In horse racing, a “breeze” is where a racehorse is asked to show some speed and run at a fast gallop, but not to push himself too hard. It’s a good indicator of speed and fitness in a horse. At Belmont Park in New York, it’s still a racing term (of course) …
Dark Double Chocolate Cookies
I often hear people saying that they want to reduce the sugar in a recipe, or they don’t want something to be “too sweet.” I’ve had cookies that are made with too much sugar and they taste grainy and unpleasant, but I don’t generally want to reduce the sugar in any other …
Circus Animal Cookie Cutters
Barnum’s Animal Crackers, small animal-shaped cookies that come in a distinctive circus car-shaped box, have been around for over a century. They were first introduced in 1902 when they were known simply as “Barnum’s Animal” and were sold in bulk, the boxes sold as optional extras. Now, they’re made …
Plastic bags vs. pastry bags for piping
I’m a big fan of tricks that make my life easier in the kitchen and one that I use often is substituting a plastic bag for a pastry bag. A pastry bag is little more than a conical plastic bag that is open at the wide end and sealed …
Choosing a revolving cake stand
The advantage of having a revolving cake stand is that it gives you easy access to all sides of the cake for frosting. It’s not an absolutely necessary kitchen tool, even if you’re a baker, however. When you only frost a cake once in a blue moon and it’s for your own personal enjoyment, …
Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Logically, we can say that no one type of cupcake is better than any other, and everyone is entitled to their personal preferences. But secretly, we all feel that there is one type of cupcake that is just a bit better than all the alternatives, one flavor pairing of cake and frosting …
Bites from other Blogs
- Alanna (from Veggie Venture)’s Vanilla Brownies might not sound like the fudgy, chocolaty goodness that you might expect from a brownie recipe, but rest assured that the brownies are not lacking in the chocolate department. Instead, they are spiked with a generous amount of vanilla bean that is pureed into …
Trader Joe’s Ultimate Vanilla Wafers, reviewed
I used to love Nilla Wafers as a kid. It’s not that the cookies themselves were so amazing, though. The thing I liked about them was that they are vanilla flavored and, up until the last couple of years, vanilla wasn’t usually a flavor highlighted in storebought cookies . Most cookies were …