Maple Chai Cookies

Cookies

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I am a huge fan of Christmas. I look forward to Christmas the whole year and as soon as December hits, I'm in heaven. I love seeing the lights everyone puts on their houses and the Christmas displays in stores. I love hearing Christmas music wherever I go and I love the all-around cozy and kind atmosphere of Christmastime! 

While I haven't had much time to do any Christmas shopping (which is stressing me out a little bit), I'm still quietly loving Christmas when I have a spare moment. If I'm on the bus and I see someone with a large shopping bag, I imagine that it's a gift for someone special and how it's probably the perfect gift and they're so happy they found the right gift for that person. Is that weird? 

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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Pumpkin Creme Pie with Maple Molasses Roasted Pecans

Custards | Pie

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First off, I'm sorry for falling off the face of the earth for the past month and a bit. I started interning at a hotel in the morning before school and on the weekends, so I work 13 hours days sometimes and usually only have one day off. And to be honest, I'm not that keen on baking for 6 hours on my day off when I do it for 13 hours on my work days. But, finally, here is something I did make on my day off.

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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Spiced Crab Apple Mini Pies

Fruit | Pie

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This is it, the first "official" fall recipe of the year. I feel like as soon as September hits, bloggers go crazy for fall. It's like suddenly, on September 1st, no matter where you are, it is now fall and you better be putting pumpkin into something. I'm a bit late to that party, I guess.

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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Roasted Peach Ice Cream

Fruit | Ice Cream

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As much as I love fall, I'm really going to miss the abundance and variety of fresh local fruit that we have in the summer. I love going down to the farmers market on Saturday, picking up whatever fresh fruit that was in season, and finding something to make with it. Fall has apples, pears, and, of course, pumpkins, which are all nice fruits, but they're not the same as fresh raspberries, strawberries, peaches, or blueberries. They just don't have that bright, summery taste. I guess that's what makes them so wonderful when they finally arrive at the markets - we've missed them for so long. 

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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Basic Bread Dough

Bread

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Bread is incredibly simple yet deceptively complicated at the same time. Four ingredients - flour, water, yeast, salt - that can be manipulated to produce an endless variety of products. Every step in making bread is important and attention to detail is key. A slip-up in any of the many steps can create a less than impressive bread.

Because of this, people are intimidated by making bread at home. It's complicated, I don't have a bread stone, I don't have a steam injection oven, I don't have a linen cloth, I don't have a mixer. To make an outstanding loaf of bread, yes, those tools really do help. But you can still make a great loaf of bread without all the extra equipment and it is much simpler than most people make it out to be. The only tool you really, truly need is a digital thermometer. You don't need a mixer (I did these completely by hand), but a thermometer is essential. Once you successfully make a loaf of bread at home, you'll be hooked on it.

Posted by : Hint of Vanilla
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