Baking is therapy for me. The graduate school semester ended and I started baking. (These all left our house to go to new neighbors and co-workers!)
Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday post is …
Want to guess what kind of cookies? Leave us a comment and let us know!
The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.
Jason described the Armenain Nutmeg Cake as a twist on traditional coffee cake, although it might bring a nice respite to bakers longing for a break from yeasted dough pastries. I went with Jason’s easy method and made this in the food processor. This was a big step for me a I really hate the food processor. I mostly hate it because I always seem to have to clean it after Brian uses it but I also fear it will chop my fingers off. At any rate, I got over this fear and not only used but cleaned it with all of my fingers still in tact!
I was excited this recipe called for freshly ground nutmeg. Freshly ground nutmeg is another kitchen tip that Brian introduced me to over the years. It is so simple that I am amazed the ground stuff still sells! If you haven’t tried using freshly ground nutmeg, you really must give this a try!
Here is the final cake. I was worried it didn’t bake enough when I pulled it out and it didn’t. It was getting so brown though I went ahead and took it out. The bottom was done for sure so I am glad I didn’t leave it any longer.
And here is a slice …
Finally, here is Sophie (4 years old) enjoying a bite …
The nutmeg taste with the walnuts in this cake is amazing. I really love the crust on the bottom … now to figure out how to get the middle to cook all the way!
I love all things coffee cake (well minus the actual coffee, I know I am odd) so this was an easy love for me. I did like the food processor method and will have to think about this for some of my other baking efforts!
Have you ever tried an Armenian Nutmeg Cake? Leave a comment and let me know!
Friday Favorites is another almost weekly feature here at Simply Budgeted. The whole point of this feature is to share some of our favorite finds. Anything is game. Food. Cleaning supplies. Kid stuff. Garden favorites. Recipes. Anything that I really like and want to randomly post about.
Reminder/Disclaimer/Whatever: Everything in Friday Favorites is something that we use and bought on our own.
I have Brian to thank for introducing me to parchment paper. It wasn’t something that my mom ever had at her house … OK, I still don’t think she has it at her house. Brian loves the brown unbleached parchment paper. I am always out for a bargain though and found Reynolds Parchment Paper thanks to coupons awhile back. I like to save the coupons for the Super Double Sale at Harris Teeter and really save on this new to me kitchen staple! It doesn’t go bad so I can two boxes and toss in it the drawer!
Why do I really love parchment paper? Well besides it makes your cookies cook all nice and even … it saves on clean up. I always have dish duty here and any trick I can find to save me time in that area, I love. If you want to see how those cookies turned out, see the Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe from 4 Ingredients Gluten-Free post!
Do you use parchment paper? What is your favorite use for parchment paper? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Bake Pops™ are the latest sensation and now you can make these delicious treats in your own home! It’s so easy! Just fill the specially designed Bake Pop™ pan with ANY cake mix, put on the custom lid and POP it in the oven. Before you know it, you’ll have 18 bite-sized cake pops ready to decorate and eat! Similar treats cost bundles at your local bakery and you can’t customize them the way you’d like. With Bake Pops™, you can create any cake pops you can imagine – perfect for birthdays, holidays or anytime! Bake Pops™ are the sure fire way to please everyone in your family and now’s your chance to get everything you need to make, decorate and serve your Bake Pop creations!
I have seen these on TV and wondered if they worked. It seemed too easy but I was game to try it! Here was our process:
1) Make the mix according to the directions.
Yes, that is chocolate all over Sophie's face!
2) Bake them. The overflow just popped off (and Grace at almost all of those crunchy pieces!)
3) Put the sticks chocolate and then in ball. Chill in the fridge.
Yes, that is a mini muffin tin.
4) Dip in chocolate.
5) Decorate. Ta-da!
I didn't have the suggested floral foam to put these in to harden. So I used the Bake Pop pan and a cooling rack with legs. Worked perfectly!
Sophie approved of all of her work!
Have you tried the Bake Pop pan? What kid of Bake Pops would you make? Leave me a comment and let me know!
The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.
I decided to go with a muffin version of a quick bread. Since I have been very limited on time, the decision was easy to just find a new recipe to try. The bananas on the kitchen table that needed used up made it an easy decision that it would be a banana recipe. I went with the Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin recipe at Allrecipes.com.
Quick breads are a favorite here at our house. The challenge we have is finding a new recipe we want to be daring enough to try as we already have so many favorites!
What is your favorite quick bread recipe? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Are you addicted to Pinterest like I am? I have to pull myself away so I was excited to see this meme! Want more details? Find them here:
Football Bites from gimmesomeoven.com
Football Oreos from iheartnaptime.net
Cheesy Football from kraftrecipes.com
Spicy-Sweet Deviled Eggs from myrecipes.com
Want to join Pinterest? Let us know in the comments, and we will send you an invite! Are you following me on Pinterest? If not, follow me so I can follow you back!!
What are you having at your Super Bowl Party?
