TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

I usually bake my TWD "assignments" over the weekend, but it completely slipped my mind this weekend. In fact, I didn't fully realize that today was Tuesday until about 2pm...and of course remembered that I hadn't made my Oatmeal Breakfast Bread! Luckily, Baking: From My Home to Yours is on Google Books, so I was able to review the recipe to see if I needed to stop by Kroger on the way home for any additional ingredients. Luckily, I was in good shape. And even better, after reading the recipe, I found that I would probably even have time to get the bread baked and photograph it in natural light!
Sadly, this was the only picture I got before it got dark. And oh, is it tasty! Sarah mentioned in her post that it reminds her of fall...and I have to say that it does the same for me! Applesauce, raisins, and spices all combine in this bread to make a perfect fall quickbread. (And as a side note, I am totally ready for it to be fall. I am done with heat and humidity.)
This week's pick was chosen by Natalie, of Oven Love. Thanks, Natalie! You picked a good one!

TWD: Chewy Chunky Blondies

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick was chosen by Nicole of Cookies on Fridays. They were the perfect dessert for a summer pool party! David and I had a group of friends over (and their kiddos!) last Saturday for a swim, and these cookies were gobbled up in no time!
These blondies really are chewy and chunky! They're absolutely full of good stuff...nuts, chocolate chips, and Heath bar pieces. I left out the coconut because...well...I forgot to put it in until I slid the pan in the oven. But I decided that it was probably best that I left it out, because lots of people don't like coconut.

Look at the fudginess! Yum! I had a couple of problems with these, but I'm not exactly sure what caused them. First, they baked up in the same way as my Chipster Topped Brownies...with lots of gaps and holes around the edges, with super-flat middles. The other problem was with baking time. I baked them for the prescribed 40 minutes and let them cool for 15 minutes. I went to turn them out of the pan...and SPLAT! part of them plopped onto the cooling rack and the other part stayed in the pan. I was able to get it all back in the pan and cooked it for another 10 minutes. Not done. Another 10 minutes. Not done. Another 10 minutes...still not done, but I was tired of dealing with them. I let them cool overnight in the pan, then inverted it, and they were still a little moist, but not really underdone. But they were good. And sweeeet! They're pretty rich, but that didn't keep us from eating the whole pan on Saturday! These are definitely a recipe to make time and time again...and maybe next time I'll remember to add the coconut. If you want to give these blondies a try, visit Nicole's blog, Cookies on Friday for the recipe. Happy baking!

TWD: Chockablock Cookies

This is another one of those recipes that I've looked at over and over again since I got my copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours. I loved the fact that there are so many mix-ins (and so many suggestions for variations of mix-ins) in the recipe. It was so nice to know that I could make these cookies with pretty much whatever I had on hand!
I used walnuts and dried cherries, and I included the coconut (which I really didn't even notice in the finished product) and the chocolate. I've checked out a few of the other TWDers who've made these cookies this week, and it seems like everyone used different nuts and or/dried fruit, but all of the cookies look amazing. I just LOVE that we're all making the same "recipe," but we're all getting custom cookies!
A few TWDers were afraid of the molasses in the batter. I went for it (because I had the molasses on hand from these), and I thought I might regret it when I tasted the batter. You see, I'm a batter licker. I can't resist it. If there's batter (or dough, for that matter) of any kind, I have a compulsion to eat it. And most of the time, I'd really prefer to eat the batter than the finished product. So I was a little worried when I tasted this batter (okay, maybe taste isn't the word...I ate at least 2 cookies' worth of batter) and it was really molassesy. But I perservered and baked the cookies...and I was pleasantly surprised. The molasses flavor was just right.
These cookies are great for so many reasons. Again, they are fully customizeable. They don't spread. They stay soft and chewy. And they kind of remind me of trail mix! If you're in the mood to make some of these delicious cookies, visit Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet. She's responsible for this wonderful pick, and she's got the recipe. Happy Baking!

