Interview with The Brownie Boy (A home grown business taking you back to your favorite memories.)

On my first of three, yes three, trips to Smorgasburg this year I was introduced to The Brownie Boy. What stuck out was the lovely sea-foam colored banner and of course the reasonable pricing. And, as you know, I am always on the lookout for the newest in baked goods in NYC. I owe it to you to spread the word after all.

The Brownie Boy is Mario Grosso, a new entrepreneur in the food field and the man knows his brownies! Each time I went to Smorgasburg I urged those with me to try his delightful delicacies. My fave is his walnut brownie, but the dulce de leche was the first to catch my eye. Mario noted that he takes great pride in making his bars the right consistency. I replied that I highly appreciated that.

My friends, food bloggers and foodies alike, who've tried his brownies and blondies agree, he's one of the new bakeries that we have to watch out for as The Brownie Boy business grows.

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The ‘Story’ section of your website nicely details the memory of sneaking that first bite of a really good brownie. Do brownies (and blondies) hold a particular memory for you? Was this the dessert that made you passionate about baking overall?

I have always loved brownies more than any other dessert, and I think that a lot of people can relate to the scene in my story. Brownies are very popular with kids, and very nostalgic with adults; they are true crowd pleasers. Brownies were one of the few treats that my mom would bake in the oven. So, brownies definitely hold a special place in my heart. What made me passionate about developing my own recipes was discovering the overwhelming amount of disappointing brownies on the market, and the tendency of people to not only rely on boxed mixes, but consider the results authentic. The inspiration behind The Brownie Boy is the 1950s, before the advent of brownie mixes, artificial flavors, and preservatives; an era centered upon baking from scratch. At the same time, the mission of The Brownie Boy is to take the “one bowl” dessert from simple to gourmet, by using the finest ingredients to create a scrumptious assortment of unique flavors. There has been no greater feeling than being able to share my interpretation of the perfect brownie!

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The Brownie Boy was officially introduced to the larger public at Smorgasburg this year. How has that experience been for you as a new vendor? Do you plan on going to other fairs during the year or next summer like Hester Street Fair or Brooklyn Flea or branching out in other ways around the city?

Being at Smorgasburg has been an absolutely amazing experience, and a great platform for launching my business. For sure, there is a chance that I might expand to other markets and fairs next year, or even delve into wholesale, but the top priority for me is to open an online shop. Smorgasburg has been great for building a customer fan base and putting my name and product out there, for which I am extremely grateful.

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Despite the name will The Brownie Boy extend beyond bars? Are cupcakes or cookies in the future as delicious and easily transportable baked goods?

There is a possibility of expanding the menu beyond brownies. I actually sold cookies at Smorgasburg on two separate occasions. Once, I offered a milk and dark chocolate chunk cookie with fleur de sel; on another, I offered a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie with fleur de sel. Both of these flavors sold out and received great feedback. It was good to let customers know that I have other recipes in my repertoire (and that I’m capable of baking other goods besides brownies), and even better to know that they really enjoyed them. However, I definitely want to establish myself as a brownie company before officially adding different products to the menu.

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The Red Velvet Brownie! This is being rolled out at Smorgaburg this coming weekend. Yet, there had been a previous variation. I was particularly excited to see this was on the menu but you’ve perfected it. Red velvet can be quite controversial in the baking world as to what makes it ‘good’ or ‘real red velvet.’ What, for you, makes good red velvet?

That’s right! And they sold out pretty quickly. Since its introduction, Red Velvet has become my second most popular flavor, following Dulce de Leche. I had to play with it because my original recipe and design was not package-friendly. I’m very happy with the new results.

I’ve had a lot of mediocre and/or faux red velvet, so it was my goal to offer something worthy of the name. In my opinion, authentic red velvet needs to have buttermilk, vinegar, and only a hint of chocolate. As a chocoholic, it was pretty hard to resist using too much chocolate in the recipe, but I restrained myself! Turning red velvet into a brownie was particularly difficult, while staying true to the traditional recipe, because buttermilk tends to give baked goods a fluffy, tender, and light crumb. But, after painstaking experimentation, I figured out a way to keep my red velvet brownie dense and fudgy!

