Mocha is the grown-up version of hot chocolate, simply hot chocolate enhanced with a shot of coffee to make the flavor darker and to give the drinker a little more of a pick-me-up than chocolate alone can provide. It’s a relatively simple drink and you wouldn’t think that it could sustain an …
A pair of updated recipes
From time to time I’ll go back through my archives and update some of my older recipes. I actually have many recipes that I remake on a very regular basis, and I like to be able to add a new picture or two to a post with a less-than-perfect picture when I …
Holiday traditions and favorite recipes
Earlier this week, I briefly mentioned that Christmas is one of those holidays where a lot of people stick with the same traditions year in and year out. You might add a cookie recipe or two to the rotation, but there are probably at least one or two dishes that you always …
Bundt Panettone
 Panettone is a sweet yeast bread that originated in Milan, Italy. Served most often at Christmas, though it is also baked for other occasions, the tender bread is baked as a tall round (either a cylinder or an octagon) and filled with things like raisins, candied citrus and nuts. Sometimes the …
Igloo and snowman pans
Shaped, holiday pans can be tough for a baker to resist, but let’s face it: how many times can you make a Santa-shaped cake? The window of opportunity to use a cake pan like that is very small, even if it does make an ideal cake for a Christmas …
Cranberry, Feta and Avocado Salad
Hearty and hot foods, from roasts and stews to soup, are definitely the order of the day during the winter. They warm us up and give us enough energy to fight the cold when we have to go outdoors. Of course, here in Southern California the cold that I’m fighting is nowhere …
Gingerbread Cookie Contest Winners!
The Baking Bites Gingerbread Cookie Contest is now at an end. Entries closed on the 18th and we now have a winner! Reader lisapeet’s Happy Puppy Xmas Cookies – each featuring a Santa-hat clad puppy in honor of her dog Milo – are taking the grand prize. They almost look …
Orange and Pecan Sugar Cookies
For just about every holiday, there are some flavors that just seem to naturally fit right into the overall feel of the season. Christmas in particular has a lot of flavors associated with it, as families often stick with the same traditional foods year after year. Cranberry Orange bread is a staple …
