There is something so appealing
about warm baked apples covered in cinnamon and sugar, made all the
more tasty with a crisp and crunchy topping.
more
Christmas baking
wouldn't seem complete without a batch of gingerbread men. Fragrant with
ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves the amount of which can be
adjusted to suit your own individual taste.
more
The Apple Pie, with its
two rounds of pastry enclosing slices of cinnamon sugared apples, is
a favorite dessert in North America. more
New
York Style Cheesecakes are creamy, and smooth, and rich, and dense, and
absolutely delicious. more
These rich and elegant,
bite-sized round petit fours are made from a mixture of dark or white
chocolate and cream to which various flavorings can be added: butter,
liqueurs, extracts, nuts, coffee, purees, spices, candied or dried
fruits. more
Shortbreads are
traditionally a Christmas cookie that blends butter, sugar, and flour
to make a rich and delicate tasting cookie.
more
Fall brings a change in weather and it also brings a change
in our baking. Gone are the days of eating slices of juicy
watermelon or a bowl of sweet cherries. The fruits that were
available during the long hot summer months have disappeared
and in their place we have apples, pears, plums, pumpkins,
and cranberries.
Apples are
especially good in the Fall as this is their harvest time. I urge
you to make a trip to your local apple orchard or farmer's market so you
can try varieties other than what we find year round in grocery stores.
You will be pleasantly surprised not only with the range of apples
available but also with their superior taste and texture. It is
important to know that all apples are not the same as
there are apples for baking and apples for eating. They can range in
color from red to green, yellow to brown and can taste sweet, tart,
mellow, or spicy. Textures can be firm and crispy to soft and sweet. Make sure to choose apples that look well-colored and firm with a fresh,
never musty, smell. They should be smooth and free of soft spots,
bruising, or holes. But remember, apples are not perfect in shape or
size and some may even have blemishes or what is known as russeting (rough
textured, brown-colored spots). Once you get your apples home, store them
in a dark, cool place and if you live in a warmer climate you may want to
store them in the refrigerator. And remember that apples are believed to
have the most curative powers of all the fruits
Another Fall fruit is the
Cranberry,
also known as a craneberry, bounceberry, bearberry, cowberry, or lingonberry.
It is a
small, hard, smooth-skinned, shiny red, round berry
that is mainly associated with the holiday season. As it so happens
this also coincides with their availability, which is from October through
December. If you enjoy baking with fresh cranberries it is a good
idea to buy a few extra bags and place them in the freezer for other times
of the year. The tartness of the
cranberry make it one of the few berries never to be eaten raw. Sugar is
needed to temper its tangy flavor. Cranberries are used in both
sweet and savory dishes. Commonly used in desserts (cookies, pies,
quick breads, muffins, cakes, cobblers, etc.), as well as confections,
sauces, compotes, chutneys, jams and jellies. Their wonderfully tart
fresh flavor is enhanced when combined with sweet ingredients and when
paired with other fruits like apples, pears, and oranges.
Besides Fall bringing us fresh
fruits, it is also a time of celebration. Halloween tempts us to
make Sugar
Cookies in the shapes of
pumpkins, ghosts, and bats. Of course, Thanksgiving is when the
baking really begins with favorites like
Pumpkin Pie,
Apple Pie, and
Pecan Pie. Other tempting
desserts are things like a
New York or
Pumpkin Cheesecake, a
Red Velvet Cake, a
Coconut Cake,
or maybe even a
Pavlova topped
with fresh cream and berries.
These sweet and buttery
cut-out cookies are always a favorite for not only can you tailor the
shape of the cookie to the occasion but you can also dress them simply
with granulated or colored sugars or make them very decorative by
frosting them with royal icing. more
Royal Icing was
traditionally used to ice Wedding and Christmas cakes. It consists of
powdered (icing or confectioners) sugar, egg whites or meringue
powder, and water. more
This
Carrot Cake is moist and flavorful with grated carrots and is frosted
with a delicious cream cheese frosting.
more
Pecan Pie is a delicious
combination of toasted pecans, sugar, and eggs which gives this pie
wonderful flavor with a dense and chewy texture.
more
Chocolate Chip
Cookies are made with butter and a combination of white and brown
sugars which produces a rich and chewy cookie with caramelized edges.
more
Banana bread is made
from thick sweet batter that is full of mashed bananas, cinnamon and
toasted nuts and when you pull the bread from the oven the golden
brown crust is delightfully crisp.
more
Rum balls are the
perfect adult indulgence for as their name implies, 'rum' balls
contain rum and since we do not bake these cookies the alcohol taste
and content are not lost during baking. more
This lovely Pumpkin Roll
consists of sweet and moist pumpkin sponge roll wrapped around a tangy
cream cheese filling. more
This Pound Cake is
wonderfully rich and buttery with a lovely golden brown crust.
more
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