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Your brownies and blondies are fabulously moist yet not under cooked at all! My friends and I noted this when we tried both blondies and brownies at Smorgasburg a couple weeks ago. Making bars can be such a challenge with finding the right texture between dense, fudgy, and cakey, and people can be particular. Do you think that the right texture is what captures the perfect brownie or is it more about the flavor or a mixture of both?

Thank you! One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to baked goods is lack of moistness. I’ve had my fair share of dry brownies, and that’s one of the many reasons for starting this business. I am very opinionated when it comes to the taste and texture of brownies. I do not believe in cakey brownies (there’s cake for that!), so I always strive for dense with a texture balanced between fudgy and chewy. In terms of flavor, brownies should be rich and bold. I have a “go hard or go home” philosophy with flavor. So, in short, I do think that texture is what defines a brownie, but flavor is just as important (it can have the perfect texture, but it still needs to taste great if you want people to eat them!).

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One of The Brownie Boy’s trademarks is using the best ingredients, like fleur de sel on top of the dulce de leche brownie, are there other types of flavors you may be trying during the season(s), and be inspired by as fall becomes winter becomes spring? Or will The Brownie Boy focus on expanding what is offered year-round?

That’s right. I am trying to elevate the brownie to gourmet dessert status by using premium ingredients. For example, I use Valrhona and Callebaut chocolates, King Arthur Flour, and Nielsen-Massey vanillas. Every ingredient plays a critical role in the final outcome of a finished product, so it is very important that each is of the highest quality. It is extremely likely that I will introduce seasonal flavors in the future. I always have flavor ideas running through my mind, including two personal favorites – pumpkin and peppermint, both of which are considered seasonal. At this stage, it’s more important for me to build a ‘base’ menu of flavors that are available year-round. Then, I’ll start focusing on flavors with limited availability.

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Beyond Twitter, Facebook, and your website are there any other types of social media that you’re on? You've already had features on the Village Voice blog and Just Desserts NYC, so will The Brownie Boy have a blog in the future? Also, how else can people attain goods once Smorgasburg ends later this month?

Those are definitely the best sources for information, especially my official website. It’s also a good idea to “like” us on Facebook or “follow” us on Twitter to stay in the know regarding the latest recipe experiments, special deals, and all other business updates. I don’t think that The Brownie Boy will venture into the blogosphere, but you never know! Once the 2012 season of Smorgasburg closes, I am hoping to open an online store. I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries regarding shipping from out-of-state visitors and locals alike. I’m also looking into wholesale as well, so you may be able to find my brownies elsewhere in the city!

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 Thanks so much for the interview, Mario. Wishing The Brownie Boy continued success. And I'll definitely be ordering the red velvet. 

NYC Bake Sale 2012 (The Great American Bake Sale)

On a sunny, yet chilly Saturday in Brooklyn, NY the Great American Bake Sale took place, part of Share Our Strength's mission of ending childhood hunger (No Kid Hungry) by 2015. Bloggers Without Borders joined in to make a call across the nation for food bloggers to organize and join in! The NYC chapter's bake sale was at Brooklyn Flea in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Even though the bake sale ended this past Saturday you can still donate to a great cause via the donation page on the NYC chapter's site.

Bakers, entrepreneurs, and all-around awesome people Lillian Huang and Ken Leung were this year's organizers and they did an amazing job! Seriously, organizing so much food, people, advertising, and such was really a show in great organization. It was smoothly run and the volunteers were super helpful and all on the same page in terms of raising money for a great cause.

There were numerous donations from local bakers and food bloggers that had us in a sweets wonderland! Chocolate double deckers from Abby Dodge, Baked's sweet & salty brownie, and Michelle Jaffe's (Sweet & Simple) brownies were huge sellers as were many sweet and salty items including Ken's chocolate peanut butter pretzel krispies and Jackie's salted chocolate caramel nut bars (both gluten filled and gluten free) that were ooey gooey messes of goodness. Tasting a sample one customer said "I want to buy what I just had in my mouth!" Liddabit Sweet's bourbon pecan cookie with caramel filling was a fast seller upon tasting. One vendor tasted it, ran back and said "What did I just eat? I must buy it!" All in all there was a cornucopia of amazing goods. There were vegan items, gluten-free, different shortbreads and macarons (both American and French), variations on rice krispy treats, pie, scones, almond croissants from Runner & Stone. We had steady sales throughout the day and got a huge surge of customers once 2 or 3 o'clock rolled around for a post-lunch treat!

