Wordless Wednesday

Playing in and under the banana trees….

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

TWD – Seriously Slacking

 

I am *this* close to being kicked out of Tuesdays with Dorie…..I have not posted a TWD blog post/recipe in forever.  I am so sorry.  I am hoping to have some time to catch up and post some of the past recipes and catch up with what is coming up.   I figure with the holidays coming up there will be the need for LOTS of baking…and you can’t go wrong with a Dorie recipe.

So forgive me and be sure to check out all the other non-slacking bakers who have posted their recipes in a timely manner.

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Monkey Monday

The bakery that I have been working at, Back In The Day Bakery, hosts a Cupcake Happy Hour the first Friday of the month.  Last month I took Jakob and my Mother there after dinner.  This month I brought both boys by myself after picking Jakob up from school.  The concept is great…buy one get one half off….and then they play bingo for free cupcakes.  Lots of fun. Draws in a huge crowd.  We had a blast.  It is nights and events like this that are going to make the time away from Daddy a little easier….having something to look forward to weekly or monthly.

Jakob chose a brownie instead of a cupcake, Aiden got an Old Fashioned cupcake and I chose a chocolate chip cookie….absolutely yum!  We had a blast….we didn’t win at Bingo….but at least this time Jakob didn’t have a meltdown about not winning! 

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Scones….yummy yummy Scones

I never use to like scones….at least the ones I had had from bakeries or Starbucks.  They always tasted dry and needed something to drink to swallow them down.  So I didn’t have high hopes months ago when I made my first batch.  But now I can’t stop making them.  They are just the perfect breakfast treat and mid-afternoon snack with that cup of coffee that you just have to have to get through the rest of the day!

These are special scones….I tweaked a recipe and added some of this seasons first Egg Nog purchase.  So, I give you Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chip Egg Nog Scones!

Recipe Adapted from Sur La Table

Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chip Egg Nog Scones

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup Cinnamon Chips

1/2 cup White Chocolate Chips

2 large eggs

2 tbsp Egg Nog

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and position an oven rack in the center. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a thin silicone mat. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of the food processor and process for 10 seconds to blend well. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse 5 times a 1 second intervals, or until the butter is cut into medium pieces. Add the cinnamon chips and white chocolate chips but do not blend them in. In the small bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg nog, and vanilla until well blended. Pour the egg mixture into the processor and pulse another 25 times, or until the dough holds together in large thick clumps.

2. Use a spatula to scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently squeeze or kneed the clumps together until they form a cohesive dough - it may seem a bit dry at first, but will come together with a few kneads. Pat the dough into a circle 7 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Use a chef's knife to cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

3. I then brushed the tops with egg nog and sprinkled some turbinado sugar on top. Bake for 14 - 17 minutes, until fully risen and golden brown, especially around the bottom edges. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the scones warm or at room temperature.

These are light, buttery, and fluffy.  Hard to eat just one.  Serve them with a yummy coffee or chai tea….you wont be disappointed. Look at how light and fluffy they look inside…

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Putting on my “daddy” shoes

 

Being a “single” Mom for a year means that there will be times that I will have to put “Daddy” shoes on and fill in for him.  Today was one of those days.  Jakob and Jason spend some quality boy-time on the first Saturday of every month.  Home Depot puts on a Kids Workshop for free and they go every month.  It is just too much fun – they give the kids an orange apron and buttons for each project they complete. And then the boys go for lunch.  So today being the first of the month it was time for Mama to take him.  We had a blast.  He told me he missed Daddy, and going with just Daddy, but then he told me that it was fun to go with me.  Love that Kid!

Today he made a trivet….he made the frame for it and then we went and purchased a tile for the middle of it.  (so today’s was not entirely free!) He got to chose his own tile and he picked a great one.  I only wish we could have made more than one, as they would make great Christmas gifts!

Here’s Jakob hammering his little heart out…

FYI…..Aiden was with us….we think he is still a little too young to be hammering and using tools, but in the new year we hope to start him on his own projects.  Just think….when Jason comes home I will be getting one Saturday morning to myself!  SWEET!

So if you have little ones and haven’t tried this out – get yourself to Home Depot on the first Saturday of every month!!

Daddy, you were definitely missed!  But it made me feel good that Jakob thought I filled your shoes well!

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

fixation Friday….

I have not baked anything with chocolate in FOREVER!  I haven’t had the time to do much baking these days….but that is going to change really soon.  But I have had the time to peruse my friend’s blogs and have found some recipes that I MUST make…..so here is a list and some links for you of recipes that are on my baking list for the next little while. 

Peanut Butter S’Mores Turnovers…..these look evil!

This looks like the best Chocolate Cake I have ever seen!

Pumpkin Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars…..these look so rich and chewy!

I cannot believe Holly makes her own Nutella like Chocolate Hazelnut Spread!  This is a must make!

My friend, Nikki, makes this and says it is to die for….New Orleans Double Chocolate Praline Fudge Cake!

Those are my top five chocolate recipes that I need to try out….what is on your chocolate list of must makes?  Leave me a comment and let me know….I’d love to bake it some time!

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Pumpkin scones….

I made these awhile ago after seeing them on Maria’s blog “Two Peas and Their Pod”….I knew that we would love them for breakfast.  I made them for breaky the Saturday before Jason left….and he wished I had made them sooner so that I could have made them again before he left!  LOL

I tweaked them a little bit…. I didn’t have any white chocolate in the house, and decided on a maple glaze instead…oh!  and I forgot to add the sugar!!  But we still loved them!  I can only imagine how much tastier they would be if I remembered the sugar and had white chocolate chips in them!

Here is the recipe….which I borrowed from Maria’s blog.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones

Adapted from Del’s Sisters Kitchen

Scone Dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup) light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cream

Turbinado sugar for sprinkling the tops of the scones

Spice Glaze:

1c. powdered sugar

1/2t. cinnamon

1/8t. cloves

Sprinkle of nutmeg

Milk

Add as much milk until desired consistency. Drizzle or spread over scones.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. I use my hands! The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the white chocolate.

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the cream and sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar on top.

Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and drizzle scones with the glaze.

Make them….love them….make them properly!  LOL

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often