What are you Baking the Week of May 5, 2024?

[Mike Nolan]

I need to make more keto-friendly buns, now I just have to decide which recipe I want to use as the starting point and whether I want to make any changes.

I already know I want to make them inside English Muffin rings so that they have more height and don't spread out as much.

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[navlys]

I made Mexican Wedding cookies for our Cinco de Mayo party. The problem I have now is trying to find recipes with weight measurements. Measuring things however seems to be more work and more dishes. I had to toast pecans and then chop them. I sifted and measured the confectioners sugar which went everywhere. I chilled the cookie dough overnight. I had to measure out the dough by tablespoon and then roll 40 cookies. Finally I had to roll each ball in confectioners sugar. I picked this recipe because I thought it wouldn't be a lot of work. They were yummy and went fast.

[BakerAunt]

Navlys--many recipes measure the sugar and then sift, so I'm surprised this one made you do the opposite. To sift powdered sugar, I use a large round screen--about 9-inches in diameter that I bought from King Arthur a while back. It has a scraper that is stored attached to the side, that is detached and used to scrape the powdered sugar into the bowl beneath the strainer. It has made my sifting life much nicer, not just for powdered sugar but for cocoa.

For forming the cookies into balls, consider one of the Zeroll scoops that King Arthur and others sell. Often the "ball" formed is good enough without hand shaping. With recipes that call for rolling in sugar before baking, I just drop the scooped dough into a bowl with the sugar, roll it around to coat it, then move to baking sheet.

If I make a recipe regularly, I have started working out the weight in grams when I make it and noting it, so that next time I do not have to measure.

I'm glad that your cookies were well received!

[navlys]

Thanks for your advice BA. I do have a scoop that would have been perfect but of course when I needed it I couldn't find it. I used 2 different recipes to get the weight measurements. One called for 3/4 c of sugar, sifted . Don't ask me why I sifted ahead. That screen from KA sounds interesting. Of course I have another gift card from KA I have to use.

[RiversideLen]

Navlys, when I make Noel Nut Balls, which are essentially the same as Mexican Wedding Cookies, I roll the dough out into a rectangle. Then I take a chefs knife (I think a pizza cutter would work nicely) and cut squares and then I roll out each one in my hands to form a little orb. I found I prefer this method over scooping the dough as it is a little stiff.

[BakerAunt]

That's a great idea for stiff cookie doughs, Len. I'm making a note of it.

After lunch on Monday, we were out of Bread, so I baked two smaller loaves (7 ½ x 4) of Mostly Whole Wheat Buttermilk Maple Bread. My only issue with this bread is that it seems to dry out faster than it should, and that may be because I replaced 2 Tbs. butter with 2 Tbs. avocado oil. I had the same issue with my Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread until I added oil to that recipe. I got the idea from Len's signature bread recipe that uses oil. The buns stay soft longer.

[skeptic7]

I made my perfect brownie recipe Sunday morning and it was great. I tried to do English Muffins to share with CocoMouse at the Md Sheep and Wool Festival, but I started that too late and didn't get that finished until the next day.
I did bring her some Apricot Muffin Sticks on Saturday. She gave me two muffins and a scone so I could taste her baking. My "Muffin Sticks" came from baking a double muffin recipe in a 9x13 pan and then cutting it in thirds the long way and across for 3/4 to 1 inch slices. This is a quick method of cooking for a crowd. I should have done a second batch Sunday instead of trying to make a yeast bread.
I really wanted BakerAunt's Buttermilk Maple Bread but didn't have the bread flour necessary.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked a batch of 10 buns using Len's signature bread recipe. I also made a single batch of Soft Oatmeal Cookies, but this time I used dried cherries instead of raisins.

That was great, Skeptic, that you and Chocomouse were able to sample each other's baking. I've often wished for a bite of some of the great baking and cooking that people on this site do.

[chocomouse]

Skeptic and I had a couple of nice chats at the festival last weekend. I think this is the 3rd (?) time we have met up there and she has shared some baked goods. I do not usually bring her much, as it would be stale after traveling, etc for 3 days. But this time I had ham-cheddar-chives scones, apple cinnamon muffins, and tropical fruit muffins. Her apricot bars were excellent, and I suspect quite healthy.

Back home now, for three days before leaving for the NH Sheep and Wool festival, so I am cooking and baking like crazy. Yesterday I made two huge loaves of maple-oat-whole wheat bread.

[BakerAunt]

I baked Oatmeal Date Muffins for breakfast on Wednesday that will see me through the week.

[Mike Nolan]

I made keto buns today, using English Muffin rings so they didn't flatten out. Haven't tried one yet, we might have to have burgers tomorrow night, though.

I only have 8 English Muffin rings, so I only made 8 buns, normally this recipe makes 10. Diane thinks they're a bit too tall (I'll reserve judgement on that until after I get to try one with a burger), but I might have to buy some more English Muffin rings.

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[skeptic7]

The English muffins look good. My normal recipe makes 9, I use an oversize biscuit cutter for the 9th English muffin.

[Mike Nolan]

Technically not baking, since the filling is cooked on the stove, but I made another keto cheesecake today. That'll be dessert tomorrow and throughout the week. (And I got some lobster tails for dinner tomorrow.)

And I ordered another set of 4 English Muffin rings, along with a silicone hot dog pan so I can try making some keto hot dog buns using the same recipe I used for the burger buns (or a minor variant of it.)

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