[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for the suggestion to omit the 5-minute rest because I'm not using baking powder. That might have slipped past me.

Today, I baked Black Bottom Banana bars. The batter is divided in half and cocoa added to one-half. The problem is that I'm never good at judging half. So the bottom half is bitter from not enough banana mixture with too much cocoa. Next time, I'm going to just throw the 1/4 cup cocoa into all the batter and see how chocolaty it becomes.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for posting the QO Applesauce Muffin recipe. I'll make these after buying oatmeal. I don't like streusel toppings, so I'll use the maple glaze. I'll report back after I bake these, but keep in mind: They may not rise as high for me, because I have to use baking soda/cream of tartar in place of baking powder.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for reminding me of oatmeal muffins. I have an excellent oatmeal muffin recipe. I usually serve them with a dinner, but I also add spices to turn them into breakfast muffins. I'll try them with cinnamon chips and cinnamon. Thanks, also, for your input about the size of the baked bunnies. They're bigger than I thought by looking at the picture.

[Italiancook]

A week ago, my husband came home with six ginormous cinnamon muffins. I pointed out to him that the first ingredient on the label is sugar. He has pre-diabetes. After eating three, he threw out the rest. Today, I used my go-to plain muffin recipe to make cinnamon muffins. I added 1/3 cup cinnamon chips & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to 1-3/4 cup flour & 1/3 cup sugar. The chips didn't all melt in the 18 minute baking time, but the muffins were pleasant. Next time, I'll use 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon. I need a better go-to muffin recipe. These turned out too short -- not enough rise. Could be because I have to use baking soda and cream of tartar instead of baking powder. But the recipe has never made 12.

I also made shortbread biscuits for the freezer in hope of finding some good strawberries this season.

BakerAunt, I agree with your husband on the bunny pan making only six. Plus, the finished product looks so small on the KABC website. I realize they're cakelets not cake. Before Easter, I noticed they had a set of the pan and cake mix. I considered buying this for a niece to make with her two young children. They're a family of 4. So when I realized the pan only makes 6, I walked away. But I like the concept, and if I had room to store the pan, I'd buy it for myself.

[Italiancook]

cwcdesign, I also wish you have happy belated Birthday!

I made Quick & Easy Chocolate Cake from jennycancook.com. I'll frost it with her 2-Minute Frosting.

[Italiancook]

I'm going to make braised, breaded pork chops for dinner with Swiss Chard & skillet fried potatoes.

[Italiancook]

I baked 2 boules Cuban Bread. Recipe in The Tightwad Gazette. I experimented by brushing with water before placing in the oven. Never again. Made pale bread even though it's fully baked.

[Italiancook]

Happy Birthday,kimbob!

[Italiancook]

The bread looks scrumptious, kimbob. It looks to me as if she tried to only put flour into the scored areas. I have never before seen that.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, it didn't taste as blah as I expected. I had forgotten that the peaches are in heavy syrup. There was plenty of sugar to give some taste. I know from having made this before that it tastes better with the cinnamon.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for the link. The recipe gave me the idea of using Anjou pears with my go-to muffin recipe.

OK, it was my turn to have difficulty in the kitchen. Self-imposed difficulty. I made Bev M's Canned Peach Cobbler (on this site). It calls for 1 tablespoons sugar in the topping. Whenever possible, I use half sugar and half Splenda. I put in 1/2 tablespoon sugar & forgot to put in the Splenda. Later, when I thought of the Splenda, I wasn't sure I hadn't used it. So I'm probably missing a half-tablespoon of sweetness. I was supposed to sprinkle cinnamon on top of the peach mixture. I had the cinnamon on the counter & forgot to use it. The cobbler is cooling, and I expect it to taste blah.

[Italiancook]

Amazing!

[Italiancook]

I made a double batch of The Neely's Asparagus Soup (Food Network) Even a double batch doesn't make much. I put 2 quarts in the freezer & have 2 cups in the refrig.

[Italiancook]

chocomouse, I'm so glad you tried those rolls! For a long time, I considered making them but decided against it. I prefer rolls that are soft inside. I thought the separations of these rolls would be crunchy or crispy. What did you discover? Broken apart, are they soft or crisp? Yours look good.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Kimbbob, what a lovely photo!

Sorry you ran into problems, Mike.

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