Bites from other Blogs

“Easy” must have been a quality on my mind this week, as most of the recipes that appealed to me were the kind that baked fast and came together even faster. This leaves more time for snacking – and more time to look for even more recipes, right?

• Recipes that turn out jumbo-sized cookies tend not to make too many of them, largely because you’re getting two or three “normal” cookies in one and a batch of dough would have to be huge to come out with the same number of cookies. My recipe made about 24. The Super Small Batch Extra Large Chunk Cookies at Cookie Madness is a recipe that only makes 4 cookies – the perfect number of decadent baked goodness (as if you couldn’t tell they’d be good from the name alone!) for one, two, three or four people to enjoy hot from the oven and without leftovers.
• I’ve had chocolate cakes made with Guinness before. It’s a reasonably popular cake ingredient because dark stouts often have chocolaty notes that complement cocoa well. I don’t always keep stouts on hand for baking (or drinking, for that matter) and neither does Everybody Likes Sandwiches. She ended up subbing in a local Maple Cream ale to a Nigella recipe to come up with a Red Ale and Chocolate Cake. The sub worked beautifully and the pictures are enough to inspire a little experimentation in any kitchen.
• Quick, easy and mess-free are all qualities that make the Chocolate Pumpkin Bread at Canadian Bakersound good, but “moist, flavourful and studded with chocolate chips” are the real sellers. It’s a popular apres-ski snack at Island Lake Lodge in British Colombia. I bet it would be delicious toasted and served with hot chocolate.
• Once upon a tart has a lovely recipe up for a savory loaf cake. The Cake with Ham, Sage and Sundried Tomatoes is a moist loaf, infused with cheese and eggs in addition to the three primary flavoring ingredients that give it its name. Certainly a bit unusual, the cake/bread matches well with wine as a snack or with a salad, as a light lunch. Spread some cream cheese on it as Myriam suggests and you have a winning brunch dish to offer in place of bagles or toast.
• When your very special friend is a very special pup, Palachinka‘s Very Special Dog Cookiesmight be the perfect treat to bake. The cookies are made with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, almonds, honey and rice flour, bound together with beef broth for a hearty taste – at least we assume it’s a hearty taste. Palachina’s minipin didn’t look like he was complaining!
• And if you’re pressed for time and want to whip together something sweet (or want to give the kids something to do for a while), take a look at Candyblog‘s Candy Crescents and find a creative use for leftover chocolate and a roll of refrigerated crescent roll dough.