Not a TWD: I did some other baking instead

This week I made an apple slab and pumpkin blondies.

Although my photos would never ever be as good, my treats look remarkably similar to those in the blogs. I would highly recommend either recipe.

Next week I'll be back on the TWD wagon.

TWD: Coffee-Break Muffins

I really like the smell of coffee. And I love coffee ice cream. But I drink "coffee". It has to have so much milk, sweetener, vanilla, and chocolate in it that it is virtually unrecognizable as coffee. I was sure this sweet, coffee muffin would be right up my alley.

These muffins were a snap to put together. The recipe calls for espresso powder and brewed coffee. I had both! To gild the lily just a bit, I added mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Coffee and chocolate do go so well together.

I tasted the batter hoping for a nice coffee punch. Hmmmm. The smell of the muffins baking in the oven was sweet and yummy, but there wasn't a lot of coffee wafting about. The taste was delicious. It was, however, lacking in coffee flavor. I know that from the "coffee" drinker, this might seem blasphemous. I really was expecting more of a coffee taste from these. Regardless, they were a hit. The Boy really liked them. The Girl liked picking the chocolate chips out of them.

I'm not sure that these hold a spot in my rotation. Then again, considering how I drink my "coffee", I just may find room for them. Thanks to Rhiani of Chocoholic Anonymous for choosing this one.

TWD: Cranberry Upside-Downer (but not cranberry)

It's early September, and I am loving the slightly cooler weather here in the Chicago area. This cake totally fits in the fall season. Except there weren't really cranberries to be had just yet. And by slightly cooler I mean low 80's instead of 95 and humid. The other option was peach. I went with peaches.

I found these fabulous, sweet, HUGE peaches as Costco. Huge as in bigger than a tennis ball. When you go big, you run the risk of mealy peaches. Not these. They are sweet and delicious. It only took one peach to line my pan.

HUGE peaches.

This is one peach sliced and fanned out.

This is a simple recipe. It's a basic upside down cake. It started with a syrup of sugar and butter. Next came a layer of peaches. Last was a simple butter cake. Into the oven for a bake. Out of the oven for a flip. I was a tad nervous. But it worked out just fine. There was lots of syrup pooled on the plate near the cake. A few hours of resting took care of it. The cake soaked it all back up. I was worried that it would get soggy, but it only added a lovely peachy moistness to the cake. Dorie offers a glaze option, but I don't think it was at all necessary.

Yum! This is minutes after the flip. You can still see some juice around the edges

You can almost see how moist and yummy this cake is (was - didn't last long)

This one is an absolute keeper. I can't wait to try it again with cranberries! Go to Sabrina's blog to see what the cranberry version looks like.

TWD: Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

This recipe came at a perfect time. The Girl and Boy started school last week (finally!), and this was the treat that was waiting for them when they came home. They were pretty pleased with Dorie for the recipe and Jasmine (of Jasmine Cuisine) for choosing these. I even got a few hugs for making them.

Simple cookie to make. I always have the ingredients on hand to make peanut butter cookies. Except when I don't, so I used chopped cashew nuts instead of peanuts. This is maybe what made me only like the cookies and not love them. Needed more peanut flavor. I'm not sure that they needed to be rolled in the extra sugar.

Having said that, I don't actually happen to have a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. I may just have to make this one again with peanuts. I don't think anyone here would stop me.