TWD: Cran-Apple Crisp

We're mixing things up this month for Tuesdays with Dorie, so we're baking out of order. Which means that this week, I got to make the excellent Cran-Apple Crisp (I made one large one), chosen by Em at The Repressed Pastry Chef. Check her blog for the recipe and some awesome food photography.

What can I say? It was so easy, so good. I wouldn't change a thing.

Next week: All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake, as selected by Britin of The Nitty Britty (pages 186-187). (I may skip this one, as I've made it before - it's delicious!)

Last week: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

MSCC: Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes, Sort Of

This month, for the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club, I made the Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes, I swear! Karen from Karen's Cookies, Cakes, & More picked out the recipe of the month, and I was excited to try it.

I just didn't photograph my cupcakes...because, well, they didn't turn out quite as I had expected.

I decided to make a batch and bring them to a bonfire party a friend was hosting. The toasted marshmallow topping would have been a great thematic fit. I say would have been.

Procrastination is not a virtue, but I've been making it work for me for decades. I was the one in college who stayed up all night working on a paper the night before it was due. Lack of organizational skills? No, I've always been a bit Type A, actually. No, I needed that push of adrenaline to get it done. I always handed things in on time, and did pretty well grade-wise, so naturally my mind thinks that this is a great way to go through life.

95% of the time, it is, at least for me. Then there's the other 5%...

I made the cupcakes in the morning, and they came out beautifully (I did cheat a little and used a can of organic sweet potato puree from Trader Joe's). If I try these again, I'll probably take it one step further and use a jar of baby food sweet potatoes. A 6 ounce jar of Stage 3 Beech Nut sweet potatoes will run you less than a dollar, and the consistency would work perfectly. Also, the smaller quantity is perfect for half or quarter batches.

Approximately 20 minutes before we had to leave for the party, I decided to make the marshmallow topping with my butane creme brulee torch.

Fire! Fire!

The little mound of miniature marshmallows caught on fire...and burned...and burned...while I watched in horror. The marshmallows never melded together; they simply incinerated as the clock ticked away. This was after one short blast of the torch - they just kept burning! With no time to try an alternate method, I cut my losses and brought some very tasty sweet potato muffins to the party. Sigh.

I'm curious to see if anyone else experienced this with the butane torch. Now I'm definitely sure that the oven method is the way to go. A little Twitter back-and-forth with Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures clued me in.

So...lesson learned...plan ahead!

Next month: Kayte from Grandma's Kitchen Table chose Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cookie Cutouts on page 246.

Last month: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

It's National Bundt Day!

Did you know that today, November 15, is National Bundt Day? If, like me, you're a devoted reader of Mary The Food Librarian, you've been counting down the days!

Mary, a lover of all things bundt, has been keeping new and exciting bundt cakes coming our way for the past month. Her devotion to these circular cakes, as well as her baking stamina, must be celebrated. And her "I Like Big Bundts" logo never fails to make me giggle, because I guess I'm a little immature.

So to celebrate National Bundt Day, and to pay homage to our Bundt Queen, Mary, I did the unthinkable.

I used a cake mix!

Whaaaaaaat?

Oh yes, I did. Turn your nose up all you like. People like cake mix cakes. Which is why I bought a copy of the recently released The Cake Mix Doctor Returns by Anne Byrn. Her formula is simple: doctor up those boxed mixes within an inch of their lives, and always, always use homemade frosting. These are cakes that you can bring to a party or potluck and expect everyone to ask for the recipe. I've made five or six Cake Mix Doctor recipes and they've all been home runs. Just saying...

I chose Cathy's Marbled Spice Cake because I had all the ingredients on hand, and it just sounded perfect for fall. Because I don't like to post copyrighted recipes, I'll just tell you that it involved a box of yellow cake mix, sour cream, molasses, spices, and almond extract. As the recipe name implies, it's a marbled coffee cake, although mine had more of a tunnel look. As it turns out, it's hard to marble in my festive Bundt pan. It would have worked better in a standard Bundt. I've been enjoying it with my morning coffee, and at all other times of day.

(I also made an Applesauce Spice layer cake out of the book a few weeks ago, and it was amazing.)

So if you need a break from all that scratch baking, check out this book. Just don't let it sit next to your copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours on your bookshelf. You'll feel much better about it.

Happy Bundting!

TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies, under the wire!

Well, not really. I actually made these fabulous cookies last week. I made some large, some small; one batch underbaked and chewy, and one batch crispy. They were all amazing - the perfect blend of spices and molasses. I even went for the pinch of black pepper.

I froze half the dough, thinking I could break it out for some spontaneous holiday baking.

Um, the dough didn't make it past November 10th. As I type, there are a couple of survivors waiting anxiously on my counter. Needless to say, these were a hit at our house.

Pamela of Cookies with Boys (one of my favorite TWDers - she actually makes healthy food, too!) picked these babies out, and I'm so glad she did. I'm also glad that I decided to make these early in the month, because how did I live without them?

I'm sure the recipe will be up on Pamela's blog next week, her designated week, but this month we're all over the place with our weekly baking.

