The baked brownie, spiced up. If you’ve made as many brownies as I have in my life–and that’s a lot.
I mean A LOT. Just ask my hips. –you come to realize a couple things: There are no bad from-scratch brownies.* Seriously, not even the batch that I forgot to add the flour to when I was in middle school, that I am pretty sure my mother still brings up whenever someone mentions what a great cook her daughter is, was destroyed. A little charred at the edges, perhaps, but they still quite tasty in the middle. Because you know we totally ate them anyway. And if you’re me, the other thing you will likely realize is that it is impossible to have any brownie loyalty in this world. For years, my perfect brownie was the One-Bowl Brownie, and when I’m in a rush, I still make them. So what does one do when yet another brownie comes across the horizon promising to put all brownies before it to shame? “Meh,” I said, “Why do people always have to mess with a good thing? Second of all, the flavorings were awesome. Yield: 24 brownies. 5-Spice Pumpkin and Date Loaf.
5-Spice Pumpkin and Date Loaf There are pumpkins everywhere, in all possible shapes and sizes.
Aroma of autumn spices invades the kitchens. And even if this is not my favorite season (please, don’t throw anything in my head :), I do love this comfy smell, and the taste of a moist spicy pumpkin loaf. Speaking of spices, I love 5-spice powder here. In addition to the traditional set of autumn spices (cinnamon, cloves, and ginger) it also contains star anise and Szechuan pepper which adds some warmth. Anita from the Dessert First is hosting this month SHF theme “Spices”, and there it goes. Makes one 9×5-inch loaf Ingredients: Preparation: Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350F. Sugarless Honey Tea Bread. The temptation to do a vegan recipe for this round of Sugar High Friday was high, with a theme of avoiding sugar from our host, Sam, of Becks N Posh.
I considered going this route for some time before choosing not to. Honestly, I make quite a few vegan recipes and often simply experiment with them because the challenge of baking without eggs is fun for me. I specifically wanted to find a nonvegan recipe for this event, as it would give me a chance to experiment in baking without sugar, without taking into account anything else. Interestingly enough, though I’m certain that many other participants will find recipes to fit the theme, there did not seem to be a huge number of non-vegan recipes that didn’t use sugar at all. I chose this Honey Tea Bread for its simplicity, as it only has a few ingredients (except for the spices, of course) and no added fat. Place raisins and cherries in a large bowl. Tagged with: SHF # 15 + Low Sugar. Spiced Apple Cake. I sometimes wish that my future self could just pop into my present world just to… you know… say hi, and let me know that everything in the future is going along just swimmingly.
That never happens, but maybe I just haven’t given future me enough guidance. With this in mind… here’s a quick letter to future me. Now maybe 48 year old me will get crackin’ on some answers. Majestic and moist honey cake. A few days ago, someone emailed me asking me if I had a recipe for honey cake.
You see, honey cake is something traditionally eaten on the Jewish New Year, which falls next week as eating honey is supposed to encourage a sweet New Year, doubly so if paired with apples. But every honey cake I have been forced to try has been wretched (apologies if it was yours). They were dry and never sweet enough. They were coarse and totally unloved. Pear Spice Cake with Walnut Praline Topping. Kid Table.
Can we talk about the Kid Table? The Kid Table was something that I had to endure every holiday from the age of three to um…. present. You know what the Kid Table is, right? The integral family socialization tool. The foundation of society. It’s called the Kid Table for a reason. The Kid Table still exists in my family.
Let me just say that Christmas dinner at the Kid Table is now…. more awesome than ever! There’s nothing like wine, family smack talk with your cool uncles, and stealing all of the thunder from the main table. And now… Pear Spice Cake. Date spice loaf. Shh, the baby is sleeping.
First of all, thank you so much for so warmly welcoming little Jacob to the Smitten Kitchen! Such love! I must officially be a mom because I have read all 2,500-plus comments, twice, and it turns out that hearing how objectively cute your newborn son is doesn’t ever get old. And he is, that is, insanely cute. Did I mention that he punches his left fist in the air in his sleep?