Copycat Jim N Nicks Cheese Biscuits

Copycat Jim N Nicks Cheese Biscuits 

Yesterday, I tried Jim N Nicks cheese “biscuits” for the first time and they changed my life forever. Those quotations were necessary because these things are nothing like any other biscuit you’ve ever had. They’re more like cheesy cornbread with a biscuit-y top. I woke up this morning with an urge to bake, and decided to recreate them. As a first step, I examined several copycat recipes for them. I looked at every single website on my first page of Google search results and something very obvious struck me about all of these recipes. And that was that they were all wrong. Not one of them had cornmeal. I’m not sure how they all managed to miss this key ingredient, but not to worry, I have fixed this little error, combined some elements from various copycat recipes already out there, and added a few insights of my own. The result? Pretty darn delicious and quite close to what I tried last night at Jim N Nicks. 

 

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Pancakes

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Pancakes 

My inspiration for this recipe came from a recent brunch with two of my best friends from high school, Lakelyn and Tori, and their boyfriends, Christian and Thomas. Since I celebrate Christmas with movies and Chinese food, I’m always interested to hear about what Christmas is like for those who celebrate more…traditionally. My friends discussed how Christmas morning was the only day of the year that they were morning people, and how when they were younger they would often wake up really early on Christmas morning, only to have to wait for everyone else to wake up before opening presents. Thomas even mentioned one Christmas when he woke up at 2 AM and stayed up until 7AM, when his family opened presents, playing his Gameboy by the Christmas tree, anxiously waiting to open presents. 

Being a firm believer in food as a solution to (almost) all problems, I began to think about a Christmas breakfast treat to make the morning extra special, and to entertain those who wake up a little earlier than everyone else. 

White Chocolate Cheesecake-Filled Red Velvet Cookies

White Chocolate Cheesecake-Filled Red Velvet Cookies

 

Christmas time is here! Let’s face it: this time of the year was made for baking. It’s cold outside, there are tons of fun sprinkles and such in the grocery store, and there are enough cookie exchanges and ugly sweater parties to keep baked goods in high demand all season long. For baking bloggers like us, however, it means we need to step up our game. During the rest of the year, people are happy enough that we’re even making chocolate chip cookies, but when everybody and their moms are baking (quite literally), people expect something more from us, something that will stand out among the crowd. It’s a tough task, but who would we be if we weren’t ready for it?

Butterscotch Chai Cookies

Butterscotch Chai Cookies

Despite what the weather might suggest, we have reached that special point in the year that the Gregorian calendar likes to call “December.” This fateful month triggers a wide range of emotions for various people: excitement about spending the holidays with family, fear for the apocalypse on the 21st, or, for college students across the land: stress, stress, and more stress because finals are approaching. Everyone deals with stress in their own way. Some complain, some watch movies, others exercise or flee to remote places where they can escape their problems. I bake. A lot. Like more than usual. Last Friday, in order to de-stress, I decided to devote some time to my favorite pastime. I knew I wanted to make one thing I had made before and one new creation. So, in addition to my all-time favorite Red Velvet Mocha Brownies, I made these delightful and spicy butterscotch chai cookies.

Honey Mozzarella Corn Muffins

Honey Mozzarella Corn Muffins

In case our recent slew of pumpkin posts was not enough of an indicator, Thanksgiving is fast approaching! And though I love traditional thanksgiving foods, I’ve come to the realization that I am officially physically incapable of making anything “normal.” I signed up to make cornbread for an early Thanksgiving potluck with my friends at school and this was no exception. I figured that since honey and mozzarella are good together, cornbread tastes great with honey, and cheesy cornbread is amazing too, why not combine them together?

White Pumpkin Chip Butterscotch Blondies

White Pumpkin Chip Butterscotch Blondies

I hate cold weather. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. To me, fall marks the onset of snowstorms, frozen fingers, nippy winds, and general, dark unhappiness. Nevertheless, fall does bring with it two redeeming features—fall clothing and pumpkin. Now, if you’re like me, you would love to use pumpkin year-round and ignore culinary seasonal traditions. Unfortunately, the grocery stores and I do not see eye-to-eye. Countless times, I have tried to buy pumpkin only to be told that it is “not in season” or “only carried during certain times of the year”. Frankly, I call shenanigans because canned pumpkin is good for like umpteen years (or, ya know, two), but fall is the one time a year that I can lay down my burning torch and buy pumpkin in peace, in bulk, and in good fashion.