Brooklyn Flea was a great venue. The staff incredibly helpful and other vendors supportive, the crowd amazing and generous! Being one of the few vendors selling boku sweets and in such extensiveness we got a lot of customers. With Smorgasburg being the site of mainly food vendors it was a good balance to be around those selling mainly savory items, as well as jewelry, patchwork, offering bike tune ups, selling furniture and art and tea and coffee (great compliments to scones and other sweets).

And it was great to see Ken, Lillian, and Jackie (a great saleswoman), as well as Angela (Mind Over Batter) and meet Meghan (Buttercream Blondi) and Emily & Karen (Mainly Gluten Free in NYC), and Elizabeth (Brooklyn Supper), Betty Ann (Asian in America) as well as many other foodies/food bloggers eager to help the cause and perhaps participate next year.

All in all via online donations and what was made at the bake sale we raised about $3,400 to surpass our $2,000 goal! Thanks a bunch to our sponsors Brooklyn Flea for providing us a booth for free, Joe's Crab Shack for the awesome t-shirts, Whole Foods Union Square for the bags, and Fondu for the banner and business cards! Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by the booth and purchased, who tasted, who volunteered, and who donated (especially all the great bakeries for contributing delicious goods) and spread the word! Please keep it up and help us raise more money! You can make online donations here. And when making a donation you can get in on one of many awesome raffles, which means more sweets! How can you resist?

Interview with Hot Blondies Bakery co-founder Laura (Bringing edgy and fun eats to NYC.)

Last year my friend Lesley and I were introduced to Hot Blondies Bakery (HBB) at the Grub Street Food Fair. My fave is the peanut butter chocolate chunk blondie.  A moist, dense block of brown sugar, chocolate, peanut butter goodness. In this blondie nothing overwhelms. It is a fine balance, which is definitely a delicate thing to accomplish in baking. My husband, a purist at heart, very much enjoyed HBB's classic blondie. After tasting said confection I Googled HBB in the hopes that I could visit them for more blondie goodness and found that they're an online bakery based in New York City specializing in blondies and brunettes (aka brownies). Blondies have fast become a go-to baking item for me and a fave.  As a fan and emerging baker I decided to reach out to HBB founders Laura (marketing guru) and Lorin (brains behind the baking) for an interview. Laura was extremely gracious and kind (and excited!) to grant me an interview during one of their busiest fall seasons, which says a lot for the delectable treats that Hot Blondies Bakery has to offer.

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JBH: In terms of branding I have to say I love the signature blonde baking. It seems to take a fun jab at the dated “housewife” idea that women can’t be adept in the kitchen and be attractive, or shouldn’t be in the eyes of a conservative society. If I may ask, who came up with the branding and was it easy or was it a sudden epiphany?

HBB: It was really a collaborative effort. We [Laura and Lorin] are both creative people and we wanted to start a bakery that stood apart from all the rest. In our opinion there are too many cutesy, pink, grandmother-like bakeries specializing in cupcakes out there. Hot Blondies Bakery is not your average, traditional bakery. Our vibe is edgy, yet fun. From the conception, we knew we wanted to establish Hot Blondies Bakery as a unique, luxury baked goods brand.

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JBH: Hot Blondies Bakery (HBB) is an online bakery. What was the impetus for having Hot Blondies available online mainly and not having a storefront where people could pop in anytime they please? Also, how long has Hot Blondies been around?

HBB: The start of HBB kind of happened organically. We didn’t have a huge amount of money to invest at the beginning and we were both working full-time office jobs, so starting with an online shop seemed to make the most sense. Once our business started to take off we realized it was time to move from renting commercial kitchens to building out our own. We started HBB a little over 3 years ago and feel that a retail shop is the next step in growing our business. Stay tuned for more details…

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JBH: Hot Blondies doesn’t just offer blondies and brunettes, but also cereal bar treats, tarts, as well as gluten-free items and other bars. Is Hot Blondies strictly for us bar lovers or would you consider offering other varieties of baked goods? Or do you think that may take away from the appeal and branding of Hot Blondies?

