Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Another month is upon us, which means it's time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club. For those of you unfamiliar with the SRC, it's a fun virtual recipe swap with another blogger who has no idea who will be cooking something from their blog. 

My assignment this month was Baking & Creating with Avril, a bright and delightful blog full of baked goodies and family friendly savory recipes. As usual, I didn't have anything specific that I was looking to make, but with the word "baking" in the blog title I was definitely leaning towards something sweet. With so many mouth-watering recipes to choose from Avril's blog did not disappoint. Recipe like Nutella Drop Cookies, Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, and Zucchini Cornbread all caught my eye, but in the end I decided to go with Avril's Honey Bun Cake.

Secret Recipe Club: Honey Bun Cake

Read more »
I've mentioned this recipe many times here on La Cocina de Leslie, but always as part of another recipe.  I think it's high time it received a post of it's very own.

Galletas Maria's are just as popular in Mexico as graham crackers are in the U.S.  Maybe more so.  It's often the first cookie babies in Mexico eat.

Galletas Maria's are a thin, round cookie with a light vanilla taste that are delicious by themselves with a cold glass of milk.  But I love to use Maria's cookies as a base for my cookie crumb pie crust.  This is a delicious crust with just the Maria's cookies and the melted butter, but to really kick it up a notch, you could add a little ground cinnamon, nutmeg and/or ginger, depending on your pie filling.

Some of my favorite pies to bake in a Galletas Maria's Pie Crust include Key Lime Pie and Creamy Mango Pie.



Galletas Maria's Pie Crust

Ingredients:
  • 1 package Maria's Cookies
  • 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Directions:
In a food processor, grind the Maria's Cookies until very fine.  If you're like me and don't have a fancy food processor, place the cookies in a large ziploc baggie and flatten with a rolling pin until very fine. 



Pour the cookie crumbs into a medium mixing bowl.  Season with spices, if desired.



Stir in the melted butter and mix until well comined.



Pour the crumb mixture into a pie plate.  Press mixture firmly onto bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.



Photobucket

Maria's Cookies Pie Crust

Read more »
Being that today is the 4th of July, I thought it would be the perfect day to tell you about the newest addition to my cookbook collection: United Cakes of America: Recipes Celebrating Every State by Warren Brown (author of Cake Love).

As soon as I opened my package from Amazon, which only took 2 weeks to arrive, I was pleasantly surprised at the size and weight of the book.  Not at all what I expected for $11.98. (Not including international shipping and handling fees.)  It kind of reminds me of those heavy school books from long ago.  If only my school books had been as cute and interesting.

I love the patriotic red, white and blue Americana theme throughout.  From the cut-out in the shape of the United States on the front cover, to the state seal of an eagle holding a fork and a whisk, to the special "Slice of America" pages filled with fun facts about cake baking in America.

My favorite part of the whole book has to be the preamble written on a rolled out pie crust scroll that begins:
"We the people who love cake, in order to bake a more perfect dessert, reestablish the standard that true cake is baked from scratch..."
Because as a foodie living in a small town in Mexico, where canned and pre-packaged ingredients can be hard to find, I truly appreciate any cookbook where the recipes are made from scratch, using simple ingredients that are easy to find.  The hardest to find ingredients that I've spotted so far are canned sauerkraut and potato starch.  But that last ingredient can be substituted with cornstarch, so not really a problem after all.

The book is divided into four sections:
  • The Northeast (which also includes the District of Columbia)
  • The South (plus Puerto Rico)
  • The Midwest
  • The West
There is at least one recipe for each of the fifty states, plus recipes for American classics such as Strawberry Shortcake, Caramel Cake and Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting.  And while most of the recipes are for cakes, there are also a couple of recipes for pies, scones and pancakes.  I tried the Johnnycakes recipe last weekend and they disappeared like hotcakes.



In addition to the 7-Up Pound Cake I posted last week, there are so many mouth-watering recipes that I want to try: (just to name a few) 
  • Whoopie Pie
  • Kentucky Derby Cake
  • Coca Cola Cake
  • Roasted Pecan Cornbread
  • Coffee Buttercream 
  • Avocado Cupcakes (Hello, California!)
  • Jalapeño Cheddar Cheesecake
  • Ancho Chile Buttercream  

I think it's such a genius idea to have all of these American favorites (old and new) in one cookbook.  But I can't help but wish that there were also a United Cakes of Mexico cookbook.
   

Photobucket

*Note: I paid for this book with Hubby's money and I am not being compensated in any way for this review.  But I wouldn't mind doing so in the future.


Cookbook Review: United Cakes of America

Read more »
Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)