Caramel Pumpkin Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

Caramel Pumpkin Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

There’s nothing that makes you want to be a kid again quite like being a senior in college. And if you’re in my position right now, though I can’t help you return to a time of no worries or responsibilities, I can tell you how to make a version of an all-time favorite childhood snack that is more grown up, but in a good way. So take a break from panicking about your future, and use the BEST fall ingredient (pumpkin, of course) to make a delicious treat that combines the goodness of classic rice krispie treats with chocolate, caramel, and pumpkin! What’s not to love about that?

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Muffins

                It’s safe to say that fall is here. Though summer is my favorite season and I miss it already, fall certainly has some redeemable qualities.  The Vanderbilt campus gets especially beautiful covered in the autumn leaves. Starbucks has pumpkin spice, so I can get a pumpkin chai tea latte, or “chumpkin,” as my barista last week called it. And I have an excuse to bake an obnoxious amount of things with pumpkin without feeling at all ashamed. This post is about my first pumpkin creation of the season. They got rave reviews from all who tried them, so even more than usual, I encourage you to give them a try!

Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that I spent the first 19 or so years of my life without Nutella. Growing up, I remember seeing the commercials advertising Nutella as a “healthy breakfast”. Though I now know these claims are incredibly dubious, I was always intrigued. A chocolate spread for breakfast seemed right up my alley, though any food that could be described as “healthy” was not my usual style. I was in college when I first tried Nutella, and it was truly love at first bite.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of peanut butter. It very much had a place in my life for all of those years before Nutella won over my heart. According to the National Peanut Board, the average child will eat 1500 peanut butter sandwiches before they graduate high school. Given that I brought a peanut butter sandwich for lunch almost every single day from kindergarten to high school graduation, and did not slow my consumption during the summer, I am sure that I had way more.

Lucky for me, I do not have to choose between my two favorite spreads. They taste great together. And though I do a lot of baking with one or the other, I have not made many things using both. This really is a shame, and it will surely change soon, because these sweet and salty peanut butter blondies with a Nutella cookie crust are absolutely delightful! I recommend you give these a try, here’s how:

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Waffles

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Waffles

There are many things I love in life.  I’m not going to list them all, because I would undoubtedly leave out something important. However, the list would certainly include my friends and family, froyo, Barcelona, baking, the color pink, Nutella, London, shopping, Which Wich, and last but not least, waffles. This post will focus on my love of waffles. I think this loves springs from my love of Waffle House, an ever-classy establishment that you may have heard of. Founded and headquartered in my home state of Georgia, Waffle House is close to my heart. When I am at home, Waffle House is nearly always available to me, as there are approximately two on every exit in the wonderful city of Atlanta. And they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ahhh I could just go on forever. I really love Waffle House.                              

Anyway, when I am in Nashville, which has recently been always, I do not get Waffle House nearly as much as I would like, since they are a bit more sparsely located here. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This summer, when I was moving into my apartment, I had my mom bring my beloved waffle maker from home. Naturally, I was quite excited by the possibility of having waffles literally whenever I wanted. At the height of my waffle obsession, which coincided with the height of my sweet potato obsession, I decided to turn my sweet potato cornbread recipe (posted in March) into a waffle recipe. These waffles were delicious the first time I made them, but I have now made them several times and have finally perfected the recipe. Excuse my modesty, but these are probably the most delicious waffles you will ever taste.  

Mint Smore Cones

Mint Smore Cones

Nothing says summer like smores by a bonfire. Except maybe ice cream! I didn’t have a bonfire or ice cream on hand, but still managed to combine these two popular summer treats into one adorable and delicious delight! If you’ve never baked in ice cream cones, or even if you have, this is one easy and fun recipe you have to try!

Red Velvet Mocha Brownies

Red Velvet Mocha Brownies 

There are many universal truths in life. One I have realized recently is as follows:

Brownies are more delicious than cake 99.9% of the time.