HBB: At the beginning we wanted to focus on just blondies and brunettes. We’ve slowly expanded our menu to include other baked-goods and our customers really love the new additions. Shipping perishable, delicate items can be a challenge, so it’s something we’ve always had to be mindful of before adding a new item to our website. But when it comes to our baked goods we try to innovate everything, or it just gets very stale very quickly (no pun intended). We can’t wait to offer other varieties of baked goods and when we open up our retail store we’ll definitely be adding more to the HBB menu!

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JBH: And since I’ve brought up gluten-free. A few months ago I did all gluten-free baking. It was an eye-opening experience. When you started developing gluten-free goods did you find that there was a lot of experimentation involved, as there is in baking naturally? As gluten-free items can be just as tasty yet it seems that mainly the texture, depending on the flour(s) you’re using, is the difference.

HBB: Yes, definitely. We have experimented with our gluten-free brunette recipe quite a bit. The recipe we use now is not the one we originally started with. Not that our original recipe was bad. But you evolve, and the one we have now is even better. Since the need for gluten-free products seems to be on the rise we’re continuing to educate ourselves and explore this new trend in baking.

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JBH: Are there flavors that you would completely rule out using in one of your blondie or brunette recipes? For instance I’ve heard many times over that my two loves, lemon and chocolate, just do not go together but I think if one found the right recipe....

HBB: We’re open to everything! We’ve noticed in our baking classes that people love to go crazy mixing the most random ingredients together when customizing their blondies. And they actually end up tasting quite delicious. We’re also fairly adventurous eaters so we’re not scared to experiment.

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JBH: Speaking of, I see Hot Blondies offers classes, most recently in decorating and Passover brunette baking, what other classes have you offered or intend to offer those interested in trying their hand at baking? In your classes do you seek to show that baking shouldn't be a nerve-racking experience? Many of my friends fear their ovens, really.

HBB: We usually tie our group baking classes into specific holidays/seasons. We also offer private baking classes for bachelorette parties, team building/corporate events, children’s birthday parties, or just for people that want to have a fun evening with friends. Our baking classes usually involve a little bit of alcohol (not the kids ones!), which helps people relax. By the end of the class they all realize it’s not nearly as intimidating as it looks.

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JBH: After enjoying Hot Blondies at the Grub Street Food Fair last fall I was hooked, and inspired! I had a blondie versus brunette competition for my 30th birthday where friends made (or purchased) blondies or brunettes and we enjoyed both in harmony. I think it helped people realize that there’s a lot of variety in bar form. Is showing variety something you sought or seek to do with Hot Blondies? Especially with the blondie of the month club (the latest flavors are Candy Corn Blondies and Pumpkin Patch Brunettes)? And when developing new flavors/recipes do you find that you try to make new flavors by the season or whatever inspiration you may have at the moment?

HBB: Thank you for the compliments! Lorin has a real talent for coming up with new recipes for our blondies and brunettes. The seasons definitely play a role in what recipe we develop and we’re always open to ideas and suggestions from clients/customers. Our brand is influenced by contemporary culture– film, music, fashion, etc. We’re lucky to live in a city like New York; we find inspiration everywhere.

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JBH: Hot Blondies was a staple at Madison Square Eats over the past few weeks. (Yay!) And I’m happy to see a list of eateries that offer your delicious treats on your ‘News’ page. But where else will we be able to find Hot Blondies? Do you frequent places like Brooklyn Flea or Chelsea Market or various street fairs that pop up around NYC? Do you have staples that you appear at annually or monthly? Were you at this year’s Hester Street Fair?

HBB: We’re very selective about the food festivals/events that we’re involved with. We only choose those that have a very well-edited group of artisan food vendors. We’re very proud to have been a part of the Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg since the beginning. We now take a hiatus from doing them during the warmer months because our product melts in the heat, but we’ll be back this winter. Sadly, we had to stop doing the Hester Street Fair for that same reason. And we love being a part of Mad. Sq. Eats and the Grub Street Food Festival each year and are already looking forward to the next ones! And of course people can place orders any time they want with same day delivery in Manhattan through our website: http://shop.hotblondiesbakery.com/

I want to thank Laura again for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to do an interview and to her and Lorin for creating some delicious baked goodies in a different way for us New Yorkers. 

