I have a confession to make.  Before making them myself, the only madeleines I had ever tasted were from Starbucks.  No one had ever made them for me, I’d never had a special pan to make them myself, and somehow I managed to spend a weekend in Paris once without tasting either a madeleine or a macaron—sad, but true.

I’ve always been curious about madeleines.  I mean, is there really anything special about them other than their shape?  Obviously Proust thought so.  But what makes them so magical?  And the big question—are they cookies or tiny little cakes?  Well, curiosity got the better of me one day so I bought a little package of madeleines at Starbucks.  And even though I knew that what I tasted out of that little plastic package was probably not a great representation of the classic French cookie (or is it cake?), I fell madly in love with the madeleine. Continue reading →

Like many of you out there I have made a serious commitment to eat better and get in shape in 2010.  However, there’s always room for a little indulgence, so I have decided to share this amazing bacon and caramelized onion quiche we ate on New Year’s morning.  Healthy?  Perhaps not.  But there will be times this year when a little splurging is both necessary and deserved.  So hop on your treadmills, bikes, and elliptical machines, drink lots of water, eat lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains—but please, I’m begging you, don’t forget to eat a slice of quiche every once in a while. Continue reading →

From the moment I saw these sticky buns on the cover of the latest issue of Food & Wine magazine, I knew I had to make them.  It’s fairly rare that I follow an exact recipe from a magazine—or cookbook, for that matter—but every once in a while a photo calls to me in a way that I just can’t deny.  If you’ve seen the magazine cover, you know which photo I’m talking about.  The lofty, light-as-air cinnamon bun drizzled with the perfect amount of sweet and salty butterscotch sauce is like something out of a dream—if one has a tendency to dream of baked goods, that is.

But just as most dreams quickly blur then slowly disintegrate upon waking, my hopes for butterscotch sticky bun perfection were diminished as I attempted to recreate the ethereal treat in my all-too-real kitchen.  It just didn’t work.  My sticky buns weren’t lofty or light-as-air.  They were squat and dense and the brown sugar filling had bubbled up and out of the swirls, blackening and burning on the muffin tin and oven floor. Continue reading →

The new year is about to begin and I’m determined to get back on track with The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge! I’ve fallen way behind many of my fellow BBA bakers, but the great thing about this challenge is that we each set our own pace, and even though I’ve fallen behind, I can pick right back up where I left off and continue working toward the goal of finishing all the breads in the book.  And since I am behind several of the others, there are plenty of people I can turn to for help or advice!

Today, I’m writing about the 15th bread in the challenge:  Italian Bread.  I actually baked and photographed this bread months ago, so bear with me as I try to remember the details of the process – luckily I took lots of photos.  One thing I do remember is the wonderful flavor of this bread.  I gave a loaf to my friend Caron for her birthday, and she shared a buttered slice of the still-warm bread with me in her kitchen.  There’s nothing like sharing bread and butter with a friend! Continue reading →

This simple, delicious apple cake may be my new favorite fall dessert.  It is moist, tender, packed with tart apples and cinnamon, and very easy to prepare.  What’s not to love? Continue reading →

Although this was my first time making them, I’m beginning to think that these warm and spicy pumpkin doughnuts are going to become a fall tradition around here.  Filled with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and even a hint of cardamom, these doughnuts will warm your soul on a crisp autumn morning.

Have you ever made doughnuts from scratch?  The closest I had ever come to making doughnuts was back in my college days when I learned how to make faux doughnuts (fauxnuts?) by poking holes in refrigerated biscuit dough rounds and frying them up in a skillet.  They were pretty good if you dipped them in sugar and ate them warm, but not quite the real thing.  Ok, not even close.

I have memories of the real thing, though.  You see, my mom made homemade doughnuts for us once.  They were yeast-raised doughnuts, the kind which are lightly glazed or sugar-crusted on the outside, but only slightly sweet and impossibly soft and fluffy on the inside.  Though I was small, and the recollection is a bit fuzzy, I know in my heart that they were the best doughnuts I’ve ever tasted.  While the “hot now” sign at Krispy-Kreme may make your heart flutter, I’m telling you that nothing compares to a doughnut fried up in your own kitchen.  My mom only made doughnuts once that I can recall, but that one memory fills me with so much warmth, I know that I have to make doughnuts from scratch one day for my own children.  Yes, food memories are powerful. Continue reading →

While some muffins are little more than cupcakes without the frosting, these hearty, flavorful, and nutritious whole grain apple muffins will help you power through your morning.

Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely a fan of cake-like muffins, but I think they generally make a better dessert than breakfast.  Made with whole wheat flour and heart-healthy oat bran, these muffins offer a bit more staying power than something you might pick up at a cafe on your way to work. Continue reading →

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