I'd rather eat cake

Somehow, I've managed to land a job as a baker. Of all things, a baker! It's not a bad job, and can lend itself to creativity. My sweet tooth is quickly decaying. I've never been a fan of cookies, I just don't see the point in their existence. How...HOW can a cookie be more or just as satisfying as a slice of pie or cake? I dare not even put them in the same sentence as cupcakes! Cookie recipes are fairly easy to manipulate, so it's a great way to combine lots of random flavors with little effort, but that's about all cookies have going for them...unless they're covered in frosting. Frosting makes everything better.

Anywho, I got to work on a huge order this week and made 350 cookies. In the pictures are the following types of cookies:

Walnut-chocolate chip
White chocolate orange
Cranberry orange w/orange glaze
Soft molasses
Peanut butter
Oatmeal raisin
Cowboy


Enjoy...I ate about a bite out of one of the white chocolate-orange cookies that fell apart. Eh...still a cake woman.

Harvest time

So we all know I love bacon...obviously. But, shhhhh, don't tell Mr. Tocino, I'm seeing someone one the side. Pumpkin rocks my world. I had some old bread in the fridge and decided the time had come for me to experience pumpkin bread pudding. After perusing multiple recipes online, I came up with one that is a mixture of the best.

Harvest Bread Pudding

What you need:
6-7 cups cubed whole wheat bread
2 eggs
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
7-8 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

What you do:

Pre heat: 350. In a large bowl toss the bread, cranberries, and walnuts together. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, and allow it all to hang out for about 10 mins, though the longer it hangs out, the tastier it will be! Grease a casserole dish or 8x8 inch baking dish. Pour the pudding in and bake 30ish minutes, or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve with Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce:

This is my own invention...I'm kind of infatuated with it.

The players:

1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered milk (you could use regular milk or cream, but you need to warm it first)

The game plan:

Melt butter in small saucepan, add sugar and cinnamon. Allow the mixture to boil, then WHISK in the milk (again, if you're using regular milk or cream, warm it before adding it to the sugar mixture or it will curdle and leave lumps in your sauce). If you're using dry milk, it won't take long for the sauce get to the right consistency (4-5 mins). If you're using the regular stuff, it may take longer. You'll know what consistency you're looking for.

That's it folks! Serve the pudding warm with the sauce. Happy eating!