Recipes in Review: 2011 Part 2

As promised, here's post #2 of my 2011 fall/winter recipe round-up. Be sure to poke around of the blogs listed below, there's enough to keep you busy for years...

Puff Pastry Cream Cheese Cherry Danishes


I have really been wanting to dive into more advanced pastry, which is why I'm excited about my new copy of The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I really enjoy baking for breakfast, but I feel like I've reached a point where stratas, muffins, and scones aren't very inspirational. This recipe was a fun way to branch out a little without making the leap into homemade puff pastry. I wouldn't suggest going the route I did, using canned cherry pie filling since I didn't have any preserves for the middle. That said, the pie filling tasted great, it just doesn't do well in the oven. If you decide to use something similar, consider adding it after the fact. These are visually impressive and a wonderful addition to normal breakfast fare. Click here for the recipe from Baking Bites.

Baked Doughnuts: Maple Cinnamon Sugar & Mexican Chocolate Sprinkle
Call me crazy, but I'm putting you on notice that doughnuts are going to take over cupcakes - especially when they are this easy and delicious. A 50% coupon in hand, I picked up a doughnut pan from Michael's for $5 and sought out some relatively healthy recipes for baked doughnuts. It didn't take me long to find this incredible recipe, which turns out so much better than any of the mixes I've tried since  - from texture to flavor. The ingredients are typical staples, at least in my world, and I can always whip up a quick batch in minutes and have them on the table 10 minutes after that. To make a Mexican Chocolate Glaze, melt 3 oz of semisweet chocolate with 2 tbsp of butter and add a dash or two of cinnamon. Click here for the recipe from Handle the Heat.

Mint Nanaimo Bars
I'm somewhat ashamed that I hadn't tried these out before now- I've certainly eaten plenty growing up! Of course, I wasn't going to try just any recipe, which is why I headed straight to The Best of Bridge for this Canadian classic. I decided to make it a little more festive for a work holiday party by making the creamy center layer minty fresh. If you'd like to so the same, just add 1 tsp of peppermint extract and a little green food coloring - or just make the top ganache layer minty with melted mint chocolate chips. And, if one of the reasons you're thinking of passing this recipe by is the custard powder, you might be pleased to know that you can usually find it at World Market stores or any store that has a decent international isle with British food items. Otherwise, use vanilla pudding powder! Another great trick is for cutting the bars - keep two knives warm in a glass of hot water and dry off to cut the bars without breaking the ganache. Alternate between the two as they cool. Click here for the recipe from The Best of Bridge.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
Dear Lord, this flavor combination is quite possibly my new favorite. (In fact, I'm scheming to make a baked pumpkin doughnut recipe with butterscotch glaze.) These cookies are soft and pillowy but not without substance. Unlike some cakey cookies that get a little sticky and overly moist, these will not disappoint. Go ahead and make a double batch, trust me. Click here for the recipe from Annie's Eats.

Orange Blueberry Rolls with Citrus Frosting
Here's another recipe from Annie's Eats that was a fun experiment and nice change to the normal breakfast options. I substituted orange for lemon and heard no complaints! The only reason I would hesitate to make these again is that I always have the same problem when making a large tray of cinnamon or other breakfast rolls - the middle is way too doughy. I think I'll give these another go and try splitting the rolls into 2 square pans and see what happens! That's me, the problem solver. Click here for the recipe from Annie's Eats.

Bacon Scones with Maple Glaze
When it comes to scones, this is the recipe for me. Yes, bacon is trendy and has been completely over-hyped (I like to blame hipsters). However, bacon is also pretty delicious and even more so with a hint of maple on a fall morning. I've made these several times now, including making the dough in advance, freezing it, and dropping it off with instructions for baking and a little bag of glaze. They are flaky, robust and can even convince the burliest of bison wranglers to forgo his typical bacon and eggs. That's saying something in my book. Click here to get the recipe from How Sweet It Is.


And that just about does it! If you need me, I'll be spending lots of quality time on Pinterest finding new recipe inspiration: http://pinterest.com/piebirdkate.