Just Baking

Joy wrote: I would like my muffins to rise high and with a hard crust, like the bakeries’. Is it the baking powder or soda that does this ? Any suggestions for superb muffins?
 
Just Baking team member Rick B. answers: I work in a bakery and we do muffins; here are my thoughts.
1. Are you following […]

Chickpeas are inexpensive, loaded with nutrients, and a great way to vary the protein sources in your diet. I love to sprinkle some on on salads, use them in soups and stews, and puree them into hummus for a sandwich spread or dip. But one of my all-time favorite uses for chickpeas is to make them into this superstar falafel.
Brushing […]

Looking for the perfect accompaniment to your winter soups or stews? Try the Parmesan Pull-Aparts from pages 86 and 87 of the February issue of Gourmet magazine. These are flavorful and fragrant, rich with butter and cheese.
My version, which appears here, differs slightly from the version that appears in the magazine, mainly due to the […]

I was in love with Anita Chu’s delectable Field Guide to Cookies: How to Identify and Bake Virtually Every Cookie Imaginablefrom the moment I opened the package and saw it. The Field Guide is tiny, barely 6 inches tall and less than 4 inches wide. But it’s dense ~ it packs recipes for more than […]

Eggnog ~ can’t have a Christmas party without it, can’t seem to get anyone to drink it the day afterward. Personally, I love eggnog; it’s like sipping melted ice cream. But if I have to make a choice between eating ice cream and drinking eggnog, let’s just say that eggnog is a good choice for […]

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Culinary Institute of America’s Hearth Breads Boot Camp. If you want to read about my day at Boot Camp and see some pictures I took in class, you can do so here. This post is about what happened once I got home ~ that is, putting some of what I learned at the […]

Black and Whites are my kids’ standard choice any time we visit a bakery. Maybe it’s not the prettiest pastry in the bakeshop, but it is what it is ~ a New York classic. Also known in parts of the state as the Half Moon, the much loved Black and White is essentially a dropped […]

If you’re looking ahead to Thanksgiving’s pie-baking sessions with fear and trembling, you’ve come to the right place! Put your fears to rest and get excited about the fantastic pastry you’re about to create by learning a few simple techniques.
First off, let’s look at what can go wrong. With pie pastry, there are two main […]

Every fall, I make so many pies I lose count. I am the official Thanksgiving pie baker in our family, so I can tell you that for the Thanksgiving dinners (we have 2) alone, I make 8. If you haven’t already mastered the art of pie crust, I can’t encourage you enough to do so. It’s not that hard (really!), […]

If you have something - or someone - to celebrate, I highly recommended making these Cinnamon Rolls a part of the festivities. In our family, gooey Cinnamon Rolls, warm from the oven and glazed with a sweet swirl of cream cheese icing, make an appearance Christmas morning, Easter morning, birthdays. . . . They’re a great way […]