Hot Blondies can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and their website where you can make orders, check for classes & HBB appearances, and join their mailing list to get first dibs on the new blondie of the month and receive special discounts!

Grub Street Food Festival 2010!

*Photo Credits: L. Pink. Today, Hester Street was renamed Grub Street for a wonderful food festival. My friend LPink and I went to partake in all the goods available. I was especially happy about being able to finally taste the deliciousness of the Wafels and Dinges truck which had been on Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay. There was also a "celebrity" sighting of Bethenny Frankel formerly of Real Housewives of New York. She had a camera crew and boom mic operator following her and everything.

We got there around noon to a reasonable crowd. The space above Seward Playground was somewhat tight, but not so much so that one couldn't get around and preview menus and what each booth had to offer.

The first stop was at one of the first booths and that was...wait for it...Wafels and Dinges! We had their wafel which was renamed post-Throwdown as de Throwdown wafel. This wafel had spekuloos spread and whipped cream. The wafel was super moist and the spekuloos was tasty and sweet and it was a dish that set the bar pretty darn high. The owner of Wafels and Dinges was manning the booth and was extremely pleasant and personable and I informed him I've been following their tweets on Twitter and was amped to finally taste his legendary dish. I'll definitely be stalking the Wafels and Dinges truck from now on.

Next up we tried Pies n' Thighs! The dish of the day there was their mini chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter. It was LPink's favorite dish of the day and a top one for me because it was so freaking tasty! The biscuit was perfect, the hot sauce not too hot, the chicken crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the addition of a sweet butter just brought it all together.

While munching on the chicken biscuit we also had some chicken tacos and some churros from Cascabel Taqueria. The people manning the booth were extremely friendly and pleasant and were on their game! The chicken taco had guacamole and chipotle sauce and was all around tasty. Very good. LPink liked the churros also which were two for $1.

And we continue to move south for Hot Blondies! I was really interested in trying their stuff because they don't have a store and only deliver. They had tiny samples of their blondies and brunettes (brownies) which were a nice treat and they also displayed some HUGE rice krispy squares (regular and cocoa). So having the chance to eat their blondies and brunettes without having to wait was a major bonus for moi. We shared their peanut butter chocolate chunk blondie which was so good! Moist and chewy and of course for me peanut butter and chocolate together can do no wrong so I was in heaven! I also got their classic blondie that I'm saving for later. Yeah, I hoard my sweets sometimes...

After this we headed towards the back, passing Purple Yam which I had tasted at a Ramen and Friend's event soon after the place opened. Seeing Purple Yam's line go through the playground was also a deterent. So we went next door to Georgia's Eastside BBQ for an applewood smoked BBQ chicken sandwich. LPink and I split this one in half and got to taste the smoky chicken with a good amount of BBQ sauce that was a good mix of tangy and sweet. Good stuff. I bought my husband one of their applewood smoked pulled pork BBQ sandwiches and he loved it himself. "I can taste the smokiness in the meat," were his exact words. They also had banana pudding but I held off on that since I was planning on collecting many sweets.

We decided to take a break from the budding chaos of the festival, it was getting to the point where you were dormant for a bit because people weren't moving or didn't know where to move to.  But I did stop off at Melt and got their deep fried pumpkin pie with ginger sugar. A new item for them is their deep fried apple pie with cinnamon sugar. The big items for Melt are their ice cream sandwiches. Since the day is breezy and chilly the deep fried items seemed the most intriguing and warm so they were a big seller at the moment.

After a detour to use el bano and get some diet coke and talk with some other patrons we headed back into the festival to complete madness! At this point it was after 1pm and was bustling with people. One of the booths selling only pulled pork sandwiches was out of product and thus taking up space.

LPink and I had to wait (along with others) for 10 minutes for empanadas at La Sonrisa. I was introduced to empanadas by friends from South American backgrounds and always had them homemade. I also tried Ruben's Empanadas which are decent enough, but these were huge and I was gasping for one. I got a beef one, LPink a veggie one, and I just shared a dessert one (strawberry and nutella) with my husband. The dessert one was small but nutella and fresh fruit always go well together and in a flaky crust it was a perfect compliment to the meaty/savory ones.

