i knew this year was busy, distracting, exhausting, etc., but i failed to realize just how LITTLE blogging i did this year. it’s been nearly 365 days since my last post. my heart hurts just writing that! well, as they say, some things are better late than never, and i suppose a blog about baking can fall into that category.
to start, my final bake of my year-of-bakes was a lemon meringue pie. i’m not very experienced with homemade pie crust and have never tackled meringue, so it felt like a nice challenge to wrap up that journey and put my skills to the test. in looking back at the pictures, i remember being a little disappointed in the crust, mainly in that it just wasn’t very symmetrical. i guess that just enhances its homemade-ness. 🙂 and even though my curd might not have set as much as it should have, that meringue on top was quite a sight! fluffy stiff peaks and a tart filling made for a tasty bite in the end, and if someone requested a pie like this for a special occasion, i think i could manage.
i also baked some other new and familiar things throughout 2025, including…
some of the tastiest classic cinnamon rolls you can find (kudos to my sister-in-law jessica for sharing the recipe)
chocolate chocolate mini muffins requested by our oldest nephew bode (he said i can make them anytime!) that remind me of the otis spunkmeyer ones i used to get in the omhs cafeteria
and pumpkin cinnamon rolls suggested by clarky boy for thanksgiving (they were so good i sent him home with a couple on his flight back to chicago)
what should i tackle in the new year? i’ve gotten into sewing and am wondering if maybe a new small craft/pattern every 1-2 months might be a good way to ensure my bernette sewing machine (thanks, mom!) gets some good use. time will tell! i pray you and yours have a happy holiday season and joyous new year.
last week i was looking at what else september had in store for us, and it was then i realized i was running quite short on time for this month’s bake! we’ve got some commitments soon that will severely limit my availability to be in the kitchen, so i was quite grateful when fate dealt me a sweet hand.
long story short, i ended up getting to host our book club meeting for september. and even though i usually just bring a couple bottles of wine, i figured it would be the perfect occasion to whip up something special for my ladies. so, i knew the when, but now remained the what. as i pondered my options, it made perfect sense to let the book lead me to an idea, and this month we read the good left undone, a multigenerational novel that carried us from the shores of viareggio in italy to marseille and even the rolling hills of scotland.
quickly i let google guide me through numerous searches of traditional italian and scottish desserts (i decided a french dessert was out since i did eclairs last month 🙂 ). page after page presented endless options, many a little ambitious for the short amount of time i knew i would have on hand. a girl can only do so much on a wednesday night after a full day of work!
after much consideration, i landed on panna cotta. i know nothing about this dessert, not even how it should taste, so figured i had nothing to lose. the element that excited me most was the gelatin. i’ve never worked with it before and was intrigued to see the results. knowing it would be a larger crew, i doubled the recipe and got everything going. the cream was simmering, the gelatin was doing whatever gelatin does, and i prepared these sweet little ramekins of batter. can we call it batter?
as tempted as i was to check on their progress, i let these little buddies sit overnight and whipped up some raspberry coulis in the meantime. many of the recipes i read mentioned it was a common accompaniment for panna cotta, and since i rarely do anything halfway, i heated the water and sugar, blended them with raspberries, strained out all those pesky seeds until my arms gave out, and topped it with a generous spalsh of chambourd. the good news? it was ALL worth it. 🙂 each panna cotta was topped with a lovely spoonful of coulis and paired with a glass of dessert wine. jennifer at local vine always helps me find the right blend for the meeting’s theme, and tonight was no exception. the panna cotta was silky and firm but easy to enjoy with a spoon, and the tart, sweet coulis complemented the slightly vanilla flavor of the panna cotta. if anyone has an italian-inspired evening coming up, i implore you to make this dessert. easy but impressive, it will be sure to delight any guest!
i don’t know how this month’s bake came to mind but ended up deciding on chocolate eclairs. i was drawn to them because (1) i’ve never made choux pastry (2) there were multiple components and i felt up for the challenge and (3) i felt like it would be a good test of my baking skills.
oh, and this bake was doubly fun because mom was in town! now, she worked in food service her entire career, so she could smoke just about anyone in the kitchen (myself especially) but she was patient as i got all the ingredients organized, equipment laid out, and oven preheated. using this recipe from food & wine magazine, we got right to work on the choux pastry. i’ve seen chefs make it countless times on baking competition shows and was excited and nervous to see if it would work out for us. and despite the handful of negative reviews on the website, we powered forward. after boiling our water/butter mixture, i diligently removed the pot from the heat and vigorously stirred in the flour. much to our amazement and relief, the dough started to come together from the sides and leave the trademark film on the bottom of the pot! it was a baking miracle, i tell you! we were on top of the world.
