Maya Angelou's Buttermilk Biscuits

A few years ago, when my mom first asked me to make the bread side for Thanksgiving, I chose a biscuit recipe. I figured it would be quick and easy - just mix all the ingredients together and you don't have to wait for it to rise! Except it was a disaster: I was unfamiliar with how butter is supposed to be mixed into biscuit dough so, as I often do when I get frustrated, I had a bit of an emotional breakdown (Fortunately my mom was able to quickly run to the store and get some rolls).

I ended up getting a pastry cutter that year for Christmas (I had used knives, as often suggested for cutting in butter so that might've also been the problem?).

I have since discovered two things: 1) Thanks to Food Network, there's supposed to be dots of butter in biscuit dough as you cut it in (it'll all melt as the biscuits bake) and 2) yeast doughs are my strength. So for the last couple years I made yeast rolls for Thanksgiving. This year I decided to try biscuits again. A redemption of sorts. After searching through all my sources, I finally decided on the Buttermilk Biscuit recipe that People magazine posted shortly after Maya Angelou passed away in 2014 (apparently her cooking was as good as her writing and her heart).

Surprise Pumpkin Cupcakes

This year at work we had a potluck on Halloween (along with a costume contest. I went as a baker - original, right?). It didn't take me long to narrow down my choices as I already knew the flavor and type: pumpkin (duh!) and cupcakes. For the cupcakes I had gotten two Halloween-themed cupcake liners at Target just in case the opportunity came up.

I decided to show some love to my hard copy recipes this time. I finally decided on a pumpkin cupcake recipe in one of the Taste of Home special issues. They have a surprise cheesecake layer of cheesecake in them. Other than top them with powdered sugar, as the recipe suggests, I decided to use store-bought frosting (these are, after all, cupcakes. Plus, it was a school night and my track record with frosting is ... not great) and sprinkles.

Torcettis

My family's been stopping at the Cle Elum Bakery while going between Seattle and eastern Washington since before I can remember. Maybe even before I was born. I always look forward to it: everything is made fresh there and they have several items that you can't find anywhere else. Like chocolate maple bars (my favorite). And torcetti (sometimes spelled "torchetti").

For a while I've been wanting to make them myself so a few months ago I finally decided to search for a recipe. What I thought was a popular Italian cookie is really something that's, for the most part, strictly sold in Cle Elum (well, that's what it seemed like. Although, I did find one version of the recipe that's made by a confectioner in Italy, via Chowhound). One common ingredient I noticed is active dry yeast: it's used as a leavener instead of baking soda and/or baking powder. So when I had a free Saturday (as I usually do) I decided to make these to bring into work. Because I only had one packet of yeast, I stuck with a recipe from Unicorn Love.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles

After two years of caramel apple presents, I decided to go in a pumpkin direction for Chiara's birthday present this year because honestly, I think she prefers that flavor over caramel apple. I also decided to do something I've never really done before - truffles. (I know - two quick decisions at once. Probably never gonna happen again.) Took me a while to find a recipe as most I have saved are for cookies and cakes (plus most pumpkin truffle recipes ask for just a cup or a half cup of pumpkin and I wanted to use a whole can) but I found a simple and easy recipe from The Frugal Girls. Glad I went simple and easy since truffles are apparently time-consuming.

Double Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes

Remember those chocolate oranges that were also flavored orange? I vaguely remember seeing them a lot when I was a kid (apparently this was because Anthony was a big fan so Mom would always get him one for his Christmas stocking).

Like most fruit, orange just goes great with chocolate. So I've wanted to make something chocolate-orange for a while. I decided that the Labor Day BBQ at my parents' house (side note: it's been 4 years and I'm still not used to not calling it my house) would be the perfect time to make something chocolate-orange. Since I hadn't made cupcakes in a while, I decided on those. I chose a recipe from one of the Simply Sweet magazine, a dessert magazine from the same publishers as Southern Living and Cooking Light (among others).

