Bake or Break

Adventures of an amateur baker

Entries from December 2006

Raspberry Almond Tarts

December 25th, 2006 · 12 Comments

I like putting together little food gifts for the holidays. I love wrapping up something delicious from the kitchen and giving it to people. Finding new things to put in those gifts is half the fun to me. I love those bite-size sweets. So, when I found this Southern Living recipe, [...]

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Tags: pies & tarts

Rum Cake

December 22nd, 2006 · 15 Comments

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Every Christmas my grandmother made her famous rum cake. The thing I most remember about it, other than how incredibly good it was, was the process of getting the rum. We lived in a dry county, meaning there was nowhere to buy alcohol. Driving to the next county was [...]

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Tags: cakes

Irish Cream Brownies

December 21st, 2006 · 19 Comments

View a printable recipe and more pictures at flickr

The hardest part about holiday baking is deciding what to make. It’s not that I can’t find recipes. It’s that I find too many recipes. I spend far too much time deliberating the virtues of each one when I could be in the kitchen [...]

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Tags: brownies · chocolate

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

December 12th, 2006 · 15 Comments

View a printable recipe or more pictures at flickr

In my continuing obsession with all those holiday magazines, these cookies come to you courtesty of Paula Deen’s Christmas. This time of year, one of the most important considerations when baking cookies is how they look. Most holiday cookies are to be given away, so [...]

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Tags: cookies

Chocolate Shortbread Fingers

December 8th, 2006 · 18 Comments

View a printable recipe and more pictures at flickr

I found this recipe in Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook while I was looking for another recipe. The book just kind of fell open to the page with the recipe and picture. Instantly, I changed gears and decided that these had to be made immediately.
Earlier in [...]

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Tags: chocolate · cookies

Prosciutto-Swiss Rolls

December 4th, 2006 · 9 Comments

View a printable recipe or more photographs at flickr.

When I came home Thanksgiving Eve to find Quinn sick and in bed, he had started making these rolls earlier in the day for our big meal the next day. I assured him I could finish and left him to wallow. He had everything mixed, [...]

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Tags: rolls · yeast breads

Apple Crisp

December 2nd, 2006 · 5 Comments

View the original recipe or more photographs

When cooler weather finally arrives, I am compelled to bake with apples. I chose this recipe for Thanksgiving, but after my eventful Thanksgiving Eve, I didn’t have time to make it. I did whip it up the other night while Quinn has been feeling quite unwell. [...]

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Tags: cobblers, crisps, & crumbles