Pumpkin + Cinnamon + Cream Cheese

In honor of all things fall, I decided to bake pumpkin muffins for my first recipe. I used a recipe I found online, but I ended up altering it a bit. Despite my lack of baking knowledge, I felt that 3 cups of sugar was a little bit much and cut it in half. Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups sugar (I cut this down to 1 ½ cups)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

To Dry Ingredients Add:

1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin

Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes.





On the list of the I don't like about baking: it makes a pretty substantial mess... exhibit A...


These came out pretty well. I made an icing for them using cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. The muffins weren't super sweet(probably because I refused to add 3 cups) but the icing evened it out.




Cinnamon deliciousness:



I think this was pretty good for a first try. On a scale of 1-10 I'm giving these a 6.5. They were a little dense and could have had more flavor. If I did it again I would definitely up the amount of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The icing added a lot, without that they would have been a no go. It was fun, in a way, but I honestly felt exhausted after this hour long baking experience. I'm going to have to build my baking endurance apparently. Next up on the list is brownies. I'm pretty excited(more to eat them than actually bake them).

Until my next baking adventure,

Laura Leigh

Baking Books

In my quest for baking glory(haha, what?), I decided that I could use some instructional help. After a few hours in Barnes & Noble, I managed to control myself and purchase only one book. I was a little overwhelmed at first, as there were about 3 huge walls of books dedicated to cooking/baking.



I gradually sifted through by taking pile after pile of books to my seat, looking through each, and deciding which would be most helpful. This was difficult, as I tend to be drawn to books with pretty pictures... not always good.






I really had to narrow it down so as not to spend my life savings in this bookstore.



And these books are not cheap....



And so after a lot of searching, reading, and impulse control, I found a book that I feel most addresses the needs for my mission. Baking Illustrated was the winner. Although it lacks a huge amount of the pretty photography that I love so very much, this appears to be an extensive guide to all things baking related. It has helpful tips and tons of recipes.




Hopefully this book will prove useful. It looks like it will be. The next step is to choose my first recipe. I don't want to get too extreme, so I'll probably start simple. I'm excited, but a little nervous. The next month is going to be baked goods galore. Good thing I recently joined the Y....

Until my next baking adventure,

Laura Leigh

A Long Overdue Beginning

Bienvenue! Welcome to my blog. My goal for this project is to, basically, learn to bake. While I love to cook, baking is NOT on my list of favorite things. This is probably why I'm starting this project weeks after I should have. I've been dreading the undertaking of trying to bake from scratch. I equate baking to math and science. You have to measure, have to be exact, follow directions.... basically all things opposite of me. So maybe, just maybe, through my 40 hours of baking over the next month, I will be able to master the art of baking. Okay... perhaps master is too strong a word. I'll just try not to burn anything down. So let's start with what I know now as baking:

Bigger cookies? Yes, please!

And so, my store bought cookie dough went into the oven and out came some delicious, fresh from the factory, chocolate chips cookies. Are they better than from-scratch cookies? And is it worth the effort? I guess we'll find out in the weeks to come. Unfortunately, I was unable to get an after picture of these delectable little morsels. Unbeknownst to me, while cooling, my cookies were ravaged by a boyfriend.... a sister... and a sister's boyfriend... it happens...

Until my next baking adventure,

Laura Leigh