier, while I awkwardly attempted to kneel and pick berries, tipping him forward along with me. My daughter was actually decently helpful this year, though she too had a feast in the fields.  

A few days later, with our cleaned berries, my daughter helped me slice off the stems with her learning knife and I attempted strawberry pie.  Truth: it's a bit gelatinous despite having chilled in the fridge for a good four hours, but the flavor is on point.  While it retains it's lovely pie shape for pictures, it might hearken to more of a strawberry syrup on crust upon indulging.  I'll call that a win.

strawberry pie | coconut oil crust

Weeknight Baking: Double Chocolate Banana Bread

A day of endless rain - torrential downpour at times - made for a cozy afternoon indoors, baking.  With four brown spotting bananas calling out to me on the counter, I opted for banana bread when my daughter insisted, "chocolate banana bread!"  Upon the suggestion I shrugged, oh what the heck, who am I to withhold chocolate from our banana bread.  This recipe did not disappoint.  Truth be told, about 90% of it was eaten within a day.  Yum.

image/smittenkitchen

Weeknight Baking: Pumpkin Bread (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

One of my biggest cravings this time of year is pumpkin bread.  I love it, I love it!  Pumpkiny goodness wrapped up in a delicious bread?  Sign me up.  Now, with some dietary changes, it was necessary to find a suitable gluten and dairy free alternative.  

This recipe is also written as vegan, but I have no problem eating eggs, so I substituted 3 eggs for the flax eggs listed.  It was delicious, moist, and flavorful, we gobbled it all up within one and a half days. Will definitely be making this again very soon!

image/minimalistbaker

Weeknight Baking: One Bowl Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Lately I've been experimenting with avoiding gluten in my daily eating, and have noticed that when I do eat it from time to time, there's a noticeable difference in how I feel.  While I won't proclaim myself gluten-free by any means, I and exploring other alternatives in baking and meal planning.  

We had an abundance of bananas browning on our counters, so I opted to try a gluten-free recipe, if only to get a gauge on how it would turn out.  I used Minimalist Baker's recipe, and it was really moist and flavorful.  Would definitely try this recipe again. 

image/minimalistbaker

Halloween in Dessert Form

I need a reason to make this cake.  Forbidden Forest Chocolate Butterbeer Cake, combining my love for Harry Potter, delectable chocolate, marshmallowy goodness, and Halloween decorating all into one eye catching, decadent dessert.  Wowza!  I'll definitely be pinning this bad boy to make at some undetermined time in the future when my kids are older and more able to truly appreciate the spectacle (and effort invested).  For now I'll pass it in on to you out there, in case you've got the gumption to create this masterpiece.

P.S. And for those wondering, "What does butterbeer taste like?" I had the exact same thought... This recipe calls for butterscotch chips, peanut butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and sugar.  Yum.

image/halfbakedharvest

Weeknight Baking: Banana Bread Granola

Oh my goodness, this stuff is amazing!!  Salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy, and packing a punch of flavor.  Bonus; it's gluten-free and vegan (if you use agave in lieu of honey).  This made my kitchen smell heavenly, and tasted even better! 

image/minimalistbaker

The Pie Project: Pie #12 - Chocolate Cream Pie

Happy belated Pi Day everyone!  Truth be told, I don't think I'd ever heard of (let alone, celebrated) Pi Day until I started dating my nerdy, engineer, math obsessed husband.  However, I'm always game for an excuse to have dessert, and since I've already begun this quest to make the perfect pie, what better day than a pi holiday to make one?

I opted for something simple since nap times have been hit or miss around our house lately.  I chose this version of chocolate cream pie in a basic graham cracker crust.  I had good intentions of making the whipped cream myself, but realized I only had half and half.  After attempting to whip half and half into whipped cream unsuccessfully (to which my husband laughed considerably), I opted for the can of whipped cream in our fridge.  So there.  My almost 100% (though semi-homemade) chocolate cream pie.  Happy Pi Day!

                            past pies * one * two * three * four * five * six * seven * ten * eleven

Weeknight Baking: Homemade Rainbow Chip Cake

{my cake}

Well I did it!  It was a goal of mine to make rainbow chip cake from scratch and now I can officially say I did it! I whipped up this labor of love cake for my daughter's birthday, and thankfully it was quite delicious - though the birthday girl refused even one bite!  

Part of what takes so much time is not the cake itself, but the melting and coloring of white chocolate to make the chips.  Note: I did take some iPhone pictures of the chips I created, but the photos from Ashley's blog were so much prettier I'm just going ahead and sharing hers.

{rainbow chips}

Overall - the cake was good, albeit time consuming.  Truth be told, rainbow chip cake is not my fave, however I could eat a tub of the frosting single handedly with a  box a graham crackers.  

