De Baking Psychopath

Well, the pumpkin granola was only Part I. In reality, I had my eyes set out on using up that last can of pumpkin pie filling (not puree) waiting patiently in the pantry with a recipe I found on Libby's website, Pumpkin Granola Muffins. Since I had also needed to get rid of the extra puree leftover from the pumpkin cookies, the granola was a two-fer: it used up the puree and also produced the granola that I needed for the pumpkin muffins! While I was at it, I figured I would try to adapt the recipe to make those oh-so-popular Starbucks copycat-recipe cream cheese pumpkin muffins. So I found a filling recipe to use and then added a bit of espresso powder to the muffin batter to pay homage to the pumpkin spice latte muffin recipes I've also seen lately.  These muffins were moist and had good texture from the granola, and the creamy ribbon of cream cheese running through the muffin was a great complement. Although it's a lot of steps, the recipe makes a lot of muffins (...

My husband doesn't like muffins or quickbreads. But he likes coffeecakes. I think he finds the former to be too dry much of the time, and he prefers the moist plushness of coffee cakes due to the addition of yogurt or sour cream. I don't remember why I made this coffeecake but I had some cream cheese to use, and I decided to flavor the cream cheese with some freeze-dried strawberries I had no idea what to do with. The strawberry added a nice fruity flavor to this yummy crumb-topped cake.  This cake was husband-approved. I cut it into gigantic squares, and he ended up taking a square for lunch many a day! Cinnamon (Strawberry) Cream Cheese Coffee Cake (Adapted from Bake or Break ) Ingredients: 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened and cut into small chunks 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup chopped pecans pinch of salt 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 t...

MEAT!  Meat plus bread = MAN FOOD! These pepperoni rolls were taught to me by my awesome friend, and it is such a versatile recipe to keep in your repetoire. It is sufficient for a meal in itself, it is a great accompaniment to a meaty main course or a hot bowl of soup, and it is a mean snack any time of of the day. (And great with beer, says Michael) The dough is enriched with an egg and a bit of oil, so it is soft, fluffy, and tasty. The pepperoni and cheese get all meaty and melty and happy together in multiple layers. I don't really like pepperoni by itself or on pizza, but I am a big fan of these rolls! Figure 2. Second layer of pepperoni and cheese before folding the last flap over Figure 3. Place rolls seam side down for proofing and baking Pepperoni Rolls (original source unknown, as taught to me by my friend Shannon) Ingredients : 1 & 1/2 cups warm water 1 teaspoon yeast (I used active dry) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons s...

I've gotten increasingly frequent and urgent requests for my baking to take a more savory and healthy trajectory. And for the requester, that doesn't mean to just replace the flour with whole wheat flour and sugar with Splenda. Indeed, I also have in mind a couple of goals for the upcoming months: to get in shape for the Rachel Carson 1/2 challenge in June (yes, super-crazy), and to slim down a bit so I have room to gain a few pounds back on my eating-marathon when I visit the homeland in July. So expect in the next few months to see the repertoire here shift slightly away from cookies and cakes and more towards granola/energy bars and savory breads. As my baking is largely determined by personal cravings and social events (such as an upcoming bake sale this week and a departmental spring potluck in early April), however, you can predict that you will be able to see more of the usual yummy treats as well. For now, though, I bring you two savory muffins to kick start the div...