Sally McKenney's Blog, page 179

Spinach Artichoke White Cheese Pizza.

My favorite homemade pizza crust topped with parmesan, mozzarella, garlic, spinach, and artichokes. This white pizza will remind you of creamy spinach artichoke dip!

I’m considering changing my blog name to Sally’s Pizza Addiction.

Or sprinkle addiction, peanut butter addiction, lemon addiction, cadbury cream egg addiction. Sally’s Pajama Addiction sounds pretty accurate too. I digress.

Every couple of weeks, I’m inspired to try a new pizza recipe on Friday nights. Extra cheesy, whole wheat veggie, BBQ chicken, and my personal favorite… gorgonzola apple. Hey, don’t knock it ’til you try it! That particular kind is one of my favorite meals of all time. That is, until I tried today’s version.

Spinach artichoke dip is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. If it’s served at a party, you know where to find me. I personally love it with pita chips and some heavy garlic thrown in. My breath smells like an angel afterwards. Ahem.  (Worth it.)

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Mint Chocolate Energy Bites.

Healthy, gluten free, naturally sweetened mint chocolate truffles made from good-for-you ingredients. Get your chocolate fix without the sugar crash!

How was your weekend?

Mine started off with a trip to New Haven, CT to visit Panera Bread’s test bakery. There I met Lindsay, Jennifer, Zoe, Bree, Nicole, and the head baker, Tom. It was my first time meeting fellow food bloggers. Finally, people who understand my bizarre life!! I’m pretty sure my friends are tired of me talking about pie crust, props, and light reflectors.

We spent the day with Tom Gumpel, head baker of Panera Bread. It’s a test bakery, inventing the idea of “small batch baking” for Panera locations. There we got to sample a ton of treats and even get our hands dirty making soft pretzels, bread pudding (made with brownies!), toaster tarts, strawberries ‘n cream scones, belgium waffles, sweet waffle fries, and so much more.

I came home on a sugar high and it was all totally worth it.

Easter was full of great food as well – key lime pie (recipe in my cookbook), green bean casserole, deviled eggs, ham, cinnamon rolls, and coconut cream pie. My future sis-in-law made the coconut cream pie and I told her to send me the recipe ASAP. I’ll have to share it on my blog sometime. Seriously, the best.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Strawberry Kiwi Margaritas.

Turn any party into a fiesta with these sweet and fruity Strawberry Kiwi Margaritas! They’re so easy, you’ll be making pitcher after pitcher…

Greetings from the train.

I’ve been up since 4am and I need a coffee IV. Right now I’m on my way to New Haven, CT to visit Panera Bread’s test bakery. By far one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! I’m dragging Kevin along because the man loves bread and broccoli cheddar soup.

I’m personally a sucker for their apple chicken salad and their cinnamon crunch bagels. Toasted with cream cheese. How are their bagels always so perfect? I’ll ask them today.

To celebrate the fun day and weekend ahead, I’m sharing a margarita recipe. Margaritas are my liquid weakness. Give me a bag of salty chips, a (very) large dish of salsa, and a cold margarita any day of the week. Pure contentment right there.

I made these strawberry kiwi margaritas on Wednesday. We paired them with cheesy taquitos and bean/corn salad. What a meal. It felt like summer despite the 35 degree temperature outside. I’ve complained enough about the cold weather, so I’ll spare you any more. I miss my flip flops.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread.

Super-moist and incredibly indulgent brown sugar banana bread loaded with dark chocolate chips and raspberries.

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile… a long, long while… you may remember my Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread from 2012. I made that bread about 17384 times that summer. I’m not joking; ask all my old coworkers because I’d bring in a loaf practically each week. Chocolate and raspberries are my weakness.

I had 8 ripe bananas on the counter over the weekend, so I made two delicious loaves.

This time, I used my favorite banana bread base recipe. It uses more butter, brown sugar instead of white, and more banana. I call it my “best-ever banana bread” recipe and posted about it here. Check it out, banana bread lovers.

I sliced and froze one loaf – freezes beautifully up to 2 months – and snapped photos of the other loaf. We gobbled up slices for dessert and when I wasn’t looking, Kevin ate the last slice for breakfast yesterday. The nerve.

You will fall in love with this banana bread recipe! It’s incredibly dense and bursting with flavor in every slice. I sweeten the loaf with brown sugar – brown sugar and banana go together like peanut butter and chocolate. The two are just meant to be! You will love the richness the brown sugar gives.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Mini French Toast Bites.

Just when you think french toast can’t get any better – try it in mini size. Both fun to make and even more fun to eat!

I have a new post-race tradition. Sit down to a huge plate of french toast, wash it down with a tall orange juice, and a giant bowl of fruit that is probably large enough to feed a family of 4. Mmm, mangoes and cantaloupe.

On Saturday, I came home from the city completely famished. Anything in sight sounded good. So while I inhaled a leftover baked sweet potato (so random, I know), I began slicing a baguette we had on the counter and before I knew it, french toast was on the menu. Wham bam, thank you ma’am.

