Tuesdays with Dorie: Applesauce Spice Bars August 18, 2009

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Karen of Something Sweet by Karen.  She chose Dorie’s Applesauce Spice Bars, which are located on pages 117-118 in Baking: From My Home to Yours.

It is on the counter.

I swear.  I have been waiting for the glaze to dry.

I will write a review as soon as I put one of those yummy applesauce spice bars in my mouth

Okay, I finally tried the applesauce spice bars this morning.  They were very yummy.  I decided to omit the nuts because I knew that I would be able to get more people the eat them :couch: without the nuts in them   I also ended up doubling the glaze because it seemed like a lot of members thought that there wasn’t enough to spread on the bars.  I thought the bars were nice and moist and the glaze added a punch of sweetness to it.  I love the glaze, don’t get me wrong.  But next time I might just dust them with some confectioners’ sugar because at times the glaze was a little too sweet for me

Tuesdays With Dorie: Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies July 7, 2009

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz.  She picked Dorie’s Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies, which is located on pages 96-97 in Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I LOVE fudgey brownies.  Absolutely adore them especially with walnuts

This recipe was perfect for me because it was a fudgey brownie with walnuts, espresso powder, and cinnamon. What more could a girl ask for?

Well I will tell you….ICE CREAM!!!!

Oh yes, Vanilla Ice Cream no less.  I ended up making two recipes for Tuesdays with Dorie, but I will only be discussing the brownies today.  For the brownies, I substituted espresso powder for the instant coffee granules and pecans for the walnuts because of course I was out.  For the cinnamon I used Chinese Cassia Cinnamon from Penzeys Spices.  I actually had issues with getting the brownies out of the pan.  I guess the parchment paper got a little stuck to the pan.  It was like an airtight seal.  To get the brownies out, I just sliced them in the pan and once I could pry up one corner they popped out

These brownies were fantastic.  They had the perfect amount of  fudginess to them.  I actually didn’t even noticed the espresso flavor, but every once in awhile I would get a nice cinnamon flavor.  The vanilla ice cream counter balanced all the chocolate and it worked perfect together.

I ended up taking these to a cookout with some friends, and everyone loved them.  They even brought out the fat free Cool Whip and pink sprinkles.  Seeing as I am a purest when it comes to brownies and ice cream, I kept it simple with no additions

Tuesdays With Dorie: Cinnamon Squares FAIL June 2, 2009

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. She chose dorie’s Cinnamon Squares which are located on pages 210-211 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I was really looking forward to this recipe because I LOVE cinnamon and coffeecake.

I had no issues with making the coffeecake or it baking up.  My problem came when I tried to take it out of the pan and it was stuck to the bottom.  Once I got it out of the pan, it looked horrible.  All of the filling sunk to the bottom and it was a cinnamon chocolate mess.  I tasted the coffeecake and it tasted fantastic, it was soft and moist and had a great cinnamon flavor.  I even used my really good cinnamon from Penzeys Spices, Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon.  It tasted great, but looks horrible and I have no clue why everything sunk

Enjoy the coffeecake carnage from the bottom

Tuesdays With Dorie: Banana Creme Pie April 7, 2009

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Amy of Sing for Your Supper.  She chose Dorie’s Banana Creme Pie which is located on pages 342-343 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I was very happy that this recipe was chosen because I have been eating bananas like crazy lately. Consequently, I have actually been craving banana creme pie and haven’t had one in awhile.

Spice Spice Everywhere July 23, 2008

About a year ago, a friend of mine got me this basket of spices for a gift. It had the best cinnamon in the world in it and I had no idea where she got it from. Well the other day when I was at work, one of the girls friends stop in and was holding a small container of spices.

I recognized the container and immediately thought of the cinnamon that I have been using sparingly because I didn’t want to run out. I turned to both of them and asked where they got it from. I then explained the cinnamon thing, and the guy asked if it was the Vietnamese Cinnamon. I guess I made this face that betrayed me. The “oh my god that stuff is so good, I can’t believe they have a spice place around here” face. He laughed and said he made the same face about the cinnamon. I proceeded to get directions and then decided I have to get to this place.