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake

I've been a member of the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group for just a little over a year now. I flip through the cookbook pretty regularly, because I love the pictures (which are so delicious!), and because I like to fantasize about what I might choose when (and if) we get to my turn in the rotation. I waffle between choosing something dramatic and rich, or something simple and rustic (because honestly, I'm a little lazy in the kitchen). This cake is something that I've looked at almost every single time I've opened my copy of Dorie's book.
Every time I look at the picture and the recipe, I think it's just a sweet cake, but it's certainly simple. Look at it...it's made in a cast-iron pan, there's no frosting, and it's pretty squatty. I've wanted to make it so many times, but for some reason I never had. Usually, when I bake something from this book it's for one of two reasons: 1) it's what I'm supposed to make for TWD that week or 2) I'm taking the dessert somewhere and I want something a little impressive. I guess that's why I've never made this cake before...it doesn't fit either of those criteria. So when I saw April's selection of recipes, I was glad that Nancy, of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, chose this one. It was so good.

When I made this cake on Saturday, I'd already had a marathon cooking session. I'd been in my kitchen cooking and washing dishes for about six hours. At about 9:45pm, I jumped up from the couch and decided to make this cake. Thank goodness it's so simple! Here are the dishes that were dirtied in the making of this cake: 1 bowl, 1 whisk, 1 spatula, 1 cast iron pan. The whole thing took about 10 minutes to throw together, and my house smelled delicious while the cake baked. David wanted to eat the cake when it came out of the oven at about 10:30, but I told him he'd have to wait until the next day. I planned to take it to my parents' house for our dessert after our Sunday dinner.

When Mom cut slices of the cake, David said, "Oooh! It looks like those Danish butter cookies in the blue tin!" (By the way, lots of things look like Danish butter cookies to David.) But I don't think it tasted (or looked) like those cookies. In fact, I think Nancy hit the nail on the head in her post. It tastes a lot like a thick, chewy, almondy sugar cookie! I loved how dense the cake was. There's lemon zest in the cake batter, but I could only taste a hint of it in the cake. It was a perfect complement to the almondy-vanilla flavor. I'm usually not a fan of almond flavored desserts, but I'm certainly a convert now. This will certainly be a cake that's in my regular repertoire. In fact, my church women's group will be going to a nursing home on Thursday night to take desserts to the residents and spend time with them...and I'm pretty sure this will be my contribution. I have a feeling that it will be well-received. If you like almond, or if you like simple, delicious desserts, please visit Nancy's blog to get the recipe.

TWD: Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt Cake

I'm a little out of order this evening...the real TWD pick was the Coconut Tea Cake, but I thought it was a little more "Eastery" than the Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt Cake, so I switched weeks. You'll see the Coconut Tea Cake next Tuesday. Sorry for any confusion!
Anyway, this was delicious! I loved the flavors...walnut, chocolate, and mocha. It was a breeze to put together, and this is the most luck I've ever had with marbling. I didn't quite get the gingko leaf design that Dorie talks about, but at least there are two distinct colors!

This is one of those cakes that doesn't really look all that impressive sitting on the counter, but you can't help but take a slice every time you walk by. That's why it went to the bank with David. I'd rather the bank employees cut slivers all day long than me! This cake will definitely be made again. This is a perfect example of why I love bundt cakes!

This tasty little cake was picked by a fellow Erin...the one over at When In Doubt, Leave It at 350. She doesn't have the recipe up, since it was originally picked for next week, but she'll have it up on April 6th. Thanks, Erin, for a wonderful choice!

Now, an announcement. Please stop back by late tomorrow afternoon/evening. There's something exciting going on at The Sweet Life! See you then!

TWD: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting with any regularity lately. First, we packed up everything we owned. Then, we moved. Then, we didn't have Internet. We finally got the Internet and got settled in, and then my life fell apart. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but things are looking up. I can't promise that I'll be posting every day anytime soon, but I'll try to do better.
I've at least been trying to keep up with Tuesdays with Dorie. While I didn't make the Toasted Coconut Tart last week, I was able to get the Thumbprints for Us Big Guys made just in the nick of time. They were tasty, and I was so thankful that they were a relatively simple fix. The dough came together really easily, and for cookies, they didn't require too much of my attention. For the record...do you know what you get when to put your macadamia nuts in the food processor? You don't get finely ground macadamia nuts. You get macadamia butter. That was my first error. Then, I didn't have enough of the macadamia butter for the recipe. So I got out the nut chopper and chopped up some almonds. Still not enough. So I threw in some walnuts, too. So this dough is "triple nutty", and it was some of the best dough I've ever eaten.

