Its like a pancake in a cup

Apparently I deal with stress by baking and not eating any of it.

I ran the show this week at work while my boss was away including hosting an investor tour, going to multiple work outs every day, and hardly getting any sleep thinking I may miss my alarm or forgot to do something.

So I baked.

Again.

Maple Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing.

From someone who isn't the biggest fan of maple...oh my gosh.

Ok fine I had 1 cupcake.

Without icing they taste like the most delicious pancake ever.

Fine I had 2.

Didn't you see the part about multiple workouts every day?!

I'm not here to be judged.

If you can avoid it for the rest of your life, don't make a tart from scratch.

In an effort to move right along on one of the things on my list of 28 things to do before I'm 28, I have been a baking machine since January.  And what I have learned is that when you bake everything in a Baked cookbook, you learn all kinds of hard bakey things.

This week, I made a tart.  I made an Orange Dreamsicle tart from scratch.

Tarts are hard.

There was all kinds of gelling, freezing, cooling, cooking with beans, cooking without beans, cooling, freezing, waiting 4 hours.

This blasted tart took me all day.

But then there was this

And it was to. die. for.

Some people don't like mint and chocolate together. I am not one of those people.

Chocolate Mint Thumbprint cookies!

From Baked.  Duh.

So easy, so delicious...

they sort of look like poop at one point in the process, but they don't look like poop when they're done.  

I digress.

I ran out of white chocolate and had to put on my Betty Crocker hat and THINK FAST!  

So I made more filling out of milk chocolate (the brown ones).

Pretty sure I could skip a grade in culinary school.

My mom came over to help and she thought white filling was boring.  So we made it blue. 

They're different, but so good...especially with milk says Devin.

Fantastic News

The scones are amazing.

They are coconut carrot

So good with coffee

and for lunch.  Not that I know.

From the Baked cookbook, of course.

I will say, the scones were so sticky.  

I would love to watch someone make scones to copy their fight against sticky dough.

So good.

Do you have that cookbook yet? 

If not, get it.

Or find an awesome friend to give it to you completely unexpectedly.

I wish every day was Sunday

Last week I made Baked's Sunday Night Cake.

It came out PERFECTLY even though Devin thought I iced the cake to the plate.

Not true.  The recipe SAID to do it this way.

It was so super easy to make.

The icing is a chocolate pudding icing.  I've never made it before, but I think I can claim pro status on this.

Also, while mixing this cake, my brain (and my mind- someone name the movie) went on autopilot and tilted the mixer up and then turned it on.  

Batter everywhere.

Not so pro status, but hilarious.

Yum!

Baking Redemption

New York Style Crumb Cake

I have been forgiven for the whoopie pie failure.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pie FAIL

My man requested these for his birthday, but then 94 people baked us something that week, so I waited. 

 Uh, I am SO glad I didn't present these to him for his birthday.

It's less like a red velvet and more like a cow pie.  With delicious icing.  That you can't get to because you don't want to taste the cow pie.

So I emailed the author of Baked, Matt Lewis, asking why they taste like chalk.  When he wrote back saying he couldn't figure it out and this was one of the favorite recipes, I threw them all against the wall.

Not really.

2 Things That Are Good.

1.  Heartland Turtle Bars

Quite possibly one of the best things I've made in Baked.  If you want to be popular, and by popular I mean if you want everyone to eat everything you made so you don't have to take it home from the party, then make these.  Oatmeal, Chocolate, Toasted Pecans, Homemade Caramel.  And the angels rejoiced.

2.  Honey Corn Muffins

Truth be told, Devin and I lather our cornbread with honey, so this worked out quite well.  Oh to the em to the gee eat these with some of my chili (or I guess yours) and you will flat out keel over and croak and when they do your autopsy, they will conclude with "expired from eating too much awesomeness".

I really need to get out of health care.

Baked French Toast. Holymoses.

Make Baked Baked French Toast

Present to man in your life for his birthday breakfast

Point for you.

I used Italian bread.  So good.

With raspberry sauce (next time I'll double it).  So good.

We ate the whole pan in a weekend.  SO GOOD!

This is a Loaded Post. Prepare yourself.

My girlfriend's birthday was yesterday, so I wanted to deliver her something super colorful and bright with a wine theme.  Because she digs the vino.

I just wrapped a wine bottle in raffia. With some tacky glue.  This was specifically called Hollywood Raffia.  I guess because it is shiny?
Random fact: my parents wanted to name me Holly.  But then my name would have been Holly Wood.  Thank you for not doing that and thus making middle school even more awkward.

Happy Birthday to my #1 She-ruby!

And in completely unrelated news, remember the asian chicken?
We beefed it up.

And it was incredible.

And then I stayed up until midnight baking Monkey Bubble Bread aka thebesthingIhaveeverbaked aka totallyworththelackofsleep aka IloveyouKitchenAidemixerandBakedcookbook.

aka YourewelcomeBiblestudygroup.

Orange Bundt Cake of Bliss

When I saw "Mom's Orange Olive Oil Cake" in thebestcookbookgiftever,  I was all, "Woah, woah, woah, woah...woah...woah...woah...woah.  Lois...this is not my Batman cup". 

Name the show.

Random side note- I found out in baking this that one of my least favorite things to do, like, ever, is beating egg whites to a stiff peak.  Longest. Process. Ever.

But worth it.

Ok, anyway, where was I...I don't think anyone thinks anything delightful when they see Olive Oil as the main, like big time main, ingredient in a cake.  It just doesn't sound right.

But if this isn't right, I don't know what is.

Let's try that again.

Happy Monday!

Like a cow patty...in a good way.

  

They're called Cowboy Cookies.

They are my first recipe to bake from this.

They have things like oats, pretzels, dark brown sugar, espresso...

And they taste like NOTHING I have ever had before. Friggin' yum.

Devin had 3 before I could even put money on how many he would eat.

I think my Baked cookbook and I are beginning a very beautiful friendship.