If you are on Pinterest, what is your favorite pin right now? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Are you addicted to Pinterest like I am? I have to pull myself away so I was excited to see this meme! Want more details? Find them here:
Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from egglesscooking.com
Frosty No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies from ohsheglows.com
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes from ericasweettooth.com
No Bake Coconut & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites from loveveggiesandyoga.com
Vegan chocolate cake with dark chocolate frosting from whatwouldcathyeat.com
Want to join Pinterest? Let us know in the comments, and we will send you an invite! Are you following me on Pinterest? If not, follow me so I can follow you back!!
What is your favorite pin right now? Leave me a comment and let me know!
One-bowl cakes are the forgotten gems in the world of home baking.
Many home bakers believe there are only two options for making cakes at home: 1) commercial cake mixes, or 2) complicated, multi-step recipes developed by professional chefs. But there’s another way: one-bowl cakes are all-natural, quick and easy to prepare.
They’re as much about what isn’t required as what is:
You’ll be able to create a multitude of cakes everyone loves to eat, from classic layer cakes and Bundt cakes to old-fashioned cakes and modern innovations. The ever-popular lay-flat concealed wire-o hardcover binding, with full color throughout, makes this book even more convenient.
We decided the Lemon Glazed Gingerbread Bundt cake would be great for the after service social tomorrow. I made the cake and left Brian to make the glaze of which he decided to do the Orange Glaze variation but then not follow the directions at all. It is a glaze but not the one in the recipe. He is worse at following recipes than me for sure! We put it in the Christmas Tree Bundt Pan because we have to use the heck out of that pan at this time of the year for the space it takes up year round!;) Here is our end product …
The cake is amazing in flavor. The recipe really is one a one bowl recipe which I LOVE since I hate baking clean up. I also just noticed a vegan and gluten free homemade cake mix recipe in the front of this cookbook. It is always great to have recipes like that on hand for friends and I think I will post a picture of the end product of the vegan recipe in January so watch for it!
This book is available on Amazon and would be a great addition to your cookbook collection if you love keep baking simple like I do!
America’s most trusted cookbook is better than ever!Representing its most thorough revision ever, the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th Edition includes hundreds of new recipes, three new chapters, and icons that showcase how we cook today—faster, healthier, and with many more flavors.
New features celebrate the book’s expertise and heritage with repertoire-building recipe lessons and fresh twists on American classics. With nearly 1,100 gorgeous new photos and 1,500 recipes, as well as invaluable cooking guidance, The Big Red Cookbook is better and more comprehensive than ever before. The book features:
With 65 million copies sold and still going strong, the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th Edition is the one kitchen companion every home cook needs.
I have one of the 1970s versions of the Betty Crocker cookbook. It was on my grandma’s shelf before it was on mine. It is still one of my first references when I am cooking and baking. I was excited to see a new edition of this cookbook come out. It was hard to image it getting better that my go-to reference 1970s version but it did get better. There are so many new recipes in this book. I love the chapter layout with tabs of this book because it makes it so easy to find that dessert or appetizer you want to make. The tabs are in the old version and probably one of the reasons I love that book so much. I am thrilled they kept the tabs in the book to make it such an easy reference. They also kept the pictures. I love having a picture when I am making a recipe because then I can see if I flubbed it up or if I was almost close to making it. (I rarely claim perfection!) Over all this new edition is a much a have for a kitchen … even if you have an older version of the cookbook like I do. You will find something to love in this edition for sure!
You can find this cookbook over on Amazon right now for a great price! You can still order it and get it in time for Christmas too. This would make a perfect gift for someone who wants to start to cook in the new year, has an older edition of this book, or even just needs a great reference cookbook!
This year we participated in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. We aren’t really food bloggers in that we don’t only blog about food but we do loving sharing our recipes and this was a great excuse to make a new cookie. We decided to look through my grandma’s cookbook. We found a recipe on a piece of old newspaper that was for “Orange Cookies”. I say recipe loosely because the recipe was missing ingredients and directions, the cooking temperature was off as was the ratio of almost every ingredient in the recipe. The recipe sounded great though so we made it our mission to create a Orange Pecan Cookie that kept that original taste but held up like a cookie!
These cookies are light with a slight crisp to them. The touch of orange flavor and the meatiness of the pecan compliment each other very well. The recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies so be careful! They can be pretty addictive and you won’t realize that you’ve eaten as many as you have!
1 C shortening
1 C white sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp orange zest
3 Tbsp orange juice
2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C chopped pecans (optional)
Heat oven to 350.
Beat shortening and sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, juice, and zest until well blended. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add to shortening mixture and beat until fully combined. Fold in nuts, if desired.
Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets for 4-5 minutes. Place on cooling racks to cool completely. Enjoy!
If you try these cookies, let us know. These are a new favorite at our house for sure and we have used this recipe for many cookie events already this year with a few more to go!
What is your favorite holiday cookie swap recipe? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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