OK, here’s something a little different and I should have posted this a few weeks ago, on December 5-6 (St. Nicholas Day), but I was traveling at the time, so I’ll just post it now. In theory, these are just gingerbread cupcakes, but I made monsters out of them. Krampus monsters, that is. Now, thanks to the film that came out in 2015, most people know what Krampus is (think of them as Santa’s evil elves!) but it is a long-held tradition in Bavaria, Austria, the “Alpine regions” and part of Eastern Europe to have Krampus monsters kidnapping poorly behaved children during Christmas. All in good fun! Believe it or not, in Austria, they even have Krampus chocolates (like Chocolate Santa Claus).
Desserts
(No, no flowers were used in the making of this pie. I just think the end result looks like a flower)
If I’m making pies in this Thanksgiving season, I might as well make two so two posts right after each other on the topic of pie. This time, blueberry that looks like a flower (ok, to me at least!). Blueberries make a notoriously runny pie if you don’t add corn starch to firm it up a bit. Alternatively, you can add Clear Gel (a pie thickener) or tapioca. If all else fails, add flour, but that will still make a fairly runny pie. If you don’t like a little messy, this pie is seriously delicious!
Well it’s Thanksgiving Week in the US this week, so we all know that means Turkey, stuffing and PIE!. I will actually be flying to Germany on that day (I often am, to be honest), but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t take the time to make a couple of pies in the lead up to the big event. This is a basic lattice top apple pie, covered in a hearty layer of crunchy, course sugar. I like the extra crunch to contrast the soft apple filling. Can’t find Pink Lady apples? Substitute Honey Crisp (my fave!) or in a pinch granny smiths!
It’s been a rough week for a lot of people. That’s maybe an understatement. I guess that it goes along with it being the worst year of my life, so I almost expected this. But, in my attempt to be ever optimistic, I know there is one thing that I can do, and that is bake and baking makes me happy. In the midst of cookie madness, here I am baking crumble bars.
It’s been a banner year for peaches in Massachusetts. That isn’t always the case — was it last year that the entire crop was lost due to a hard frost right as the blooms were coming out? While I went to the orchard for apple picking, in the store they had all these beautiful yellow peaches, so I decided to buy some and have a few things planned. First off these Bourbon Vanilla Peach Cobbler Bars. Simply delicious. I think the bourbon and vanilla pair nicely to give it a little bit extra too.