A Baking Success:
One of my favorite things to make (and eat) is muffins. I'm always on the look-out for a new muffin recipe to try out, and last month when I found a recipe for vegan strawberry-rhubarb muffins, it went immediately to the top of the list. I'm not a vegan, but I thought it would be a fun challenge, and I'd never cooked with rhubarb before. The recipe called for cardamom, which involved a small scavenger hunt to a couple of local grocery stores. Cardamom is a little pricey, but since then I've found several recipes that call for it, and the flavor it adds is totally worth the investment! It was also an opportunity for me to try baking with almond milk, which is pretty much exclusively what I have in the fridge these days (partially for health, and partially because cow's milk has always smelled a little weird to me).
In the pan and ready to go, with some oats and brown sugar on the top.
All baked up!
They turned out fantastic! Really moist and flavorful - we ate half up that week, and put the other half in the freezer for a quick breakfast.
A Baking Non-Success:
I don't want to call this a failure, because they tasted great, but it was a learning experience. MG requested homemade oatmeal cream pies for his birthday (like the Little Debbie's). I found a recipe online and set about baking. The good news: they looked and tasted great! Really soft and chewy, just like the store brand, but the cookie wasn't quite as sweet, which in our opinion was a good thing. The cream filling is something else - I licked the spatula after I was finished putting the sandwiches together, and could feel the sugar coursing through my veins. I stacked them up on a plate to wait to enjoy after dinner. The bad news: fast-forward 5 hours in our warm apartment, and they all stuck together! It was a mess. We're not picky, so we managed to salvage two and enjoyed the taste thoroughly, but unfortunately we could only pry off about 4 (out of the remaining 16) for MG to take in to the office to share with his coworkers. I would probably make them again for a special occasion, but I've definitely learned the importance of wax paper between layers.
The finished product! Before we realized they'd fused together into a giant DIY oatmeal cream pie tower. Still delicious, though!
hey blogging chick! i want me some fused oatmeal cream pies
ReplyDeleteThose both look delicious! Congrats on the weight loss and eating healthy--I'm attempting that too (though the past few weeks have not made much forward progress...). But your blogging has inspired me to make something healthy and tasty tonight!
ReplyDeleteShirley - I'm excited to hear what you ended up making! It's really hard sometimes to "be good" with what I eat, but the more recipes I collect, the more I feel like I can make an healthier version of whatever I'm craving.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. I definitely need to find more recipes, so your blog is helping me out since you suggest some really tasty looking meals!
ReplyDeleteI feel like you need to share the oatmeal cream pie recipe Esther. And if you ever have a giant clump of deliciousness that you need eaten, just call me! :-P
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