As I’m learning the traditions of a Sunday afternoon with three lovely Chinese ladies and lots of Mahjongg, I’ve added a few cookies hoping they’d be found acceptable to those with a different palate than mine. The snacks have been Chinese, individually & commercially wrapped and all new to me. I did notice flavors of … More Chinese Almond Cookies
I made a trip to Lynnwood last week via bus for a couple things that I expected to find at J.D.’s Market, specifically bourma and fresh halwa because it’s Ramadan and they’re typically available during the fasting month. No such luck, but I did pick up a jar of Ariana Sumac, a seasoning widely used … More Sesame and Sumac Naan
A medical trip this afternoon means time to make gratitude cookies for essential workers, i.e., drivers and nurses and techs. Since I had an abundance of dried cranberries, the decision was this dense and delicious variation on blonde brownies. Hello, full strength molasses and gingerbread spices. I love fresh lemon and cream cheese frosting on … More Gingerbread Blondies with Cranberries and Lemon Cream Accents
Visit to a medical establishment upcoming so it was a morning to make a batch of cookies and pop them into gift boxes for two drivers and a radiology tech. I was going to make plain old Oatmeal Scotchies — the cookie with the recipe on the package — but decided to add some pop … More 3-Chip Oatmeal Cookie: Heath Bar, Butterscotch & See’s Semisweet Chocolate Chips
I don’t remember the first time “lemon brownies” appeared in a search for some other recipe and I said, “What?” But, since my favorite Mackintosh’s Toffee candy was a chocolate-covered lemon cream and since chocolate is so versatile in flavor combinations, it stuck in my baker’s brain. I made a brownie with multi-colored lemon cream … More Glazed Lemon Brownies. What?
Some people, as they get older, find they cannot eat nuts in baked goodies. Some people are allergic to nuts, period. I’ve been experimenting with the use of browned butter in cookies to provide the taste sensation of nuts without using nuts even in the ground-up form. I’ve also been making browned butter frostings for … More Making Cookies with Browned Butter
Saturday was the birthday of the man who gave me his previous Yamaha electric keyboard piano when he got a new, updated model with gazillions of bells and whistles. We were introduced during the heat wave this summer in the only air-conditioned room here. It wasn’t long afterwards when he walked into it again one … More Happy Birthday to Jazz Pianist
My daughter’s first published book was launched today. It is Book 1 of a trilogy called Crown Jewels, this volume called The Akasha Records, the female lead character being named Akasha. I’m so proud of her for following through with her intention not only to write and publish it, but also to write a companion … More Brownies for the Launch
A few weeks ago I shared my newest easy biscuit recipe* along with recommendation to mix up a batch of honey butter to spread on them. My mother requested the recipe and while I was writing it on the card yesterday, I mentioned that they could also be spread with jam and the two halves … More PB&J gets a new meaning.
Like many bakers, cooks and chefs everywhere, I’m open to trying out somebody else’s recipe in the same genre of an old or new favorite and so it is with this bread. The recipe* for this bread was linked inside a newspaper article on 10 easy breads for the home-bakers staying inside and safe because … More Variations on a Dutch-oven theme: No-knead Maple Oatmeal Bread