we threw it in the mixer to cool off, added the eggs one at a time, and piped those bad boys out on a baking sheet. they might not look like much now, but just you wait. 🙂
while the oven was hard at work, we fixed up the pastry cream (blessedly easy and dangerously delicious), washed our dishes, and let the anticipation rise. i think i am a capable enough baker to have completed this one on my own without issue, but it was a much more enjoyable experience with mom by my side. love ya, mom!
about 40 minutes later, we pulled open the oven door and grinned from ear to ear. the eclair shells were golden but not burned and had a nice hollow sound when you tapped the bottoms. we’re on a roll! nothing can stop us now.
once those little shells cooled on the baking racks, it all came together pretty quickly. we split them horizontally, dunked the tops in a melted chocolate-butter mixture (YUM), and spooned in generous heaps of the pastry cream.
even though dinner was right around the corner, we immediately indulged. these eclairs are extremely decadent without being overly sweet, and we each scarfed ours down in just a matter of bites. as we say in our household, this recipe is a “keeper” for sure, and i look forward to a special occasion (or, you know, just another random monday) when i can make them again.
i know i have been tardy in my baking posts but promise i have not been tardy in my actual baking! i did do a june bake and even already did my july bake! i’ve just been a little preoccupied with some fun activities but am happy to get back to it.
there wasn’t any particular strike of inspiration for my june bake, so i thought i’d turn to a reliable source for ideas. i present the alternative baker cookbook. i’m certain i’ve mentioned this book before, but long story short, it was a suggestion from a former coworker whose wife is gluten-free. i tolerate gluten just fine but welcomed the recommendation to expand my baking knowledge. over the past five years or so, i’ve made several of these recipes (most quite successfully) so flipped through its pages to see if anything would strike my fancy.
after considering a few options, i landed on the buckle. this “old-timey” dessert features ripe fruits that sink into batter, which then buckles up and around. seriously, that’s it! these alternative flours were familiar to me, but i don’t often bake with stone fruits so thought this new-to-me recipe seemed like a comfortable choice.
when i launch into a recipe (especially new ones), i read the instructions several times. i get out all my ingredients and organize my bowls and utensils and measuring spoons so that once i begin, it’s smooth sailing. with this buckle, that included smoothly sifting my dry ingredients (what a relaxing sight) and browning my butter (what an intoxicating smell). each step matters, and the first few are no exception.
from there, i buttered my springform pan generously, plopped in the batter (which had me skeptical since it barely covered the bottom), and added the cut fruit. i couldn’t find good apricots in our produce section so settled on peaches instead. i mean, after all we are here in the peach state. 🙂 then, into the oven it went. i wasn’t really sure what to expect and thought there surely was not enough batter to create the buckle effect described by alanna. however, i’ve found this year that i’ve been surprised more than once so let science do its thing.
the oven filled the kitchen when nutty aromas and cozy feelings, and i had a smile on my face when the timer chimed. look at this scrumptious masterpiece! please trust me when i say this buckle tasted even better than it looked.
although described as a dessert, i greedily ate a slice for breakfast the next day and enjoyed it with a mug of piping hot coffee. the buckle batter was moist and delicate yet not tackled by the heavy peach slices. the alternative baker does it again, and i can see this buckle being a new go-to when we have visitors in town.
somehow it is already spring, and somehow march seemed to rush right on by without any notice at all. thankfully, i had the perfect occasion to fit my march bake: our neighbors are expecting their fourth child! i wanted to whip up something special before the baby’s arrival, so i asked the husband what the expectant mother’s favorite dessert was. his answer? cheesecake. i was excited by the challenge of this classic treat because, yes, it would be my march bake. however, i also looked forward to it because i feel like something like a cheesecake really tests your abilities. it might seem simple. a bunch of cream cheese, some sugar, and some eggs. however, something so iconic can so easily go awry. i expect we’ve all had a slice of mealy, dry, cracked cheesecake, which isn’t enjoyable on any level. in a bake like this one, even though science is certainly at play, experience really can give you an advantage.
