Joy the Baker

The date was September 17th, 2009.  

Yes.  Yesterday.  

That’s the day that I finally stopped totally sucking at scone baking.  That’s the day that I didn’t pull a tray of overly sweet, super flat triangle shaped mounds out of the oven, trying to pass them off as scones.  

Summon the parade.  I’d like you to call in the marching band please.  Flag twirlers would also be nice.  This is sort of a parade worthy occasion.  Fluffy, rounded, nicely browned, fruit filled scones?  From my oven?  Yes.  Parade please.

Oh!  Just so we’re clear…  I’ve made at least twenty dozen terrible batches of scones in my lifetime.  Terrible terrible.  I just couldn’t get it right!   Let this space hold as proof that I’ve wrestled scone dough and oven temperatures and come out successful.

Here’s proof:  pink and fruity, spiced, hearty and subtly sweet scone proof.  

Read more »

I like you.

No..,  I’m being completely serious here.  I totally like you.  I think you’re great.  You know when you sometimes steal the covers and fart in your sleep?   That’s cool with me.  Maybe that happens to all of us.

Yes.  You.  I like exactly who you are.

I’d like to make each and every one of you breakfast.  This weekend.  You and me.  Let’s do it!  The only little snafu is that, I can’t be everywhere, making everyone breakfast.  I’m going to need your help.

Will you make yourself breakfast on my behalf?  Sure, it might sound a little silly, but I’ve got my serious face on right now.  If you’ve been around these blogparts for more than a minute that you probably know that I love… I seriously looooove breakfast.

See, I love breakfast and I totally like you.  I thought that maybe… in this really cool way… you could find a recipe here on Joy the Baker, make it for yourself for breakfast this weekend… and maybe that way just feel a hint of exactly how rad I think you are.

Can we do this together?

Jump on over and drool through some of my favorite breakfast recipes.  Pick one.  Make it for yourself this weekend.  Share it with friends.  Share it with husbands and families.  Make the wife breakfast!  Make yourself feel good with a little weekend breakfast, and you’ll experience a just a bit of how good you all make me feel every day.

Carrot Cake Pancakes.  Say you will.

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread.  Say you might.

Read more »

Here’s a fun game to play:

Grab a chef.  Any chef will do.

Ask that chef what their favorite Oatmeal Cookie recipe is.  I’ll bet you my favorite slippers (not that you would want those) that their favorite recipe for Oatmeal Cookies is the recipe right there on the Quaker Oats can.

I know… too easy right?  Take the easy.  Accept the easy.  Some things are complicated.  Other things are as simple as the Oatmeal Cookie recipe that I’ve been making since I was old enough to reach the counter.

Embrace the good, then add cherries and chocolate.

Read more »

With a deep breath and a big fat smile I welcome you to National I’m a Maniac and Posting On My Blog Everyday for and Entire Month, also known as NoBloPoMo.  

Well…. here we are.  Now what do we do?  Can we just sit and stare at one another for an entire month?  No?  You mean you actually want me to cook things, take pictures and tell you all about them?  Ooooh.  I guess that makes sense.  What’s that?  You want my crazy good Apple Pie recipe?  Ok… we can do that.

What else?  I’m coming to you with an empty bowl and a clean spatula.  What would you like to see come from Joy the Baker in the next month?  Do you have a recipe you want to share?  Do you want me to make more pancakes?  Do you need some sort of tutorial?  Leave a comment announcing your deepest baking desires and we’ll see if I can make all your dreams come true.  It’s going to be just like Disneyland, with shorter lines and fewer mice.  

And now…. oatmeal.

Read more »

I’m a huge breakfast fanatic.  I usually go for something hearty, healthy and full of surprise goodies.  That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes reach for a donut and some coffee, but this go around I opted for old-fashioned oatmeal with the gorgeous flavors of cranberry, orange and almond.  I threw in a bit of brown sugar for good measure, and surrounded my oatmeal with cold milk.  It was a delightful breakfast- satisfying but not too heavy.  It’s the kind of breakfast that convinces you you’re ready to take on the world.  Brilliant Read more »

 By Sunday, my fridge is usually full of baking leftovers from the week-  a bit of cookie dough, scraps of cake, a tiny bit of frosting.  What to do with all these treats sometimes perplexes me.  This week, I married the leftover cookie dough I had in the freezer from my cookie extravaganza, and the Swiss Meringue Buttercream from my Blackberry Jam Cake.   Oatmeal sandwich cookies!  They’re great wrapped in wax paper and stacked in the fridge for a sweet snack.  They won’t last very long, I guarantee.  

Read more »

I’ll be the first to admit, that I’ve been breakfast obsessed lately.  I fall asleep thinking about the breakfast.  I wake up thinking I better hurry to the kitchen to get breakfast and tea started.  I eat breakfast standing in front of my kitchen window watching my morning get brighter and brighter with the sun and listening the the morning’s news on the radio.  It’s a ritual I’ve become attached to.  Oatmeal is my no fail breakfast treat, and I’ve had pecans on the brain lately.  This buttered pecan oatmeal is rich, earthy and filling. The warm, sweet and nutty combination would be great with fruit too- any fruit- bananas, apples, peaches, berries.  It’s the kind of breakfast my dreams are made of.

Read more »