TWD: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

I made this one a week early. Surprised? I know...especially since even though I did it so early, I'm only now making the post about it. Halfway through Tuesday, and my TWD is just now going up. It's appalling. I know.

But let's talk cake!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities. Be sure to check out her site for this yummy, moist recipe.

TWD: Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes (minus the rum)

I turned these Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes into Vanilla-Drenched Vanilla Cakes because who doesn't like vanilla? Plus, I don't really mess around with alcohol. I find things are good without it, so why bother?

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes. Check out her site for the recipe.

TWD: White Chocolate Brownies

I love raspberries. Seriously. They are by far my favorite fruit. They are so delicious, sweet, and tart. I could eat them every day if I could. When I first bought the book Baking from My Home to Yours, I spent hours poring over the pages, imagining what it would be like to make some of the recipes. I particularly remember oogling the picture associated with this recipe. White chocolate and raspberry. What a delicious and wonderful pairing. So when I saw that this was the recipe for this week, I was...what do they call it...drooling, I mean, excited.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Marthe of Culinary Delights. Be sure to check her site for this yummy recipe.

So have I made it clear that I love raspberries?

Well guess what...no raspberries here. I cannot recall one time when I have ever seen them here. I was/am sooooo disappointed.

TWD: Apple-Apple Bread Pudding

I'm late, but I'm here. I'm actually finishing a two-week stay with my parents in Maryland, and being back in the US has been such a wonderful experience. I'm a little afraid of what my reaction will be when I get back, but we'll just have to see.

So back to the reason for the post. It's Tuesday!! This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Elizabeth of Cake or Death? Be sure to check out her site for this yummy recipe.

TWD: Chocoblock Cookies

I'mmmm backkkkk!

I am so glad to be making this post right now. You don't know how much I've been missing baking and blogging. I would think of it often, but it would make me so sad to know that I was physically so worn out and nauseated to do it. But I managed to do it this week. And I'm so glad.

This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. Be sure to check out her site for the recipe of these very interesting cookies. Lots of stuff in these cookies.

TWD: Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

I wasn't sure if I was going to make it on this one.  I haven't been feeling too good lately, and I was a little skeptical that I would feel up to making these this week. But after some encouragement (read "get off your butt, honey"), I got up and made these.

This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Mike of Ugly Food Dude. Check out his site for the recipe.

TWD: Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart

Now doesn't that title just sound good. Now take a look. Yeah, you wish you had this tart.

I have to admit, at one time, I was not a fan of coconut. Why, I couldn't tell you because now I simply love the smell (and taste) of lightly toasted coconut. It rocks the house. And when you pair it with cool creamy custard, you really can't go wrong.

This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Beryl of Cinemon Girl. Be sure to check out her site for this great recipe.

Twofer TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundts and Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

Lucky lucky you! You get two Tuesdays with Dorie for one! Yipee!

So let's start with last week: Last week's TWD was Milk Chocolate Mini Bundts chosen by Kristin of I'm Right About Everything. (Great blog title, huh?)

And this week: This week's TWD was Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia chosen by Tanya of Chocolatechic.

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread

I actually did this one early! Woo hoo!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Yay! It's Tuesday! Not very early in Tuesday, but Tuesday nevertheless.

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

These were some weirdy cookies for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, chosen by Macduff of The Lonely Sidecar.

TWD: Sables

These cookies smell so familiar. They smell just like the cookies that you get in the Christmas tins, the butter cookies that always come in the little paper cases. It was really nice making something that was so familiar and that reminded me of Christmas, which is perfect for this time of year.

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Barbara of Bungalow Barbara, where you can find the recipe.

TWD: All-in-one Holiday Bundt Balls

This week for Tuesdays with Dorie, I made the All-in-one Holiday Bundt Cake, chosen by Britin of the Nitty Britty.

I know. This does not look like a bundt. You're right, but believe it or not, it did start off that way.

TWD: Cran (Raisin) Apple Crisps

I have often said that I was going to halve a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie, but I would never remember to actually do it. Ladies and gentlemen, I did it this time! This may seem like nothing for most of you, but I think it's important to celebrate the little victories. It's the same reason that when I have a lot to do, I make a very detailed to-do list. And by detailed, I mean, instead of do the laundry, I say, sort the clothes, wash the clothes, dry the clothes, fold the clothes, put the clothes away, and so on. I do this because I like the feeling of having accomplished something and being able to cross it off of my list. It's so rewarding to me to double triple quadruple cross-out items on my enormously long to-do list. So you know what--I'm going to celebrate this small victory. :)

The TWD I picked for this week was Cran-Apple Crisps, which was originally chosen by Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef. Be sure to check out her site for the recipe.

TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Cookies

I know it has been a really long time since I last posted. I would love to say that I have been out saving the world, solving world hunger (but telling no one...do you know the quote?), or something honorable like that.

Nope, not been doing that. Instead I've been celebrating my and my hubby's birthday!

My birthday was on October 28th, and my husband's was on November 2nd. So to celebrate our birthdays, my husband was so wonderful and took me to Florence, Italy! We spent 9 glorious days exploring the Tuscan area and just plain enjoying ourselves.

And then we came back, but my mind was not quite out of vacation mode. I really wanted to get back in the kitchen, but most of me just wanted to get back in bed. Was is it about vacations that makes it relaxing and tiring at the same time? Crazy.

But I'm back and baking. And I have every intention of making up the TWD and DB that I missed. I have not forgotten. Just give me a little bit of time. I'll be back on track in no time.

TWD: Sweet Potato (Pumpkin) Biscuits

It seems like I'm making lots of substitutions lately.  I had actually fully intended to use sweet potatoes in this recipe; I was even excited about it because all I've seen here are purple sweet potatoes. How cool would it have been to have some purple biscuits! But alas, it was not meant to be. I went to the store twice to get some sweet potatoes. The first time the produce section was not open. The second time there were no sweet potatoes. So I grabbed what I hoped to be a pumpkin (it was green, kinda like a watermelon) and decided to switch it up. I was pleasantly surprised not only when I found out it was indeed a pumpkin (or at least a squash with orange flesh) but also when I looked at the Tuesdays with Dorie site and found suggestions on making a pumpkin version.

TWD: Allspice (Cinnamon) Crumb Muffins

I could not find allspice. I looked, but I could not find it. It probably doesn't help that I can't read hardly any of the labels. So I resorted to cinnamon. But can it really be called a resort? I think I have to say that cinnamon is my favorite spice. It's so versatile and just plain yummy. And I don't just love it because my initials, before I got married, practically spelled cinnamon: CMN. Okay, not quite, but you get the picture. All that to say, I used cinnamon today.

So for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, the recipe chosen, by Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table.

TWD: Split Level Pudding

I'm on time! Hooray!

Today's TWD was picked by Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla. Be sure to check out that site for the recipe.

TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

I know this is super late, but I still wanted to post about it anyway. This week's Tuesday with Dorie was chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey.

I was supposed to make a chocolate-crunched caramel tart, but I didn't have any nuts, so no crunch, and I was really tired, so I decided to skip the caramel (plus I haven't had good luck with it yet), and I was lazy even further and decided to use my leftover puff pastry for a crust instead of making tart dough, so it wasn't even really a tart.

TWD: Cottage Cheese (Sour Cream) Pufflets

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie, I actually made while I was still in Los Angeles. These were chosen by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes. I was trying to clean out my fridge, and I didn't have cottage cheese, but I did have sour cream. So that's what I used.