The Adventures of a Frustrated Baker

Tuesdays are our lazy days around our house.  I don't work until the afternoon and my daughter doesn't have school, so it is kind of the day that we sleep in, have a yummy breakfast and get a few things done around the house.  This Tuesday, I decided to make it extra special and make homemade cinnamon rolls...from scratch!  I don't think there is any better breakfast than a delicious hot from the oven cinnamon roll that you made with your very own hands.  Plus, I had some leftover cream cheese frosting that tasted just like Cinnabon's frosting...so yeah, basically best breakfast EVER! lol Our ingredients... Add your milk, oil, and sugar to a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until just below boiling. Sprinkle on the yeast and allow to sit for a minute. Stir in the 4 cups of flour. Allow to sit covered with a kitchen towel for an hour in a warm place.  then stir in the last 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Place in ...

These cookies, well the original big version anyway, became a favorite for our family the very first time I made them.  They were one of the first recipes I saw on Picky Palate's site and made myself.  In fact, they are one of the only cookies that my husband, the baked-good hater, requests.  He had a serious craving for them this week,  and though I love them, they aren't really the kind of cookie you can sit and eat three of.  Well, you can but then you don't feel so good afterwards.  That is why I made him his cookies...then I made mine.  The mini version is so much better!  Same dough, same basic idea, only these you CAN sit and eat 3...or 6...without feeling too guilty or getting a tummy ache! Gather up all of your ingredients. Cream together the butter, white sugar... and brown sugar until fluffy. Whisk together dry ingredients. Add the vanilla to the butter & sugar mixture. Add in the eggs... Add in the flour ...

One of my favorite parts about living in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the summer is all the wild blackberries that grow around here.  I LOVE fresh blackberries, and unfortunately so does most of my family so we didn't have any left from the summer to freeze and use throughout the year this year.  So when I saw that the blackberries at Safeway were buy one get one free, two things came to mind.  One, BLACKBERRIES, yummy!  and Two, hmmm, there is probably a reason these are buy one get one free so I guess I better freeze them or use them fast if I buy any. Yeah, if I buy any indeed!  Of course I grabbed a couple...thought about grabbing more but decided as freezer space was short (notice the WAS short, we have since hooked up the big deep freeze : D !!!!!)   I better limit myself to two pints.  Now all that was left was to decide what to do with them. After staring at the blackberries and waiting for them to...