Baking & Desserts

Posted by Donna Diegel

Antioxidant-Rich Fruits

The health benefits of antioxidant-rich fruits are undeniable. The news is all abuzz about how good they are for us. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and cherries top the list according to Researchers at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and Readers Digest.com. There are many more including vegetables that pack a punch when it comes to antioxidants.

Berry Season

It's berry season in my neck of the woods now. And if you love berries as much as I love berries, you'll love these berry desserts and baked goods I've hand-picked just for you!

Blueberry Pie Recipe & Cherry Pie Recipe

These recipes come directly from our former bakery. Customers waited patiently for the berries to ripen because they knew we'd be pumping out delicious Blueberry and Cherry Pies! We always used our #1 Best Flaky Pie Crust Recipe for all our pies. It's a no-fuss, easy-peasy pie crust. If I could teach my guys to make this crust, you can too!



Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

With homemade buttermilk biscuits and fresh whipped cream, who could resist the ever-popular Strawberry Shortcake? Use your imagination and vary the berries, combine 2 or 3 and make a special mixed berry shortcake! Buy the biscuits at your supermarket if you're pressed for time. Just make it. You know you want to!

Blueberry Crisp Recipe

Blueberry Crisp with all its oatmeal and brown sugar goodness will knock your socks off, especially if you add a scoop of you favorite ice cream!



Blueberry & Strawberry Muffins

Muffins are a breakfast favorite, but you can eat them anytime. Load them up with berries, fruit and nuts for a perfect power-packed fast-food snack! Try the Vegan Blueberry Muffins as well.

Posted by Donna Diegel

Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of Mother Nature's gifts. Berries are cheap and plentiful right now in most parts of the US. Fruit desserts are refreshing and usually quick to whip together.



Strawberry Shortcake

What's better after a heavy barbecue meal than Strawberry Shortcake? This recipe is made with buttermilk biscuits and sweetened fresh whipped cream. Sometimes I make shortcake with a medley of fruits like strawberries, blueberries and fresh picked cherries. Cut open a buttermilk biscuit, lay on the fruit and top with whipped cream. Awesome and refreshing!

Blueberry Crisp

The blueberries are ripe where I live and the branches are groaning under their weight waiting to be picked and made into something luscious like Blueberry Crisp. Again, if you don't have all blueberries, add some cherries, peaches and what have you to the mix of fruit. While it's still warm, spoon it into a bowl and top it off with your favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream!



Strawberry Cheesecake

This is the ultimate summer fruit dessert! My Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe takes a bit more time to prepare and bake, but the ultra rich and creamy cheesecake is so totally worth it in the end! It sits on a graham cracker crust and topped with red ripe strawberries. If you don't have strawberries, top it with whatever fruit suits your fancy!

Blueberry & Strawberry Muffins

If you're not in the mood for something too sweet, whip up a quick batch of Blueberry or Strawberry Muffins! Vary the fruits and substitute peaches or raspberries. Pack one in your lunch tomorrow!

Take advantage of summer berries and make fruit desserts often. Enjoy your berry delicious summer!

Posted by Donna Diegel

No More TasteSpotting?

For whatever reason, the food porn site for obsessed foodies worldwide shut down their site last week due to legal complications. TasteSpotting left a huge void to fill. Bloggers were scrambling to get their fix, stats were plummeting and the online gourmet world as we knew it stopped and said a prayer for another to come to the plate.

Enter Food Gawker

A few days later, bloggers were going crazy submitting one photo after another to the new game in town - Food Gawker! I was going through withdrawal as well. I had to see what all the noise was about! YES! We have food porn again! I submitted a few blog url's and photos. Within 4 hours, I noticed my stats climbing again!

Sunday Night Dinner

Food Gawker isn't quite up to snuff yet. The home page is neat with columns of 3 photos across and 40 on a page. The main links bring the viewer directly to the featured blog, but there is no index to bring you to your own page of successful submissions. The creator of the site, Sunday Night Dinner says they're working on it. Good enough for me and about a million other crazy foodies!

They did spell out the rules rather quickly. Attribution is mandatory. Copyright violations will not be tolerated. No photo stealing. That's worth something today. Just this week, I was dealing with a potential copyright problem. It takes too much time to protect my work, but it has to be done because there are people out there that do steal content.

Anyway...millions of food porn addicts are sitting at their computers right now, staring into the screen, pressing the F5 key to refresh the page, waiting and waiting for the next food shot to come up! I'll be one of them!

Posted by Donna Diegel

You'll probably notice that I've been focusing a lot of attention on homemade cookies lately. You're absolutely right, I have! No matter how old you are, milk and cookies bring out the kid in all of us.

