There are some staples that should always be in a baker’s pantry: flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Some lists leave out the last two, or only include them as extras, but I use vanilla and cocoa powder almost every single day and my kitchen is never without them. …
Cold winter weather prompts many of us to spend extra time in the kitchen cooking and baking, but the springtime might be even better baking weather. As things warm up, all kinds of things come in to season and that makes me want to bake even more. If you’ve been experimenting with …
We have all had disasters in the kitchen before. Whether you added salt to a batch of cookies instead of sugar, stepped away from the stove to answer the phone and ended up with kitchen full of smoke, or discovered too late that your cousin put a frozen turkey into the oven for …
Chocolate extract is an alcohol solution infused with cocoa beans, which makes it very similar to vanilla extract, but with the flavor of cocoa instead of vanilla. It’s an interesting extract to work with because it is unusual and not often called for in recipes, although it can really round out …
I keep a container full of vanilla sugar in the back of my pantry that I refresh every time I have an extra vanilla bean around. Making your own vanilla sugar is a great way to repurpose vanilla beans that you have already use to infuse a custard or other sauce …
Any baker will tell you that vanilla is one of the most essential ingredients that you can have in your pantry. Although only a small amount goes into most recipes, vanilla can improve the flavor of just about everything it touches. I try to keep a good supply of vanilla on hand, both …
Peppermint and chocolate is a wonderful combination, whether you are eating a chocolate-dipped peppermint candy or stirring a candy cane into a mug of hot cocoa. Peppermint doesn’t get paired quite as often with vanilla, but I believe that the two flavors just might be an even better combination – especially when you …
In honor of our Vanilla Summer Giveaway this week, I’m concentrating on recipes that include vanilla for this week’s Bites from other Blogs. From vanilla ice cream to a fresh fruit pie with a hint of vanilla, there is no wrong way to enjoy it – in fact, you can put it …