i don’t have my own go-to cheesecake recipe, and if you don’t either or just are interested in something new, i will quickly direct you to this recipe by sam. this recipe is unique because it does not use a water bath (something super common when making a cheesecake), but i followed the instructions to a tee, and my cheesecake turned out smooth, rich, and easily edible. i will say, though, i did get a little nervous mixing the batter itself. i needed to ensure i incorporated everything evenly without letting in too much air, and that is where my prior baking experience was helpful. i kept a close eye on it, didn’t mix it on too high a speed, and didn’t second guess my instincts. when it looked done, i turned off the mixer and moved on to the next step. sometimes you have to fight that urge to overthink things!
i popped my cheesecake into the oven, set the timer, and resisted the temptation to open the oven to check on things. the minute you do, so much heat escapes, and all sorts of things can go sideways (no matter what you’re making!). about an hour later, the house smelled divine, and my cheesecake looked as happy as it could be. better yet, it tasted great, too! i had the neighbors over for a slice, and even their youngest (who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth) ate most of hers. i think the only tweak i would make to this recipe is putting more of the graham cracker crust on the bottom. i didn’t know exactly how much filling there was going to be, and as you can see, i had an excess of graham crackers up the sides of my springform pan. aside from that minor adjustment, i think this one is a keeper!
i’d been waffling among several potential bakes for february, and considering we were nearly halfway through the month and about to be out of town for a week, time was not on my side. after much consideration and then an unexpected, brave flash of inspiration, it was decided: february would be for macarons.
finnicky, temperamental, unpredictable macarons. yes! why not? i’ve had enough great, reliable bakes and never again bakes that i was not afraid to test my skills with this unmistakable treat.
i wouldn’t say i’m a macaron expert but have had my share over the years. and after reading plenty of tips and tricks, the baking began. i ended up going with this recipe from sally mckenney, which included plenty of step-by-step photos, videos, tips, and treats. kudos to sally for putting in all the legwork! 😉
it was fun whipping up the egg whites and watching them form those stiff peaks (what a satisfying description!); it was a little tense ensuring i mixed the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients just enough but not too much; and it was stressful piping my shells and letting them cure, fearing i had overmixed the batter because they spread kind of thin on the sheet. sometimes, though, you have to just have a little faith and trust your instincts.
while the shells rested, i washed up dishes and cleaned up my mess, and 50 minutes later, they were no longer tacky to the touch. ’twas a baking miracle! into the 325 degree oven they went, and my heart did a little flutter. will they rise? will they be hollow? will their feet form? the anticipation was nearly more than i could bear, but after the 13 suggested minutes of baking passed, i nearly shrieked in satisfaction. the notable macaron feet were there! the shells were not cracked! and what i’ll go ahead and tell you is that they were divine. filled with sally’s vanilla buttercream, the characteristic almond flavor was perfectly noticeable, and it took so much self control to not scarf up the whole tray in one sitting. i know not every bake can turn out this great (especially on the first try), but imma take this one to the bank. i just made macarons!
i cannot deny that my blogging frequency has been, dare i say, infrequent? the mcu journey series was a treat to experience and write, but i hadn’t been struck with anything quite as inspiring and exciting since. that was until earlier this month when i was baking up a banana bread for breakfast. this banana bread recipe is reliable, easy, and delicious. however, if you are anything like me, sometimes you end up in a baking rut, doing the same bakes day in and day out. i wondered to myself, surely i am up for a challenge? surely i am brave enough to venture out and try something new? surely i am skilled enough to not be afraid to fail? energized by the thought and curious about what may i come, i am officially kicking off a new series: a year of bakes.
each month in 2024 i will whip up something new to me. sweet, savory, simple, advanced. i want to explore them all! i cannot tell you how many pinned or clipped recipes i have lying around the house or in my phone, and it’s time i dust them off and go on an adventure. join me, won’t you?
january’s bake was taken from a royal cookbook: seasonal recipes from buckingham palace. our friends dave and jenn took a trip across the pond last year and so thoughtfully brought this souvenir home for me. elegant and impressive, this book shares the history of the kitchen at the palace and includes recipes for some of their most iconic dishes. i cannot lie, many of them are very involved and include elements or ingredients that were a little intimidating. however, i searched the pages and did finally find something that felt very doable: the chocolate biscuit cake. a no bake treat, this cake includes traditional tea biscuits, butter, sugar, and plenty of chocolate. minimal ingredients also caught my eye. :)
i cleared the countertop, gathered my supplies, and opened the cupboard to search for my 15 centimeter cake pan. now, if i’m being honest, i have little sense of how the metric scale converts to the imperial equivalent and was very surprised when i learned that 15 centimeters roughly equates to only six inches. this cake was going to be tiny! good thing i wasn’t planning on bring it to a big ‘ole potluck or anything. however, it was kind of fun making something on a small scale; gave me the chance to slow down and really focus on precision.
