Snoop Dogg and Me, We're Buds Now

There's about two weeks to go before the Holly Bazaar so it's time to buckle down and finalize the sewing and baking lists. Thinking that I'd like to try a new recipe or two this time around, I whipped up a batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. But not just any recipe, Snoop Dogg's recipe. Between you and me, I wouldn't have imagined baking chocolate chip cookies high on a rapper's list, but I guess I shouldn't judge 😉.

Some of you may know that The Official Cookie Tester is probably one of Canada's biggest consumers of peanut butter so I thought that these were a pretty safe bet to try - even if they were a bomb I was pretty sure that my trusty taster would enjoy them with a cuppa or two.

So, while he was running errands, out came the mixer. It's a quick recipe so the first pan was coming out of the oven as he returned home. My instincts were not wrong - they are both crunchy and chewy, and went very nicely with the mug of hot chocolate that he whipped up to go with them. 

Now, the labels that I put on my baking are not nearly large enough to include 'Snoop Dogg's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies' so I'll have to do some editing. And, I'm not certain that most of the gals who attend the bazaar will even know who Snoop Dogg is (though given his friendship with Martha Stewart, maybe I am underestimating that demographic...), but I'm pretty sure that if they like a peanut butter and/or a chocolate chip cookie they will enjoy these.....M

Where Does The Time Go?

Boy oh boy! I'm looking at the date of my last post and cannot believe how busy things have been since then. It's been a month - time to get caught up. Let's start with yesterday. I had a few batches of cookies that I wanted to finish up, so on went the carols and I spent the day in the kitchen. 

You know what it's like when there's one or two recipes that you miss if they aren't on the plate... Some have already been gifted!

And this was after we baked all day a few weeks ago at our annual Christmas Cookie Bakeoff.

We did the math and figured out that this was the 30th time that we had held the bakeoff, which is pretty amazing (it would have been 31, except for Covid). 

Julia graciously hosted us again this year and was in her element decorating our wares.

Needless to say, the gals all have the routine down pat and everything went like clockwork. By the end of day we had parceled up 1,530 cookies - just under 128 dozen.

Before all of the holiday baking, cleaning and decorating began, there was the Holly Bazaar. It too was a great success. We welcomed so many visitors to our little church - I think more than ever - and there was plenty of seasonal cheer to go around. I'll share more on that next time, and I promise that it won't take me a month to post it! 

Hope that if you celebrate Christmas that your holiday prep is well under way....M

Two For You, One For Me

I've been baking this week. More specifically, baking squares for a funeral. And while I am more than happy to help, I feel as though I'm always showing up with the same old stuff, in part because I tend to bake cookies and cakes more than squares and/or muffins, so my recipe collection is a little wanting. And, just to complicate things a little more, we're asked to bring a pan that measures 9" x 13"; most of mine suit an 8" x 8" pan. Woe is me. Time for a Pinterest search.

It's a little tricky trying a recipe that you haven't made before but I started early and knew that I could bake something else if they didn't work out.

First up were these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies. Oh my! The texture is so lovely, even to the very edge of the pan, and there's no frosting required. They easily received the seal of approval from the Official Cookie Tester because he is a pumpkin aficionado so they will definitely go into the rotation.

I've been baking a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for years but these are so much faster.

The second batch were these Coconut Butter Bars (photo: Cookies & Cups) and believe me, they aren't fibbing about the 'butter'. I added a few extra tablespoons of flour to the crust because it just looked too saturated and I'm happy that I did. That said, they are very tasty too and also received the OCT seal of approval. I didn't get a pic before they hit the freezer so I am sharing the one that she has on her site.

The third batch (I know, I was only supposed to bake two) was a bonus for me. While hunting through mom's recipe book I found this. Anyone who grew up in our household will recognize the type. It's a page from The Baptist Church Cookbook. This was a go-to recipe book in our house, with fantastic recipes from ladies in our community and growing up I loved these squares. 