There, I said it. Call the baking police, alert the wedding planners, whatever. I’m convinced, and if you’re not yet, you will be soon.

Given this new life philosophy, I decided to try turning red velvet cake mix into brownies. Also, I was in the mood to add some mocha to the mix, so I sandwiched some mocha brownies in between red velvet brownies, because I’ve learned after years of experience baking that delicious food + delicious food = REALLY delicious food. This creation fit the equation perfectly :-)

Chai Blondies with Chocolate Salted Caramel Filling

Chai Blondies with Chocolate Salted Caramel Filling




I just love the flavor of chai tea. Whether's it's in my ever-favorite soy chai latte at Starbucks or used in baking, the unique spice mix always puts a smile on my face. Recently, I've started buying chai concentrate. Oregon Chai makes a great sugar free (and calorie free!) concentrate that is great for making chai tea lattes at home for a fraction of the calories and dollars of a Starbucks chai tea latte. Though, just as a forewarning, low cal wasn't exactly my aim in this recipe. Still, I think the use of chai concentrate in baking is a really fun and easy way to add amazing flavor to your baked goods! Here's how I incorporated chai concentrate into my baking for the first time!

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Crisps with Pistachio Chocolate Chip Dip

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Crisps with Pistachio Chocolate Chip Dip

What could make a better party snack than chips and dip? Well, in my opinion, a lot of things. But for those of us with a sweet tooth, cookie crisps and sweet dip are quite the improvement on the traditional chips and dip! To be honest though, this concept was a bit of an accident. I wanted to make a sort of sandwich cookie, with the pistachio dip as the filling. However, it just wasn’t really the right consistency to work well as a filling. So, I ended up with these incredible, crispy thin cookies and a refreshing pistachio dip. Bring this to the next party you attend, set it next to the chips and dip, and see what gets finished first!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats

                Just like the Caramel Mocha Brookies in the last post, these Nutella Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats came to be largely due to what was on sale at CVS. Such is the life of a broke college student with no car and no grocery store in reasonable walking distance. This time, boxes of Rice Krispies were 3 for $5. Especially considering the ridiculous prices that CVS typically charges for food, this sounded like quite the steal to me. So, I got a box of Rice Krispies and another of Cocoa Krispies. The other major factor in the creation of these tasty treats was my ever-present desire to find more socially acceptable ways to eat cookie dough. Alas, my gluttony and the CVS gods (that's what I'll assume they call the people who decide the sales at CVS, and therefore, my impulse buying decisions) led me to yet another delicious recipe. As always, I am left with no shame and no regrets.  

Dark Mocha Caramel Brookies

Dark Mocha Caramel Brookies 

A few weeks ago, I gave my friend Sarah a baking lesson-not that she needed it. She was a more than capable co-chef! Together we made one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. Not even exaggerating. I was thinking of making dark mocha caramel brownies. I had thought those up because Goetze's Caramel Cream candies had been on sale at CVS so I had picked up a bag, I was in the mood to try baking with coffee, and I have a new(ish) obsession with Hershey's Dark cocoa...well at this point maybe it would actually be better classified as a persistent obsession. 

Anyways, if my idea didn't sound good enough, right before we were about to start baking the brownies, Sarah asked me how you would make brookies, which are brownies baked with a chocolate chip cookie underneath that are sold in a lot of the Vandy Dining locations. I figured I might as well take this dessert to the next level by showing her how! So, now imagine a dessert with chocolate chip cookies, creamy caramel filling, and gooey dark chocolate mocha brownies...it just sounds too good to be true, right?! Well, whenever you imagine a dessert and that's the case, you know it's time to get your bake on!

21 Cake

“21 Cake”

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake with Nutella Salted Caramel Filling and White Chocolate Cinnamon Icing

A few weeks ago, Lauren turned 21. Needless to say, this upped the ante. Obviously, I was going to make her a birthday cake, but I have a baking blog with her, so it couldn’t just be any normal birthday cake. It needed to be epic. Creative, multi-faceted, and full of things that Lauren loves. While brainstorming this cake, I realized it was going to require a lot of ingredients. So, I made absolutely sure that it had 21 unique ingredients, one for every year Lauren has graced the Earth. 

