Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

[eskay]

Random experiment--minted peanut butter cookies. Subbed in mint syrup for 1/2 the sugar and aimed for a thin, crispy cookie, which I obtained, but doesn't quite match the idea I had in my head. The mint flavour is vary subtle, more like a clean feeling after swallowing than any real mint flavour...I really like it. Next time I want to try increasing the sugar content and reducing the flour and stuff even more to get almost a caramel...just on the edge of a cookie. Not sure if that's even possible, but I'm making mini batches so its ok

[sugar plum]

Inspired by the date square bake-off, here are the Blueberry Oatmeal Squares off the cover of the August issue of Canadian Living. Mine aren't as pretty because I don't think I let my blueberry filling thicken up enough. Quite tasty nonetheless however--for those of you that are going to make this recipe--I'd recommend to just leave out the OJ from the filling.

[prasantrin]

Inspired by the date square bake-off, here are the Blueberry Oatmeal Squares off the cover of the August issue of Canadian Living.  Mine aren't as pretty because I don't think I let my blueberry filling thicken up enough.  Quite tasty nonetheless however--for those of you that are going to make this recipe--I'd recommend to just leave out the OJ from the filling.

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I saw the magazine when I was at the supermarket yesterday, and I stopped to see if it was a date square recipe. I almost bought it, just because the blueberry square looked so good...and I think your picture looks just as good! I might actually have to buy the magazine, now!

[DesertCulinary]

Here are some Swedish Gingersnaps that I made for the Treat Day we do at Jeff's office. Spicy, thick and crisp, yet still chewy in the center - so, so good!

[Nina C.]

Joe - you read my mind! I was just sitting here thinking that I wished I had a few more hours before I have to leave, so that I could make gingersnaps with lemon gelato. So good!

I thought I'd share two desserts I've made recently.

First my sweetheart's birthday cake. It's an almond cake with chocolate ganache and crushed almond brittle between the layers, and whipped cream and mascarpone frosting. The recipe instructed to make chocolate bark for the top, but I rebelliously just put more almond brittle on top and drizzled it with melted chocolate.

and a slice: (excuse the blurry picture and paper plate)

A few weeks ago, I made a sour cherry pie. I used Ruth Levy Berenbaum's cream cheese pie crust recipe rather than my standard shortening/butter recipe, and it slumped. I made another sour cherry pie with my crust, it didn't slump, but I burned it slightly so didn't take any pictures. And then, sour cherry season was over. I guess I'll have to wait to get that picture-perfect pie.

Edited July 26, 2007 by Nina C. (log)

[broadway]

I needed some egg whites for meringue so I decided to do this coffee and walnut cake for Saturday tea. I had seen in a Waitrose magazine earlier in the year and having been nagged for a one it seemed a good time to try it.

As it was "retro" I made do with instant coffee, no one complained.

[David Ross]

Tried David's lemon squares recipe, except I used raspberries and didn't put the berries on top (I want to take some to work to share, and I didn't think the berries would transport well).  They're super tasty--a lot better than the last time I tried to bake lemon squares (but we won't talk about that).

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thanks for the compliment, I'm glad you tried the recipe and liked it. I also make the lemon bars with raspberries and they work just as good as blackberries. For anyone down in Oregon, try the recipe with Marionberries or Loganberries.

[hummingbirdkiss]

runny but pretty much the best tasting blueberry/blackberry pie I have ever made!

this piece is already taken or I would offer it to you!

[merstar]

Wow! Does that look luscious!!!

[hummingbirdkiss]

Wow! Does that look luscious!!!

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thank you so much for saying that!!! there was a ton of drama involved but I am so proud of the results!!!

[David Ross]

runny but pretty much the best  tasting blueberry/blackberry pie I have ever made!

this piece is already taken or I would offer it to you!

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Oh my oh my. Your pie looks delicious, the fruit, the crust, wonderful. Can I bribe you to send me a warm slice via FedEx tonight?

[hummingbirdkiss]

Oh my oh my. Your pie looks delicious, the fruit, the crust, wonderful. Can I bribe you to send me a warm slice via FedEx tonight?

thank you so much for saying that! if I could I would toss one over the mts to you! I am so happy about this pie!

Edited July 29, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[eskay]

hummingbirdkiss-- that pie looks delicious, and the blackberry/blueberry combination is cool too..they match well

Everyone seems to be making nut cakes lately...I may have to try my hand too.

Not really dessert but this is the baking forum...

Made cheddar crackers from this recipe--I may have overbaked them though. My oven is anything but trustworthy. The squarish ones have cayenne pepper like the originals, the triangles are thyme and oregano, and the round ones have bits of bacon in them

Edited July 29, 2007 by eskay (log)

[DesertCulinary]

I made some Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting to make a dent in our massive zucchini supply. They are studded with brandy marinated golden raisins and toasted walnuts with a sweet spicy bite coming from cinnamon and fresh ground black pepper. The creamy frosting on top is lightly flavored with orange zest and a few dashes of cinnamon.