Cookies!

Years ago, when we made cookies, we'd make really big batches. I mean BIG batches. Our mixer was a 30 quart Univex and it could plow through anything. No matter how stiff the cookie dough was, those beaters would just keep on mixing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

The most requested cookie by far was for my Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe. Of course, we wouldn't give our secret recipes out back then, that would be plain foolish.

The second most sought after was the Best Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe in the world. My mom made them from a recipe my Grandma gave her years and years ago. I remember making these for my Dad when I was only 8! Over the years we had to tweak the recipe many times to get it to withstand customers squeezing the cookies in the supermarkets, but this recipe is the original Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe. Try it, I think you'll agree that it's your favorite too!



Soft Molasses Cookies was a close tie. These cookies came from my Grandma's recipe journal that I inherited. This recipe went through a major refit also. They're the ones you remember from childhood. The cookie dough was spicy with cinnamon, nutmeg and just the right amount of cloves. Then they were rolled into balls and dipped in sugar. They had the familiar cracks on the top which made them even more endearing.

So, make the kid in you happy and make a batch of each this week. You know you want to!

Posted by Donna Diegel

This has been a busy week of baking and writing and writing and baking. For me, the two go hand-in-hand. I take photos as I bake - or cook - and keep a journal of each and every step. I then go back to the computer and format my thoughts, tweaking words and cropping pictures. In the end, I hope for a spectacular blog entry and/or article for my Baking & Desserts topic. This week was no different.

I started out by making a Peanut Butter Torte for my Tuesdays With Dorie baking group, which by the way, has grown to over 180 bakers! It came out wonderful, full of chocolate and peanut butter and Oreo cookies!

Last week, I guilted my kids into buying Mom a shiny new Cuisinart 9-speed hand mixer for Mother's Day. I put a post on my blog telling them what I really, really wanted, all in a Spice Girls kind of song-and-dance routine! They fell for it and now I'm the proud owner of a brand new brushed stainless baby! And let me tell you, this thing is powerful! I needed to make something with it ASAP! So, I made a Florida Pie (aka Key Lime) for TWD as well. Now, it's on to the whipped cream.

In the middle of all this, I had a delicious new cookbook to review called "Sweety Pies" by Patty Pinner. The article was way too long, so ended up being three tasty articles along with Patty's Flaky Pie Crust Recipe and a Peanut Butter Cream Pie that is out of this world! Try them and see if you don't agree!

Speaking of Peanut Butter, don't forget to try a batch of The Best Peanut Butter Cookies!

Posted by Donna Diegel

The last post was all about cookies. This one is too! Martha's newest book, "Martha Stewart's Cookies" is all about cookies which is quite the rage lately! Why? Because homemade cookies remind us of our childhood. They're comforting. Take these homemade cookies out for a spin! The Best Soft Molasses Cookies and The Best Double Chocolate Chip Cookies. Every bit as good as Martha's...and Grandma's! They're simply the Best!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Martha has a great peanut butter cookie recipe on page 184. It looks almost the same as mine, has almost the same ingredients as mine, but is it? No, not really. No matter where the recipe comes from, all peanut butter cookies will have similar ingredients. For instance, they all have to have peanut butter in them, otherwise they wouldn't be considered peanut butter cookies!

They all have some form of flour, usually all purpose, but sometimes a little whole wheat added in for good nutrition. All peanut butter cookies are sweetened, most often with a blend of brown and white sugar. An egg or two to bind them, baking soda for leavening, some vanilla and a pinch of salt.

But, it's how you put all these ingredients together that makes the final cookie say WOW! The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe has a bigger percentage of peanut butter to flour making these cookies very peanut buttery! If you like peanut butter, you'll go bonkers over these cookies. This was my Mom's recipe, passed down to her from my Grandma, so I've literally been making them for years! Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Try them, you'll like them! I know you will!

Posted by Donna Diegel

I've been in the cookie mood for a while now. I got a new book called "Martha Stewart's Cookies". This book is amazing! Every recipe has a picture of what the cookie is supposed to look like when it comes out of the oven. I say, supposed to, but that's not always the case.

The Best Cookies!

For example, years ago when we had the bakery, I had a lot of cookies ordered. It was Christmas time and I always made HUGE platters to sell. There were all sorts of fancy shaped cookies, White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies, drop cookies, nut cookies, rolled cookies, The Best Peanut Butter Cookies, etc. Well, you get the picture.

I've always had a REAL bad habit of saying yes to something I've never made before! Yes, I know, not very bright! This time was no different. I can't remember what kind of cookies they were, what book they came out of or what they were supposed to look like. I didn't want to waste my precious time, so I multipled the recipe by five. The only problem was, once I got into the recipe, the phone rang and interupted me. I went back to the recipe thinking I knew right where I was. NOT!