We had the cake at Lauren’s birthday party, and it was definitely a hit. I may never make a cake this awesome again, but you should totally try. Here’s how: 

Peanut Butter S'mores Cake Pops

Peanut Butter S'mores Cake Pops

Cake pops are perhaps one of the best things ever created. They provide an excuse to eat cake (as if you actually needed one) without feeling like you're overindulging. After all, they're so small and bite sized, how could one (or two, or three, or ten) hurt? :) It couldn't. Trust me, I'm pre-med.

My friend Rachel gave me a cake pop maker for my birthday last week (finally 21!!!!) and naturally I couldn't wait to test it out. My first experiment involved strawberry angel food cake pops, but it turns out whisking egg whites by hand doesn't work unless your name is Hulk. They turned out tasty, but unfortunately the texture did not translate into beautiful cake pops, but rather awkward half-tortoise shells that I covered in white chocolate. Delicious? Sure. Pretty? Not so much.

I realized that I needed to use a thicker batter in order to achieve the desired texture. So for the next batch, which Dena and I baked together in my new apartment kitchen (!!!!), we decided to use a blondie as the basis for our cake pops. We figured that this would create a dense but delicious center that would hold up to any necessary manhandling. We also decided to go with a s'mores theme, so we filled each cake pop with a marshmallow, covered it in chocolate, and rolled it in crushed graham crackers. Oh, and we added peanut butter to the blondie because, well, why not? The result: Huge success! The brown sugar creates a caramelized outer shell that locks in the moist richness of the peanut butter blondie, and the chocolate and graham cracker shell works perfectly with the flavors and the texture. Not to mention the gooey marshmallow center that oozes out when you bite into the pop. Sooooo goooooood. They literally disappeared faster than anything that we've made before (and trust me, that's saying something). Seriously, make these right now. Go.

Popcrack

Popcrack

I want to start by apologizing for the delay in posts. By no means have we stopped baking, we just haven’t had the time to post about it due to finals and other craziness. But we have survived the end of the semester and you can expect more frequent blog posts to come. And Lauren and I are both staying in Nashville this summer and living just down the street from each other, so we will continue to have many team baking efforts!

This first post back is a great summer snack. With trendy flavors such as salted caramel, sweet and salty is all the rage right now. And caramel popcorn is an ever-popular sweet and salty summer carnival and holiday snack. This “popcrack” is a delicious twist on traditional caramel popcorn, with amazingness in the form of peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch added into the mix. It ends up being more like bars, but retains reminiscence of the caramel popcorn that we all know and love.

A few weeks ago, my friend Chelsey came back to Vandy to visit and we decided we wanted to bake something. We weren’t sure exactly what to make, but since I knew I was going to be moving out in the next few weeks, I wanted to use a lot of my food and baking ingredients up. So, I laid out many of my potential baking ingredients from the pantry, and this is what we came up with. Props to Chelsey for being a wonderful co-chef and coming up with the perfect name to capture the addictiveness of this tasty treat! As usual, absolutely no regrets.  

Marshmallow Mystery Bars

Marshmallow Mystery Bars

For as long as I can remember, I've been making mystery bars, known to most of the world as seven layer bars. They are one of my family's favorites and are always a hit with my friends, too! They're awesome because you can pretty much put anything you want on them. I almost always use chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, and they're great with just those, but I've also added things such as cereal, granola, candy bars, and now marshmallows to them. The marshmallows might be my favorite addition so far! Besides the crust ingredients and sweetened condensed milk, this recipe won't have exact measurements, because it's really up to you how much of each thing you use. The general idea is to get a layer of each thing. Throughout the directions, I'll bold all possible ingredients that I mention.

“I Can’t Believe it’s Vegan” Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles

“I Can’t Believe it’s Vegan” Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles 

I absolutely love snickerdoodles. There’s just something magical about them, because if you think about it, sugar cookies are nothing too spectacular, at least in my opinion. And snickerdoodle dough is really similar to a sugar cookie dough, the main difference being that it has cream of tartar (or baking soda and vinegar in this recipe’s case, since I didn’t have cream of tartar). And a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon just wouldn’t have the magic of a snickerdoodle. 