now, this cake came together easy enough after mixing and chilling and then preparing the ganache, but i really was unimpressed by the end result. maybe it’s because my ganache wasn’t super glossy or maybe my biscuit pieces were too big? it is quite rich, and a small slice will do you, but i think it’d take a lot of convincing for me to try this recipe again. everything about it, to me, was just “fine.” i ate another couple slices throughout the week not because i was really craving it and really only because i don’t like to waste and was in the mood for a sweet bite of something. but you know? that’s okay. not everything you try is going to be a success or a “keeper.” there’s plenty of joy in exploring and keeping your brain sharp when learning something new, and i look forward to testing (and tasting) my skills this year. who knows what next month will hold! you’ll have to check back to find out. :)
like many folks, phillip and i had built up airline rewards over the past couple of years, and one of them (the companion certificate by delta) was set to expire soon. however, “soon” was sooner than we though, as instead of having to only have booked our trip by the end of january, we had to have taken our trip by the end of january. so, it was adventure-planning time!
we considered many possible destinations but very randomly decided to check out new mexico. aside from visiting a state we hadn’t yet, there were no specific reasons we chose the land of enchantment. quite different from the typical big city vacations we take, i’ll spoil it all for you now and tell you that new mexico did not disappoint.
we landed in albuquerque just before noon, checked into the hotel early, and then bundled up to begin exploring. we learned very quickly just how cold the high desert gets in winter; we had our boots and big ski jackets with us always! with it being lunchtime, we checked out the first of many restaurant recommendations: frontier right across from the university of new mexico campus (go lobos!). we’d previously been educated about proper chile-ordering etiquette so started with the breakfast burrito (per the cashier’s suggestion) and chicken enchiladas (with Christmas chile on the side). we were quite excited for our first serving of authentic new mexican cuisine, and although we did eat everything we were served and even ordered a sweet roll for dessert, everything tasted only fine (especially compared to the other new mexican food we would eat later in the trip). i don’t know if disappointed is the right word but do think phillip and i secretly wondered, “is this the best of the best?” good news, folks, it was not.
on our way to frontier (which, by the way, was via THE route 66), phillip had spied a cookie shop. you know what that meant, we had to stop in for some dessert (er, second dessert in this case). we popped into rude boy cookies and were extremely pleased. phillip had a deconstructed ice cream sandwich. it included a mammoth scoop of chocolate blue bell ice cream (although i would have liked some homemade ice cream, you generally cannot go wrong with blue bell) and warmed up and crumbled chocolate chip cookies and double chocolate cookies. i think his face says it all.
ice cream and popcorn (for national popcorn day!)this was his “i’m getting full but still going to eat it all” face
i went for something a little less complex but equally satisfying: a homemade oatmeal cream pie. you read that right, folks, and although i would not call myself an oatmeal cream pie expert, i could find nothing wrong with this one. it had a perfect balance of slightly spicy but deliciously sweet flavors. and that filling? i could have eaten it by the batch.
we were a little tired from our travels so took a couple hours of rest back at the hotel. what i’ll say is that it is very easy to get around town. the duke city is essentially a grid, and so long as you can locate i25 and i40, you should be able to find your way. if you ever are in abq and have a car, though, heed this warning (which a local was kind enough to share): leave nothing visible in your car. apparently, there is a lot of property crime in the city. so, essentially anything not tied down can be a target. rest assured we stayed smart and never felt unsafe during our visit.
refreshed and not quite ready to call it a night, it was time for more eating! this next spot was highlighted on the local map, and little did we know we were trying a spot that had been featured on albuquerque’s “best of” list in 2022. i present to you clowndog hot dog parlor!
i know hot dogs gross lots of folks out, which just means more hot dogs for the rest of us! clowndog is as fun and circus-themed on the inside as you would hope it would be, and with an extensive menu, tvs, a bar, and outdoor seating, they have something for everyone. phillip and i started out with a couple of local brews and then dug into our generously-topped hot dogs.