Shuffling as best we could on LPink and I tried, and were luckily the last, to taste the seafood paella from Green Brown Orange (representing Green Catering, Brown Café, and Orange Épicerie), which had some nice healthy foods as an aside to all the meat and deep fried items. Their cauliflower and carmelized apple soup was a huge hit from all those who purchased it.The seafood paella was delicious and was my favorite dish of the festival. Though cold it still packed a punch and a lot of flavor with grilled calamari and roasted mussels. Phenomenal.

When circling around to see what we may have missed we saw many places were losing customers due to lack of items and others that had short lines were now the place to be! Lines of people stretched all over so it was hard to see what were the popular booths and who was being blocked off by a mass of people. We headed back up and I noticed a lonely booth at Il Buco and decided to try their panna cotta with aged balsamic vinaigrette. The panna cotta was solid and tasty and not too sweet, albeit perfect. My husband has roasted balsamic and when done right it can gain a sweet flavor and lose the bitterness, but this wasn't aged enough for me, luckily it didn't take much away from anything. I've had "panna cotta" elsewhere and it turned out to be just yogurt. Panna cotta is solid, solid, and creamy and good so I think this was perfection.

From then on LPink and I pushed and trudged our way out of the festival to head home. I had some sugary spoils in my backpack and a full stomach so I was a very happy camper. We both see naps in our very near future but are pretty psyched we made it to this festival and made it out in one piece. While I wish I'd had the opportunity to try more I think it best we ate as much as we did and got out early enough to enjoy the day and rethink on what places we'll be trying out again very soon.

The Grub Street Food Festival is on until 6pm or whenever these vendors run out of food so if you happen to be in the area don't hesitate to check it out or at least grab some menus.

Wrap up! My year in baking...(Pt. 2)

And here are my remaining baking efforts for the year. The second half of the year brought a lot of use of my oven. Thankfully, it can take it. August:

The Dish: If it isn't already evident that I'm a lemon nut then here's more proof. My baked good for August was: Lemon Poppyseed Cake. Hell, I had left over lemons and, as mentioned, a whole lot of poppyseeds. Why not make bread?

End result: Also from Sweet Melissa's Cookbook, but I was not a fan of this one. Too tart and not sugary enough for me. Plus, I believe I left one loaf in a bit longer than necessary so it was a bit too crisp on the bottom. But, I brought it to work and people enjoyed it. I was told that the fact it was more lemony than sugary made it taste more like a traditional bread rather than cake. Go fig.

September:

The Dish: The previous month I had gone to Vermont for a Writer's Conference. My roomie at the conference went to a Maple shop and I implored her to get me maple sugar if she could find it. She did! (Thanks, Iris!) And so I made it a point to find something to use this decadent sugar for. And so I found a simple recipe, because I like simple, for Mapledoodles.

End result: For me, I think these cookies tasted better cool rather than warm. I got a metallic like taste from either the maple extract or the maple sugar. And lastly, too much maple! This recipe called for maple extract and maple sugar in the cookie along with maple sugar outside of the cookie and an (optional) maple glaze! I had to hold off from doing maple outside of the cookie because the taste was too darn strong! Decent enough cookies, but I've seen alternate mapledoodle recipes I'll try.

The Dish: In addition to the, somewhat disappointing, mapledoodles I made a classic fave: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! My same friend who is a gifted baker introduced me to pumpkin chocolate chip bars, which are amazing! This is a take on that.

End result: These have a cakey texture rather than your normal cookie texture. And to eat these warm is amazing! The moist cakey-ness along with melty chocolate chips makes these to die for. It's filled with the same spices you'd use to make pumpkin pie as well as pumpkin filling and is amazing!

You'll fall in love with these and the recipe I use makes five dozen or more which is never enough! People in the office loved them and I found the adult mentors liked them too. Kids and teenagers may be a bit sketched out by pumpkin cookies, but once they try them they'll be reformed. I'm drooling just thinking about them.

October:

The Dish: Of course one would think that I'd save the pumpkin treats for October, but in all honest they're good any time! But this month I actually delved into a treat I've eaten a lot, but never had the cajones to make: pound cake!

