recipes

i promise i baked this year

kdavis Leave a comment

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…

  • my friend liz’s famous pumpkin cookies
  • banana chocolate chip muffins my friend giselle swears by
  • 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.

a year of bakes-june

kdavis Leave a comment

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.