Holiday Season of Baking

White Bread (Finished)

I can safely say I've baked enough to feed a town. Maybe a small town in Montana. I have been gluten free for a while, so imagine the fun I had baking every thing with so much gluten it was deliciously sinful.

White Bread (Baking)

I baked so many types of cookies, including one gluten free version. I made sludge. Well, it was fudge that I'd adjusted and it was a failed chemistry experiment, until I froze it and it set!

Salted Almond Sludge turned Fudge

I made bread. Raisin Bread that is sort of like German Kaffee-Kuchen mit Rosinen. I made white bread - two loaves. I made Raspberry thumbprint cookies. Polvorones (Pecan Mexican Wedding Cakes). Maple Pecan Granola - my favorite 3-pound granola, which is thus named because I typically gain 3 pounds when I've eaten through a batch.

The only thing I didn't do was the icing mess with kids, decorating sugar cookies (sorry girls, but you'll know I meant to and then, skiing became a priority).

Here's wishing you all a wonderfully delicious 2016.

Thumbprint Raspberry Butter Cookies

Raisin Bread - Kaffee Kuchen

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Frenzied Baking, Part 2

There are a few things to note about Butter Mochi if you decide you want to make it.
1. I think the square 12x12 glass pan I used was too deep.  Really find a pan that fits the dimensions below!
2. I used the low-fat organic coconut and the crust was thin, brittle and fell off.
3. Lisa tells me you can try to mix brown sugar and white sugar.
Good luck!
Butter Mochi

1 lb Mochiko flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 cup Butter, melted
3 cups Milk
5 Eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
shredded coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl combine mochiko, sugar, and baking powder.  Add in remaining ingredients (except coconut flakes) to mochiko mixture; mix well. Pour into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.  Sprinkle shredded coconut flakes on top. You can put as little or as much as you like. Bake for 1 hour, and cool. Serves 24.

Baking Frenzy or Frenzied Baking?

After laughter and tears, I finally put down the book "The Help" and immediately decided I haven't baked in a long time (since Christmas). That book tugged at every heart string in addition to making me hungry for good food. And we all know that Paul is the cook, so I don't even try!
I decided I needed to use the Mochiko flour to make Butter Mochi, a recipe given to me by a co-worker and friend, Lisa. I also committed to making a pumpkin pie that dad was hankering to eat. Finally, I thought I might just use up the rest of the butterscotch chips from the holidays and make Chocolate Chip, Butterscotch Chip, Oatmeal, Coconut cookies. I ended up with an extra pie crust, and so, two days later, mom made a merengue topped banana cream pie, and she also felt inspired to make lemon bars. We are NOT lacking for baked goodies around here!

Butter Mochi

Banana Cream Pie with Merengue

Monkey decides she likes it better under the vet clinic doorway (out of the snow and wind).

Burning off treats (on a snow day)!

Chocolate & butterscotch chip oatmeal coconut cookies

Where Are the Green Bits?

Mom is here. You can tell because the house becomes wonderfully transformed. The kitchen is filled with desserts. She absolutely had to bake zucchini dessert and zucchini bread.

This dessert came from catholic nuns.

Ironically, neither the bread nor the dessert looks much like zucchini. She shaves off all of the green so the textured look from dark green peel is missing. And yet...the taste is so, so, so amazing. One bite and you stop looking for the green bits. You just close your eyes and smile.