Oh, and if you're wondering where I got that chocolate orange pictured above, I found it partially hidden in a display at a sweet shop I adore called Lolli & Pops. There are several locations in the Seattle-area (two of which I can get to via transit - not exactly a good thing).

Easy S'mores Cookie Bars

This year for Chelan, I ended up baking some treats and distributing them amongst the 3 units. It started with "I should make M&M cookies since Nonni probably won't be well enough to make them." (she's been having heart problems this year) and evolved into "Why don't I make treats for everyone to enjoy in their units?" I ended up making the cookies, Chocolate Chip Blondies, and a s'mores bars recipe I found on Pinterest (I had some graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow cream leftover from Kevin's birthday present). Since I was making it right before vacation, I decided not to take the time to do a blog post for the s'mores bars.

They were a big hit. Definitely a favorite. So when an end-of-summer and successful-busy-season potluck was planned at work, I knew exactly what I was going to make. I figured, if my family liked the bars, why wouldn't my co-workers? The recipe comes from Fabulessly Frugal.

Mascarpone Cannoli Cheesecake

As we occasionally do, we celebrated Kevin, Matteo, and Declan's birthdays all at once this year. Mom had Kevin's cake covered: a family friend volunteered to make him a Minions cake. For Matteo and Declan, I asked their moms for ideas. Cheesecake for Matteo, chocolate for Declan. Since our family is mainly Italian, I decided to make a cannoli cheesecake that I saw on one of Giada De Laurentiis's TV shows last fall (the decision may or may not have also been guided by the fact that Matteo will be spending some time in Italy this summer).

Stuffed Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

I'm starting to think that peanut butter is a bit of a staple in my family since as far as I know, every likes it (well, except Carly obviously. But I've always thought that if she weren't allergic to nuts, she'd be a fan too). Especially when paired with chocolate. So of course I wasn't surprised when I texted Helen for more flavor ideas for Kevin's birthday present and she said he liked chocolate peanut butter. She also told me that he likes anything s'mores-flavored.

That last one got the decisive gears going in my head. I started by looking at the books and magazines and got lucky right off the bat. I had gotten a couple recipe books at a store in Chelan called The Culinary Apple (it's one of those stores that sells all kinds of pots, pans, dishes, tools, and other stuff for the kitchen). One of which is all about s'mores - not just ways to enhance the traditional s'more but also all kinds of treats with chocolate, marshmallow, and grahams. The one that stuck out to me was a bars recipe with peanut butter cups.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I have a confession that probably won't be a surprise to those who know me: I'm a carboholic. Specifically bread. You know that healthy eating tip that says to replace the carb of your sandwich (bread, bun, etc.) with a veggie or something? Yeah, I roll my eyes at that one. I'm even interested in bread served at restaurants I will never go to. Like Red Lobster (other than Gorton's brand fish sticks, seafood doesn't appeal to me). I've heard nothing but raves over the years for their cheddar biscuits. Which basically meant I had to try them. Thank goodness for copycat recipes on the internet! (Yes, I know you can buy the mix at the store. And while I almost got it because of the ingredients, I decided to stick with making these from scratch.) I've saved a few on Pinterest so I looked at all of them and decided on one from Damn Delicious.

Madeleines

A few months ago I was at Bed, Bath, & Beyond to see if they have a broiling pan so I could make burgers at home (I've discovered that it's a good place to go before Amazon for stuff for my apartment that Safeway and Target don't have. Plus I get a coupon with my Good Housekeeping magazine that I like to use). As I usually do when I'm there, I started walking around the area of the kitchen section where the kitchen tools and baking pans are. I came across a pan for making madeleines - a.k.a. mini tea cakes. A madeleine pan is one of the few items left on my Amazon baking items wish list because I've always wanted to make them. So I decided to buy it with the plan to use up leftover chocolate chips from baking Christmas presents. I even found a recipe.

