Giveaways
Baking is, no doubt, a science. Not a science that requires a degree in chemical engineering, but it still requires some measure of attention. As someone who’d rather bake than do many, many other things, I have gone down the misguided path of “winging it,” much to my disappointment. You can’t really throw in a pinch of this and that when making a cake batter (although I regularly add heaping cupfuls of chocolate chips to cookies…a little more chocolate never hurt anyone). You need a good recipe that works; then the satisfaction of warm bread, even cake layers, and cookies that are both crispy and gooey soon follows.
Light baking is something the Cooking Light test kitchen chefs have perfected. Lightening baked recipes is a balancing act, and I rely on their hard work to ensure my baking success. And for those who think, “Light baking? What’s the point?”: I dare you to try Pecan Spice Cake with Maple Frosting and Boston Cream Pie, two recipes from the soon-to-be released Cooking Light Way To Bake. These recipes offer all the decadence you expect with way less fat and calories as their “heavy” original.
So for all you bakers and aspiring bakers out there, we’re going to give away a copy of Way to Bake. Describe for us here in 100 words or less: What’s your favorite weekend baking project? Entries should be typed into the comments field of this post. Entries are due by Friday, October 21st at 11:59 a.m. EST.
Editors will select their favorites based on originality, creativity, and how well you address our question. Winner will be notified via email by November 1, 2011. For full contest rules, click here.
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Weekend baking (and cooking) makes me very happy. With two daughters that love sweets, I try to bake food that is original, delicious and somewhat healthy AND that will make them forget oreos! My favorite would have to be Starry Starry Night Cookies, from Gesine Bullock-Prado (My Life From Scratch)made from almond flour and excellent chocolate.High in protein and irresitable... just the right treat for growing girls.
Weekend baking (and cooking) makes me very happy. With two daughters that love sweets, I try to bake food that is original, delicious and somewhat healthy AND that will make them forget oreos! My favorite would have to be Starry Starry Night Cookies, from Gesine Bullock-Prado (My Life From Scratch)made from almond flour and excellent chocolate.High in protein and irresitable... just the right treat for growing girls.
My favorite weekend baking project has to be Julia Child's croissants. It's a long process and talk about being precise! But it's so worth it Sunday morning to pull them out of the oven.
My favorite weekend baking project is trying something new and different, whether it's making lavender buttercream or cupcakes with bacon. Finding interesting new flavors and while still being healthy is always a fun time.
My favorite weekend baking project is trying something new and different, whether it's making lavender buttercream or cupcakes with bacon. Finding interesting new flavors and while still being healthy is always a fun time.
My favorite weekend baking project is trying something new and different, whether it's making lavender buttercream or cupcakes with bacon. Finding interesting new flavors and while still being healthy is always a fun time.
I am an avid bread baker. There is nothing better than the smell of fresh bread in the oven on a chilly Saturday in the fall months!
Early in the morning, I gather my yeast, sugar, milk, flours, instant read thermometer and get started. I make bread and rolls for the week and occasionally try something different, like brioche, bagels, or breadsticks.
My favorite weekend baking project is making something new. I love trying out a recipe. My favorite type of baked good is cupcakes because of their portability and deliciousness.
I love baking muffins with whatever is in season. One of my favorite Cooking Light muffin recipes is Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins from Nov 2007! Often I will double the recipe and bring some to share with friends after Sunday service. Have been a Cooking Light fan for many years....
Baking low fat and low sugar treats for my hungry-bear snacking-machine husband is a challenge each weekend to help him through the week. Coffee cake, soda bread or homemade meatless meatballs and many more successful experiments make me proud and him happy. And, if my granddaughter is there to help, it becomes a winning weekend.
My favorite weekend baking project would be trying something new. Last weekend was a pull-apart pumpkin bread that turned out marvelous! This weekend will be pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that will debut at a birthday party if they turn out.
I love baking with my friends. We established a tradition of a weekend hamantaschen baking session every year, and we still bake hamantaschen together more than twenty years later. Over time, we experimented and innovated, developing delectable fillings encased in the cookie dough wrappings (traditional and chocolate), improving on them over the years. Our kids grew up baking with us every year, developing their own baking skills as they grew. Best of all, we each take home several dozen hamantaschen to share with family and friends.
As a busy college student (athlete), nothing beats baking to de-stress after a week full of lectures, reading, papers, and golf practice. My favorite weekend baking project is creating healthy baked goods to snack on before workouts or during practice. As an athlete, I need my carbs to stay energized and perform at my potential. Also, I love the creativity/experimental aspect of cooking and baking. My mantra: Work hard (in the classroom), Play harder (in the kitchen)!
As a busy college student (athlete), nothing beats baking to de-stress after a week full of lectures, reading, papers, and golf practice. My favorite weekend baking project is creating healthy baked goods to snack on before workouts or during practice. As an athlete, I need my carbs to stay energized and perform at my potential. Also, I love the creativity/experimental aspect of cooking and baking. My mantra: Work hard (in the classroom), Play harder (in the kitchen)!
For weekend baking I love baking cookies that are just in between crisp and chewy. I also love fudgy brownies.
melodyj(at)gmail(dot)com
My mother instilled in me that you should always have a little something tucked away in the freezer for guests. These days, organic kid events do happen at our house: playdates with my 7-year-old and teenage gaggles to watch Dr. Who with my 16-year-old. It’s great to have a stash of butterscotch cookie bars or chocolate crinkle cookies in the freezer for just this kind of thing. So when I get to bake on the weekends, much to the chagrin of my family, I sock some away in the freezer “for later.” Now if only I had more freezer space…
“Projects” is the delectable word to describe my explosions in the kitchen. I have tried countless times to “lighten” up a recipe: cutting butter and sugar, adding applesauce and pureed prunes. One weekend, after a satisfactory taste of my lightened up oatmeal cookie, my husband innocently burned my edges: “if people want a cookie, they want a cookie. Go by the recipes, scientists are paid to figure out them out.” My sweetheart wasn’t trying to burn me, but he was right (about the latter part). I crave serving people delicious baked goods that appease their palate and their system.
After a busy week at work, I look forward to relaxing weekends. One of my favorite ways to relax is in the kitchen, whether it’s making a family favorite (my PopPop’s shoo-fly cake) or trying out a new recipe from the current issue of CL. But the best part is the extra mess and time I spend with my two-year-old son as we carefully measure and pour each ingredient together. Baking may take much longer but the results are tastier than ever. Our current favorite is soft pretzels -- he’s especially helpful when we roll the dough out into “snakes.”
I have a sourdough starter that I’ve had ever since I first tasted sourdough pancakes way back in the early 70’s at an old hotel in the Gold Rush country of the Sierra Foothills. On Friday night, I feed 1 cup of the starter and let it bubble overnight. On Saturday morning I make sourdough pancakes. Then I use the rest to make the moistest cake I’ve ever had. I make the two layer recipe and then divide the batter so I can have one layer as spice cake and one layer as chocolate cake. YUM!
So cute! I already like you on FB and also get your posts on Google Reader. :)
Guiltless chocolate cakes and sugarless cupcakes are becoming a trend among my friends. As we all know, obesity is the number one health problem in America today. We have to be careful eaters and control what goes into our stomachs.
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