This recipe was totally unplanned and I wasn’t even going to share it on my blog. But how could I keep this buttery, syrup drenched mountain of bite-sized french toast to myself?

French toast isn’t anything new or inventive, but when you use different shapes and sizes of bread – it all of a sudden becomes interesting again. For the record, french toast is always interesting to me. Comfort food at its finest.

Kevin makes a mean stack of french toast on the regular. So simple – 3 eggs, half-and-half, milk, cinnamon, 8 slices of bread. We usually share the batch on lazy Sunday mornings while Jude watches us eat it.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies.

Soft-baked, ultra chewy, and simple oatmeal cookies loaded with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Only 30 minutes to chill, you’ll have oatmeal cookies in no time!

Here we go. Another cookie jar favorite from my kitchen to yours.

I’ve been making these super soft oatmeal cookies for a couple years now. It’s my favorite “base” oatmeal cookie recipe. Ultra soft, chewy, kissed with molasses flavor, and ready for any add-ins your tastebuds desire. I typically make them with raisins, M&Ms, or butterscotch morsels. But you’re going to go nuts over today’s new version.

I had a hankering for oatmeal cookies last week after a run. Typically not something I replenish my muscles with after a long run, but hey… I went with it. No better time to treat yourself than after running 5 miles, right?! Leftover macadamia nuts sat on the counter, so these loaded oatmeal cookies were a no brainer.

My mind was completely blown after biting into one warm from the oven. The molasses and cinnamon-spiced oatmeal cookie base paired with buttery macadamia nuts and sweet white chocolate is out of this world.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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35 Easter + Springtime Recipes.

Can you believe that Easter is right around the corner? Uh, not that I’m complaining. This was one of the snowiest, coldest winters Baltimore has seen in a long time. I’m welcoming spring and Easter with open arms.

Today I’m running a 10K in beautiful sunny weather. It’s a pretty flat course around the Baltimore harbor. I don’t have a new recipe for you, but I have 35 recipe ideas for you to make this time of year. From cookies to cupcakes to cakes to muffins, I have all of your Easter and springtime baking needs covered.

Today is also my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday mama! Without you, I wouldn’t know a damn thing about pineapple upside-down cake! (See #13)

♥ ♥ ♥

Here we go. All of the recipes are pictured in photo collages with links to the corresponding recipes below each group.

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Autographed Cookbook + Handmade Apron Giveaway!

Happy Spring!

To celebrate the warm weather approaching, the flowers blooming, the birds chirping, and all the spring baking ahead – I’m giving away an autographed copy of my cookbook, as well as TWO beautiful handmade linen aprons from The Apron Shop.

I simply love these aprons – I own one in red.

When planning today’s cookbook giveaway, I knew I wanted to pair something useful along with it. I was thinking maybe a set of spatulas, some cookie sheets, another Williams-Sonoma gift card perhaps?

After giving it some thought one morning, I decided on an apron. You can’t get more useful than that in the kitchen. Especially an apron that is utterly gorgeous and well, matches your new cookbook.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Crispy Quinoa Patties.

These simple crispy quinoa patties are so versatile. They’re a great meatless option that even meat eaters will love. Play around with your favorite vegetables and spices. Makes great leftovers!

Here’s the dessert we had on Sunday night. And before those frosted sugar cookie bars, we enjoyed quinoa patties for dinner. Crispy on the edges, savory, herbed, warm in the center… these meatless patties are one of the best things we’ve put on the table.

(Even my meat and potatoes loving fiancé agrees.)

Kevin’s older sister, Kerry – the one who inspired this recipe, makes these crispy quinoa patties on the regular. I’ve had hers several times, usually in the summer for a light lunch with a salad. Kerry is one incredible cook – she’s even hosting my bridal shower this summer. Cannot wait for all her amazing food.

Let me tell you a few things about these quinoa patties.

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars.

Soft and chewy sugar cookie bars loaded with extra sprinkles and topped with thick vanilla frosting. And more sprinkles… of course.

These gorgeous pastel sugar cookie bars are about 5 years in the making. I’ve been dying to make sugar cookie bars with light ‘n sweet frosting for ages now. And I finally got around to it this past weekend. Let’s just call it my TV celebration treat.

In all their soft-baked, mile high frosting, sprinkles-to-the-max goodness… I can honestly say that these charming little treats were well worth the wait. I mean, just look at ‘em.

The frosting is as thick as the cookie!! Have mercy.

Today’s recipe is as soft as my favorite soft-baked cookie, as chewy as my favorite blondie, and as sprinkly as my entire cookbook. You’ll find sprinkles in the cookie bar base AND on top of the frosting. Is there such a thing as too many sprinkles? Because I’m pretty sure we test those limits here on my blog.

To make the frosted sugar cookie bars ultra soft, I add a touch of cornstarch. Trust me on this! Think about it: often used as a thickening agent, cornstarch gives your gravy, pie fillings, soups, and glazes a more bodied and full texture. The same goes for your cookie dough – cornstarch will help your dough remain soft, thick, and puffy during the baking process. The small 1.5 teaspoons used is certainly a heavy lifter in this recipe!

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© Sally’s Baking Addiction 2012

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