Archive for the ‘Bakery’ Category

Making Whoopie

Posted by Candace on Thursday, December 24th, 2009

It’s that time of year again… birthday season! My husband Stephan and I have a very unusual coincidence when it comes to our birthdays. His is today (Christmas Eve) and mine is tomorrow (Christmas Day.) What are the odds?  It is honestly not fun to have your birthday on or close to Christmas. You get combo presents… you get birthday presents wrapped in paper with Santas on it. Lastly, your birthday is overshadowed by someone else’s birthday. :P However, I do like that we get to celebrate together.  This year I bought Stephan a really big expensive present and made it a……. combo. Yes, it is a faux pas, but Bose makes really expensive man toys!  Sorry honey!  Actually, we both received the best present ever this year, a wedding we photographed this summer was just published in InStyle Weddings!!!

Instead of making a traditional cake, I made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Filling.  Our photography studio has been very busy this month with last minute photo shoots and holiday cards and there just wasn’t the time to make a real birthday cake.  It’s OK, though.  Stephan really doesn’t like traditional birthday cake.  I only made them in the past because it seemed like the right thing to do.  So this year, I not only combined his birthday and Christmas present, but I combined his birthday cake and a Christmas cookie.  Yeah, I know… not cool.  I’m definitely not winning the wife of the year award!  Thankfully, the whoopie pies are really yummy and made up for the lack of birthday-ness!
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December 24th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery, Holiday Fare, Sweet Tooth / 5 Critiques

Your Daily Bread

Posted by Candace on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

I’ve noticed every time we return home from our annual visit to Germany, my husband is a little depressed.  At first, I thought it was that he missed his family… then I thought it was the weather… Finally, I realized it was the bread.  Of course, he does miss his family and he hates the heat in South Florida, but the bread is what causes his sadness upon each return.  The bread in Germany is amazing.  His parents go out each morning to a local bakery and bring home a few brochen (small bread rolls) for us to eat for breakfast.  You could say this spoils us… especially when we get home and the bread is awful here.  The only way to get really good bread here is to find a great European bakery close to where you live or make it yourself. I’ve given up on finding a great European Bakery.  They don’t seem to exist in South Florida… :(

So to keep a happy hubby, I set out to make bread more often.  I have tons of bread baking cookbooks, but  most recipes call for a two or sometimes three day process.  Well, that is a little difficult with my busy life.  I came across this book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.  Fabulous bread that takes you only 5 minutes to prepare?  Rrrrrright.  I thought it was a hoax… how can bread that is not kneaded be any good?!?!?  Well… here’s the thing, IT IS GOOD!  AND it really only takes 5 minutes of active time to bake fresh bread.  I’m a believer, and we’ve been eating fresh bread more often (than we should! lol)  I highly suggest everyone who likes bread to go out and buy this book… its totally worth it!

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November 4th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery / 11 Critiques

Oatmeal, Cranberry and Raisin Cookie

Posted by Candace on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Now that my vacations are 0ver, I’m putting my time back into the good old blog.  I’ve missed the whole blogging experience in the past 6 months or so.  Not only have I been slacking on my own blog, but I’ve also slacked when it comes to visiting my favorite blogs.  I feel like I’ve been on a deserted island without the blogosphere.  I’m definitely ready to remedy that!  I’m now officially free from my day job and am working with my husband Stephan in our photography studio, Maloman Photographers.  If anyone locally needs some amazing images, definitely check us out!

When I first started blogging back in 2007, I had the plan to make easy food that tasted good. This cookie recipe is just that.  Simple. Quick. Tasty.  What’s not to like?

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October 6th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery, Sweet Tooth / 11 Critiques

Looks can be deceiving

Posted by Candace on Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Hello from Deutschland!!!  We’re currently in Frankfurt, Germany visiting Stephan’s family.  The temperatures have been up in the high 90′s for weeks in South Florida, so this is perfect timing to leave for a few weeks!  I haven’t been cooking since I got here as my mother in law is a fantastic cook, but this is a little something I made before I left for vacation.  We’ll be off to Prague, Vienna and Munich next week and I plan on blogging the good eats we find along the way!

So… on to the tasty treat.  Although this looks like a sweet treat, it is not.  This cookie has one of my favorite savory ingredients… caramelized onion.  There’s something magical that happens when you cook boring old onions in a little bit of butter.  It turns into a sweet and caramel colored delicacy.  You do have to be patient… very patient when caramelizing onion, though.  Expect to spend the better part of an hour if you want perfectly caramelized onions.  If you try to rush it, you’ll end up with a bitter tasting end result. Believe me… been there, done that!
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September 5th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery / 18 Critiques

Use it or lose it or

Posted by Candace on Friday, August 7th, 2009

I’m sure I’m not the only one who buys fruit and then forgets to eat it. We’ve been on this big fruit kick and actually starting buying fruit from Costco. Surprisingly, the quality there is better than the grocery store close to my house. The drawback is a dozen apricots are hard to eat before they go soft. I had about 10 apricots that were on the cusp of going bad and decided I’d make a quick dessert to use them up. This yummy cherry and apricot crisp takes about 5 minutes to prepare and another 20 to bake. Even better… its pretty healthy! My type of dessert!

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August 7th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery, Sweet Tooth / 14 Critiques
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