Turns out it's super-easy!

End result: Main difference is that it is made with light brown sugar rather than regular granulated as per the recipe on the back of the Domino's sugar box. So it looks a bit darker as well. Tasted really good and familiar, almost like my grandma's!

Made it for my drinking group (hey ladies!) and they enjoyed it. Moistness keeps if sealed well for a couple of days, but definitely tastes best right out of the oven and with some accoutrements such as cream or berries.

The Dish: I also did a pumpkin recipe for Halloween! Last year I had an awful pumpkin bar recipe. The bars were incredibly dense and not sweet at all. Not happy. So I went with a Paula Deen recipe this year because, quite frankly, you can trust her butter-filled delicacies. And I wasn't disappointed!

End result: I just couldn't be bothered with icing and didn't want to deter from the pumpkin taste, so there you go. I have to say that this was more of a cake then a bar. It was mighty fluffy and could've used icing. It tasted fabulous and I'll make again instead calling it Ms. Deen's pumpkin cake!

November:

The Dish: And as the year comes full circle so does this month's dessert which was, well, lemon of course! This time lemon cupcakes with lemony cream on top. I made it for my department's first ever Dessert Hour before Thanksgiving and these cupcakes were a hit! If you're not a big dessert person lemon is excellent because it's not too strong and complements the sweet just right.

End result: These cupcakes are somewhat of a semi-homemade approach and you just do your own thing after using the cake mix. Lemon curd is the secret ingredient for these minicakes and it's really good. I have to say my main delight was in the lemony cream (heavy whipping cream, lemon curd, and confectioner's sugar that you beat the hell out of). I've made it again since I had left over ingredients and it was well received with some brown sugar bundt cake on Christmas. Also, used the lemony cream on a pumpkin tart with friends for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it! So it just goes to show that again...lemon shows its versatility!

The Dish: And lastly for the year of the pumpkin (and lemon) was pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from the same book I got the lemon cupcake recipe Cupcakes from the Cake (mix) Doctor by Anne Byrn It was hard for my husband to find a chocolate chip muffin mix, but when he did I went buck wild with left over pumpkin filling and enjoyed the results merrily.

End result: Pumpkin and chocolate is basically the best combination...ever. Just don't argue with me on this one. These muffins kept, when well sealed, and I brought some in for co-workers who are also pumpkin fanatics. Needless to say they loved them also.

December:

Well, another marathon baking month for moi this month.

The Dishes:

First up, Almond toffee crunch cookies from Cookies to Die for. Another hunt for me, but I found toffee bits! You put almond extract, chopped almonds (which I left out so my husband could eat the cookies), toffee bits, and your basic cookie ingredients to make this decadent type cookie.

End result: Well, the recipe said you could make five dozen and I stayed up making about eight or nine dozen. Almond extract has quite a particular taste so if you're a fan of that (or say almond croissants and such) then you'll enjoy these cookies immensely. They're soft and slightly crispy. The toffee sticks to your teeth, but that's the best part about toffee! I'll probably try these again and use vanilla extract instead of almond and see how much more you can taste the toffee.

Next up, peanut butter cookies (from scratch!) from the Sweet Melissa book. Another super easy recipe, hoorah! I added chocolate chips because I think most things with chocolate are awesome so I just keep adding. I made these for a friend's holiday cookie party when my original cookie dough went up in smoke or crumbles I should say.

End result: The recipe calls these chewy peanut butter cookies, but if you cook them a bit longer they become crunchy, which isn't a bad thing really. I've gotten them in the middle for the past two times I've made them. Very enjoyable and I have the ingredients at home so I'll make these again and again.

And then there were maple chocolate chip cookies! This was the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe (courtesy of Hershey's) and instead of brown sugar I added in maple sugar and a smidge of maple extract.

End result: Again, better the next day. I dunno if it's the maple extract or sugar but right out of the oven there's a bit of a metallic taste. However, the next day when cool (and super chewy) these cookies tasted awesome with a hint of maple. Co-workers loved this holiday treat!

And for me that's it for the year in baking. I look forward to the new year and new recipes and experiments in the kitchen.

Happy Holidays and Happy Baking!