TWD: Pecan Powder Puffs

Prologue: Apologies, apologies, apologies. I forgot to take pictures... Shame on me. On the plus side: These where tasty, great, wonderful. But not very pretty. Especially because I did not dust them in sugar, so they looked like brown marbles. 

So we have Cookies on the schedule! Well, not round, thick cookies like you buy them in a coffee shop. The Pecan Poweder Puffs chosen by Tianne of Buttercream Barbie very much resemble a christmas sweet. At the end of march? That might sound strange for the one or the other - but for me, this is a very welcome surprise and something different just before we all start baking tons and tons of tarts, pies and other desserts with berries of all kinds and other spring/summer fruits!

They are really easy to make (especially when you, cough, cheat a bit and use already grounded nuts for the dough...) and they taste extremely good. I did not roll them in sugar before serving because I thought they are sweet enough. But maybe I should have. Not because it would improve them in taste, but their look.
However - my colleagues enjoyed them just as much as I did and also thought of them as w welcome surprise!

I am sure to make them again, they are just too easy not to!

P.S.: I was a bit surprised that Tianne did pick this recipe. She always makes such innovative changes to our recipes and unbelievable tarts, cakes and muffins. I would have guessed she had chosen a more difficult, subtile recipe. But TWD always keeps you surprised and you learn a bit abour your fellow bakers every day :o]

TWD: Honey Nut Brownies

I am really happy, that there are so many breakfast treats left for the remaining TWD-recipies! They are made fast, you can easily store them for a day and bring them to work, and they are perfect for a Sunday morning breakfast. I can somehow understand that many TWDers prefer to choose more sublime, subtile recipes that challenge your baking abilities. But for me, when it comes to baking, the simple things are not the worst!

For this week, Suzy of Suzy Homemaker opted for Honey Nut Brownies. You may find the recipe on her page, or in Dorie's book on  page 102.

I changed the recipe only slightly by reducing the sugar, because with all the honey and chocolate, I think of them as sweet enough.
For the nuts, I just used a nut mix, so I went with any nuts possible.

In the end, I like them, but they might not be my all-time favourite brownies. I love very moist and fudgy, almost mellow and creamy brownies, and these are more cake-like. Maybe this is because they have not so much chocolate in it, and the eggs are not seperated nor are the egg whites beaten seperately. But I know there are zillions of cake-like-brownie-lovers out there, and for them this is an extremely wonderful recipe, with a decent but still remarkable honey flavour!

TWD: Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins

 Muffin Time! Great, great, great.
I love eating muffins, I love making muffins.
I don't love taking pictures of muffins, that's why I have to bother you with these bad pics...

Anyhow. Citurs Currant Sunshine Muffins are just great. I used whole-wheat flour, because I had to get rid of it (that's why the muffins looke a bit "sprinkled" in the pictures), and swapped the orange juice for pink grapefruit juice. And I had to skip the currants (not available round here...). Instead, I did include some orange jam into half of them - yummi!

Generally, I love citrus flavouverd sweets, and so I love these, too. They are like all muffins easy to make and fast and perfect for sunday morning breakfast! maybe I should have used some other dried fruits, instead of currants, mybe raisins or apricots. Next time!

P.S.: Some of my molds (they are more cupcake-molds, but I use them for all "small cakes") have a heart on the bottom. Unfortunately, I took some of them out too early, so the bottom did stay in the mold. One came out almost completely, except for the heart. So I got a muffin heart. Cute, isn't it?)