It was interesting to see how much less sugar they took when compared to the two recipes that I had just made, particularly the base. It's the crust that I always think of - might be the inclusion of the egg that makes it just a little different. And well, in my book you just can't go wrong with pineapple and coconut. in my book.

When they came out of the oven I was almost giddy.

There might have been a little taste testing at breakfast the next day.

It's only a 8" pan so they get to stay with me. Such a delicious walk down memory lane....M

We're Havin' a Heat Wave

What is it with me and baking on the hottest days of the year? We're closing in on the end of a stretch of unusually warm weather, but I needed to bake squares for a funeral lunch so on went the oven.

I don't often bake squares, leaning more to cakes, pies or cookies, so I tend to always make the same stuff - the perfect excuse for a Pinterest search. These Almond Bars caught my attention, in part because the recipe is so large, but also that they are just a little different. I whipped up half a batch this morning and now I'm regretting not making the full batch so that we'd have some in the house.

Trimming the edges of the square a bit allowed for a wee taste test before they were glazed. Lovely. I only made up half a batch of glaze and it was still tons and is plenty to help keep the sliced almonds in place.

While the oven was on I decided to see about a batch of Rhubarb Scones to have at lunch with our soup. It is always such a treat to go out and pick a few fresh stalks and use them right away. 

This isn't the recipe that I had planned to make. While searching for the original recipe I came across this one and loved the idea of using heavy cream, avoiding having to haul out my food processor. So easy.

It makes a 10" round, which is larger than I had thought, but they turned out beautifully. We used to frequent a B&B where the host made two different scones each morning (in addition to handmade croissants!) and his were smaller, so another time I might experiment with dividing the dough into two rounds.

I am always leery of overworking biscuit dough to avoid making them tough. Looking at the edges, I probably could have given the dough one or two more kneads, but they were good. 

And I sprinkled them with a little sugar before baking instead of brushing them with butter when they came out of the oven.

I think that I could have separated the sections before baking them too, but I just cut them apart as soon as they came out of the oven.

I'm really happy with how light and fluffy they are and they are very tasty with a piece of cheddar cheese.

There was glaze left from the Almond Bars so I used it on half of the scones. Before I could get a good 'half & half' photo, the Official Cookie Tester thought that a taste test was in order (I've got to watch him like a hawk!). Lots of mmmmmm coming from that end of the kitchen 😊.

And finally, several of you have asked for the Lemon Rhubarb Buttermilk Bundt Cake recipe that I made a while back; you can find the link to it in this post. This is another one where I find that half a batch of the glaze is more than enough, especially since the cake is so moist.

Still lots more recipes to test drive while rhubarb is in season, including a Ginger Rhubarb Jam. Fun, fun, fun!....M

Spring Binding and a Little Rhubarb

Diamond Dust is back from Roberta and ready to be trimmed and bound. I'm thinking that I'll use the same mauve as that gorgeous floral border.

It's quilted with Pergola again and the texture of this panto is to die for...

the perfect foil against all those tiny squares. A little bit of hand stitching is a relaxing way to enjoy the weekend.

It's the May long weekend and, just like clockwork, my rhubarb is ready, so I've been taking full advantage of this seasonal treat. We enjoyed a visit with a cousin that I haven't seen for more years than I care to admit, so it seemed only fitting to make that the reason for the season's first Rhubarb Torte.

There weren't any leftovers so the next day I whipped up a Lemon Rhubarb Bundt Cake, which I haven't made in a while, and we have been savouring that for the last few days. There's still a  Rhubarb Scone recipe that I'd like to try. Who am I kidding? It's a bumper crop this year so there's a looong list of treats to be tested. It's a rough life 😉....M

More Christmas Cookies!

Believe it or not, there was more baking on the schedule this weekend. 

