Baking with the Boys

I thought this cake sounded good but was hesitating to make it.  I knew I wouldn’t be making it for Thanksgiving.  Thus far, the munchkins have requested brownies and monster chocolate chip cookies.  I probably won’t be making those either but you can see where this cake doesn’t exactly follow that trend.  The thought of an entire bundt cake tempting me the week before Thanksgiving was giving me pause.  I briefly considered decreasing the recipe but, after turning the last bundt cake into muffins, I was itching to make a fully beautiful bundt.

Ok.  so the “beautiful” part didn’t quite work out…

Then I had an epiphany.  A teeny tiny little voice inside my head said, “ya know, Kel, just because something is sitting on your counter does not mean you have to eat it all, or most of it, or, really, any of it” (I stopped it right there before crazy talk of substituting prune puree for butter ensued).  With untested resolve I moved forward with the cake.  I figured the co-workers were always an option if home consumption petered out.

HA!  This cake lasted about 2.6 seconds in the house.  Not only did the co-workers not even have a sniff of the cake, I didn’t have to worry about making more than one trip to the well (or cake plate).  Even though a small hunk went straight from pan to floor, the consumption was quick and painless.

Maybe because this reminded me of pumpkin bread and I think of pumpkin bread as breakfast and not dessert, I probably wouldn’t serve this at Thanksgiving dinner.  BUT it would be perfect breakfast for those pesky out-of-town relatives.  For the full recipe, visit Britin at the Nitty Britty.

Next week: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart.  Who wants to be we won’t be having pistachios?

Thank god for Cub Scouts.

What does this have to do with Sugar-Topped Molasses Cookies?  The Cub Scouts – specifically the Pinewood Derby participants and attendees – saved me from eating 28 sugar-topped molasses cookies.  You see, I signed up to bring 2 dozen baked goods to the Pinewood Derby.  What?  Spicy Molasses cookies aren’t the first thing to spring to your mind when I mention an evening with 50+ scouts and siblings?  Well, you obviously didn’t have 24 taste-of-fall-little-gems staring at you.  You see – when you bring baked goods to the Pinewood Derby, they are for sale.  For me to eat the 10 that sounded good, I would have had to pony up $5.  It was the scouts or my thighs and I chose scouts.

I am happy to report that several were actually purchased, including a few by my spouse and son.  After trying one of the chocolate brownies, Will informed me that person wasn’t a “very good cooker” and went off to get a molasses cookie.  At least one scout knows where the good stuff is.

In true scouting news, my son did not win a trophy but he did win a few races (miles ahead of where he was last year).  There is nothing – NOTHING – more satisfying than seeing your children genuinely excited by their accomplishments.  It made sitting through the 37 hours of races worth it.  And, yes, it was his accomplishment.  He did the bulk of the work himself.  One kid actually blurted into the microphone that his dad did all the work.  Trust me, he was either the only one who said it out loud or we have a REMARKABLE group of young boys.

Next week:  who knows?   It’s a free for all at TWD this month.  All in one holiday cake probably.  For this recipe visit Pamela of Cookies with Boys.  Those boys are too cute to miss!

I COMPLETELY missed last week – no recipe, no comments, no browsing, no nothing.  Just one of those weeks.  I still hope to get to the Chestnut Cake…but I didn’t even get this one done until Monday night (aaahhh…night photography…jealous?).

I subbed in a little almond for the coconut and cut down on the sugar in the filling.  Truthfully, as I was making this, one thought kept occurring to me.  What can you really say about a crisp?  Not much new, I think.  So, I will just say that this was supremely satisfying and leave it at that.

Next week:  Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies.  I am looking forward to these.  The recipe for this week is at The Repressed Pastry Chef  by Em.