Bites from other Blogs

Normally, I won’t spotlight my own recipe if it has been featured (and enjoyed) by another blogger, largely because there are so many other things out there. That said, I thought I’d start off this week’s Bites by pointing out Baking Love‘s rendition of my Peppermint Cookies and Cream brownies because her version is gluten free! It’s a great and creative twist and, for my GF readers ( I know there are quite a few of you), the perfect way to get your brownie fix.

• Ever had a pineapple pie? The closest I’ve come to one was a coconut pie that had a bit of pineapple added. It wasn’t nearly as tasty as the Pineapple Pie at Anne’s Food promises to be. Hers has a creamy custard filling studded with pineapple and a crispy, oat-enriched pastry crust. Almost tart-like, the pie looks like a nice and light dessert to serve for company.
• Speaking of tarts, Bumbleberry Cake‘s Italian Almond Tart also looks amazing. The elegant dessert has a melty-tender filling that is rich with almond paste. It is offset by a thin layer of jam set right above the tart crust. Niki used apricot and let the extra double as a glaze, but I bet raspberry would be delicious with all that almond flavor.
• Nothing beats the smell of something tasty baking in the oven first thing in the morning (ok- maybe coffee, but since it’s a beverage we’ll overlook it here), and the combined smell of yeast and toasted coconut coming from a Coconut Raisin Loaf in The Wandering Eater‘s oven is surely worth getting out of bed for. It’s a sweet loaf, but casually put together without the fuss of making a swirl in the dough. It does require an overnight rise, so hopefully you have someone kind enough to pop it into the oven for you in the wee hours to allow you to be the one to wake up to it!
• Forget cupcake wrappers. Milk and Cookies baked a batch of Little Yoghurt and Orange Blossom Cakes and made what would otherwise be a plain cupcake into a very classy sweet by drizzling the entire thing with icing. Orange blossom water is available at specialty stores and combines a citrus taste with a light and flowery one – a combo that is refreshingly springlike in winter and refreshingly light in the heat of summer.
• I watched football all day on Sunday and I’m getting geared up for the Super Bowl already, so as you can imagine, I have sports tv-friendly snacks on my mind. Elise‘s recipe for Cheesy Bread struck me as being the perfect food. It’s easy to make, will appeal to almost everyone and can be eaten plain, with dips or as a side for chili. Elise described it as a “cross between garlic bread and pizza.” Who would turn up their nose at that?