DanielleM

I, too, am a baker at a cafe/market and I'm responsible for churning out the breakfast pastries every morning. To make things easier on myself, I make muffin 'mix' once a week or so and then scoop out and bake off the muffins fresh every morning. Yes, we still sometimes end up with a few that don't sell, but we offer them half price the next day as day-olds. I also freeze unbaked (but pre-portioned, etc) scones and then bake as needed. And, in case you want to try freezing other baked goods in their 'raw' state, I regularly make cinnamon rolls and danish, plus these brioche baguette things, and then bake them as needed. The cinn rolls and brioche have to thaw and rise before baking so they're typically pulled out of the freezer and left in the walk-in overnight to save me some more time in the early morning hours.

That's kinda strange about Aldi's being owned by the same people as Trader Joe's. According to the aldi website (http://www.aldifoods.com/), Aldi has operations in Europe, the United States and Australia. The first ALDI store opened in 1948 in the German town of Essen. And as far as I've read, Trader Joe's started in Pasadena and are still privately owned. But it is very likely that I am totally wrong! And if so, I might have to check out my local Aldi's!

Has anyone been to Cannella's in B'ham recently? I finally made it there for the first time a couple weeks ago and was really disappointed. It was about 4pm on a Saturday, but nowhere near closing time and the case looked tired and sad, at best - and at worst, I saw something that I can only guess was a loaf of burned bread (?!). I wasn't hungry, but had to try something so I opted for a basic eclair. First off, what's with the white icing?? According to the helpful guy behind the counter, it was a 'vanilla' eclair. Um, ok? I took a bite, hoping for the best and well, it was terrible. There were strange little chunks in the YELLOW pastry cream. Luckily I had my food scientist sister with me to solve the mystery. Her diagnosis? Bits of overcooked egg proteins. Yummy! I guess I'll stick to making my own, or hoofing it out to Josef's in Grosse Pointe...

Um, actually no - the Hershey's syrup that comes in a can. Sounds strange, I know, but it does the job!

Ice Cream Sandwiches Serves 8 as Dessert. This is Cook's Illustrated's take on the cardboard-y, flavorless version you find at the grocery store. Ice Cream Sandwiches Makes eight 3-inch sandwiches 1 c unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces) 1/2 c Dutch-processed cocoa powder (1 1/2 ounces) 1/4 tsp table salt 1/8 tsp baking soda 2 large eggs 2/3 c granulated sugar (about 4 3/4 ounces) 1/4 c chocolate syrup (2 3/4 ounces) 8 T unsalted butter (1 stick), melted 2 pt vanilla ice cream , chocolate ice cream, or coffee ice cream 1. Preheat oven to 350* with oven rack set in the middle. Spray a 17 1/2 x 12" half-sheet pan or 17 x 11" jellyroll pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. 2. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl. 3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and chocolate syrup in a large bowl until light brown in color. Add the melted butter and whisk everything together. 4. Add the dry ingredients (flour thru baking soda) to egg mixture. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into wet. Stir until the mixture is evenly moistened. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and spread batter evenly in pan. 5. Bake until the cookie springs back when touched with finger, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in the pan on cooling rack 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the baking sheet to loosen. Invert cookie onto work surface and peel off parchment. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. 6. Using a 2 3/4- to 3" round biscuit cutter, cut 16 rounds from the baked cookie. 7. Slice eight 3/4"-thick rounds from ice cream pints. Peel away container. Use the same size biscuit cutter to cut rounds out of each ice cream slice, so they will fit the cookies. Assemble ice cream sandwiches. 8. Serve immediately or place sandwiches on foil-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with another sheet of foil, and freeze up to 3 hours. To store sandwiches longer, wrap individually in wax paper, then with foil; freeze for up to 7 days. Let sandwiches frozen for more than 30 minutes stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate ( RG1669 )

I've made this Cooks Illustrated recipe with great success. It solves the problem of how to work with sticky chocolate cookie dough and the end result is amazing. It's what the grocery store kind should taste like! (but sadly, minus the cute dimples) Ice Cream Sandwiches Makes eight 3-inch sandwiches 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces) 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (1 1/2 ounces) 1/4 teaspoon table salt 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 2 large eggs 2/3 cup granulated sugar (about 4 3/4 ounces) 1/4 cup chocolate syrup (2 3/4 ounces) 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted 2 pints vanilla ice cream , chocolate ice cream, or coffee ice cream 1. Preheat oven to 350* with oven rack set in the middle. Spray a 17 1/2 x 12" half-sheet pan or 17 x 11" jellyroll pan with cooking spray and line with parchment. 2. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl. 3. Beat the eggs, sugar, and chocolate syrup in a large bowl until light brown in color. Add the melted butter and whisk everything together. 4. Add the dry ingredients (flour thru baking soda) to egg mixture. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into wet. Stir until the mixture is evenly moistened. Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and spread batter evenly in pan. 5. Bake until the cookie springs back when touched with finger, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in the pan on cooling rack 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the baking sheet to loosen. Invert cookie onto work surface and peel off parchment. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. 6. Using a 2 3/4- to 3" round biscuit cutter, cut 16 rounds from the baked cookie. 7. Slice eight 3/4"-thick rounds from ice cream pints. Peel away container. Use the same size biscuit cutter to cut rounds out of each ice cream slice, so they will fit the cookies. Assemble ice cream sandwiches. 8. Serve immediately or place sandwiches on foil-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with another sheet of foil, and freeze up to 3 hours. To store sandwiches longer, wrap individually in wax paper, then with foil; freeze for up to 7 days. Let sandwiches frozen for more than 30 minutes stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.