Dutch Frangipane-Filled Cookies ("Gevulde Koeken")

Our Avid Baker's Challenge ("ABC") group is in full swing. For our March challenge, the chosen theme is "COOKIES". Any kind of cookies! Due to the global pandemic, I haven't been able to travel to The Netherlands to visit my family. Although we talk often, I miss hanging out with them. I also miss the baked goods.

If I can't go to The Netherlands, I'll bring The Netherlands to me. And so became my baking journey to make "Gevulde Koeken" for the very first time. These buttery and melt-in-mouth cookies (I'd call them pastries, really!) are filled with a soft and creamy almond paste filling. I love eating them the day they're baked. That's when the buttery outer "cookie" shell is still crisply. When you bite into it, it crumbles into your mouth!

Freshly baked Gevulde Koeken, golden brown and delicious!

Whole Wheat Walnut and Raisin Sandwich Rolls

Our Avid Baker's Challenge ("ABC") group is back in full swing. For our January challenge, the chosen theme is "BREAD". This can be a quick bread or a yeast bread and you can use any recipe you like! I opted to make a yeast bread.

Whole Wheat Walnut and Golden Raisin Sandwich Rolls

Swedish Saffron and Cardamom Buns

These Swedish Saffron Buns are also called St Lucia Buns or "Lussekatter". I call them "delicious!" :)

After seeing Karen's Saffron Buns, I knew I had to make them. The bright yellow color just intrigued me. Karen is part of a group called the Bread Baking Babes, and this recipe was their bread challenge for December 2020, hosted by Judy from the blog: Judy's Gross Eats.

Soft and fluffy buns!

This is my first time participating as a Bread Baking Babes "Buddy", and I proudly show off my badge! :)

World Bread Day 2020: Pumpkin Yeast Bread

Baking yeast bread is something I really enjoy doing, and even more so this year. Where I live, there is plenty of flour and yeast now, so I can continue this relaxing and tasty hobby of mine. I bake all of our bread; whether it's sandwich bread, hamburger buns, or cinnamon rolls. No more store-bought bread or buns for us anymore!

Zorra from the blog Kochtopf organizes World Bread Day every year. I love baking with pumpkin so for this year's entry I baked two loaves of Pumpkin Yeast Bread, heavily adapted from the King Arthur Baking Company.

#wbd2020 #worldbreadday #worldbreadday2020

This bread is easy to make, and is really soft and fluffy. What I also loved is that this recipe makes two loaves at the same time. I like to store my bread in the freezer. First I slice the whole loaf and then I put the sliced bread in a Ziploc bag, and into the freezer it goes. When you need bread, you only take out what you need, and either let it thaw it out on the counter, or put it in the toaster.

With this bread, you have the option to add warm spices like ginger and cardamom. I decided to leave those out and instead, add walnuts to one loaf for my husband, and add a cinnamon swirl to one half of my loaf. This worked out great!

Pumpkin Yeast Bread: plain, cinnamon swirl, and studded with walnuts

Moroccan yeasted pancakes (aka Baghrir)

Many years ago I posted a recipe for Moroccan yeasted pancakes called "Baghrir". Some people compare them to crumpets. There is similarity but crumpets are cooked on both sides whereas Baghrir is only cooked on one side. They have a LOT of holes on top which is why in French they're called "crepes aux mille trous" (pancakes with a thousand holes). These holes are perfect for soaking up a syrup of warm honey and melted butter or good olive oil. For some extra flavor, I like to add a teaspoon of orange blossom water. Yum! So why another post of Baghrir? I obtained a foolproof recipe from a close friend (Nazha) that's even easier and quicker to make, with equally great results. This recipe is also vegan whereas my old recipe was not because it uses milk. And if nine Baghrirs aren't enough, you can easily double the recipe.

A beautiful plate of Moroccan Baghrir. Bon Appetit!