Anyways, last week I was in a bit of snickerdoodle phase, because I love them so much and hadn’t made them in a while. So, I made a snickerdoodle cake, chai snickerdoodles, and these amazing vegan peanut butter snickerdoodles. I can honestly say these were by far the best of all of my snickerdoodle creations. And believe me that’s saying a lot for me, because I generally think vegan baked goods tend to be a bit inferior. I combined elements of my favorite snickerdoodle and peanut butter cookie recipes, getting it to the point where the only substitution I had to do was for the egg, which I did using the water, oil, and baking powder. 

Using this recipe, vegans and non-vegans alike can enjoy amazing peanut butter snickerdoodles! 

Sweet Potato Cornbread

Sweet Potato Cornbread 

I'm always looking to try making new things, especially when it involves changing up my favorite foods. In this recipe, I combined 2 of my favorite Southern staples: sweet potato and cornbread. Usually, when you mix two awesome things, it makes something even better. This sweet potato cornbread was no exception, except in that it was even better than even better. It was revolutionary. DO try this at home, you won’t regret it. 

Frozen White Mint Oreo Cookie Dough Bites

Frozen White Mint Oreo Cookie Dough Bites

Think it sounds too good to be true? I would too, had I not just invented them. I was trying to think of something to bake, and wanted to make something cold since it's been so hot outside. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to make something with cookie dough, since we don't have any cookie dough recipes on here yet. And as you all know, cookie dough is amazing, so making something with cookie dough ups the ante. You have to pair it with really awesome things to make something even more awesome than the cookie dough would have been on its own. So, I determined it was time for a pantry/fridge raid. And what did I end up with? A York Peppermint, a bag of Mini Oreos, and White Chocolate Pudding Mix. This was one of those wonderful moments when I knew whatever I ended up with, using all of these ingredients with cookie dough, was going to be good. Really good. My only regret is that Lauren isn't eating sweets right now, so I've probably had a few (or eight) too many on my own...oops.  

Black and Gold Cookies

Black and Gold Cookies: Decadent dark chocolate cookies topped with rich butterscotch frosting



Today, Vandy basketball beat #1 Kentucky to win the SEC championship for the first time since 1951. It was hands down the most exciting sports moment for Vanderbilt since I’ve been a student here, and as a huge Vandy sports fan, I felt the need to do something to celebrate. So, I was thinking of things I could bake that were black and gold (our school colors). I quickly decided the black part would be dark chocolate, and the gold part would be butterscotch, as I had the necessary ingredients to make both of these things, and they’re two of my favorite flavors. After some careful thought, I ended up with these incredibly delicious black and gold cookies: decadent dark chocolate cookies topped with rich butterscotch frosting.

Caribbean Delight Pudding & Paletas

Caribbean Delight Pudding & Paletas

What I am about to say may be considered blaspemy, but here goes:

Not everything that is sweet has to be unhealthy.

Granted, cheesecake and cookies are not exactly superfoods, but there is a way to make delicious treats that are, dare I say it, GOOD for you. This piece of news is particularly exciting for me as I must live without desserts until Easter.

This particular recipe was inspired by my love of two ingredients: Sweet Potatoes and Bananas. If the idea of sweet potatoes in sweets sketches you out, let me remind you of two things: sweet potato pie and sweet potato casserole. Both desserts. Both sweet potatoes. Both delicious. Let's continue, shall we?

Cookies and Cream Cookies

Cookies and Cream Cookies

One of my favorite ways to invent recipes is to browse all the food I have and get inspired by a specific fun item. A few days ago when I was doing this, I found two sources of inspiration: a Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Crème bar and Cookies and Cream Chex Mix. I was in a cookie mood, so I decided to melt the Hershey’s cookies ‘n’ crème bar, add white and semisweet chocolate chips, and then coat the dough and finished cookies in a mixture of the Cookies and Cream Chex Mix, Powdered Sugar, and Hot Chocolate Mix. This all may sound a bit overwhelming, but I assure you the final product is just the right amount of whelming!