Edited August 2, 2007 by DesertCulinary (log)

[gfron1]

Great cupcake Joe - it looks huge (I'm assuming that's just the effects of the closeup. It also looks like its in a camoflouge paper

I made Amernick's Birdseed Cake. Full write up here.

[Ktepi]

Fresh local stuff is available for such a brief window up here, compared to what I'm used to. I'm trying to take advantage of it.

Didn't think to take a picture:

Blueberry brownies. I make these every year when the wild blueberries come out. Just take any fudgey brownie recipe, and cook down a bunch of blueberries before melting the chocolate and butter in with them.

Last night:

Shain's of Maine Red Raspberry Chip ice cream, with fresh raspberries.

I give the northeast a lot of grief, especially north-of-Boston New England -- but they do ice cream better than anywhere else I've been. I can pretty much reach into the regional brands freezer and grab something at random, and go home with excellence. It's like those parts of the country where bad barbecue is still good barbecue.

Made tonight, but dessert tomorrow (when it's cooled down):

I love a good pie, and I'm a big fan of a good fruit pie -- hummingbirdkiss's looks especially delicious (were they wild berries? I associate that great deep color with wild berries) -- but this is the king of pies for me: buttermilk pie (without lemon, and only a tiny bit of vanilla). All the ingredients except the sugar and flour are local -- which thrilled me, being able to find fresh local buttermilk.

[David Ross]

We have just started harvesting our local peaches in Eastern Washington so I couldn't resist a peach dessert. The peaches are good, but they will be even more sweet and juicy in a couple of weeks.

I was watching my absolute favorite cooking program on television this morning, 'Rick Stein's Food Heroes' on BBC America and Rick did a traditional British 'Bread and Butter Pudding.'

I added some chopped, fresh peaches to the pudding. Here is a shot of the finished pud baked:

I let the pudding cool about 15 minutes, then I dusted it with powdered sugar and took the torch to it:

Here is the finished pudding. You don't see the peach chunks, but the finished pud did have good peachy flavor. Imagine, butter, fresh bread, butter, fresh peaches, brandy, golden raisins, cream, eggs, butter. Yes, and sugar. Caramelized. And whipped cream. How can that NOT be delicious!

[gfron1]

Chocolate Toffee Torte from the Art of the Dessert - full description here.

[miladyinsanity]

Dorie Greenspan's Devil's Food Cake (recipe in Baking: From My Home To Yours) with an Alice Medrich glaze.

The Cake (and believe me, this Cake deserves the Capital C) is fabulous. Doesn't really need the glaze, but it's the short boy's birthday cake, and birthday cakes must be gussied up some, right?

[Pentagarn]

I made myself a Chocolate / Lemon Doberge cake for my birthday. I used to love these as a kid when we'd visit family in New Orleans, but they don't seem to be made anywhere else in the country.

I made this with 8 layers of cake. The chocolate side is filled with chocolate pastry cream, iced with chocolate french buttercream and covered with dark chocolate ganache. The lemon side is layered with a kind of thickened lemon curd, iced with lemon french buttercream and covered with white chocolate ganache. (Yes, I know, heart attack!)

The half-and-half aspect made this cake far harder than I thought. I used plastic wrap to keep the fillings separate, but that didn't work for the buttercream. Pouring the ganache was even worse - my girlfriend and her sister held some thin utensils in place to try to keep it from going on the wrong side.

It didn't come out looking great, but no one minded. It was delicious anyway.

[gfron1]

I had a really great cheese called Alta Margherita from Italy, and when I tried it I knew it would be perfect with peaches or nectarines, so I made a cheesecake out of it with nectarines baked in and as a compote with limoncello on top. Also, thanks to Kerry - this is the first time I've ever been able to get my white chocolate to temper properly.

[yunnermeier]

I've been baking quite a bit lately!

Here's what we'll have for tea today:

Lemon shortbread

Edited August 9, 2007 by yunnermeier (log)

[DesertCulinary]

Here are some Quadruple-Chocolate Fudge Ginger Cookies that I made to snack on... there is bittersweet, unsweetened, white and semisweet chocolate used and a full cup of crystallized ginger for a punch of sweet heat. They are a little fudgy/chewy and kind of like individual drop brownies.

[gfron1]

Here's an Espresso Succès with espresso ice cream from Amernick's Art of the Dessert - perfect on this hot night.

[Domestic Goddess]

My neighbor gave me 5 huge peaches and I found a great recipe online.

Peach Cobbler

Plated for hubby... (who ooh'ed and aah'ed about it)