Buttery, tender, and filled with fresh blackberries.
It doesn’t have to be a holiday like Valentine’s Day to make any day a whole lot sweeter and more pampering with “Blackberry-Rye Cream Scones.”
Rye flour gives them an earthy color and a nutty taste, while a sprinkling of sugar on top before baking creates that crackly sweet crunch none of us can resist.
It’s a collection of 100 recipes for homespun treats such as “Burnt Caramel Basque Cheesecake,” “Chocolate Chestnut Loaf,” “Pretzel Cheese Buns,” and “Buckwheat Walnut Linzer Cookies.”
There are layers upon layers of goodness to enjoy in these little coffee cakes.
Moms are so accustomed to sharing everything — their food, favorite sweater, the family car, and most of all, their time.
So, this Mother’s Day, gift her something that she can call her very own, something she can indulge in selfishly, thoroughly, and completely.
I’m talking “Creamy Jammy Coffee Cakes.”
Bigger than a standard muffin but clearly smaller than a full-on cake that requires slicing, these individual coffee cakes are the perfect size to feel pampered with.
The recipe is from “100 Morning Treats” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Sarah Kieffer, the Minneapolis creator of the award-winning The Vanilla Bean Blog, and the baker who popularized the famed pan-banging, cookie-baking technique.
This fun book is filled with all manner of homey treats to enjoy for breakfast, brunch, and beyond. You’ll fall for everything from “White Chocolate and Fig Pound Cake,” “Giant Carrot Cake Cinnamon Roll,” and “Brioche Bagels” to “Sheet Pan Danish” and “Cheesy Croissant Casserole.”
Sweet, roasted rings of butternut squash make the perfect vehicle to spotlight eggs.
Spring may have sprung, but winter squash hasn’t fallen out of favor yet. At least not in my kitchen.
So, how could I resist these darling “Baked Eggs in Butternut Squash Rings”?
The recipe is from the new “The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook” (Harper Horizon), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Lisa Steele, who has raised chickens for more than a dozen years on her farm in Maine, and is the founder of the blog, Fresh Eggs Daily.
It includes more than 100 recipes highlighting eggs in every which way. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Isn’t it bad to eat eggs every single day? Won’t my cholesterol go through the roof?” The answer is: No. Not if you’re a relatively healthy person. That’s according to the Mayo Clinic, which stated in an article last year, “Research shows that the cholesterol in eggs doesn’t seem to negatively affect the human body compared to other sources of cholesterol. For example, eggs typically are eaten with other foods high in salt, saturated fat and cholesterol, such as bacon, cheese and butter. These foods are known to increase the risk of heart disease, and they should be eaten sparingly.”
This is not a fluffy, lavishly adorned, and fancifully frosted cake you indulge in wickedly.
Rather, this is a cake that will stick to your ribs and set you up for a long, arduous day ahead.
Yes, “Blackberry Oatmeal Cake” is far from dessert, my friends. It is unapologetically breakfast through and through.
It’s austere and hearty, loaded with a ton of oats, a big handful of toasted pecans, a little strawberry jam for the merest sweetness, and fresh blackberries for summery goodness.
It’s by Vallery Lomas, who knows a thing or two about the energy and sustenance it takes to forge ahead when the going’s not easy.
The Louisiana-native used to only bake for the holidays. But after taking a gap year in France after passing the bar exam, this lawyer found herself captivated by macarons. Who can blame her? So much so that when she returned to New York City to take her first job as an attorney, she somehow managed to set up a side business selling her own macarons, as well.
It wasn’t long before Lomas, who had begun the blog Foodie in New York during her last year of law school, started getting noticed. She was swayed to compete on “The Great American Baking Show,” and ended up not only triumphing, but became its first Black winner.
All the wonderfulness of French toast — in a convenient muffin form.
I love this delectable Christina Tosi recipe for “French Toast Muffins” for so many reasons:
It lets you make a load of “French toast” in one fell swoop.
It is a genius use of all those odds and ends of various bread loaves on the verge of freezer-burn at home.
It’s easy enough for kiddos to do, making it an ideal way to spoil mom with breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day. In fact, it’s featured in the “Milk Bar: Kids Only” cookbook (Clarkson Potter, 2020), of which I received a review copy.
You probably know Pastry Chef Tosi as the founder and owner of the phenomenon known as Milk Bar bakery, as well as for her judging prowess on TV’s “MasterChef.”
Her creations at Milk Bar are beloved for their nostalgic effervescence and joyous kid-like appeal. So, a cookbook like this is a natural. It’s sure to entice kids into the kitchen with recipes such as “Coco Cabana Cereal Squares,” “Compost Pancakes,” “Donut Shakes,” and “Corn Dog Waffles.”
She even instructs how to judge if baked goods are done, by employing cocktail umbrella toothpicks to demonstrate, as well as trouble-shoots problems such as cupcakes or muffins sinking in the middle (You’re opening and closing the oven too much.).
For “French Toast Muffins,” you rip up bread slices into small pieces “as if you were feeding ducks in the park.” (One of the best recipe directions I’ve ever read, by the way.)