phillip went for the tailgater clowndog creation. i promise there was a dog underneath all those pinto beans, coleslaw, bbq sauce, and bacon! these hot dogs definitely require a fork and knife, so don’t be shy to ensure each bite includes some of each mouthwatering ingredient.
i was inclined to try the frito dog but last-minute decided to build my own. mine included an all-beef hot dog on a traditional bun with heaping helpings of mac’n’cheese, bacon, and (per the waitress’ recommendation) green chile sauce. folks, don’t you dare make a grimacing face. this combination slapped (as the young folks say these days). to translate for those who don’t know the modern saying “slapped,” that means it was EXCELLENT. the rich mac’n’cheese with the zippy green chile sauce made for a heavenly bite so good to finish. if you ever visit albuquerque, i implore you to give clowndog a chance. you might surprise yourself how fun (and delicious) it is to go outside the box sometimes.
so, that was a wrap on our first day in new mexico. everyone we encountered was quite polite, the food redeemed itself by the end of the day, and we went to bed excited to explore more of this new-to-us state. stand by for what happened next!
after a quick visit to the famed churchill downs friday morning…
…we ventured on over to biscuit belly, another sara-recommended spot. if i could only say one thing about biscuit belly, it is that we LOVED it.
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but! i’ll of course say more than just that. now, after being overcome by what my dad called an “ordering frenzy,” we all settled in with our coffees, both hot and cold brew style.
as i snapped a picture of the cute mugs and glasses, clark so kindly educated us about what the kids are saying and doing these days when it comes to social media. yes, kelsey, it’s more than just regular blogs like yours. i learned about “camera eats first,” which about made me die, and then also “influencers in the wild.” it’s funny how we were victims of these trends without even realizing it. thank you, clark, for helping your 32 year old sister stay current. 🙂
we put our devices down briefly as our food started coming out, and i think we all felt our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. so, what exactly did we order? well, let me tell you. for the table to share, we ordered the bonuts, the gravy train, and the pancake corndogs. if you want the inside scoop, try dipping the bonut into the chocolate gravy from the gravy train. you’ll be in biscuit heaven, i guarantee it.
bonuts.
corndogs.
gravy train.
corndog.
but don’t forget that we all also had our entrees, as if we needed more! we tried the love shack, the basic biscuit, and the rockwell.
the love shack.
the basic biscuit.
the rockwell.
i told you we ordered a lot! we were at our table for nearly two hours just eating and drinking and solving all the world’s problems. it was a homerun, and i think we all left wishing we had a location in each of our hometowns.
like many folks these days, i have taken the opportunity to seize moments i couldn’t otherwise. like deep cleaning the house. or really tackling the yard work. or ordering stuff just because i want to. this post is related to that final category. 🙂
as i have alluded to previously, i am a sucker for a good marketing campaign. the p’zone and cheez-it pizza squares by pizza hut? tried ’em both. the shaqaroni by papa john’s? had it just the other week. the famous popeye’s chicken sandwich? devoured it. the list goes on and on. truly. just ask any of my family and friends. my latest foodie adventure, though, is a little on the sweeter side with edible raw cookie dough by doughp.
the reasons i wanted to try doughp included…
the founder’s name is kelsey. that honestly should be enough reason.
it’s cookie dough. i like cookies. i like dough. ’nuff said.
oh, and i had a sweet-ass bogo coupon from my favorite daily newsletter morning brew. that had a little something to do with it, too.
regardless of why i was motivated to place that order, how was the dough? was it as doughp as i wanted it to be? in a few short words, yes, it was.
we ordered the self control cookie dough box and at first did just eat the dough by the spoonfuls right out of the containers. the general consensus (between phillip and i) was that the dough was tasty and the different flavors were fun, but i wasn’t getting ready to smack my mama over it.
it then dawned on me that we should probably bake the dough and see what we thought of it then. oh, honey, was that just the best idea we’d had all day? i think so. i’ll be honest, i loved doughp SO much more when baked. i’m talking a junk ton more. the first batch we underbaked slightly, so they were warm and ooey and gooey right out of the oven. the second batch we let go a little longer, and each crispy bite was still delicious.
phillip’s favorite was “i need smore” while i could easily put away a whole tub of “cookie monsta” myself, and i definitely recommend the variety pack if you want a little, yes, variety. lawlz.
so, if you’re in the mood to treat yo’self and do a little something good at the same time, go order some doughp right away. as far as i see it, your satisfaction is guaranteed. 🙂
kelsey v 