TWD: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

My love for Tuesdays with Dorie is evident with this week's pick: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding. Not because of the recipe itself - I love all of them equally. Not because of some fabulous new technique I learned, used, or created - I'm not that good. No - my love was evident because it was 100+ degrees outside; our house has no air conditioning; I had to wait until after 9 p.m. to even dream of turning on the oven; and I still made the dish!! I must be a nut.

I am happy to say that my love was rewarded with this delicious dessert! I ate a spoonful this morning before putting it in the fridge (yes, the breakfast of champions). I used challah bread, made a full recipe, and omitted the fruit.







I let my bread stale on the counter for a day, cut into cubes and exposed. It worked well. My bread to custard ratio was fine, and I wouldn't change a thing. I haven't tried any toppings on it yet; my husband is voting for creme anglaise; but I like it by itself. You MUST try this one if you haven't done so already.

A big thanks to Lauren of Upper East Side Chronicle for this pick. Check out her site for the recipe, or buy yourself a copy of Dorie's fabulous book! You won't be disappointed.

No TWD Today

No TWD for me today; see you next week!!!

TWD: Banana Cream Pie

For my 3rd Tuesdays With Dorie(TWD) I was very excited to try the banana cream pie.
I like to try out pie crust; I'm not always successful but I consider it a challenge to make a good one.


The crust:
st:
I didn't have any solid shortening in the house, so I used all butter. The flavor of the crust was good. I chilled the dough more than I usually would per Dorie's instructions, and I think it worked out well. I probably should have rolled the dough thinner than I did, but I like pie crust so no harm done.

The custard:
My custard came together just fine. I read the P&Q ahead of time, and when my custard seemed to lump up, I knew not to worry and to just keep going.

The topping:
I added nutmeg to the whipped cream. It matched nicely with the nutmeg in the custard.

Overall: Next time I would change the ratio of custard to bananas to have more bananas. I would also add more sugar to the custard.

Thanks to Amy from Sing for your Supper for this TWD pick!

TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

I love cookies. Love to make 'em, love to eat 'em. I have only made, however, the simple, basic cookes. Shortbread is new to me. My cookies weren't pretty, but they sure were delicious! The hint of lime with the coconut and macadamias is a perfect flavor combination. The cookie is soft and buttery; a melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture. The raw dough was delicious, too.

I forgot to fork the dough before baking the cookies. Perhaps that's why the square shape kind of stayed in the center while the edges spread out (?) I decided to dress them up with some white chocolate; which would have been a good idea had I not applied too much white chocolate to the cookies. It ended up overpowering their delicate flavor and texture. A drizzle, though, would have been lovely. A big thanks to Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch for selecting this wonderful recipe!

My First TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake

I'm very happy to post that I'm now part of the very sweet, awesome Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD). Blueberry Crumb Cake was the first recipe since I became a member...at least I think I'm a member.

This recipe was very anticipated in my house since blueberry coffee cake is one of my husband's favorites.  Dorie did not disappoint!  My husband declared it the best crumb topping he's ever had.  That's high praise from a food writer.

One of the things I enjoyed in this selection was combining the lemon zest with the sugar.  It smelled and tasted amazing.  Also, the nutmeg within the coffee cake added just the right hint of spice.

As with any add-in, I tossed the blueberries in flour before folding them into the batter. (Which is also specified in the recipe.)

The only thing I will say to alter if you make the recipe is the cooking time. Mine took a lot longer to bake. I ended up covering the top with foil to keep it from over-browning as the center firmed, as I read some other TWDers did also.

The crumb cake rises significantly and is absolutely delicious. Look how tall it is!

This one will stay in my recipe rotation and be varied with other fruits or fillings. Travel on over to Befuddlement by Sihan for the recipe.

Baking GALS, Team Ugly Angel

I am participating in Round 6 of Baking GALS as a member of Team Ugly Angel. I baked just over 4 dozen cookies to ship off to a unit of Marines in Al Asaad. Since my Dad, Uncle, and Grandfather were all Marine Corps officers I feel a pull to do something to support the men and women serving our country. Here are a few pictures. I made oatmeal raisin, white chocolate macadamia nut, and giant chocolate chip cookies. Brandon and Little Brandon got some, too. And me too, of course!

Gingered Carrot Cookies, Day 2

We think these cookies are better today than they were yesterday. The base of the cookie is the right amount of soft inside with a slight crunch to the outside. I'd love to make the batter again with different spices and mix-ins. They are almost cake-y inside. We can't put them down. I realize now I'm going to have to make 1/2 batches and use my freezer to keep up with the whole blogging/baking trend.

Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD): not yet! and Gingered Carrot Cookies

The group I found that I was so excited about, Tuesdays with Dorie, is currently closed; but, since I purchased the book and love to bake, I'm blogging anyway and hopefully they'll open the group before they finish the cookbook they're working through.

Here's my first effort:  Gingered Carrot Cookies.

Ingredients assembled.  I substituted macadamia nuts for pecans, and used golden raisins.  Next time I'd also add white chocolate chips.












Verdict: delicious! Carrot cake is my husband's favorite, so these are right up his alley.

Will Blog my Baking Adventures!

I found a wonderful site where people unite over one of my all-time favorite things: baking! I'll be blogging my baking adventures here, and joining that wonderful group, Tuesdays with Dorie. http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/. Looking forward to baking with all of you!