Sally McKenney's Blog, page 168

Triple Chocolate Scones Supreme.

These crumbly, yet moist triple chocolate scones taste like warm brownies from the oven. I call them Triple Chocolate Scones Supreme because there is nothing NOT supreme about them.

I’m currently wiping chocolate crumbs off my keyboard a… oh. And apparently my face. Kevin just walked in and told me I have melted chocolate on my chin.

Yes that just happened.

Alright, so. It’s all about chocolate on my blog today. All chocolate, all over the place. I mean all over the face. Chocolate scones, chocolate chunks, and chocolate drizzled on top. These scones, everyone, are your free ticket to eat dessert for breakfast.

These triple chocolate scones supreme taste like brownies. And your kitchen will smell like fresh baked brownies for about 6 hours after making them. Which is a reason in and of itself to make them, no? I call them “supreme” because that’s exactly what they are. A chocolate scone of supreme nature, thankyouverymuch.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Step-by-Step Guide to Making Cinnamon Almond Toffee.

Make toffee from scratch! Candy making, the old fashioned way, is simple as long as you have the right instructions, patience, tools, and ingredients. 

I hope you brought your sweet tooth with you today. I’ve been waist deep in toffee all week and I’m thrilled to share some toffee with you. Including lessons, how-to’s, tricks, mistakes, and everything in between. It’s a toffee kind of November.

A simple blend of sugar and butter, toffee is my hard candy of choice. Well, unless we’re talking these–> am I 5 years old? I love those. Unlike hard-as-ice brittle, toffee softens when sucked or chewed. That’s the best part about it! And there are many ways you can flavor toffee. Cinnamon, vanilla, nuts, top with chocolate, or just make it au naturel.

In the kitchen this week, I made three types of toffee. About 189758934754 different times. My stove (and sanity) need a break. Everyone at my event today can taste test the pounds of toffee taking over my counter– there’s a ton. But let’s focus on the cinnamon almond version. It’s my favorite one.

Along with the recipe, I’m sharing quite a few step-by-step photos. When it comes to candy making, step-by-step visuals are just as imperative as the recipe itself. There is NO room for error when making a candy like toffee. Old-fashioned, authentic toffee. I really want you to make this! I really want you to challenge yourself and become comfortable using a candy thermometer and cooking candy from scratch on the stove-top. Not just for obtaining the finished product, but for the experience. The pleasure of making something so timeless. Something you can pass down to future generations. And obviously, something that tastes SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD from scratch.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Cranberry Orange Muffins.

Buttery and moist, these cranberry orange muffins are heavy on the flavor and bursting with cranberries in each bite.

Cranberry is an underrated fall flavor, dontcha think? It’s often lost in all the pumpkin, cinnamon, and apple flooding kitchens in the fall. (Um, not that I’m complaining.) Cranberry deserves some love! That being said, how about a POP of vibrant cranberry for breakfast? An abundance of cranberries in every soft, buttery bite. Paired with a bright zest of orange and a sweet orange glaze to finish things off.

Orange is cranberry’s soulmate. Like peanut butter is to jelly chocolate, Fridays are to wine, and french fries are to a chocolate frosty–> an obvious match made in heaven.

Anyway, cranberry and orange are absolute perfection together and I’ve been dreaming about today’s muffins since I posted this particular cranberry orange bread recipe last year. I have since made that bread, I don’t know, about 1 million times. Sometimes with streusel, sometimes without (who am I?), but always always always with tons of cranberries and orange zest. Divine.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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A Weekend at the Lake.

Lake Wallenpaupack, you win at fall.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting.

Perfectly spiced pumpkin cupcakes topped with a generous “cloud” of marshmallow frosting.

Happiest of Novembers to you! I’m holding onto pumpkin pie, harvest candles, apple cider, and ruby red leaves as long as I can. This has been the best fall season.

The month of November comes and goes way too quickly, am I right?! Thanksgiving gets lost in the premature holiday madness. I call this the “christmas creep.” And I’m totally against it this year. That is, until you put a peppermint mocha in front of me.

Anyway, long live the pumpkin! Today we have pumpkin cupcakes topped with a cloud of marshmallow frosting on the menu. These spiced cupcakes remind me of my favorite Thanksgiving side dish: sweet potato casserole. Though I rarely make it with marshmallows on top anymore (um, am I boring or what?), the toasty marshmallow goo was my favorite part when I was young. Shocking. And biting into today’s cupcake evokes pure, sweet nostalgia.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Photo A Day, October.

