Bake or Break

Adventures of an amateur baker

Entries from May 2008

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

May 26th, 2008 · 34 Comments

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

A couple of months ago, I received an advance copy of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. I had great success with the first recipe I tried and marked several others that I wanted to make.

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Tags: chocolate · cookies

Gianduia Brownies

May 21st, 2008 · 33 Comments

Gianduia Brownies

I’ve been wanting to make Nutella brownies for a while now. It seemed like such a good idea. What would be better than adding that delicious, chocolate-hazelnut confection to fudgy brownies?

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Tags: bars · brownies · chocolate

Raspberry Pecan Blondies

May 18th, 2008 · 26 Comments

Raspberry Pecan Blondies

Those of you who follow my baking adventures regularly will not be surprised to see pecans or raspberries here. What is different here is the pan. Recently, we were given a Baker’s Edge pan and this is one of the included recipes.

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Tags: bars · blondies

Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary

May 14th, 2008 · 33 Comments

Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary

One of the best cookbooks we’ve recently bought is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Reading the title made me do a bit of an eye roll, thinking that this was some baking scam. After reading some other bakers’ experiences with the book, I had a change of heart and bought it.

I am not a bread baker. Honestly, I lack the patience for it. Quinn is the bread baker in our house. I am a big fan of my bread machine, but using it always feels a bit like cheating. With this book, however, I can now say that I can bake bread.

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Tags: bread · yeast breads

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

May 8th, 2008 · 98 Comments

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to use muffin pans to make brownies. I found several recipes, but none I could really get excited about. Then, I found this one that features one of my favorite combinations: chocolate and peanut butter.

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Tags: brownies · chocolate · peanut butter

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Swirl Bars

May 4th, 2008 · 31 Comments

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Swirl Bars

Last time we visited New York, we happened upon Magnolia Bakery. Unfortunately, we opted not to eat of those amazing sweet treats because we were about an hour away from our dinner reservations. I was not strong enough, however, to walk by without even going inside. It was seriously one of the best smelling places I’ve ever experienced.

I do intend to partake of the famous baked goods from Magnolia one of these days. In the meantime, I continue to enjoy baking from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. This book has so many great-looking recipes that it’s truly difficult to pick one.

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Tags: bars