Bake or Break

Black Bottom Brownies

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.

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Brown Sugar Pound Cakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

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.

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Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

View a printable recipe or more photos The frequency with which I bake with bananas is dependent on how many we buy that go uneaten. When I see them get to that lovely, ripe, baking stage, I start scouring my brain, all available cookbooks, and the internet for banana recipes. Having made banana bread too many times to count, I really wanted to bake something a little different.

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Hazelnut Cream Cheese Brownies

I'll just assume that title alone got your attention. Not much could be better than than chocolate, hazelnuts, and cream cheese. The only thing wrong with these brownies is that I didn't make them sooner.

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Blueberry Jamboree

The last time I visited Magnolia Bakery, I noticed a sign proclaiming the staff favorite to be Blueberry Jamboree. I don't think I've ever eaten anything but cupcakes from Magnolia, but I was intrigued. Blueberries, cream cheese, whipped cream... what's not to like?

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Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

View a printable recipe or more photos The sight of over-ripe bananas on my kitchen counter always makes me want to make banana bread. Sadly, I don't always follow through with it. In those cases, it is most definitely not the thought that counts. Recently, however, I decided enough was enough and ventured into the kitchen with this recipe in hand. I have a tremendous weak spot for cream cheese, and the thought of adding it to banana bread was more than enough to motivate me.

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