Except that plan never really came to fruition. I wanted to make them for me but never really had an opportunity (yes, I'm one of those bad people who has to have dessert after dinner. However, as I've said before, my hands are magnets to new/limited flavors of Oreos and I want to eat them before making cookies from scratch. This has yet to happen). And I was unsure about how they would be received at work. So the pan sat on my storage shelf, the label still on it. Until I found out we were having brunch for Mother's Day. Perfect! Madeleines seem like the kind of thing you serve at brunch as well as tea. So I pulled out the saved recipe - something simple that I could add chocolate chips to - and got to work.

Margarita Pinata Cupcakes

A couple Christmases ago my mom got me a cupcake corer (it was on one of my Amazon Wish Lists that I'd given her for inspiration so she didn't buy me more shirts to stuff into my closet). And then I never had a chance to use it. Until Auntie Lisa gave me inspiration. She, my uncle, and my cousins were coming up for an event with my uncle's family and they decided to have a Cinco de Mayo party with our family. My original plan was to make the Sopapilla Cheesecake; however, Auntie Lisa sent me a recipe for pinata cupcakes with the suggestion that I make them for our party. I didn't want to use that specific recipe since it required ingredients that I rarely use so I started looking elsewhere. None of the recipes I found were what I wanted though. Which is when I had an epiphany: I could use any cupcake recipe and just core them and fill them with sprinkles (The Kitchen on Food Network had a segment on how to do this last year). So I started searching for lime cupcakes (it felt like an appropriate flavor for Cinco de Mayo) and found Margarita Cupcakes in one of the Betty Crocker recipe magazines on my bookshelf.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

For several years my mom had a Relay For Life team (RFL is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Cancer has hit both sides of my family). One way to raise money for your teams is to have a fundraiser party through a direct sales company, like Pampered Chef. Mom hosted a couple Pampered Chef parties, one of which was Mexican themed. She asked me to make a dessert for it and I somehow found a recipe for Sopapilla Cheesecake squares. Pretty sure they were a big hit since Mom suggested I make them for Kevin and Helen's housewarming party last week. (They were going to serve Mexican food so I guess she figured that was the theme?) Anyway, I started searching for a recipe using eggs since I had a few eggs leftover from Easter baking. I finally found one on Jo Cooks.

Caramel-Filled Pretzel Bites

When it comes to non-staple ingredients in my pantry, I try to not have extras sitting around for a while (with the exception of coconut - since only Mom and Nonni like it, I just leave the bag alone). So a while back I started looking for a recipe to use up the caramel squares I still had from previous recipes. I eventually decided on Caramel-Filled Pretzel Bites from Amy's Healthy Baking. Which sat saved on my bookmarks bar for 6 months or so as I tried to figure out when to make them.

Enter St. Patrick's Day. While trying to decide what snacks I wanted to make for spending half the day in the car, I had a lightbulb moment: why not make the pretzel bites? So I did.

Very Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

I'm not a fan of dark chocolate. It's just too bitter for me. I'll eat it when I have to but I try to avoid it. Anthony, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He loves dark chocolate. The darker the better, apparently (as in, 80% cacao or higher). Having recently learned this, I decided to make something dark chocolate for him for his birthday. When searching for a recipe I stuck with Nestle and Hershey's since they're synonymous with baking and chocolate (plus I had bittersweet chocolate chips that I'd bought with a coupon for this gift). I finally settled on Very Chocolate Chocolate Cookies from the Hershey's website.

Golden Oreo Fudge

Oreos are a bit of a staple in my family. Even I buy them and I'm not that big a fan of them (sadly, my hands are magnets to yummy-sounding new flavors of my favorite sugary treats). Which is why it was a no-brainer when trying to figure out what kind of "golden" treat to make for Carly for her golden birthday that I should find a recipe that uses golden Oreos. After a quick search I decided on Golden Oreo Fudge from Annie's Noms (probably one of the quickest decisions I've ever made in picking out a recipe).

