Black Bottom Brownies

15. January 2012

When we moved to New York just over a year ago, I was forced to whittle down my cookbook collection. Believe me, losing 3000 square feet of living space will make you whittle down a lot of things. I spent a lot of time and thought considering what books would make the cut.

My collection is about 85% baking books. One of my favorite kinds of baking books is bakery cookbooks. To me, those are just the best. I’m pretty sure all of those made the cut. An old favorite of mine is The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. From that book, I share with you these brownies.

Coca-Cola Cake

11. January 2012

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I’ve had a strange fascination with this cake for a long time, yet I’ve never made it. There’s something about the thought of making a cake with a Coke that intrigues me. Sort of in a how-can-that-possibly-work way.

This particular recipe comes from Classic Southern Desserts by Southern Living. I don’t know if this cake truly has Southern origins, but it certainly seems Southern enough to me. I mean, who else would pour Coca-Cola into a cake?

Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

9. January 2012

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The recipe for these amazing cookies comes to us from the equally amazing guys at Baked and their cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. I’ve only made it over to Red Hook once to sample their creations, but their two cookbooks are certainly well-used in my kitchen.

I’ve had these cookies bookmarked for a while. Recently, I had a couple of baking… Well, I hate to say disasters. Let’s just say I’ve had some challenges of late. Because of that, I found myself wanting to bake something straightforward. Not surprisingly, I turned to an old favorite pair of mine – peanut butter and chocolate.

Cocoa Cake

5. January 2012

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I try to keep things simple in my kitchen and on this blog. You won’t find a lot of complicated, time-consuming recipes here. Sure, I get overly ambitious from time to time, but I generally like to keep things a bit more approachable and attainable.

I actually resisted making this cake for a while. It seemed almost too simple. I mean, it’s a no-frills chocolate cake. I’m as much of a fan of chocolate as anyone, but most of the time I prefer it with just a little extra interest.

Chocolate Cashew Bars

3. January 2012

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With this recipe, I’m going back to some of my baking loves – chocolate, nuts, and bars. You had to know I wouldn’t stray for long. These bars are certainly a good way to reunite with some old favorites.

One of my other great baking loves is pecan pie. Now, imagine a pecan pie in bar form, but with cashews and chocolate. That’s what we’ve got here. And, it’s a beautiful thing.

Brown Sugar Pound Cakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

2. January 2012

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In a strange turn of events, it seems I have baked something with neither chocolate nor nuts. For those of you who are astonished, I think I may have redeemed myself by the presence of cream cheese frosting.

I am further redeemed by the perfection that is these cupcakes. Oh, my, but they’re good. Basically, these lovely little pound cakes are loaded with brown sugar, creating a wonderful caramel-like flavor. Then, they are topped off with an amazingly simple, delicious cream cheese frosting that features even more brown sugar.

Bake or Break

Archive | January, 2012