A Giveaway & Product Testing...William-Sonoma's Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake Mix

 

Okay, so WOW....The next recipe I bake will be my 200th! So, to celebrate, I am going to send one lucky person a delicious treat! All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post telling me what your all-time favorite dessert is between now and this Friday, June 14th and someone will be sent a cookie or bar based off that dessert.  (If you want two entries...like me the post on my facebook page)  I can't wait to hear what everyone loves!  My favorite is a tie between...cinnamon rolls or carrot cake.

 

 

 

Okay so I am totally not one to buy cake mixes anymore.  Don't get me wrong boxed cake mixes taste great and are what I grew up on, but they are won't of those things on my grocery list anymore.  This gluten-free cupcake mix was a gift so I could test it out, since there are three gluten-free individuals in my office.  This mix from William-Sonoma is made with a base of Thomas Keller's Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, which you can also buy at W-S. The vanilla flavor, according to the container, come from "aromatic Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean".   This mix is super simple in that all you have to do is add melted butter, eggs and milk.  I however wanted to put a spin on them, since they are a boxed cupcake mix.  I browned the butter, because well nothing beats that flavor.  I also add extra vanilla bean seeds from half of a vanilla bean. 

My Family's favorite type of cookie...White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Last weekend I went home for my youngest nephew's 2nd birthday party.  Although there was a lot of driving for one weekend, it was totally worth it!  In preparation for the trip, I whisked together some white chocolate macadamia nut cookie dough for brother and sister-in-law since I know its one of their favorite.  P.S. this is the first time I have ever made white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.  Saturday was crazy busy...waking up and baking cookies at 7, then made a quick trip to the farmer's market with my mom before heading to Charlotte for the day.

What can I say I am a total snob for North Carolina strawberries.

 

A little man after my own heart, my nephew started to dig into the side of the cake before he could even be sung happy birthday.

For those Awkward Moments...Classic Cinnamon Rolls

Do you ever see something happening, like you know someone is going to say exactly what you don't want them to and it is probably in front of that guy you dated for a month or so, but you can't stop them?  Like you have the mental image of a football player coming from out of nowhere to tackle the person right at the moment someone is going to say something completely embarrassing or awkward that just makes you want to slide out of the chair you are sitting in and hide under the table like a 5 year old?  Oh and wait you are sitting directly across from that person and there is no where to run...Well crap.  That's life. 

What about that moment when you are excitedly talking about the awesome party you threw last weekend to an office friend who was there, and that one person you didn't invite walks up behind you in the kitchen...or worse that person is you...

Or this...

My very first Guest Post - Reinventing the Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Well to say the least I was completely honored when Sara asked if I would do a guest post for her blog Seaside Swag.  Although I have had friends do guest posts here, this was my first time doing one.  When Sara asked I immediately started trying to think about which recipe I could make.  I ended up needing a little direction…I mean there are hundreds of things I could have baked…and Sara mentioned doing a strawberry shortcake.  So, while relaxing by the pool on a cloudy and cool Memorial Day, (I think I was hoping DC would finally be consistently warm.) I started to day dream about how I could put a twist on this classic spring dessert.   Then I figured it out…lemon scones would become the shortcake for this reinvented strawberry shortcake.  The lemon shines with the strawberries, hitting nice citrus notes with the sweetness of the berries this time of year.  The scones are a nice shortcake substitute because they hold up well with the weight of the whipped cream and the strawberries.  This twist on a classic is a delicious spring treat and would be great served at any dinner party.  Enjoy! 

Oh and a few pics of me acting like its warm over Memorial Day weekend.

 

Guest Post #13: No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

 

So I kind of feel like my friend Meghan requires no introduction, but that might be because she gets mentioned in this blog fairly regularly.  This is her second stop around these parts as over a year ago she baked up a yummy strawberry balsamic tart.  When she mentioned she was doing yeast experiments and made a no-knead bread, I suggested she do another guest post.  Literally the conversation went like this...

 

Meghan: Did I tell you about my yeast experiments?

me: Noo what did you do?

Meghan: I made a loaf of no-knead bread in my Dutch oven and an overnight pizza dough

me: how did it go?

Meghan: Really well! The pizza dough was the smitten kitchen method. her cookbook has a quick dough and a slow dough, so smart

the bread was intimidating but it turned out perfectly

me: hmm You should make it again and do another guest post :)

Meghan: haha I can do that

 

So, this is Meghan's post. As a fellow food lover and home "chef," I know this bread really will turn out perfect.  I might just have to get my yeast out for the long weekend and do a little yeast experimenting myself!

 

From Meghan:

 

My college roommate Emily makes bread and jams and all sorts of goodies for farmer's markets around Chicago. She loves her food to be hands-on, and I do too. I make my own granola, keep scraps of vegetables in my freezer to make soup stock, and almost always have a pot of dried beans soaking. But I had never tried to make bread at home. It seemed like a special and time-consuming skill.

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread



I feel like recently I am trying to figure things out again, and by things I mean life.  I think this might just be because its summer and for some reason this time of year I always tend to do this.  I might have to blame this on summer vacations growing up, when it was really the time to be most creative, to really enjoy every second of every day, and to let your mind wander or sit by the pool and dream about what you wanted to do when you grew up.  Or maybe its just because I have been reading The Great Gatsby...

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

My horoscope last week said that I need to be chasing my dreams...I say how about a more definite step towards them?  It basically said now is the time, and ended with "How can you spread the word about what's most important to you?"  I think that's what I am doing right here...Right?  Spreading the word about my love for butter and sugar, of mixing them together to create something delicious (well hopefully delicious) to share and spread the love.  However, it is hard sometimes...I start to day dream about opening a bakery, then think about the money, and the competition, and how there are so many others out there dreaming of the same thing.  BUT I know that I can't let this keep me down, so in the mean time I will just keep practicing and dreaming...and really trying to narrow down exactly what I want, so that when it is the time I can leap.

So about this bread...I have been wanting to make it for at least a month.  Literally I had a page open on my IPhone with a link to this recipe for forever.  They totally suckered me in when they said it was like Amish friendship bread, but with out all the waiting or in my case finding someone who had the starter.  It reminds me a lot of my mom's sock-it-to-me cake, but in bread form.  It is sweet, moist, cinnamony and delicious.  Next time I will be adding pecans, but I wasn't sure how my brunch friends would feel about the addition of nuts, so I left them out.  I made one big loaf to serve during brunch after a 10K this past Saturday and a couple small ones to send home with people.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!  Enjoy!

 

 

Just a little inspiration during the run to keep going since I have been terrible about training this spring.

And the bread: