Browsing Category

Breads

Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with Cocoa Crumble

These Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with Cocoa Crumble turned out to be really, really yummy, with one caveat. They are great within a few hours coming out of the oven. The tangy raspberries play well with the chocolate chips and the crumble is a nice addition. But in a rare time that I say “eat them right away or make a half batch” they didn’t hold up well after a few hours. Mainly because the crumble got really hard, surprisingly quickly. So that was a disappointment. I suppose that you could also make them with regular (non-cocoa) crumble that doesn’t get rock hard, or just eat them very expeditiously.

Continue Reading
4. January 2026
Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Sea Salt Caramel Glaze

The weather is definitely turning autumnish and we’re even expecting a Nor’easter here in Southern New England today and for the new 36 hours (remember: a nor’easter is not an indicators of snow; merely a strong wind event with the wind coming from an atypical wind directions … but I digress). So I went to the apple orchard one last time for the season yesterday which inspired me to make apple cider donuts today. And I have to say (no offense to the folks at Russell Orchards, mine were better. Here’s recipe:

And before I get a lot of questions again about “what is apple butter”, it has nothing to do with butter. It’s a old fashioned word for jam or a spread. You can buy it in the shops (not all of them, but I got this in a regular store), but if you can’t find it, take 3/4 cup apple sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring all the time to drive off any additional liquid. It will darken in color to almost mahogany, become thicker and after 10 minutes, you should have the 1/2 cup that you need. Stir frequently otherwise it will scorch.

Continue Reading
12. October 2025
Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Banana Cinnamon Swirls

Like so many others, during the pandemic, I started making banana bread because all of a sudden, my eating and shopping activities were out of whack. I always seemed to have an extra banana or three. So after far too many loaves and variations, five years later, I decided to try something new: Banana Cinnamon Rolls. Sweet, light brioche dough, banana brown sugar and cinnamon filling. Walnuts, though those could be optional if you don’t like them or are allergic to nuts. Huge success. These will definitely be going on the “extra banana rotation”.

Continue Reading
21. September 2025
Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Croissant & Custard Casserole for 2

Today is a very important holiday. I mean, critically important. Yes, it’s Lunar / Chinese New Year, but no, that isn’t it. It’s National Croissant Day! See, told you it was important. 🙂

I decided to mark the occasion not by making croissants — I have made them before and they are a lot of effort — so I decided to make something with croissants instead: this Croissant and Custard Casserole. Essentially it is an overnight French toast casserole or a fancy bread pudding made with croissants. Great for breakfast as you can assemble the evening before, and have it all ready to bake up in the morning. With the buttery croissants, this is a totally decadent breakfast dish.

Continue Reading
29. January 2025