Jello Cookies with Jello Frosting

Every summer my Auntie Lisa hosts a family trivia game while we're in Chelan. She often goes to this variety store that Chelan has to get a smorgasbord of prizes that we get to choose from (winners get first pick, etc). A couple summers ago I chose two boxes of Jell-O gelatin that have since been sitting in my pantry as I'm not a regular Jell-O eater. Thanks to Pinterest (and food bloggers in general), I found another way to use these up: frosted cookies! The Jell-O cookies came from I Save A to Z and the Jell-O frosting came from Coleen's Recipes.

Easy Homemade Pretzel Croissants

This year for Thanksgiving my mom had me make a couple appetizers. One was the pepperoni pinwheels (it's become my specialty. Plus Nonni loves them so I don't mind making them). The other was up to me but Mom suggested something cheesy. So I started looking for a baked brie recipe since I love brie cheese and figured I'd be able to finish the rest at home (which wasn't much - it ended up being a bigger hit than I had expected). A baked brie recipe tends to include a sheet of puff pastry, which only come in pairs at the grocery store. However, I already had an idea for how to use the other one: when I finished my dinner rolls, I could make the pretzel croissants recipe I'd found on Pinterest. It consists of both a yeast dough (which I've become really good at making and am possibly an expert at) and a sheet of puff pastry and comes from the blog Plated Cravings.

Mixed Berry Scones

When it comes to breakfast, I'm a waffle person. I even left my waffle iron out on my counter after making waffles last summer because of how frequently I've made a recipe from high school cooking class. But I haven't just stuck with waffles: there's a hack (if you want to call it that) for cooking a tube of cinnamon rolls (like Pillsbury) in a waffle iron. Since it was something I've wanted to try for a while I did that last fall. Once those ran out, though, I started looking for a non-waffle recipe. With Lent on the horizon I decided to look for something with berries. I focused on scones since my last attempt had been a failure and I wanted to try again. I eventually found Mixed Berry Scones on the Averie Cooks blog.

Gifts for others

Don't worry, I didn't forget my dad! As I said in Mom's post, I try not to do something different for my dad after that cake I made him a couple years ago with frosting that wasn't our family's chocolate recipe. So this year I decided to combine his two favorite cookies: M&M (whenever Nonni makes a batch for a family gathering he always claims she made them for him only) and peanut butter chocolate chip. The result looked interesting but Dad seemed to like it (he was a bit secretive so everyone else wouldn't know if they were good or not). I might just make these for myself one day!

I've also given candy to the cousins (Chiara, Carly, Matteo, Declan, and Gianna) for the last few years. They're very easy to make: just get Wilton's Candy Melts (I honestly have no idea if other baking brands have similar products), melt them down, pour them into candy molds, stick in the fridge or freezer until firm, and pop out. I even got a candy melting and decorating tool to make things easier. I feel like I didn't make as many candies this year but I don't think the kids cared.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

The only other flavor I had to go on for Helen was peanut butter. Which is probably just as broad as chocolate, even when the two are paired together. I decided to find something simple and quick since most of the other recipes I chose were a bit more complex and lengthy to do and I wanted to give myself a break at one point (as well as have a couple free days for holiday events that came up, seeing as how I didn't plan very well for when I'd make which recipe). I finally decided on Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge from The Bitter Side of Sweet.

Homemade Twix Bars

Ever since I joined Pinterest I've come across a lot of homemade candy bar recipes. Apparently there are several different ways to make your favorite candy bars. So this year I decided to make homemade Twix bars for Anthony. After looking at all the choices I'd saved I finally decided on a recipe from Tastes Better from Scratch as it was the format I wanted.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Our family grew a little bit in 2017 when back in March Anthony and Kati got a dog. They named him Dan, after Anthony's favorite baseball player Dan Wilson. At first I wasn't going to make him anything but after a while I decided "Why not?" Apparently there are a lot of recipes for homemade dog treats with two main ingredients: peanut butter and meat (usually bacon). I decided to keep it simple and just stick with peanut butter dog treats. I ended up finding an easy recipe on Puppy Leaks.