De Baking Psychopath

When you combine Gus, bacon fat, and caramelized onions, there can only be one outcome: triple happiness. I needed to feed Gus this weekend, and feeling lazy to make bread, I decided to give these sourdough biscuits a try. I got the recipe from the King Arthur Flour catalog awhile back because they were very intriguing (cue in imaginary beard stroking). The sourdough starter is not used for leavening, it's just for flavor. Then to "kick it up a notch" (a la Emeril), I substituted most of the butter out with rendered bacon fat I've been saving in the freezer for biscuits one day.  And finally that day had come! These biscuits came out completely fabulous. Smoky bacon flavor, sweet caramelized onions, flaky/tender biscuit. There was a hint of sourdough flavor at the end, but nothing too overt. We just ate them straight, but they would be great as an accompaniment to soup or eggs as well! You can find the recipe here:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com...

A good friend of mine gifted me with an awesome set of safari animal cookie cutters for my recent birthday , and as soon as I saw them, I knew I had to put them (as well as the animal cookie cutters I already owned) to good use. My first thought: animal crackers!! Although I do have a more traditional recipe for little cookie/crackers that remind you of the store-bought little treats, I instead decided to go with a heartier sweet biscuit for my first animal cookie foray. Can you find the following animals below: cat, bat, elephant, mouse, zebra, frog, lion, giraffe, bear? Hint--you may have to tilt your head up to 180 degrees upside-down for the correct perspective for some of the shapes. These cookies were designed to be gnawed upon by teething babies, but they've got enough flavor to satisfy the discerning adult palate as well. They are lightly sweet, hearty from the wheat germ, faintly citrusy and cinnamony, and a suitable complement to a cup of coffee or tea...or a sippy ...