Creations | I Wanna Bake!

Cinnamon Tart

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

Cinnamon pie is something I’ve been tinkering with ever since I saw this episode of Psych for the first time (as an aside, why aren’t cinnamon festivals more of a thing?!). As it turns out, cinnamon pie sounds easier to come up with than it is. In my mind, it should have a consistency similar to pumpkin pie, but shouldn’t have any flavors other than cinnamon. My first attempt years ago came out as a soupy mess. My most recent attempt (prior to this one) came out more like a cinnamon quiche, which is not something I’d recommend. This time, I finally got the texture (and, of course, the flavor) right.

Frankenstein’s Monster Cookies

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

This week, I was a bit stumped when it came to figuring out what to bake. I had a few ideas, but none of them were grabbing my attention and making me excited to get into the kitchen. Cheddar chili pepper dinner rolls? Blah. Vegan cake: Meh. The next chocolate chip cookie butter taste test? Eh, I guess if there’s nothing else… These thoughts loafed around my head all weekend until I started to resign myself to the idea of baking something boring or skipping the bakeventure entirely (I know, blasphemy). Then I was reminded of my mother-in-law’s monster cookies.

Caramel Apple Whoopie Pies

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

You may get sick of all my apple posts soon enough, but I never will! This bakeventure started out with a well-intentioned attempt to make caramel apples my husband can actually eat. He likes apples, particularly when they’re covered in caramel and peanuts, but has a strange allergy which makes his throat itch when he eats them raw. Cooked apples aren’t a problem, so I figured there must be a way to give him that tart-sweet-crunchy sensation that embodies fall without any of the itchy throat.

How to Make Brownies in a Hotel Microwave

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

Last week, Josh and I went to Boston for a conference. In anticipation of my impending separation from my beloved oven, I came up with a challenge for myself: bake brownies using only things that could be found at or around the hotel. I did buy a bag of brownie mix (after all, there’s usually a good chance that you can find a CVS, grocery store, or convenience store somewhere near your hotel), but everything else I used could feasibly be found in the hotel. The availability of some items, like the banana, will most likely be determined by whether your hotel offers free breakfast or not, but hey, I managed to make brownies from a kludge of things, so I’m going to choose to suspend some disbelief here.

Mini Chocolate Raspberry Upside Down Cake Wrecks

Baking Fail: Mini Chocolate Raspberry Upside Down Cakes

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

If you’ve been following I Wanna Bake’s Facebook page, you already know that this week’s bakeventure didn’t go so well. It was supposed to be chocolate raspberry upside down cake, but it turned out to be half-baked chocolate raspberry sludge. Don’t get me wrong, the cooked parts were delicious. But this was so ugly I didn’t even have the heart to try to fix it. I mean really, look at this:

Root Beer Float Meringue Cookies

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

I Wanna Bake’s “Christmas Cookies in July” series continues this week with some delightful root beer float meringue cookies. I adapted the recipe from Joy of Cooking’s meringue kisses recipe to better fit my summer theme, and these did not disappoint. The cookies dissolve slowly on your tongue, leaving you with the fizzy, yet creamy, feeling of a root beer float before all the ice cream has melted.

Summer Peach Cookies

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

Sometime in the past two weeks, the idea popped into my head to do a “Christmas in July” feature, since I’m running out of holidays and special occasions now that we’ve mostly finished running the summer birthday gauntlet and all the summer holidays but Labor Day have passed. Since cookies are probably the most popular baked good of the winter holiday season, I decided to make for you some holiday favorites, but with summery twists.

Triple Chocolate Brownies with a Secret Ingredient

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

This past weekend saw a dear friend grow another year awesomer. In an effort to pay tribute to our shared interests and history, I decided I wanted to bake something with potatoes this week. (Because nothing says friendship like potatoes. :-P) Since this friend is also a great lover of chocolate, brownies seemed to be a natural choice.

Belmont Jewel Cupcakes

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

This past weekend, American Pharoah became the twelfth horse to win the Triple Crown, and the first to do so in 38 years. It also happened to be the first year since I started attending the Belmont Stakes in 2007 that I wasn’t able to make it. This is something that my dad and I do together, so I was disappointed to say the least. In an effort to take some part in the race, I decided to invent a cupcake to commemorate the event. Yes, I know I already did red rose cupcakes for the Kentucky Derby, but who doesn’t want more pretty red rose cupcakes anyway?

Bake N’ Take Personal Quiches

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Katie Gaffen

Over the past few months, I’ve developed the habit of cooking a large batch of something-or-other over the weekend, dividing it into portions, and taking one portion to work with me each day for lunch. It gives me an extra 5-10 minutes to sleep in each morning, and anything that gives me more time to sleep is a winner in my book. Since I promised you quiche a few weeks ago, I thought miniaturizing them to fit into my lazy lunch prep scheme would be a fun and useful new experiment.

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