Aren’t they the cutest things? 3 cups bread flour, divided use 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or SAF instant yeast (for a discussion of yeasts, click here) 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 egg, at room temperature Cooking spray for bowl, or a bit of oil 1 egg, beaten with a bit of milk or cream, for brushing 1 tablespoon celery or poppy seeds (Half of the buns I used celery, the other half poppy.) In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of flour with the yeast. Add in milk, butter, sugar and salt and mix lightly. In a small bowl, beat egg and add to the flour-milk mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon or mixer paddle just until combined. Cover and let rest for 1... [Read more]

I had to make these recently for a picnic, and realized Aisa’s post had no picture, so here it is: It is my goal this year to develop an allergy-free recipe for this. It’s a family favorite that we’ve had to give up, and the kids have been asking for a safe replacement! If you have any ideas on how to accomplish this, please let us know! I will post as soon as I have some semblance of success. [Read more]

A most excellent way to save some money and ensure that you’re getting a quality product as well. Making your own candied orange peel is easy as pie. All you need are orange peel, water and sugar. If you want to get a bit fancy, use orange liqueur. I used the recipe in Carole Bloom’s , which you can also find here. If you don’t have liqueur, Food Network offers a simpler one, which I’ve also used to great success. Organic oranges are best since they won’t have that icky, waxy coating. Candied peel can be used in cakes and confections, or eaten by itself — a nice after dinner treat! Dipped in chocolate and wrapped in pretty packaging, it’s a gift idea that only the pickiest recipient won’t... [Read more]

An excellent indulgence for one or more — this dessert (snack? breakfast dish? all-around mood lifter?) is now #1 on my list for easy to make and easy to impress your guests with (if that’s the goal). You can find the recipe at Veronica’s blog. To make it I used an assortment of chocolates that I had at home — leftovers mostly, really, from various recipes — a bar of Valrhona Manjari, some Scharffen Berger, some Ghirardelli Bittersweet and some Lindt. My chocolate percentages were probably higher than 62% when all was said and done, more like 66%, but my brother and I really loved the darkness and intensity. [Read more]

This recipe is from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid and went beautifully with some Afghan dishes we were trying out. I must have done something wrong with the dough, as my fingerprints didn’t leave enough of an impression as I was shaping it — it was fully risen and the impressions should have remained…. maybe I stretched it out too much before dimpling them? So I used my little one’s fork handle instead — LOL, obviously not traditional, but the results were still good — those dimples frustrate me though, as we ended up with tiny holes instead — argh! Will have to work more on those. [Read more]