I made the cookies last night and filled them tonight. Of course, David and I ate several of the plain ones last night, and when we compared them to the ones that were filled with blackberry jam tonight, we decided that we really preferred the powdered sugar dusted plain ones better! The jam was just too sweet. But that didn't stop us from eating way too many of them!

Mike, the Ugly Food Dude, picked this week's recipe. Until tonight, I'd never visited his blog, but I'm pretty sure I'll visit regularly now. He's hilarious! It seems that he has some kind of a mini-disaster whenever he bakes. I usually do too, but I just don't talk about it! :) If you'd like to make a batch of Thumbprints for Us Big Guys, visit Mike's blog for the recipe.

Happy baking!

Old-Fashioned Jam Cake

Sorry for not having Dorie's Toasted Coconut Tart, which was chosen by Cinemon Girl. I had too many birthdays this week. Chet and my brother-in-law Larry have back to back birthdays on February 24th adn 25th. It's become a part of my gift to a loved one to let them choose a "birthday treat" from my favorite baking bible, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. So far, almost everyone has chosen a cake. My mom chose Devil's Food White-Out Cake, Earl (my father-in-law) chose Banana Cream Pie, Allison (my sister) chose a Double-Apple Bundt Cake, and my wonderful husband chose the Perfect Party Cake. (And now I realize that maybe Shirley didn't get a birthday treat. Oops! Shirley, you can pick a treat anytime, just because!) Since Chet's birthday came first, he got first choice. But he didn't want to look at my book. He said, "Jam Cake. I have the recipe." I didn't say it at the time, but I'll admit it now. I was disappointed. "Jam cake? Really? Only old ladies like jam cake." But I promised the birthday boy any treat he wanted, so I planned to deliver.

I'm glad that I obliged. It was ugly, but it was good. It had been a rough day, so I ran into some problems with the icing (I'd never made a cooked icing, so I kept whipping it, waiting for it to get fluffy. Before I figured out that it wasn't going to get fluffy, it almost got too cool to frost with, but it tasted like caramel fudge. Yum.) The flavor of the cake was wonderful. The flavor of the spices reminded me of fall, and the blackberry jam made the cake so moist. I think it had been a logn time since Chet had eaten a jam cake, because he said, "This is just the way I remember it!" I was so glad that I was able to give him a practically perfect (tasting) cake for his birthday.

As you can see, I didn't do a fantastic job on the icing, and the layers aren't exactly the same size, but it was delicious! It's rich though...the icing is like fudge, so you can't eat a lot of it...although we tried!

Want to see the recipe Chet gave me? This is exactly what he gave me:

Jam Cake

Charlene McPherson

1 cup butter

5 eggs

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 cup raisins

1 cup pecans

1 cup jam

Mix Flour Grease and Wax paper Line Cake Pans

And for the icing:

1 box brown sugar

1 cup cream

Cook to soft ball stage add 1/2 stick butter and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat until creamy and spread.

Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy

First, a warning. If you have trouble saying no to sweet and salty treats, don't make this. It's diet disaster waiting to happen. I only make this at Christmas, and that's why David and I lovingly refer to this delightful candy as "Christmas Crack." When it's in my house, I can't help but eat it. It's a compulsion. As long as it's in the house, I have to have it. Be warned.
The first time I had cracker candy was when I worked at the prison. One of my coworkers brought us homemade candy for Christmas, and when I had my first bite, I said, "Jessie, what is this?! It's delicious!" She grinned from ear to ear and said, "It's cracker candy!" I had to have the recipe, so she sat down at her desk and wrote it out for me. Can you believe that the sweet, crunchy toffee layer is made from regular ol' unsalted saltines? Me neither. It just gets better from there.

There are a million variations of this candy on the Internet, and I've made several of them. This is probably the most simple version, and it's wonderful. It's a great starting point for new recipes, as well. One year, I used graham crackers and semisweet chocolate and topped it with chopped pistachios. AMAZING. But this year, I got ahold of some super-salty mixed nuts (score!) and decided that they would be the perfect flavor to go in my Christmas Crack. What could be better than Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy?

The recipe I use varies from year to year (mostly because a lot of times I can't find the same recipe!). This time, I used a recipe I found over at A Southern Grace. Feel free to use the recipe as a jumping off point for your own creative combo!

Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy

A Southern Grace

1 cup butter (salted or unsalted, your preference)

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

40 saltines (I used salted ones)

extra-salty mixed nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray. Lay down one layer of saltines. Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 5-6 minutes. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread so the cracker layer is covered evenly. Place pan in oven and bake for 5-8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes. Scatter chocolate chips over cracker/toffee layer. Let them soften for a minute or so (or you can put them back in the oven for a few seconds) and spread evenly over cracker layer. If you plan to add a topping to your cracker candy, now is the time to do so. Let cool completely. Using aluminum foil, lift cracker candy from pan. Peel off aluminum foil and break into snack-sized pieces.

Swedish Nuts

I gave lots of food gifts for Christmas this year, and the most popular were the tins of Swedish Nuts. I have no idea what makes them "Swedish", but they remind me a little of a praline. They're absolutely delicious, keep really well, and make a really nice presentation. They're by far the most "gourmet" gift that I give. Several people have asked me how to make them, so I thought I'd share a little tutorial with you.The first thing you need to do is make your coating, which is just a mixture of whipped egg whites, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. It's really simple, and you can find the recipe at the bottom of the post. Next, you'll pour your coating over your nuts. Use any kind you'd like, but I used a mixture of pecans and walnuts. You've got to get the nuts coated really well. You want that yummy, sugary goodness over every surface!

While making your coating, you'll melt a stick of butter in a 325-degree oven in a 9x13-inch pan. Once it's melted and the nuts are well-coated, spread the nuts in an even layer over the butter. The nuts will bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, but every 8 minutes or so, you'll need to turn them and coat them in the butter.

This is what the nuts will look like after the first turn:

I think I turned my nuts about 4 times, but I have a feeling that the number of turns will be dependent on how hot your oven runs. Just make sure that you turn all of the nuts each time so that they get evenly coated with the butter. They'll get a little drier, browner, and crunchier with each turn. Once they're finished, they'll look like this:

You're in the home stretch now! All that's left to do is let the nuts cool off. I spread mine out on a piece of aluminum foil until they cool off. Then, you can package them in a festive tin, or just put them in a fancy dish. I haven't met anyone who doesn't love these nuts! You can keep them in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. But they won't last more than a couple of days!

Swedish Nuts

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 lb. nuts (pecans, walnuts, or a mixture of both)

1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form and turn glossy. Fold in nuts and coat well with the egg white mixture.

Melt butter in a 9x13-inch baking pan by placing it in the oven. Evenly spread coated nuts over melted butter in pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes (or until no butter remains in the pan), stirring and turning nuts every 8 minutes. Place hot nuts on foil and allow to cool.

TWD Slacker-Style: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

I have a confession to make. I can't get anything in my personal life done in a timely manner. My house looks like a tornado just touched down in the middle of it. I completely forgot to get some work done for our church's annual chili supper that's coming up on Saturday. My continuing education hours (10!) are due by the end of October, and I haven't started on them. And I didn't get my TWD assignment done on time. That's just the beginning. There's more, but it's too depressing to discuss. Let's move on to the food!
Anyway, I actually completed the Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart last night at about 10pm, after a really long day of training and being on the road. My daylight was long gone, so I waited until this evening to get some pictures. While baking is my very favorite thing to do, I just wasn't feeling it last night...but I was feeling obligated to participate. My heart wasn't in this one, and I could tell by the final product...
I was able to make my tart dough made ahead of time, before I went out of town Sunday night. But this tart dough gives me fits every time I use it. I need some kind of a tutorial before I make it. I just can't get the texture that I think I'm supposed to have, and I can't get it pressed into the pan evenly to save my life. I usually just succumb to defeat and jam it in the pan and call it "good enough."
This was the first time I've ever made caramel, and it's always been one of those things that I've been intimidated to try, but it was surprisingly easy, thanks to Dorie's directions. I just don't think it had enough intensity of flavor, though. I think it's because I was so terrified of burning it that I didn't let it boil long enough. It kind of got lost in the chocolate ganache layer. About the ganache...Dorie's recipe called for 8 oz. of bittersweet chocolate, which I used. Next time, I'd use 4 oz. of bittersweet and 4 oz. of semi-sweet. It just needed a little bit of sweetness, but part of that may be because my caramel wasn't quite right.
All in all, I think it was a nice dessert. It was definitely a challenge to me, but it wasn't a challenge I needed after a long (and somewhat emotionally-exhausting) day. I'd like to try it another time with a double batch of caramel and more rest (for me!).
This recipe was chosen by Carla, of Chocolate Moosey. She's waited 16 months for her turn to pick the recipe! I'm pretty sure we'll have finished the book by the time it's my turn to pick (I'm number 254 in the recipe rotation...Carla was #82), but I'm having a great time baking along! If you'd like to try your hand at the Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart, Carla has it posted on her blog. Have fun!