Welcome back to Photo A Day! Seriously, it’s November already? I didn’t get to savor every last drop of October. The month flew by and before I knew it, I began seeing Christmas decorations out at stores. Let’s hold onto fall a little longer ok??

In one word, this past month was… busy. 10 days in Hawaii, catching up on over 600 emails, 372 comment questions (if I missed you, I’m sorry!), getting ready for October 25th, meeting dozens of you, quality time with Jude, baking new things to share with all of you, AND starting a new, exciting project. Stay tuned.

100 mile update: 92 miles. Ahh, so close! I failed this month, but hey… honeymooning is a pretty good excuse. Who also did the 100 mile challenge in October? I’m hoping to continue it through December.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Frosted Chai Spice Snickerdoodles.

Soft & chewy cookies rolled in a blend of chai spices and covered in creamy vanilla bean frosting. These frosted chai spice snickerdoodles are a chai tea latte in cookie form!

Happy hallo-weekend!

Hopefully some candy bar blondies or reese’s stuffed cookies are on your agenda with all that leftover Halloween candy. My plans include eating today’s chai spice cookies, washed down with a few of these pumpkin ales, cozy by the fire in the Poconos.

A weekend at the lake with friends and blankets and pumpkin beer and cookies… sounds like perfection. If you’re a fan of chai tea lattes, add a batch of these fabulously spiced chai cookies to your agenda too.

I’m so excited about these! First, because this recipe is breaking my near two month cookie-less streak. Sorry for dropping the ball on new cookie recipes! And second… chai. I have been a huge fan of chai tea for years. Bold and spicy, this flavorful tea is my#1 choice when it comes to warm drinks. And baking with its spices seemed like a natural progression. Have your chai tea and eat it too.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Fluffy and moist, these buttery red velvet cupcakes are my favorite. The tangy cream cheese frosting puts them over the top!

Over the past year, the most requested recipe on my blog is… red velvet cupcakes. To be honest, I was never a huge fan of red velvet up until a few years ago. Is it chocolate? Is it vanilla? The flavor always leaves me confused.

But I began to fall in love with it when I bit into a lavish 3 layer slice of red velvet cake at my friend’s wedding. It was so unworldly moist, very buttery, full of vanilla flavor with a hint of chocolate goodness. And the tang from the cream cheese frosting was the perfect compliment to the indulgently sweet red velvet crumb underneath.

Simply put? That red velvet cake was the bees knees.

I have never been able to recreate something like it! I’ve felt like a red velvet failure for the past 3 and a half years. I’ve tried a lot of “good” red velvet cupcake and cake recipes– some great– but nothing that deserves a spot in my archives. When I received the billionth request from a red velvet loving reader (thank you for the nudge, Nancy!), I knew it was time to put on my big girl red velvet pajama pants. Ick! I don’t wear velvet pants.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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The Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe.

Bursting with flavor, this pumpkin pie recipe is my very favorite. It’s rich, smooth, thick, and tastes incredible on my homemade pie crust and served with whipped cream.

Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin bread, but HELLO what about pumpkin pie??

My Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe. Is Here. Today. Say hi to this pie.

I spent the majority of my incredibly awesome week last week testing pumpkin pie recipes. And when I say awesome, I really mean frustrating because testing the perfect pumpkin pie recipe is a lot more challenging than one would assume. Fresh pumpkin, canned pumpkin, ginger, no ginger, brown sugar, white sugar, cornstarch, flour, no cornstarch, no flour, and O-M-G how do I decorate it and make it look pretty for my blog?

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Cranberry Apple Upside-Down Cake.

A beautiful addition to your fall spread, this simple cranberry apple upside-down cake is full of flavor. Complete with a brown sugar butter glaze, bright cranberries, apples, and a moist cinnamon spice cake.

Who needs frosting on top of their cake when you’ve got a mix of buttery brown sugar glaze, sweet apples, and tart cranberries. Or, as I like to call them, crannies.

So many ruby red crannies.

Surely you’re familiar with the classic pineapple upside-down cake, right? It’s our Easter tradition often followed by a couple cadbury eggs and a long nap. Sliced pineapple, maraschino cherries, and the best part: the buttery brown sugar stuff. That I can only describe as gooey. The best kind of gooey.

What you may not know is that nearly any fruit can be apart of this upside-down cake business. I’ve done it with sliced fresh peaches + raspberries, sliced pears, and I’ve done it with apples before too. Pineapple may be my favorite upside-down cake variety, but I’m mad about apple upside-down cake this time of year.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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