Just Baking

  
Cream scones are some of my all-time favorite things to bake, not only because of their incredible tenderness, but because they’re just so easy to assemble. No cutting of butter into the flour, just make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the heavy cream, stir just to moisten, and you’re all set. In fact, […]

Seized with a burning desire to tell us about what’s coming out of your oven these days? Don’t hold back! If you love to bake (cakes, cookies, pies, souffles, tarts, casseroles, quiches, roasts, vegetables, custards, game, breads, whatever goes into the oven!) and have some writing or blogging experience, why not consider joining the Just […]

Easy, nutritious, and much, much yummier than the store-bought variety, these granola bars will become a family favorite. Feel free to experiment with different types of nuts, swap out the cranberries for raisins or other dried fruit, or add chocolate or peanut butter chips.
To freeze, just wrap individual bars in plastic wrap, then store in […]

I can’t remember exactly when I started making this cornbread recipe from the back of the Quaker yellow corn meal canister. I do know it’s been years and years, and I know that I’ve never looked elsewhere for a basic, no-fail cornbread recipe.
This is the first thing I taught my kids to bake independently, and […]

When I first saw Orka oven mitts, in my parents’ kitchen a couple of years ago, I was pretty taken with the rubbery silicone mitts that can handle temps reaching nearly 500 degrees F. I was definitely intrigued, but it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. When I pulled them on, my dad’s Orkas were big, awkward things. I […]

I love scones. They throw together quickly, bake in a snap, and almost always come out perfectly. Plus, they’re one of those go-to items for the day before grocery shopping day, when it seems like Mother Hubbard has one up on you — no eggs? No problem. No milk? No problem. You can be pretty […]

With very few exceptions, I’m a scratch baker. Occasionally I’ll use a brownie mix, or I’ll employ a cake mix as the base for a coffee cake, but by and large, I like to assemble my own batters from scratch.
I have a recipe for sugar cookies that I love. It produces beautiful, delicious cookies and performs consistently. […]

Making bread from scratch requires a certain level of commitment. You have to measure ingredients, carefully; you have to get involved on an intimate, physical level, working up a sweat to knead the dough into a cooperative, elastic mass. You have to deal with living organisms that are picky about things like temperature and moisture […]

 
Before you start poring through your culinary dictionaries or looking up the term “scuffins” on your favorite search engine (Disclaimer: I didn’t look it up so I have no idea what you’ll find!), let me say that it’s a term I made up by colliding “scone” and “muffin.” To me, the texture of these big […]

 This Memorial Day, why not make a memorable dessert you can pull together while the burgers are on the grill and serve just as everyone’s starting to feel like they just might have a little room for dessert after all? If you keep all these items on hand in your pantry — and you might […]