Perfection...

3/13/2011

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Thumbing through my recipe collection, and in the mood to make muffins, I came across one of my favorite blueberry muffin recipes.  Perfect Blueberry Muffins.

One definition of perfection states : a quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence.   This is where my curiosity gets me in trouble.  I reread the definition and my second thought made me smile, I don't have to be perfect to be, well, perfect.  If it were only that easy.

Immediate questions came to mind such as, how does one determine the highest degree of excellence?  Are standards being set by a government advisory board, an independent study group or electronically polled via a text number?  And what about the old adage that my boss likes to remind us of every week -- 'there's always room for improvement'?

I have a bad habit of tweaking recipes and individualizing them to my tastes, which leaves me hesitant to label anything 'perfect'.  So I'll call them Delicious Blueberry Muffins.

The recipe is adapted from smittenkitchen.com, and I've taken the liberty in doubling the recipe as I usually need at least 2 dozen of anything if I'm sharing at work.

Happy Baking : Delicious Blueberry Muffins
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This crisp is not refreshing

2/23/2011

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When I think of the word crisp in relation to food my mind conjures up the snapping of a York Peppermint Patty commercial and snow.  Refreshing does not come to mind as I look out the window and realize it is still snowing and a cool 37 degrees.  That might not be unusual where you live, but here in the northwest it is slightly disconcerting to watch the ground being covered in this white moisture. Give me back my rain.

In the meantime, I chose to hide out in the kitchen and try my hand at making a crispy cookie.  Crispy and nutty were the two requirements asked for while a friend regaled me with stories of her mom's wonderful sugar cookies, of which I'm still awaiting the recipe. 

After googling 'crispy nutty cookie' I settled for one from allrecipes.com by Cindy Carnes called Nutty Crispy Sugar Cookies.  The biggest plus was a sugar cookie that required no refrigeration or rolling out of the dough.  Just mix the ingredients and bake. 

I took the liberty of substituting almond extract for the vanilla, and using almonds rather than pecans, and then dipping a glass in colored sugar sprinkles to flatten the cookies and give them a finished look.  I also baked them the full term, something which I seldom do.  Hopefully this will give them more of the crisp sought after as my results usually tend to be on the softer side.

Happy baking.....Nutty Crispy Sugar Cookies
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Welcome to the New Blog

2/22/2011

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Welcome to the newest blog for all those book obssesed baker's out there.  I created this blog for Gina so that she can share her insights on her latest reads and best baking recipes.  Enjoy and please use the contact form to let us know what you think and what you would like to see.

Cheers!
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