Bites from other Blogs

• Baking Chic‘s Orange Cupcakes with Sweetened Condensed Frosting are a simple dessert that deliver some delicious flavors in a small package. The fluffy cupcakes are flavored with a generous amount of orange zest – two whole tablespoons – for a very fresh citrus flavor along with a little hint of vanilla. The sweet, orange-laced frosting is the kind that you casually spread on to your cupcakes, not the kind that you pipe elaborate decorations with. It ties in with the cupcakes perfectly in terms of flavor and also marks these as an everyday treat to bake, not one that you have to save for a special occasion.
• There are a lot of great elements packed into these Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Swirl Cookies from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. The swirled cookies have two different flavors of cookie dough rolled into one. Half the dough is spiked with instant coffee and the other half has melted chocolate and cocoa powder added to it. These doughs are rolled out together and topped with a generous sprinkling of finely chopped Heath bars before being rolled up and cut into buttery, swirling cookie rounds and baked.
• Cinnamon rolls aren’t the only bun option at breakfast. Averie Cooks made some Strawberry Sweet Rolls that offer a fruitier option for summertime brunch. The rolls start with a soft yeast dough and are filled with strawberry jam. Use a high quality jam that features pieces of fresh fruit for the best effect. The jam intensifies in flavor as the rolls bake, leaving you with buns that are sweet and fruity, as well as fluffy and tender. They’re finished off with a drizzle of vanilla cream cheese glaze to take them over-the-top.
• Gluten Free Canteen paired some summer fruit with a hint of apple in this Blueberry Apple Pie. The filling is mostly made with bright, sweet blueberries. There is a small amount of applesauce, which acts as a kind of binder for the filling in addition to providing a hint of apple flavor, and just enough cinnamon and lemon zest to make the berries pop. The rich filling is a great match for the pie’s crisp crust – which just happens to be completely gluten free! You could also package this filling in a traditional pie crust for those who don’t need to watch their gluten intake.
• The Fudgy Fluffernutter Swirl Brownies that Chocolate Moosey baked recently are a slice of decadence. The rich chocolate brownies have peanut butter chips in them and are topped with a layer of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter – which give the brownies their fluffernutter name – before baking. The sweet-salty effect is delicious on its own and just might be even better with chocolate. It might get a little messy when you’re applying the marshmallow and peanut butter toppings to your brownie batter, but that is just part of the fun.

Celebrating Everyday Occasions Pillsbury Baking Giveaway!

Summer should be full of bright colors and bold flavors, and the foods of summer are no exception. Grills come out to cook meats and veggies, and fresh fruits get incorporated into everything from drinks to dessert. Even cake and cookie mixes can get into the summer spirit, and Pillsbury‘s seasonal Key Lime and Orangesicle mixes are the perfect example. They have bold colors and flavors that fit in well with the spirit of the season, but let you cut down on some of the time you have to spend in the kitchen when it comes to entertaining. To kick-start the summer, I’m hosting a summer giveaway from Pillsbury that includes over $120 of goodies that will allow you to celebrate everyday occasions even better.

The giveaway includes:

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Orangesicle Magic Bars

Magic bars are a popular bar cookie get their name because they require few ingredients and are so easy to make that it’s hard to believe they taste as good as they do. The classic recipe features chocolate, nuts and coconut on a graham cracker crust and while it is a fantastic combination of flavors, there are times when a little variety is good. I was intrigued by the Orangesicle Cookie Mix that Pillsbury recently introduced as a summer item, since I am a huge fan of orange and vanilla creamsicles and have even made Creamsicle Cupcakes before. So, I played around with the mix and came up with a fun summer recipe using it: Orangesicle Magic Bars.

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Elevate Spatulas

When I’m mixing up a recipe in my kitchen, one of the tools that I use the most is a spatula. I use it to scrape the sides of bowls, fold together ingredients and scrape batters into waiting pans. Since I also use a whisk or a mixer, I often need to set my spatula down when I’m not using it. Most spatulas are flat, so anything on them – such as sticky batter or meringue - will end up on your counter if you need to set your spatula down unless you can find something to lean it against. This set of Elevate Spatulas are designed to avoid this problem and each has a small stand built into the handle that keeps the spatula head elevated and off the counter. It’s a small addition to the traditional design of a spatula, but it is one that makes so much sense! The spatulas otherwise work like traditional spatulas, with flexible silicone heads that are heat resistant up to 650F. They are sold as a set that includes three different sizes: small, large and spoon.

Pina Colada Scones

An icy, blended pina colada is a drink that reminds me of being on vacation in Hawaii, where I’ve had some of the best pina coladas (in the best atmosphere) that I can remember. It’s a combination of coconut, pineapple and rum blended up with lots of ice. Every time I have one, it takes me back to my last trip out there. And even if you haven’t been to Hawaii (yet), the tropical flavors in a pina colada can give you the feel of what it is like to sit on the beach with a tropical drink.

Of course, these Pina Colada Scones aren’t quite as cooling as an icy, blended drink – but they still do capture the flavors of the tropics. They include coconut milk, shredded coconut and dried pineapple. They’re buttery and tender, with a good coconut flavor to them and just enough pineapple to make the idea of the cocktail come through. These are “virgin” scones and don’t include any alcohol, but if you want to make them even more like the drink, you can add in a splash of rum extract to give it a hint of rum flavor.

Fresh pineapple has a lot of moisture in it that can make the scones soggy, so dried pineapple works better in this recipe because it keeps the scones light and tender. Freeze dried pineapple, finely chopped, could also be used and is another option for infusing these with pineapple flavor. You can use sweetened or unsweetened coconut in these and both will give you good results. I prefer to use sweetened coconut because it helps boost the coconut flavor a little bit. The scones are best the day they are made, but they will keep well for a day or two when stored in an airtight container.

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