All posts tagged vanilla

angel cake.

by shannon on May 21, 2013 in desserts with 34 Comments

perfect angel cake.

File this under “posts where Shannon makes something you can easily purchase at the store and subsequently gets underwear-bunchy trying to figure out why you would ever want the store-bought version when the scratch version is so much better.” What; you don’t have a folder for that? You should. Let’s talk about angel cake. Why, as a human race, are we so willing to grab store-bought angel cake when the homemade variety is incredibly delicious? I blame our current relationship with egg whites. Continue reading →

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vanilla almond granola.

by shannon on January 11, 2013 in breakfast, brunch, desserts, snacks with 19 Comments

vanilla almond granola.

I’ve been secretly making this granola for far too long not to tell you about it. It started a few months ago, when Faygie at Life Tastes Good posted it. I love her anyway, but I was hooked instantly: a plain vanilla granola? From someone who I know loves vanilla and treats it like a flavor and not just an ingredient? Yes, please. Growing up, vanilla ice cream is all I would eat. Seems weird now, considering I’d try almost any flavor you’d put in front of me, but I just didn’t see any need to venture out when vanilla ice cream was my jam. I didn’t like to muddy the waters. I wasn’t the kid who wanted chocolate chips, marshmallows, or chunks of bubble gum in it (gross; do they even still make that?); just hand over the plain vanilla and I was (and still am) happy. Continue reading →

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sables, three ways: (the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012 cookies)

by shannon on December 12, 2012 in desserts with 16 Comments

Cookie swaps? Fun. Cookie swaps with over 500 people scattered across the world? Agonizing, but in a fun way. There’s so many things to consider! Transport time, crumble factor, freshness window, packing methods; it’s all critical. Not to mention the apprehension of sending your beloved cookies to complete and utter (but nice) strangers. And not that I really have a reputation to speak of, but if I do, it was on the line because of the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012. Continue reading →

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monday bites: holiday cake truffles (the momofuku birthday cake in a ball)

by shannon on December 10, 2012 in desserts with 20 Comments

That’s right, people. This is your holiday gift from me to you. Much in the way that Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and Perry Como gifted the world with timeless christmas albums.

Many of you have told me that you love looking at all the Momofuku Milk Bar cakes I’ve made on the blog this past year, but many of you seem to echo the same sentiment. You don’t want to buy cake rings or acetate strips. You don’t want to spend tons of time cutting and stacking cake layers. You sure as heck don’t want to waste freezer space for a half a day while it gets all melded together. And I understand that. Normal people with things to do may not feel the urge to spend hours on a cake. The whole idea of a layer cake is to make it for something special, too. So what if it’s just Tuesday and you want cake? It seems impractical to go to this much effort just for yourself, right? Even if it’s enormously delicious. Even if you really, really want to taste one of these cakes. Continue reading →

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nectarine upside-down cake.

by shannon on June 9, 2012 in breakfast, brunch, desserts with 19 Comments

People, listen up right now: you MUST make this cake. I implore you. Make it for yourselves, make it for friends and loved ones, make 10 of them, but just do it already before the nectarines revert back to being the rock-hard, scentless garden stones they are the rest of the year. I’m going to dispense with my usual fluffity-fluff and get to the point, because the longer you spend reading this, the less time you have to get nectarines while they’re in season, which means you’ll only be able to make 15 of these cakes and not 20. And that would be an utter shame. So; onward. Continue reading →

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rainbow cream cheese pound cake.

by shannon on January 17, 2012 in desserts with 1 Comment

So, yes; the winter has gotten to me a little bit. Everything is a little muted after the holidays are over, and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it can be really nice. But dreary, cold days can make you do strange things. like dig our your food paste colors and color your perfectly lovely cream cheese bundt cake several shades of early spring.  Continue reading →

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mexican wedding cakes. (or, the family cookie.)

by shannon on December 22, 2011 in desserts with 1 Comment

If our family had an official cookie, it would be the mexican wedding cake. I think we’ve made at least one batch of these every December since I was born (so, 35 years and going strong), and it’s the one cookie every single person loves. Not an “eh, it’s just okay” in the bunch. We gobble them up like   bar nuts and it’s embarrassing how fast we manage to run out of them. Thankfully, they’re so simple to make that we never have to be without them.  Continue reading →

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holiday cookies.

by shannon on December 14, 2011 in desserts with No comments

Dedicated to my sister who, for the first time, made a gigantic cookie assortment for her office. I am beyond proud.

This is what I like to call The Tier One Cookie Assortment. All of these cookies are tailor-made to make in large quantities for either many individual gifts or a big office cookie tray. I don’t think it does anyone any favors if you stress over finicky recipes when you’re in the throes of the holiday baking season, so this is my gift to you. Four crazy-simple, crazy-good cookie and bar recipes for you.  Continue reading →

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vanilla bean sweet potatoes.

by shannon on December 9, 2011 in sides with No comments

I’m still reliving Thanksgiving. I don’t mean to, it’s just that we had so many things to eat I’m finding it impossible to get through them all fast enough. And…since so many things you make on Thanksgiving manage to reappear throughout the winter holidays, I think it’s ok. I’m in the midst of a cookie-baking frenzy right now, so anything “un-cookie” looks appealing to me, even more so than it normally does. Hopefully you feel the same.  Continue reading →

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sponge cake; take one.

by shannon on September 21, 2011 in desserts with No comments

I really missed the boat on proper cake-making. I am obviously not professionally trained in any way, and when i started trying to learn how to really make food, it really didn’t occur to me to learn about the differences between a genoise and a sponge. I knew the difference between white and yellow. Angel and devil. Normal and flourless.  Continue reading →

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