{sms} coconut pecan frosting

I went old-school this week and paired this week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe–Coconut Pecan Frosting–on top of a German chocolate cake. The ‘German’ part of the cake is the type of chocolate traditionally used not the country.
I was excited to go out and buy German chocolate (yes, my life is that exciting) which I’ve seen in the baking aisle many times. But wouldn’t you know it?  Both the recipes I found in my collection of cookbooks did not use German chocolate.

Hmmm…apparently German chocolate isn’t good-quality chocolate. It’s too sweet. Instead both called for good-quality bittersweet chocolate. Both authors said they updated and improved the traditional recipe. Taking the word of the professionals (and chocolate snobs), I did not run out and buy German chocolate. So I guess this is just chocolate cake and a delicious one at that.

The recipe I used came from Tish Boyle”s  The Cake Book. I made the full recipe and planned on making a layer-cake. Yeah, one layer had an untimely demise on my kitchen floor. Thanks to Eliana of A Chica Bakes for hosting this week’s selection. For the Coconut Pecan Frosting recipe visit her blog or buy the book.

Advertisement

It finally happened

I’ve subscribed to the Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day e-mail for months possibly even years and have never made a cookie. I save each and everyone in my cookie of the day folder. There have been many that I’ve said to myself, “I’m definitely making those” and somehow, it turns out, with all my skooling 😛 I don’t know the definition of ‘definitely’.

I’m proud to announce I baked a Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day. On March 28, the cookie was Pecan Sandies and everything was perfectly aligned in the universe that day:
1. I heart pecan sandies. Okay, I heart most cookies.
2. I had all the ingredients
3. I had the time
4. The instructions were simple. No fancy cookie-making techniques or equipment needed.

I made the cookies smaller than suggested and they turned out great. Perfect “sandie” texture and the brown sugar/pecan flavor was awesome.

You can find the recipe here: Pecan Sandies

{twd} mini-pecan pies

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet because I’m busy busy busy just like everyone else this time of year.  My Favorite Pecan Pie from Baking…From My Home to Yours was this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection. I made minis for easier sharing.  I liked this pie. Pecan pie is usually too sweet, but this one wasn’t which is why it is Dorie Greenspan’s favorite pecan pie recipe.

Thank you to Beth of Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina for picking a winner. If you would like the recipe, visit her blog or buy the book.

Pumpkin Nut and Chip Cookies

I used to be what Kayte, of Grandma’s Kitchen Table, calls pumpkin-tolerant. Which means I used to like pumpkin okay. If given a choice I would choose the non-pumpkin treat, but I didn’t crave or dislike pumpkin. Something changed this year and I can’t get enough of pumpkin. Pumpkin lattes! Love them. Pumpkin cheesecake! Yes. Pumpkin bread! Bring it on.

The California Milk Advisory Board, The Real California Milk people, were one of the many sponsors at Blogher Food in San Franciso. In the SWAG bag, was a drinking glass–which I suppose they mean for you to use for milk, but I’ve only used for water–and a recipe card for Pumpkin Nut and Chip Cookies. At the time, I was still {or so I thought} pumpkin-tolerant so I didn’t really think much of it.

I’m so glad I kept the card because these cookies were so good. They are cakey and perfectly spiced with cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice. They are like a perfect package of autumn. The recipe calls for walnuts, but I didn’t have any and used pecans instead. And yes, I did use Real California butter. 😛

{sms} mini-apple orchard pecan crumbles

As I was making this week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe–Apple Orchard Pecan Crumble–it felt like I hadn’t baked in a while. I pulled out my cooking/baking notebook and yep, I hadn’t baked in two weeks. Other than being out of the country on vacation, I haven’t taken this long of a break since I started baking/cooking almost two years ago.

This was the perfect recipe to jump back into the swing of things. It was easy and quick. I made a 1/4ish (didn’t really use exact measurements) of the recipe using one very large Granny Smith apple and made 6 mini-crumbles in small dipping sauce dishes. You can’t go wrong with the taste department for crumbles either.

Thanks to Cristine of Cristine Cooks for selecting the crumble. If you would like the recipe, visit her blog or buy the book.