Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie, Eggless + Flour-less

After I "choclified" a batch of my friend's boxed birthday cupcakes - yes, boxed, per a very specific request - I was left with about a cup and a half of homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. Inspired, I went to work in the kitchen playing around with sweet potatoes and oat flour as wheat flour alternatives. After a few iterations, I was finally satisfied with my eggless and flour-less (with wheat anyway) peanut butter cookie. Utilizing the remaining buttercream, I sandwiched the frosting between cookie shells to create a rather addictive Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie. Sure, it took some tinkering, testing, and tasting, but the chewy and crunchy cookie was quickly a success. Enjoy!! 

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Classic Cinnamon Rolls

Though I was an absolute fan of the Cinnamon Roll Cake, it need not be made in the same manner every time. In the more traditional approach, Cinnamon Rolls can be satisfying freshly baked and eaten, or frozen and stored for a rainy day (or when the inevitable craving strikes). Individual portions make the saving, waiting, and sharing a bit easier than having a double-layer cake you may find yourself eating the majority of...or am I the only one? However the cinnamon roll is crafted, both versions of this recipe are easy favorites if they aren't already household staples!

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Pretzel Egg Bun

As I ate my way through Soft-Baked Pretzel deliciousness, I remembered a picture a friend sent me from San Francisco: a savory muffin with a soft-boiled egg inside. Well, that was new (to me). Though I may enjoy myself a pretzel every now and then, I remembered that a pretzel roll served with a poached egg was always so much more. Surely it was no surprise that combining all of the above would result in one of my favorite new baked treats: a Pretzel Egg Bun. The salty and soft pretzel wrapped warmly around the egg, pairing naturally into this twosome. Now if only I could find such a bread in my local bakeries. Until then, here is my interpretation of a breakfast treat you can't help but eat! Enjoy!

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Soft-Baked Pretzels

When I think of bread, I often (and unfortunately) forget the Soft-Baked Pretzel. On another culinary adventure, I made a batch of bread dough, altered it some, and tested a few options. Lessons learned? If you fry it, no need to 'bathe' it. The fry was favorable to balls of dough, but less so in the formed pretzel attempt. If you bake it, 'bathe' it. To achieve the brown layer, an alkaline bath is integral in yielding something pretzel-like in appearance and taste. No bath results in salted bread: great for breadsticks, but a pretzel fail. As one could hope for, these savory-skewed Soft-Baked Pretzels paired deliciously with old-fashioned or stoneground mustard. Enjoy!

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Pudding Cake with Blueberry Compote

What exactly IS pudding cake? I have seen it scrolled along the face of cake boxes, taunting me with the image of a rather yellow and 'moist' cake. From what I understand: pudding is folded into the mixture to moisten its outcome with the subtlest of texture differences. I can do this. Rather, I WILL do this. I put together my version of a Pudding Cake, using the moisture from the pudding to the cake's advantage, and topped it off with a layer of Blueberry Compote I made as it baked. The cake remained incredibly moist out of the oven (success!) and I served it warm with a bit of chilled pudding alongside. Enjoy!

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