Hey guys, remember me? The crazy lady who likes to bake foods based on Marvel movies and is a little bit obsessed with the Great British Baking Show? I’m back! Long time no see! I’ve been a bit consumed with life stuff lately, so I haven’t had much time or inclination to write. I’m not going to get into that right now, but I will at least say that things are finally starting to settle down and I’m starting to get back into the mood to do what I love: bake!
Fall weather seems to have come and gone, and somehow I haven’t published an apple recipe yet. What has become of I Wanna Bake!? </melodrama> However, since it’s still officially fall until December 20, I’m going to squeeze one in there so that this fall won’t be a complete and total bust. 😉 Without further ado, I bring you caramel apple pie!
‘Tis the season of blockbuster movies, and I for one am getting back into the summer Marvel movie hype with gusto. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on opening weekend, and it reminded me of a challenge I’ve been talking about for awhile, but never gotten the motivation to start: baking my way through the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
By now, you may have noticed that I’m a bit of a fan of the Great British Bake Off (and all the American spin-offs it has spawned). It seems my family has caught on too, because several of my birthday presents this year were GBBO-themed (thanks, guys!). In light of all this new baking loot, as well as a serendipitous appearance of dried Medjool dates on a recent trip to Aldi, it only made sense to bake something from one of my new cookbooks. This date and walnut “traybake” comes from Mary Berry’s 100 Cakes and Bakes.
Lately, I’ve been challenging myself to come up with cookies based on nebulous ideas. So far, this ongoing experiment has brought you bad day cookies and unicorn poop cookies. Today’s result is what you’d get if you took all the best bits of fall and turned them into a cookie. I give you: the All Things Fall Cookie!
The fall baking bonanza continues! Josh and I went apple picking this weekend, and we ended up with 41 pounds of apples (I know, I know, I’m a crazy lady who must be stopped), so you’d best believe there are lots of apple recipes coming your way. If there’s an apple recipe you’ve been dying to make, now’s the time to make requests!
Aren’t they pretty?
It’s Derby time again! As always, it snuck up on me this year. Between Mother’s Day, the usual spring Marvel movie release, and life in general, it can be tough to remember that the Triple Crown is also about to start. The standard Derby fare for my home viewing “parties” (a.k.a. the times I sit on the couch eating food and making Josh watch a horse race) usually includes mint juleps, Kentucky hot browns, and pecan pie. Last year, I made some horse-themed cupcakes for dessert. This year, I decided to change it up a little and turn the mint juleps into a bundt cake instead.
Sometimes, you just need a brownie, and this weekend was one of those times. I’ve made some weird brownies for this blog before (on more than one occasion), but this time, I resorted to my old standby: garbage brownies.
Normally, when I want a baked good, I prefer to just make it myself rather than buy it. That said, every once in awhile, I don’t mind letting someone else do the work for me. Josh and I made the pilgrimage to Cleveland’s Little Italy last Friday to indulge in some fancy desserts from Presti’s. Josh chose a chocolate-coated raspberry mousse, and I was just barely able to limit myself to a chocolate cannoli and a turtle shortbread cookie (sorry, no pictures because I am a human vacuum when it comes to dessert). The turtle cookie seemed like such a clever idea that I couldn’t get it out of my head all weekend. I came up with the idea for this recipe while driving to the grocery store the next day (good timing).
Happy New Year! I hope everyone’s off to a great start to 2016 so far (and adjusting faster to writing 2016 in dates than I am)! I don’t know about you, but even I have just about hit my limit on sweets throughout the holiday season. Because of this sugar overload, I decided to try something that tastes a bit healthier for the first bakeventure of the year (note: I only said tastes healthier. Let’s not go crazy just yet.). What tastes healthier than oatmeal and grapefruit? Grapefruit, oatmeal, walnut muffins, of course!
I Wanna Bake! 