Alla, her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter moved to Canada shortly after the war began in Ukraine last spring, thanks in large part to our friend Arlene and her family. And, while she doesn't usually celebrate Christmas in the same way that we do, today she was game to join a few of us to try her hand at baking Christmas cookies, spiced nuts and granola. She had a blast and so did we! 

She is a beautiful baker so it was fun introducing her to new recipes...

and was over the moon to be able to try her hand decorating with Royal Icing. 

Arlene couldn't resist the icing and the sprinkles either.

There were some real beauties to be enjoyed when all was said and done.

Arlene also made batches of delicious granola and spiced nuts for everyone to take home.

We hadn't made any Thimble Cookies last weekend so they got added to the list.

And a little hit of chocolate and gingerbread never hurt anyone either.

Another great day in the kitchen thanks to Alla, Arlene, Anne and Betty and a Christmas memory that will long be remembered by all....M

Lena Hosts the Christmas Cookie Bakeoff

For two long years we have had to forgo getting together for our annual Christmas Cookie Bakeoff, but this year it was a go! Lena and her mom Julia were happy to host and she dug right in.

She and Nanny were both very careful cutting and placing her gingerbread men. As luck would have it, she was the only one able to enjoy an afternoon nap.

So many favourite recipes were pulled out...

and a few yummy new ones added to the list.

Much of the magic happens at the decorating table in the capable hands of Julia and Jane. Oh, and Betty too (it pays to hang around graphic designers).

Royal icing is the perfect medium to put a new spin on old favourites.

And sometimes things go a little retro.

We were down a couple of bakers this time around but still managed to bake 131 dozen between us, including these delicious shortbreads (again, beautifully decorated).

Lena got a big thumbs up at the end of the day and we're really hoping that she will consider hosting again next year. 

Such a blessing to be able to be together again to share this tradition!....M

A Tradition Or A Rut?

There's only one small package of cookies left in the freezer despite all of the baking that was done for the Holly Bazaar so it was time to get out the mixer and start restocking as we have several tins to fill and deliver before Santa comes to town.

The last two days have been full on baking, but as I looked at my recipes I felt like it was a bit of 'same old same old'. The favourites always go to the top of the list because I usually only make them at Christmas time, but there were others that I was missing from days when we were still able to get together for our Christmas Cookie Bakeoff, so I decided to start with a few of them first, just to so I wasn't feeling like I was in a rut. 

Case in point, these Fruitcake Hermits. It's a recipe from my friend Stephanie that I have never made myself so I decided that this was a good time to try. A little surprisingly, supply chain issues have made finding candied cherries next to impossible, so I just added in a little extra candied peel. The rum drizzle puts them over the top and had the Official Cookie Tester swooning. I was off to a good start.

Next up was another of Stephanie's recipes - Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprints. The chewy chocolate cookie is yummy topped with a hit of white chocolate and peppermint.

There was still one more large Toblerone chocolate bar left in the house from my bazaar baking so I made up two batches of Toblerone Shortbread.

I also made these Cinnamon Pecan Shortbreads. These are a favourite of mine; the crunch of the pecan that is hiding under the chocolate drizzle is seemingly custom made to be enjoyed with a good cup of tea.

Earlier in the week I had made up a batch of Gingerbread for my favourite niece Julia to come and enjoy a little decorating and there were still two bundles of dough chilling in the fridge. Having the dough and Royal Icing made up in advance cut down nicely on prep time and gave me a good batch of gingerbread men, Christmas trees and a few circular cookies as well.

These Thimble Cookies are another favourite from our childhood. A very basic cookie but the hit of raspberry jam is just wonderful.

Two batches of a Buttered Rum sandwich cookies are chilling in the fridge, so I'm planning to get those together today along with Whipped Shortbreads (a special request from my favourite nephew) and a couple pans of Social Tea Squares. There's an outside chance that Tiny Fudge Tartlets might get made up too. 

By the end of the day yesterday the only decision left was whether I was putting light or dark rum in my eggnog 😉.