Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

This post will be short and sweet because I've already written so many posts about the Baked cookbook! I'm a HUGE pumpkin fan, so it's not that surprising that I would like this one, although I did make pumpkin bread last year, using a nonBaked recipe, and I was really disappointed. This, on the other hand, was delicious! Yum from the first bite!

More From Baked: Flourless Chocolate Cake, Whoopie Pies, Sugar Cookies, Sweet and Salty Cake, Lemon Drop Cake, Coconut Snowball Cupcakes, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Recipe after the jump.

Inspiration Board: Steampunk

(Image above: Cake by Mike's Amazing Cakes, photo by celustig)

What the heck is steampunk??? That was a question I was asking myself recently after stumbling across this word, a word that I had never seen before, twice in one day! The first time I came across it was after a friend of mine posted a steampunk-related link on Facebook and then, later that same day, it showed up again, on a pair of steampunk cuff links on Etsy. What the heck is this steampunk business??? I quickly sent an e-mail to my friend, the Facebook poster, for an explanation. As it turned out, I've been a steampunk fan for years . . . I just didn't know it!

For those of you who, like me, require a crash course in steampunk, here ya go. Steampunk is, as far as I can tell, a sort of a Victorian, fantasy, sci-fi hybrid. Just picture any film that has one foot in the future, and the other in the past. Think Time Bandits or City of Lost Children. I think the whole genre is pretty cool and, as I usually do whenever I learn something new, I started getting super excited about it! Of course, I immediately started thinking about writing a post about steampunk desserts! I was a bit disappointed with the lack of range amongst the steampunk sweets out there. As of right now, the inspiration is mostly about gears, but I still think it's an fun idea, nonetheless!

Steampunk cookies and bourbon bread pudding with bourbon glaze from Jenny Bannock

Cake by Mike's Amazing Cakes, photo by Libby Bulloff


Cake topper by The Builder's Studio ($139)

The Mixing Bowl: Holiday Fudge by yellowlion

Nothing says happy holidays like fudge! Homemade fudge was a family tradition when I was a kid, so I was so pleased when Sarah at yellowlion sent over this delicious (and easy!) recipe for marshmallow/walnut/chocolate chip fudge! It's the perfect holiday treat and, as Sarah told me, a must for any chocolate lover!

Based in Chicago, Sarah creates beautiful screen prints that are inspired by her love of nature and, of all things, the patterns of Rorschach tests! Personally, I've always been fascinated with the look of the Rorschach inkblots. There's something about their surreal, dreamlike quality that I can't resist, so I love how Sarah takes that concept and kicks it up a notch with gorgeous colors and interesting designs.

I hope you all enjoy your holidays! Click here for more information on Sarah's work and to shop online! Thanks, Sarah! More fudge and prints after the jump.

Sweet Testing: Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks

I don't know what it is, but sometimes I enjoy the things I bake more the next day. Maybe I spend so much time in the kitchen that by the time the cake/cookies/whatever comes out of the oven, I'm pretty much sick of them. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself and the food that I'm bound to be disappointed once I finally get around to taking a bite. Maybe, sometimes, foods just need to rest a bit in order for the flavors to really settle in. You know, like how soup is better if you make it the night before. Anyway, these cookies were definitely a better the next day kind of thing for me.

I made these classic goodies for a party and almost didn't bring them because I thought they were so boring, but the next day and the day after that . . . and the day after that, I couldn't stop shoving them in my mouth! I'd plan on eating one and end up chomping down five, one after another! This recipe made A LOT more cookies then I expected, so I brought the leftovers to work and they were quickly gobbled up. People actually came back for more, so they must have been fairly good, right? I know. This whole post is not exactly ending up as some huge ringing endorsement, but they're easy to make and they're tasty.

After writing this post, I came across Carolyn's review of these cookies on Food Gal and quickly realized that my big mistake was using chocolate chips instead of chopping the chocolate myself. I usually follow instructions, but I was short on time and I didn't think that it would make a huge difference. Apparently, the chopped chocolate transforms an ordinary cookie into something more like a peanut butter cup! So, there you go! I'm sorry Baked for not listening to you! It won't happen again! :-)

Recipe after the jump.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

My sister made these Martha Stewart cookies recently and I immediately snapped some pics because I knew that I wanted to share the recipe! So yummy!

You can find the recipe and a video right here on Martha's site. I've also posted the recipe after the jump.

Cupcakes on Pitt

Wow! These are impressive cupcakes! They're actually award-winning cupcakes and I can understand why! Their lemon meringue cupcake (a vanilla cupcake with fresh lemon curd inside and garnished with a soft torched Italian meringue) took home a gold medal at Sydney Royal Fine Food Show and I can see why. It's almost too intimidating to eat . . . almost! The vanilla, strawberry, peppermint, chocolate, and carrot varieties walked away with silver medals, so anything you get at Cupcakes on Pitt will probably be pretty tasty. They even have giant cupcakes (20cm in diameter, height 22 to 25cm) for when you're really really hungry.

Cupcakes on Pitt don't take online orders at the moment, so if you don't live nearby you'll just have to settle for looking at the pictures. If you live in Australia, click here for locations.