Maple Bacon Cookies

Nothing like friends sharing a recipe with you! My running friend, Sarah, (who has a lovely blog y'all should check out: The ImaginariYUM) posted this recipe to my facebook page last week. Earlier that day I was thinking about the next type of cookie I should bake. It was like Sarah KNEW what I was thinking. (Although, I'm thinking about cookies A LOT, so it was a good guess.)

 

My boyfriend and I had a chili cook-off to attend on Saturday. So while he was busy making his chili, I was busy whipping up these cookies. His kitchen was a hotbed of activity and yumminess.

 

I really enjoyed baking the bacon for this recipe. Yes. BAKING the bacon. Brushing maple syrup over bacon strips that were arranged on a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet was weirdly theruputic. It took longer for the bacon to cook in the oven than the recipe said, but after 35 minutes, it was perfect. The dough of the cookie is very sweet with all the maple syrup and brown sugar that was called for,  but the addition of salty bacon complimented it so well. It's like pancakes and bacon made love and birthed this cookie. People at the chili cook-off said the cookies were delicious and that they wished they had a cup of coffee to go with it.

 

Cookie Success! (Oh, and my boyfriend got first place in the cook-off. Chili Success! Maybe we should open up a restaurant!)

Maple Bacon Cookies recipe can be found here: refinery29

Bake well and prosper!

Maple Yogurt Muffins with Pecans

Happy Thanksgiving!

My dad is in town for a couple of days for a nice, fun filled father/daughter vacation. I know he likes pecans and I wanted to make something we could bring to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. When I saw these muffins I knew I had a winner!

This recipe is also a good one for using up any leftover pecans from Thanksgiving baking.

And now for your enjoyment: A special something from my past. A Thanksgiving poem I wrote in 4th grade.

Thankful for the food we eat
Happy 'cause it's turkey meat.
Apples, bananas, grapes
None are for the apes.
King on high we praise thy name
So you love us all the same.
Giving us our food to eat.
In every room it's very neat.
Vistors coming now.
In the living room we eat the cow.
Nothing better than cherry pie.
God, I hope I never die!
(copyright Erika Beth 1992)

I hope you laughed a little at that and I hope your holiday is filled with tons of mirth and joy!

Maple Yogurt Muffins with Pecans (from and now for something Completely Delicious)

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup pecans, chopped and around 16 pecan halves for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter and dust with flour.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook until browned, swirling the pan as necessary to promote even cooking. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the browned butter, maple syrup, yogurt, and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar. baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients all at once and stir until just combined. Add the chopped pecans.

Fill the muffin pan with the muffin batter, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Top each with a pecan half. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12-16 muffins.

Bake well and prosper!

An Apple a Day - Apple Squares with Maple Glaze

Welcome to the 4th day of

I'm rather tired right now. I made this recipe this morning, I went to the Navy vs Notre Dame game, then I went to an Oktoberfest party, and then I sang at an opera forum. But you know what I'm not tired from? Apples! I'm still loving every recipe and I am sure you'll really love this one I found on Sprinkled with Flour.

Apple Squares with Maple Glaze (adapted from Sprinkled with Flour)

Cake

3 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute any oil, like coconut)

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour would substitute well)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups chopped unpeeled apples (Braeburn, Gala, or similar) Erika's Extra: I used a mix of Granny Smith and Stayman Winesap)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Maple Glaze
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
2-3 tablespoons whole milk
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (can use maple extract also)

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick baking spray with flour; set aside. Leave the apples unpeeled, but remove core and chop the apples into small pieces.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs and salt. Beat at medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and oil, and beat until blended. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, and beat just until combined.

Fold in the apples, nuts and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Set the pan on a wire rack, let cool.

For the Glaze:

In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, butter and enough milk to make a spreadable consistency. This was about 2 tablespoons for me. Mix until smooth. Add the tablespoon of maple syrup/maple extract, and stir. Spread over the mostly cooled cake. Let the frosting set, then cut into bars.

Tip: For baking this cake in ramekins, just fill with batter about 1/2 - 2/3 full. If you fill too high it will spill over the sides. Bake until cake is golden and set, about 30-35 minutes.

Bake well and prosper!