Cookies?

What a mess I had! I obviously put way too much liquid and levening in the dough. The "cookie" had run all over the sheet and down the sides. It was one big puddle of goo. Good tasting goo I might add! There was no way I could sell that disaster! So, all my time and effort didn't save me a hill of beans. It cost me way more in the long run and I had to start all over again. Sigh....

Posted by Donna Diegel

I joined another baking event last month. The Cupcake Hero was calling my name and I just had to enter! The "theme" for the month of March was Marshmallow. Every entry had to use marshmallow is some way, shape or form. My cupcake of choice was Coconut Marshmallow Brownie Cupcakes. I love each and every one of these ingredients, so it seemed logical for me to combine all these things in my cupcakes. Man, were they yummy!

I made a homemade brownie base, piped marshmallow fluff inside which I then baked. Next came a billowy and fluffy marshmallow buttercream frosting flavored with coconut extract. And for the embellishment? Why, toasted coconut of course! Heavenly and decadent!

After the winner is chosen, all the cupcakes are displayed on The Cupcake Hero's blog for all to see and drool over. You can then click on any cupcake which will bring you to the individual blog with recipes, detailed directions and in most cases, gorgeous photos. It's a dream come true for cupcake addicts.

Oh, and the winner? Chelle of Sugar & Spice made the most delicious Ambrosia Cupcakes. Baked with fruit cocktail, whipped cream center, marshmallow creme frosting, coconut and a cherry on top! Looks dangerous to me!

The Cupcake Hero is always looking for new and exciting entries. The theme for April is Earth Day and the ingredients are up to you as long as your cupcakes are "Earthy"! Why not give them a try next month? I'll be there with my apron on and a spatula in my hand. We can share recipes and cupcake secrets!

Posted by Donna Diegel

Tuesdays With Dorie

I joined a new online baking group this week called Tuesdays With Dorie. Like I needed another challenge in my life! Surprisingly, it was a lot of fun!

Brioche Raisin Snails

The recipe of the week ~ Brioche Raisin Snails ~ was chosen by one of the club members from the book Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Once I took a look at the recipe, I got a little scared. It was actually three recipes in one! First we had to make the Brioche Dough which took forever to rise! Then I had to whip up some Pastry Cream from scratch. The dough and pastry cream went in the fridge to chill overnight.

Next morning I flamed some raisins in dark rum on the stove. Everyone was a little concerned about catching their kitchens on fire, but it was a piece of cake. I've set my share of things on fire before, so what's another burned dessert!

Mmmm ~ Buns!

I rolled the cold dough out, smeared it with pastry cream, cinnamon and sugar, the drunken raisins and rolled it all up tight. Then I played the waiting game again. After 90 minutes of rising, I popped those babies in the oven and the kitchen filled with the most divine smell of yeasty sweet brioche rolls! We couldn't wait to try one!

After they cooled just a bit, I used some of the extra rum and iced those buns. Man! Were they yummy! I made 24 even though it was only the two of us! Hey, you never know who will pop in for a snack!

If you're up for a Baking Challenge, check out Tuesdays With Dorie. You'll have a blast! I know I am!

Next weeks dessert is Caramel-Topped Flan. mmm!

Posted by Donna Diegel

Spring has sprung! Say goodbye to winter and get in the mood for the spring season. March ~ the third month of the year ~ can come and go without much notice and most people will have forgotten it all too soon. It's still cold in most parts of the country, not quite winter, not yet spring and summer feels like a long way off. It doesn't seem possible, but this weekend is also the start of Daylight Savings Time! That means crocuses, daffodils and tulips and lots of them!

The Boston Flower Show

Another rite of spring is the annual New England Spring Flower Show in Boston, Massachusetts. If you happen to be in the Boston area during this time, you won't want to miss it. This show is Huge! It's so big, it can easily keep anyone with a green thumb happy for nine days! Buy a lawn mower, composter or a garden tiller. Sit through a few lectures and learn something new about organic gardening. You won't be sorry!



Eat Your Way Through Boston

Also known for great restaurants, fabulous bakeries and Irish pubs, Boston is a foodies dream come true. Spend a few days in the city, go to the Flower Show and eat your way through Boston's ethnic neighborhoods. Take in a museum, go to a show and walk the cobblestone streets of Boston. A mini vacation may be all you need to shake the rest of the winter blues away!

Bake, Bake, Bake!

And if that's not enough to bring Mother Nature out of hiding, you can always bake her a Lemon Meringue Pie! Who could resist that?