Caramel Apple Pie Bars

A few weeks ago I made this amazing creamy caramel sauce and I immediately knew I needed a vessel to smother with it. In the vein of how noodles are a vessel for sauce these bars were a way to put more of the caramel into my face. So I said "let there be caramel apple pie bars", and so it was, and it was delicious.

6 Ingredient Drop Biscuits

I have been trying to find more recipes recently that will become staples in my kitchen and this is a perfect example of that! These are super easy drop biscuits which are not the type of baking project that you look at and think they are something to "tackle". These only take a few minutes to mix and plop on a baking sheet, then you're good to go. I would say they take about the same amount of time that it takes me to pluck up the courage to pop open those terrifying canned biscuits, plus they're ten times better because they're homemade! The six ingredients in this recipe mix together to create some of the lightest, fluffiest, and most delicious biscuits I have ever eaten (which is something I never thought I'd say about some simple biscuits).
Here is how to make them:

Delicious Vanilla Cupcakes- Gluten Free

This is an awesome recipe for gluten free vanilla cupcakes that I tried last night and I am so excited about it!

I have tried a bunch of different gluten free baked goods and when there is a good one (not crumbly and dry) it is a revelation! This made a yummy, dense, moist, not-too-sweet, vanilla cupcake! I used my all purpose baking mix for this and it worked like a charm, which I am happy about.

A lot of the time home-made gluten free baking can result in an extremely dry and crumbly mess which loses quality by the minute as it cools but this is really tasty and would be a perfect go-to cupcake for someone looking to go g-free.

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes:
Yield: 12 cupcakes, one 8" square layer; or one 9" round layer.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup- Soft Butter (room temperature, not melted)
• 1 Cup- Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup- Milk (I used reduced fat but any percent will do)
• 3 tsp- Gluten Free Vanilla
• 1 3/4 Cup- Gluten Free Baking Mix (see my recipe for it HERE)
• 1/2 tsp- Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp- Baking Powder
• 1 tsp- Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake papers. You can optionally grease the cupcake papers but I skipped this step and had no problems. (You can also use this recipe for a cake: lightly grease an 8" square or 9" round pan)
2. To make the batter: Beat the soft butter and sugar until thoroughly combined and somewhat lightened in color. I whipped mine for a while to ensure a lighter batter.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated.
4. Combine the milk and vanilla.
5. Combine all dry ingredients. I sifted mine together
6. Stir one-third of the baking mix into the mixture; stir in half the milk, another third of the baking mix, the remaining milk, then the remaining mix. Scrape the bowl occasionally throughout this process.
7. For cupcakes, scoop the batter by level ¼-cupfuls into the prepared muffin tins. (For a cake spread the batter into the prepared pan) 
8. Bake 20 to 22 minutes for cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the middle springs back when pressed lightly. (Bake 30 to 35 minutes for a layer cake)
9. Remove from the oven. Serve warm; or cool completely, then spread with the frosting of your choice.

I frosted my vanilla cupcakes with a lemon buttercream frosting that I made and you can find the recipe for that HERE. 
These cupcakes are really dense and moist (even on the second day) and this recipe is a good staple to have in any gluten-free kitchen!


Enjoy!

Fresh Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Lemon is bright and fresh and delicious!

This is a recipe for a delicious, fresh, and simple lemon butter-cream frosting!
Butter-cream is my favorite kind of frosting to make because it is simple and you can make virtually any flavor you can think of. This recipe is quick and simple and only has 5 ingredients! Anyone can make this and be proud of creating something so delicious from scratch!




Lemon is a great flavor to use for frosting because it pairs well with many other flavors and adds freshness to any recipe. I used it to frost some vanilla cupcakes and it really made them pop! Here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup- Butter Softened (room temperature, not melted)
• 3 3/4 Cup- Confectioner's Sugar
• 1 Lemon (you will use the juice and the zest)
• 1 tsp- Vanilla Extract (use gluten free vanilla extract for g-free recipes)
• 1/8 tsp- Salt

Directions:

1. Combine butter, sugar, and salt and beat until well combined
2. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and continue to beat until light and creamy

Here is the result! YUM!

I hope you enjoy trying this recipe out!

Gluten Free Baking Mix- All Purpose

This is a recipe for an all-purpose GLUTEN FREE baking mix that can be used in any baking recipe.

The bakery I hope to open will be a 100% gluten free bakery! This decision came from the fact that my hopeful business partner, Krista, has an intolerance to gluten so it only made sense to create a business that would help others like her to have a yummy place to enjoy a treat without any concern for their health! Also, after some research into Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance) I found that there is a HUGE gap in this growing market for a completely gluten free business so I am excited to try to fill this gap a little bit for people who are gluten intolerant or not to enjoy something delicious!

I have looked into gluten free baking mixes for a while and there are MANY options. You can buy pre-made mixes or make you own and I have opted to make my own since I believe that cooking from scratch puts more love into the food. The recipe that I tried is all purpose which means, by my understanding, that you can use it any regular recipe to replace regular flour. There are other variations on gluten free mixes that work better in specific recipes (i.e., biscuits, muffins, breads) but this is an all purpose to have on hand for whatever you feel like baking on a whim!

All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Mix:

1 Cup- White Rice Flour

2/3 Cup- Potato Starch (make sure it is not potato flour)

1/3 Cup- Tapioca Starch (also called "tapioca flour" which I learned at the store)

2 tsp- Xantham Gum

A few things about this mix:

-I sifted all of the ingredients once into a bowl then again into another bowl to ensure they were all well mixed, since they are all white and it is hard to see if they are combined well.

-This mix will make a nice dense and moist cake or bread that is still delicious on the second or third day after baking, while some gluten free mixes dry out very easily and make a crumby result. 

-I found that this recipe was about perfect to make one batch of vanilla cupcakes with a little bit left over. 

-You can double or triple the recipe and store it for later but make sure to store it in an airtight container, you can also put it in the freezer for it to last longer.

Good luck!

My First Post!

Hello! This is my first blog post and I am very excited about it!

My name is Katherine and I am a 23 year old child of the Northwest who loves creating.

To start off I will explain a little about why I am starting this blog. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to open a bakery. Baking brings me so much joy and happiness, not only because I love to do it, but because I love to give people delicious things to eat which makes everyone happy!
About 2 years ago I met an amazing girl named Krista and we quickly became best friends. One of the many, many things Krista and I found that we had in common was our love for baking, along with cooking and crafting. It didn't take her and I very long to decide that we would open up a bakery together, this blog will be all about the journey to finding and creating delicious recipes to put into that bakery which we hope to open in the near future!

Over the course of the blog you will find out much more about me and the amazing people I have in my life so I won't be too long-winded in this first post about myself. Thanks for reading and I hope you will find some joy from this blog.

Enjoy