Cinnamon-Walnut Spirals

I found the recipe for these tasty little morsels in the October issue of Country Living magazine, which was given to me by my Aunt Betty. She knows I love Halloween. For the record, the October issue of Country Living is by far my most favorite magazine issue every year. It's my favorite issue of any magazine, any year! And, for the record, Fall is my favorite time of year for baking. As I was browsing through this year's issue, I found this recipe in a little article called "Three Fresh Ideas for Frozen Puff Pastry." (Sorry, I can't find the recipe or article online.) I happened to have a sheet of frozen puff pastry leftover from making the Parisian Apple Tarts for Tuesdays with Dorie. The only thing the recipe called for that I didn't have was pecans. But I had walnuts, so I forged ahead!

These were so darn good, and so easy to make. I don't want anyone to be misled, though...these aren't anything like cinnamon rolls or sticky buns. They're more like a little breakfast pastry. They're crunchy and super-flaky. I couldn't really taste the orange zest as much as I would have liked, so I would add more of that in the future. These are tasty little treats that would be great with a nice cup of coffee and a good book. They're a perfect way to get ready for fall. Look out guys, I've got lots of pumpkin-laced recipes on my to-make list...I'm just waiting for the official start of fall...and that's Wednesday! Here's the original recipe from Country Living, which called for pecans. The only thing I changed was the substitution of walnuts.

Cinnamon-Pecan Spirals

Country Living Magazine

6 Tbs. sugar

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/2 cup chopped pecans

zest of one orange

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter. Unfold the puff pastry. Lightly brush the puff pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Press into dough. Fligh dough and repeat. Roll to 11- by 16-inch rectangle. Toss the pecans and zest; sprinkle half of this mixture over the dough. Fold dough in half to 11- by 8-inch rectangle. Press remaining nut mixture into dough, covering the surface. Starting from one of the long sides, roll into a tight log. Trim edge. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes. Cut log into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Place 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes.

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day, my stepdad, sister, and I put together a delicious meal for Mom after church today. She requested ham, one of her favorites. Chet made his mom's famous rolls and some macaroni salad, I made a Bluegrass salad, Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake (mom LOVES cheesecake), and Dorie's Tartest Lemon Tart (it's our assignment for this Tuesday). We had quite the feast...we were all gluttons. And I thought I'd milk the meal for all it's worth and use some of the components as posts here on The Sweet Life. By the way, in the picture above, my sister Allison is on the left, Mom is in the middle, and I'm on the right.

Let's get down to business with the Bluegrass Salad, recipe courtesy of my in-laws. Let's start with the salad components. Who shall we invite to this party?

You'll need a couple of hearts of romaine, (maybe you've also got some baby greens from your husband's uncle's garden...if you do, they'd be great), walnuts lightly toasted in butter, some sweetened dried cranberries, a couple of nice pears, and feta cheese. The recipe really calls for blue cheese, but Mom doesn't really care for it, so we're going with feta on this one. We're gonna need some dressing, too. Let's see what we can come up with...

We'll need some extra virgin olive oil, some rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and some Splenda. You'll need to whisk it all together real good, and you've got a fantastic dressing! Toss all of your ingredients together, and you'll have one dynamite salad!
Here's the recipe if it sounds like something you'd like to try. I highly reccommend it! It's fabulous!

Bluegrass Salad

Recipe Courtesty of Earl Orr

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

5 pkg. artificial sweetener (if this freaks you out, feel free to sub regular sugar)

Whisk all the ingredients and set aside.

For the Salad:
2 hearts of romaine, chopped
Walnuts, toasted in butter (use as much as you like)
Sweetened dried cranberries (use as much as you like)
Blue Cheese (as much as you like; I used feta instead, which is good, too)
2 D'Anjou Pears, chopped

Mix all ingredients. Top with dressing and mix well to combine. Enjoy!