Next week (for me, anyway): Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef selected Cran-Apple Crisps on page 422

Last week: Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

The Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast

No food picture. Just a plug for this awesome new cookbook, about which I was so dorkishly excited I pre-ordered from Amazon months ago.

A couple of years ago, I was on the hunt for a recipe for Texas sheet cake. Google brought me to the Pioneer Woman, and I've been enjoying her blog and recipes ever since.

My father-in-law celebrated his 77th birthday last weekend, and I offered to make lunch. I wanted to make something simple, classic, comforting - and I had a hunch that I would find something to fit the bill within these pages.

Chuck roast on sale? Ding ding ding! Pot roast! What better to please an old-school frugal Yankee, known for his excellent pot roast? Except that this would be a (shhh) western recipe. My in-laws have grown to expect that I will throw in a little west-of-the-Mississippi attitude whenever possible.

And without going into too much detail - pot roast, after all, is the essence of simplicity, and I do want to you to run out and grab this book, or put it on your list for Santa - I can tell you that the Yankee loved his birthday pot roast. We all did. The Pioneer Woman Cooks, by Ree Drummond, is full of stick-to-your-ribs, man-pleasing recipes (the stuff they actually want to eat, as opposed to stuff you make them eat), gorgeous photography, and the musings of a self-described "accidental country girl."

Pick yourself up a copy. As Ree herself might say, it's the right thing to do.

TWD: Maybe Next Week...

So, instead of making the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake with Katya of Second Dinner and the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gang, I'm taking the week off. I'm getting my shopping list organized to tackle the rest of the November recipes, including the All in One Holiday Bundt Cake, which I've made before to great acclaim. Stay tuned!

Thanks, LW, for letting us switch things up and bake out of order this month, and thanks, Katya, for picking this cake.

Next week: Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef selected Cran-Apple Crisps on page 422.

Last week: Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

TWD: No Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte Today

Sorry, April from Short + Rose - cutest blog ever, by the way - since chocolate and cherry is not our family's favorite flavor combination, I have to save this one for a more appreciative audience. Sigh. But wow, it does look good. Visit the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll for Cherry-Fudge Brownie Tortes to die for.

Next week: Katya of Second Dinner chose Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake on pages 269-272.

Last week: Sweet Potato Biscuits

Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Have a butternut squash taking up real estate in your crisper? Make this! You won't be sorry.

Think maple-roasted squash tossed with arugula, cranberries, and walnuts in an apple cider-shallot vinaigrette.

Although this salad is pretty perfect as is, I'm fairly certain that a handful or two of crumbled bacon wouldn't hurt it one bit.

Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for turning me on to this one! Love, love, love it.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics (or on the Food Network site)

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

This week on Tuesdays with Dorie...the Sweet Potato Biscuit battle: cut versus drop.

I was excited to try these, because 1) I had such great success with Dorie's basic biscuit recipe, and 2) I'm already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving. These little babies can be made ahead (!), which, for a Thanksgiving hostess with a lone persnickety oven, was reason enough to give them a whirl. Thank you for choosing these, Erin from Prudence Pennywise - sweet potatoes + starch + butter = happiness, in my mind. (You can see the recipe on Erin's blog.)

I rolled out one batch of sticky circles, got sick of the whole thing, and decided to make drop biscuits for the remainder.

As you can see, neither version is terribly impressive from a visual standpoint, but they did taste good. Despite the resemblance to hockey pucks, the biscuits were tender and flaky and sweet potato-ey.

Will they make an appearance on my Thanksgiving table? It's hard to say. I may be in the minority, but I actually preferred these warm - they seemed to get a little gummy when cool. My family expects a high-rising biscuit, so I'll have to stick with Dorie's originals. But I am glad I tried them!

Next week: April of Short + Rose decided on Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte (pages 284-285)

Last week: Allspice-Cinnamon Crumb Muffins

MS Cupcake Club: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I love free child labor in the kitchen. I have a four-and-a-half-year-old baking sidekick who will do any task in return for a few licks of the batter.

If one preschooler is good, then half a dozen must be better, right?

I made and froze the Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes a couple of weeks before my daughter's playgroup came over for some Columbus Day fun. I thawed and frosted them the night before, and turned the kids loose with sprinkles and picks. (I got some cool vintage-y cupcakes picks at Fancy Flours.)

By the way, Kim from What the Whisk picked these out from the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book - thank you, Kim! These were perfect for October. We're not posting recipes in this club, so if you want to make 'em, go put a few more dollars in Martha's pocket and buy the book. It won't hurt, I promise.

Now, about these cupcakes. Who was expecting cake flour? I was expecting something more pumpkin-muffiny, but these babies are delicate, and not too heavy on the pumpkin flavor. If you aren't into pumpkin, you'll love them. If you want something with a little more oomph, you might try another recipe. I did like these, and they certainly made a great base for some Halloween flair, but now I want to make pumpkin bread. And that cream cheese frosting (which we also used last month on the Zucchini Spice Cupcakes)...you just can't go wrong.

Next month: Karen from Karen's Cookies, Cakes, & More chose Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes on page 243

Last month: Zucchini Spice Cupcakes