This is so cliche’, but I’m gonna say it anyway – this year has flown by. And now that Thanksgiving is over, and 2020 will be here in a matter of weeks, I can hardly believe it’s been a whole year. Luckily I made these pumpkin cupcakes before Thanksgiving and my family has been enjoying…
fall
cranberry orange layer cake with orange buttercream frosting
So many cranberries, so little time. Baking with seasonal ingredients is such a great way to experiment and find new ways of using what’s available. Take cranberries. I have some frozen ones that I use for smoothies whenever the mood strikes. But having fresh cranberries is so much better. Frozen berries mean too much moisture…
mini pumpkin bundt cakes with maple icing
The weather has shifted, which means it’s socially acceptable to bake with fall ingredients. Pumpkin, being at the top of that ingredient list, gets used in cakes, breads, smoothies, and breakfast treats. When it’s summer time and I’m able to use all the fruit and berries that grow in my garden, I get sad when…
ginger cookies
There are certain flavors that scream fall. Pumpkin. Cranberry. Molasses. Apple. Gingerbread. I like some more than others. I’m sure that’s true for just about everybody. And I don’t mind trying new things to see if there are combinations that will appeal to me. When I was a kid, I recall eating these rock hard…
pumpkin brioche doughnuts
Love me a good doughnut. In Portland we have several well-known bakeries that are all about the doughnuts. My kids love going to VooDoo Doughnuts with all their weird flavors. Pips Originals is another one, but can you believe I’ve never been there? They give away a dozen doughnuts if you come in on your…
pumpkin nutella cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting
Pumpkin spice and everything nice. I’m loving all the fall colors I see everywhere. And I love the smell of fall baking. This past weekend I made over 200 pumpkin Nutella cupcakes for a friend that was giving them to her clients. Yes – it’s as crazy as it sounds. And if you saw my…
dulce de leche sandwich cookies
Everyone is making pie and here I am making cookies. Because there’s no wrong time for cookies. Let me hear an “amen!” I don’t dislike pie, but when I want something fairly predictable and easy to make, my answer is always a cookie. These Dulce de Leche cookies come courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen. I…
italian apple cake
This is one of those recipes you look at and go “hmm. I doubt anything just as simple as apples in a cake is going to be anything great.” And then you make it and go “good lawd – how did I go this long without making this cake?!?” Sometimes it’s the simplest things that…
butter pecan turtle bars
It seems there is never a time I am not in the kitchen cooking something up. I’ve been out most of the weekend with sports activities, so I wasn’t planning on working on anything these past two days. I should have known that would never happen. You know you enjoy something when you’re dead tired,…
gluten free apple pear and cranberry crisp
There is no question that fall has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. I absolutely love this time of year. You never quite know what to expect here in Oregon. There’s a joke that if you’re unhappy with the weather, wait five minutes. That’s pretty much how it is. We can have these beautiful days of…
apples, apples, apples
Hello Ruby Mac – you’re my new favorite apple! Ok, that’s not true. I also love Elstar, Crimson, and Wolf River. How amazing is it to drive to a farm with over 100 varieties of apples? Kiyokawa Orchards in Parkdale, Oregon has the best selection of apples. But that isn’t even their number one crop….