Barbara Bakes

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

March 29, 2013 16 Comments

Moist and fudgy blondies with a rich caramel flavor, loaded with fun Easter white chocolate M&M’s and macadamia nuts. A fun way to change up a highly rated King Arthur Flour recipe for the Easter holiday.

While I was searching for a cinnamon filling recipe to make for my King Arthur Flour giveaway, I stumbled on their Crazy Blonde Brownies recipe. I decided it would be a perfect recipe for the colorful white chocolate Easter M&M’s I’d snatched up at the store. And if you’re using white chocolate in blondies, macadamia nuts seem like the perfect addition too.

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Filed Under: Bar Cookies Tagged With: baking, cookie, Dessert, food, recipe

Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins and a King Arthur Flour Giveaway

March 25, 2013

Not your ordinary muffin, these muffins are sinfully delicious with a luscious, moist, rich cinnamon filling then crowned with a streusel topping and a sweet glaze. These would be a wonderful way to start your Easter morning.

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Filed Under: Muffins Tagged With: baking, Breakfast, food, recipe

Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast Sticks

March 22, 2013 16 Comments

Sweet Hawaiian bread battered and deep fried to crispy perfection on the outside, but light and fluffy on the inside, then served with tropical butter and finished with a sprinkle of toasted coconut.

Ten years ago, my husband and I took a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We were staying on Oahu at the beautiful Ko Olina Resort, but traveled in to Honolulu for a special Brunch on the Beach street fair held on Sundays during the summer. We were lured to Brunch on the Beach with a promise of good food and free Hawaiian entertainment.

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Filed Under: Pancakes and Waffles Tagged With: baking, Breakfast, food, recipe

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

March 18, 2013 56 Comments

A light and fluffy, slightly sweet round loaf of yeast bread with a Hawaiian twist.

Many of you are probably familiar with the round King’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread you can buy in grocery stores. Did you know it’s easy to make at home. You just make the dough, let it rest 15 minutes, shape it in to a round loaf and put it in a pie plate. After another 15 minutes resting time, you pop it in the oven until it’s golden brown and ready to eat.

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Filed Under: Yeast Breads Tagged With: baking, food, recipe

Boston Cream Cupcakes

March 15, 2013 22 Comments

A dark, rich, moist chocolate cupcake filled with luscious pastry cream and topped with whipped chocolate ganache. I dressed them up for St. Patrick’s Day, but these decadent cupcakes would be perfect any time of year.

I’ve been dreaming up filled cupcake recipes ever since I bought a cupcake corer/plunger. I thought since St. Patrick’s Day is this Sunday, now was the perfect time for a Boston Cream Cupcake.

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Filed Under: Cakes Tagged With: baking, Chocolate, Cupcakes, Dessert, food, recipe

Chicken Pot Pie for St. Patrick’s Day

March 11, 2013 31 Comments

Comfort food with a St. Patrick’s Day twist. Individual pot pies with a clover in the middle of a tender, flaky crust, hiding a chunky chicken and vegetable filling in a creamy white sauce.

My mom often cooked frozen pot pies when I was growing up. They were easy, filling and best of all cheap. It wasn’t until after I got married I realized that they really weren’t very tasty. I switched to the Maria Calendar frozen pot pies, which was definitely a step up, but ever since I started making pot pies from scratch, a frozen pot pie just won’t cut it any more.

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Filed Under: Chicken Tagged With: baking, Chicken, food, recipe

Samoa Recipe Roundup

March 8, 2013 25 Comments

It’s Girl Scout cookie time and I’m lovin’ all the recipes talented food bloggers have been creating using the cookies or incorporating the flavors of the cookies in new and creative desserts.

My favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Samoa. It’s a great combination of chocolate, coconut and caramel with a crunchy shortbread cookie. Last year I created Samoa Macarons and Samoa Brownie Bites. This year I decide I had to share some of the fantastic Samoa recipes I’ve been seeing:

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Filed Under: Dessert Tagged With: baking, Chocolate, cookie, Dessert, food, recipe

Orange Cheesecake Cookie Cups

March 4, 2013 37 Comments

A sweet orange cream cheese cookie dough baked in a mini muffin tin, filled with cream cheese filling and drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate.

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Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: baking, cookie, Dessert, food, recipe

Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers

February 28, 2013 25 Comments

Thin, crispy, lightly salted crackers made from whole wheat flour are perfect for dipping or just eating the Toasted Whole Grain Crunch one right after the other.

Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers! My daughter’s favorite crackers are Wheat Thins so for this Crunch is Calling challenge I made homemade Wheat Thins.

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Filed Under: Appetizers and Snacks Tagged With: baking, food, recipe

Orange Cranberry Honey Stick Buns

February 25, 2013 22 Comments

Gooey honey bun sweet rolls dripping with a stick orange honey topping and crowned with pecans. These cinnamon roll style buns are filled with orange sugar and tart dried cranberries.

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Filed Under: Sweet Rolls Tagged With: baking, Breakfast, cooking, Dessert, food, recipe