Summer Love: Sally's Baking Addiction

As an award-winning baker myself (hey, it was 3rd place for cupcakes at the Dixie Classic Fair so it totally counts), I am very picky when it comes to baked goods. The best recipes need to strike that balance between being delicious and not too time consuming.
So a few years ago, I found the best blog ever for fabulous recipes that fit my impatient time limit. Thank the chocolate gods for Sally's Baking Addiction - and if you don't know this blog, click over there right now.
"Sally" is Sally McKenney, a woman who has the patience to try try and try again until she finds the perfect set of ingredients for the very best cakes, pies, and cookies. That is a true talent. I love to bake, but I'm one of those "just throw it in there and see what comes out" kind of girls. Sometimes that works, and sometimes that doesn't.
Every single thing I ever made from Sally's blog popped out of the oven just as perfect as she said it would be. And the cupcake recipes always make exactly 12. That happens to be a sticking point for me with other cupcake recipes, frankly. Yes, I realize that's weird. But obviously Sally shares that odd obsession.
I was thrilled this summer when I received a cookbook of the best recipes from her blog, called oddly enough Sally's Baking Addiction. And, as many of you know, I spent this summer baking my way through the cookbook.
I'm obsessed with cookbooks, and I enjoy baking, but I rarely want to try every single recipe I find in a single cookbook. This was the exception - I loved every recipe and wasn't disappointed with any of the processes or ingredients. Everything was fairly easy and straightforward. And I have a lot of happy friends, since I passed along most of what I made.
So head to her blog and search through the thousands of recipes, or give this book to the baker in your life. Meanwhile, scroll below through the photos of the sinful goods I made this summer!

Jumbo Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Glazed Orange Macaroons (I did the glaze my own way)

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies (sans the green food coloring)

Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Brown Sugar Marble Pound Cake (pre-bake, of course)

Sugared Lemon Bars

Let Me Eat Cake

Of all the sweets one could crave, cake is always near the top of my list. Usually right behind pie, of course.

Cake hits all the right nostalgic buttons, reminding us of celebrations gone by and birthdays we loved. I remember my mom's world-famous Sundrop Cake (well, world-famous in our house), the amazing four-layer rainbow cake she make for my sister's birthday, the German Chocolate cake that looked weird but tasted amazing, the prize-winning pound cakes my friend Julie bakes, and the first rolled cake I made that was missing a crucial ingredient (sugar).
A new book, Vintage Cakes, remakes classic recipes from bundts to angel food to chiffon. The tools and techniques may be updated, but the cakes themselves are delightfully old school, including Texas Sheet Cake, Honey Bee Cake, Kentucky Bourbon Cake, Daffodil Cake, and Watergate Cake. Some of the heirloom recipes date to the 1920s, and many had to be reconstructed back to "scratch recipes" rather than boxed recipes that became popular in the 1940s.
Since there are 50 recipes included, I'm seriously considering trying all of these recipes over the next year, one per week. So if you live near me, get ready to help me eat cake.

Baking Old School

Bakeries can be a dime a dozen (pardon the pun), but one that has staying power can be hard to find. The Back in the Day bakery has been serving up comforting dishes of sugar and spice for 10 years. To celebrate that amazing anniversary, owners Cheryl and Griff Day are showcasing some of their top recipes in the new Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook.

The old-fashioned fare has a distinct Southern accent and a sense of community, as if the duo is lending you their dog-eared recipes to copy down over a cup of coffee.
As Cheryl writes in the introduction, "We are inviting those who can't make it to our bakery to slow down and taste the sweet life in their own kitchens."
And how sweet it is – with recipes for Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, Drunk Blondies, Lavender Shortbread, and Salted Caramel Apple Pie.
Savory dishes aren't ignored, but are celebrated, including Vegetable Potpie, Pancetta Fontina Bread Pudding, Southern Corn Cakes, and Hot and Spicy Mixed Nuts.
There's a genuineness to the Days that makes this a more-than-special cookbook with a piquant charm. (Artisan - 2012)

But I Still Won't Make Mayonnaise

I go through phases of wanting to be more like Julia Child and less like Lorelai Gilmore. I get all of my cookbooks out and decide that we will only eat homemade items. And then I come back to my senses.

With a new garden all ready to go for the spring, though, I'm getting excited about fresh soups and salads with some homemade loaves of bread. Much more doable.
When Jennifer Reese (of the great blog Tipsy Baker) lost her job, she went into a make-it-or-break-it panic, thinking that she needed to make everything that her family ate to save money. Once she started raising chickens and making her own peanut butter, though, she realized there should be a balance between the time and hassle of making everything and the convenience of purchasing some items at the store.
Make the Bread, Buy the Butter tracks Reese's learning curve with humor and great insights. She lists the items that are not worth making yourself based on a cost comparison and the amount of time/effort it takes. According to her kitchen-tested research, you should buy baguettes, rice pudding, corn dogs, and burritos. But you should cure your own meats, and make whipped cream, bagels, and pickles.
I'd rather make rice pudding than bagels (and yes, I've made both at home), but that's just me. I do draw the line at mayonnaise, which Reese says could go either way. Making mayo just has a high ick-factor for me.
Even if you don't decide to suddenly grind your own wheat, you'll get a kick out of Reese's commentary as she contemplates deep thoughts, like who in the world actually buys those frozen Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches.
She also offers some easy and fairly pain-free recipes for the things she recommends you make yourself. But my friend Julie – who desperately and strangely wants her own flock of chickens – will be bummed to learn that eggs are on the "buy" list. Chickens are a hassle, Julie. Trust me.

