Dutch Apple Pie

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your loved ones. I’ve been home in San Jose for a week and I’ve had the best Christmas with my family! I’ve got big plans for this little blog, and I don’t just mean in baked goods. :) Stayed tuned for more information to come, but let me just say: 2011 is going to be a big year for Buttercup!

Anyway, onto the pie. For the past 5 years, my brother-in-law Danny has been asking my sister Erin to make a Dutch Apple Pie on Thanksgiving or Christmas, rather than our traditional double-crust pie. Unfortunately for him, he always asks the morning of the holiday, never in advance, so we don’t have time to find a recipe to suit his tastes. Well, this year, the subject came up a few days early, so were able to track down an acceptable recipe and read up on Dutch apple Pie. My brother-in-law loves the Sara Lee version, so that was we were up against. Erin and I graciously accepted the challenge, and got to work after our Christmas morning mimosas. :)

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze, served with raspberries and vanilla ice cream!!

What do you give your parents when their birthdays coincide with one another and with Christmas? What do you give your parents when they already have everything they need or want?

When they are my parents, you make a donation in their honor to Sacred Heart Community Services and prepare a really nice three course meal for them. And you do it with your two sisters and your brother-in-law, and promise to play nice all day. I mean it, all day. :)

Banana Bread

I made it home to San Jose yesterday and all anyone seemed to talk about was the cheesecake they had made the day before for my Dad’s birthday. My sister Erin was even talking about eating cheesecake for breakfast. Naturally, when I woke up this morning, all I wanted for breakfast was cheesecake. I have so far resisted eating cheesecake for breakfast and didn’t have any for lunch either…yet.

After lunch, I took a look around my parent’s kitchen and found 3 very ripe bananas that were calling out to me. One was telling me to make them into banana bread. Another agreed, saying that it would keep us all from eating cheesecake for breakfast. The third just wanted to be written about in this blog. Well, since I am not one to deny a banana the pleasure of being written about, so I decided to take their advice and make banana bread!

Christmas Cookies!

Oh Christmas cookies, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. You are festive and delicious. You bring people together. You come in many shapes and sizes. You are a reason to bake for hours on end. You are full of happy memories and traditions.

This past weekend, I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen with my aunt Jen. We made 3 different types of cookies for her to give out and bring to her school. It was one of the most enjoyable baking experiences because we were so well-organized and in sync with each other. My uncle Sean had set up our work station with everything he thought we would need so that it would be right at our fingertips. My cousin Caitlin even helped up with the very important placement of the Hershey Kisses on the peanut butter cookies and rolling out some of the gingerbread people.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies!

Oh yes, I went there. Where? There. To the place where cheesecake meets brownie in a marriage so delicious that can only be improved by chocolate chips. I love cream cheese frosting and fillings, so cheesecake seemed like a likely next step in my baking career. And I’ve made brownies from scratch so many times that I could do it in my sleep (although that would probably be a bad idea). So I went for it and decided to make cheesecake brownies.

You may have also noticed that I decided to make yet another dessert with a marbled top. Why you ask? Because I need to get better at marbled toppings. I know that it is a silly thing to need to do, but trust me, I needed to. Anyway, it turned out okay this time. Cheesecake and brownie batter is a lot easier to manipulate than chocolate that is rapidly hardening, so I had that in my favor. And, once again, I found that cutting the dessert into squares always makes it looks great.

Inspiration and Gratitude

If I had limitless funds and mouths to feed, I would bake every day. There is so much joy in it for me. And writing this blog is helping me share that joy with others.

I just watched "Julie and Julia" for the first time. I was enchanted by the movie. I even cried at the end of it. I found Julie Powell's actual blog online and I'm going to start reading it. I also realized that maybe not every post on here has to have pictures and recipes. Maybe it can also be about my adventures, or sharing interesting sites and things I learn along the way. Or about something I have in a restaurant or saw on TV and decided I need to make in the future.

Marbled Caramel Chocolate Squares

I made these delicious squares for a Girls’ Night In last year and they were such a hit. I remember having extras in my apartment and a certain curtain roommate of mine could often be found with a spoon in her hand over the pan. They are that delicious. This year, I decided to make it for my first work holiday party.

Side note: Didn’t I tell you? I’m working about one day every week/every other week (we’re still figuring it all out) as an additional counselor at a middle school. I adore it. I’m still subbing as often as I can, but it’s nice to have a school that considers me part of its staff! Hence, after my first day last week, I was invited to the Christmas party. And it was the perfect opportunity to let it be known that I love to bake!