Weekday Baking: Jacked Up Banana Bread

My girl and I did another baking project today - Smitten Kitchen's Jacked Up Banana Bread, except in muffin form.  Part of what makes it "jacked up" is the addition of bourbon, which I was lacking, but I added all the other spices which I haven't often include in other banana bread/muffin recipes - such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Just for good measure we added a heaping handful of chocolate chips - because who doesn't love a little extra chocolate in their life? 

image/bbb

Weekday Baking: Blackberry Scones

Tis the season for blackberries - at least in the Pacific Northwest, as the blackberries are plentiful this August due to our dry, hot summer.  We live within walking distance of a huge crop of blackberries, so our late night evening stroller walks have also become blackberry picking opportunities.

Since she has shown the slightest interest in baking, I've been trying to incorporate baking into our mornings once a week.  She enjoys mixing the best, but tends to lose interest after all the ingredients are combined.  Luckily, the product is almost always enjoyable. :)  I made these blackberry scones (without lavender as the recipe calls for - because who has dried lavender lying around?).  They were delicious, pretty sure I ate most of the batch... Oh well!

image/joythebaker

Bread Making 101

Now that I'm feeling increasingly confident with my pie making skills, I want to add another basic to my baking skill set - bread making.  Have you seen all the sugar and processed ingredients in bread these days?! Seriously, look at the ingredient label on your bread!  It's crazy how many ingredients are in there that shouldn't be - should soy really be in bread?  Half of them I can hardly pronounce! 

I want to be able to know what's truly in the food I'm feeding my family.  Bread seems daunting but so did pie crust, and really it's flour, water, salt, yeast, and a little time, right?  At least, that's what I'm hoping.  To jumpstart my journey into bread making, I added a few staples from the experts to my queue at the library, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Flour Salt Water Yeast, and The New Artisan Bread.  

So...who's with me?  Anyone else make bread at home?

image/bbb

Weeknight Baking: Salted Browned Butter Rice Krispy Treats

First off, when is the last time you had rice krispy treats?  For me, these lovely little morsels remind me of the post soccer game treats of my youth, but I'm pretty confident it's been a while!  I can't actually recall the last time I've made them - if ever.  However, with the hot weather we've been having in the greater Seattle area the past few weeks, I was desperate for a dessert to bring to my book club meeting that didn't require an oven.  Enter: salted browned butter rice krispy treats a la Smitten Kitchen.  Brilliant!  

Ridiculously easy compared to most other desserts, and the flavor was excellent, just enough salt and an extra oomph of nuttiness from the browned butter.  My darling daughter also served as my sous chef - "measuring" or in her case enthusiastically scooping - the rice krispies.  Don't think I'll ever make the original version again.

image/smittenkitchen

Celebrating Pi Day

For all you nerdy types out there - Saturday, 3/14/15 is "Pi-Day."  My husband looks forward to announcing this holiday every year.  Perfect for him, this year his engineering firm is celebrating their own Pi Day by having a pie potluck for lunch.  While I was prepared to bake this pie which has proved itself a unanimous crowd-pleaser, I'm off the hook as enough people already volunteered.  (Insert sigh of relief here) Besides...I'd rather catch up on House of Cards anyway...

However, if I was baking a pie, I might make this little diddy I saw over at Smitten Kitchen today, just for creativity's sake - black bottom oatmeal pie. I have never heard of this type of pie before, and I'm intrigued.

Happy Pi Day!

image/smittenkitchen

Weeknight Baking: Ginger Pear Skillet Cake

I may have found my favorite new holiday dessert - and surprise, it doesn't contain a hint a peppermint! For my annual girls Christmas get-together, I made this Ginger Pear Skillet Cake.  I had good intentions to start baking right after work, but after dinner, R's bedtime routine, a show, and my daily blog roll, suddenly it was 9:00.  So, rather than lay my head to sleep around 9:30 per usual, I channeled my inner Martha-Stewart-elf and baked.  Thankfully my first attempt was a success.  

This cake is quite dense, but the ginger-clove-nutmeggy yumminess is palatable and makes your kitchen smell divine!   First, I wasn't able to scrounge up our trusty old skillet, probably still in some unmarked box somewhere in our new house, but a pie pan worked just fine.  Second, the recipe calls for fresh ginger, which I rarely have on hand, so I just added a few dashes more of powdered ginger, seemed to do the trick.  Last, the recipe claims 60 minutes for baking - which was not the case for me, closer to 1:15 or 1:20 (and my oven runs hot).  I did cover with foil for the last 20 or so minutes as to not scorch the pear topping.  I used Bosc pears per the recipe's suggestion, and they held up nicely  atop the finished product.  My friends seemed to like it and even asked for the recipe which is always a good sign, right?  

Happy eating!

image/seriouseats

Fall Favorites: White Chocolate Dipped Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Pistachios

Realizing I'm falling a little behind on my promised "Fall Favorites" posts, I figured I'd better punch out a few before Winter descends.  These cookies popped up on my blog roll the other day and I was instantly captivated.  How could you not?  White chocolate dipped brown butter ginger cookies with pistachios.  They're long in the name and I'll bet in flavor as well.  Wouldn't this be the perfect cookie to bring to a fall gathering?  Feel free to bring a batch by my house anytime!

image/ambitiouskitchen