Even More Pie!

Two weeks ago, I posted about my favorite dessert ― pie. An astute reader keyed in on my statement that I am currently in love with the little pocket pie molds that you can get at specialty stores. That reader (who now gets a major gold star) sent me another awesome pie book: Handheld Pies. This just takes my pie obsession to a whole new level.

Like the Perfect Pies book I reviewed before, there are plenty of sweet and savory recipes included here, but they are in the cutest little pie-packages ever. See how obsessed I am?
The bulk of the Handheld Pies recipes are split into two categories: Structured Pies (usually made with some sort of mold and with a larger proportion of filling compared to crust) and Free-Form Pies (which should be fairly self-explanatory).
Structured Pie recipes that stood out for me were Buttermilk-Whiskey Pie and Farmer Cheese Pie. Cheese and crust ― a match made in foodie heaven.
In Free-Form Pies, there is even a recipe for creating your own pop tarts. My husband will love that.
Also included in Handheld Pies is an idea that never occurred to me ― making pies in jars. I don't think I've ever heard of that, but I'm definitely going to try it, particularly the Vanilla Malt Pie in a Jar.
I also think I've found my new motto in the book's introduction: "The sooner you [start baking], the sooner you'll have pie in hand, pie in mouth. And in our experience, there's no better way to be."
I'm getting that on a T-shirt.
Handheld Pies was just published last month by Chronicle Books.

Wednesday's Cookbook: Try Pie

Cupcakes are so 2010. Don't get me wrong, I still love a good cupcake covered in frosting. In fact, I won a third-place ribbon for cupcakes at the Dixie Classic Fair last year. But that's a (crazy) story for another day.

My favorite dessert is, and always has been, pie. Any kind of pie will do, but I'm especially fond of my friend Julie's cherry pie. I also love savory pies for dinner, particularly chicken pot pie and quiche. I'm currently fascinated with the little pocket pie makers you can find in food specialty stores. Gotta love a pie you can carry around with you.
Michele Stuart's new book Perfect Pies covers all the sweet and savory territory. Stuart knows her stuff ― she's won the National Pie Championships several times over, which puts my local-fair ribbon to shame. But I digress.
Don't be put off by the fancy photo on the cover. The recipes are more down-home than haute stuff, and the instructions are easy to follow. Sweet pies include the ever-popular fruit, nut, and meringue varieties. But there are some special and unusual ideas here too, including Twisted Citrus Blackberry, Pineapple Mango, and Maple Oatmeal Raisin.
For the savory pies, there's an amazing recipe for Lobster Pot Pie and another for Sausage and Provolone Quiche. If you're visiting me over the holidays, you're probably going to see one of those on my table.
Perfect Pies also offers crust, whipped cream, and topping ideas that will make you drool. I'm sure Stuart's pastry crust recipe is a good one, but I will always make my own special secret recipe for pie crust. I've only ever shared it within my family ― and my mother-in-law now swears by it, too.
Since we're such good friends here and all, I'll share it with you too. Here goes: Get in the car. Drive to the store. Buy a Pillsbury Pie Crust. Go home and use it. Easy peasy.
Perfect Pies was published in September by Random House.

Wednesday's Cookbook: Baking History

Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

by Marilyn Brass and Sheila Brass
There are recipes that are handed down from generation to generation, the type of dishes that bring back strong memories of someone you love. We have a lot of those in my family ― sausage gravy makes me think of my grandma, ginger crinkles remind me of my great-grandmother, and chocolate pies make me think of my Chris-Mom (That's the name I made up for my other grandma. And it fits her).
For my mom, there are almost too many dishes to list. But her blintzes send me into orbit. When we were kids, we could barely wait until she had them off the baking sheet. I can't tell you how many times I burned my tongue on them. I never learned.
This cookbook, recently named a James Beard finalist, is the follow-up to the Brass Sisters book on heirloom cooking that was published in 2008 and it has a similar nostalgic flavor.
The Winthrop, Mass.-based sisters (named Marilyn and Sheila) have spent a lifetime collecting archival recipes. They have snapped up old recipe boxes at flea markets and yard sales, purchased old cooking pamphlets and guides full of recipes, and have poured over their own family journals to collect these amazing recipes.
Adding to the nostalgia of the food are photos of antique cooking implements and cookie cutters, as well as the covers of old recipe books from 1900 to 1940. A date is listed with each recipe so you can get a sense of the time period.
But this isn't an antiquated cookbook; directions and ingredients are completely up-to-date. In some cases, the expert Brass Sisters have slightly changed the recipes to adjust for more modern tastes.
The book is organized by type (like "Keeping the Cookie Jar Filled" or "Waking Up to Breakfast") and by occasion ("A Southern Lady Pours Tea" or "Bridge with the Girls").
I also like the interesting sidebars. For example, Sweet Touch gives suggestions for additional ingredients or toppings. Sweet Tips offer cool ideas ― like coating a spoon with cooking spray before measuring honey.
The heart of this book is that sense of family and of sharing. And in that spirit, the Brass Sisters also included pages in the back of the book so you can write down your own heirloom recipes, as well as a built-in envelope to store old notes and cards. So my next task is to convince my mom that I need the blintz recipe. Stay tuned...
(2011 - Black Dog & Leventhal - awesome name for a publisher)