Busy Baking

Yesterday turned out to be even more full of baking than I had anticipated. I decided to make the Holiday Poppy Seed Cookies from Old Fashioned Country Cookies by Gooseberry Patch. I've been making these cookies for years and they always look nice and a little different for a cookie swap. While they were cooling I thought I should make some cookies for the boys because there were no extra poppy seed cookies. I decided to try a new recipe and made the Tender Toffee-Chocolate Rounds from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion (which is slowly but surely becoming my cookie bible). The cookies are amazing - filled with bittersweet chocolate, toffee bits and only 1/4 cup of flour. Yummo!! Unfortunately, the chocolate was too dark for the boys and one by one they said they didn't really like them. They made a nice treat for the oldest son's piano teacher. I know from experience that she loves chocolate.

This seemed like a good time to switch gears so I whipped up a batch of banana bread because I had bananas just sitting there begging to be used. I have a trusty recipe that I've been using for years by Mollie Katzen. Originally I cut it out of a Family Fun magazine many years ago. It is also reprinted in my copy of Disney's Family Cookbook published by Family Fun magazine. While I was making the banana bread my middle son decided he really needed to bake something too. I didn't know he was in the other room pouring through our children's cookbook. By this time I was really done baking but he was very persuasive and convinced me we needed to make just one more thing. So right before I had to leave for my cookie swap party we made the Chocolate Pudding Cake from New Junior Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens. We'd never made this recipe before but it was super easy and very delicious (I had a bite or two before I scooted out the door). Best of all it is made with ingredients that are always on hand.

I'm now baked out for a couple of days. Or at least until tomorrow.