Smitten Apple Cake

This lovely cake comes from Smitten Kitchen, a very famous food blog with beautiful photos and recipes that sometimes work.  I approached this recipe with a fair dose of skepticism (not to mention, blog envy) and about 2 lbs. of apples.  And I’m so glad I did.  After a few recent baking failures (including this week’s [...]

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To Try: Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

Today I found a great food blog while surfing the internets and using the google.  This easy recipe for banana bars especially caught my eye—probably because living abroad makes me homesick for good, simple American cooking.  Don’t these sound devilish?
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll have to break it out when I have [...]

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Toasted Treats for Biscotti-Haters: Russian Sukhariki

I’ll never forget the first (and last) time I made biscotti.  I was a budding young bakestress of 16, eager to whip up some of those exotic-looking cookies I’d seen at the new Starbucks in my town.  I slaved all afternoon, digging out the anise seeds from the pantry depths and laboriously stirring the thick dough, toasting [...]

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Lemon Cornmeal Cake (w/ Gluten-Free Variation)

Oh, hello there.  Yes: You.  Would you like a slice?

Well, yes, I supposed it is a bit decadent; two sticks of butter will do that.  But it also contains fruit!  Lemons!  Strive for five!
Still not sold?  How about a closer look:

What if I told you this was the moistest, heartiest lemon cake you’ve had in [...]

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Blushing Raspberry Pancakes

Have I mentioned that I’m incredibly spoiled?
Saturday morning I lounged over a cup of tea (reading food blogs, natch), while my dearly beloved made these:

Raspberry pancakes—a treat on Valentine’s Day, or any day

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To Try: Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

 
A box of Kashi chewy granola bars runs more than $4.00 where I live.  Surely one could make them at home for pennies on the dollar, and they’d probably taste better, too.  Here’s one recipe I’m considering, courtesy of Cooks.com:
 
 
-1 c. brown sugar
-1/4 c. sugar
-1/2 c. butter
-2 Tbsp. honey
-1/2 tsp. vanilla
-1 egg
-1 c. flour
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. [...]

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Breakfast at My Desk

Not all at once, mind you.  Eating breakfast at the office is new to me.  For a year and a half, I was getting up early every morning to prepare breakfast pour deux.  It was stressful rushing to make something, sure, but I felt deliciously self-righteous starting my day with an over-easy egg or Cheerios and banana.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the [...]

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Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Snapshot by Brooke Bready
To be honest, when I made this gluten-free cake for my friend’s birthday, I didn’t expect much (especially given my track record with baking).  Luckily, I was wrong.  This coffee cake rocks! It tastes 100% normal—tender, moist, and most importantly, scarffable.  I haven’t tried this recipe with wheat flour yet, but if you have a celiac [...]

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Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

  
Credit: Chow/Amy Wisniewski 
This recipe, a variation on one I originally found on Chow, is a nice change from the traditional pumpkin bread.  The sweet potato gives it a subtle earthy flavor.  And pecans?  Well, what don’t they improve?  This would be awesome with a maple syrup glaze or cream cheese icing.
-1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
-2 [...]

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