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Double Crisp Mozzarella Crackers

Double Crisp Mozzarella Crackers

If you're anything like me, the word "crackers" probably doesn't exactly conjure up the most tempting and delectable mental image. Chances are, it makes you think of saltines or oyster crackers, or contests at summer camp to see who could eat the most crackers at once. Unfortunately, crackers are often plain, relatively flavorless vehicles for more exciting flavors such as cheese or soup. But why is this? Crackers, in theory, should be wonderful. They are crispy, crunchy, salty, and snack-sized. Shouldn't they be more than just an afterthought served in a plastic wrapper?

Maple Chocolate Chip Cornbread Pudding

Maple Chocolate Chip Cornbread Pudding

Having lived in the South essentially my entire life, I have very high standards for my cornbread. And a few weeks ago when I made some, it just didn't measure up. The flavor was fine, but it was too dry. So rather than allow my friends to eat mediocre cornbread, I decided I would use it to make something better. I tried to think of things I could use it for, when I remembered that often people use dry bread in bread pudding. So, I made bread pudding out of my failed cornbread, and since I don't like raisins, I used chocolate chips instead. Here's how you can replicate this wonderful creation:

"Kitchen Sink" Peanut Butter Fudge Cups

"Kitchen Sink" Peanut Butter Fudge Cups

Do you ever find yourself with an overabundance of candy and an underabundance of willpower or storage space? Whether you have too much leftover Halloween candy, you just gave up sweets for Lent (join the club!), or you're simply trying to eat healthier, often times you would like to have a little less chocolate, cookies, marshmallows, etc. in your life.

Usually, one of the best ways to get rid of these excess sweets is to give them to somebody who WILL eat them. Not only is it less wasteful than throwing the sweets out, but it also brings a smile to the face of the recipient. However, it might not always be easy to go up to somebody and say, "Here's a half bag of marshmallows, two Reese's Santa Clauses, some Hershey's kisses, a granola bar, and a brownie I had lying around." However, you absolutely can give these all away to somebody else and think nothing of it (and they'll be none the wiser). How?

Soy Chai Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

Soy Chai Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

Desperate times call for desperate measures. But that's not always a bad thing. One of our best friends, Kanushri, is vegan, so we do a lot of vegan baking. Sweet potato casserole is an easy enough thing to make vegan, and it tastes just as good vegan as it does non-vegan. I had made vegan sweet potato casserole before, but on Sunday when I wanted to make it, I didn't have soy milk. I had literally just gone to the grocery store and didn't want to walk the mile there and back again, so I thought about my options. In the Munchie Mart  in the basement of my dorm, they have 8 ounce juice-box sized things of chocolate soy milk, which I had used once before in sweet potato casserole. It turned out fine, but I didn't want to do that again because I didn't want to waste a meal or pay the ridiculous price they charge to get them individually. So, I decided to check some of the drugstores closer to campus to see if they had soy milk (in this adventure I probably ended up walking more than I would have had I just gone back to the grocery store). Well, none of them had soy milk.


Feeling defeated, I was on my way back to my dorm when I saw Starbucks and had an epiphany. I often get soy chai lattes at Starbucks (the best soy latte that you've ever had, for all you Train fans). And the spices in chai are similar to those in sweet potato casserole. So, I went into Starbucks, got a venti soy chai (8 ounces for this recipe, 12 ounces for me!), and a great new recipe was in the works.

Baked Cinnamon Peanut Butter Apples

Baked Cinnamon Peanut Butter Apples

Do you ever want the taste of something sweet without making a full-fledged dessert? I definitely do, especially now since I can't have sweets for about 6 more weeks. I think that fruits are underrated as potential "dessert" options. They have natural sugars that give the feeling of decadence, but also the nutritional value that justifies indulging in them. Some of my favorite fruits to cook with are bananas, apples, raspberries, and strawberries. Apples in particular are great because they allow you to make individual serving sizes relatively easily. One of the other best things about apples is how easy it is to pair them with other flavors. Think about it: In elementary school, how many different things did you get to dunk your apples in? Caramel, yogurt, peanut butter, candy coating? Apples are just such rock stars.

Campfire Cups

Campfire Cups
(Brownies with a Graham Cracker Crust and Marshmallows on Top)

Sometimes in life, we have to add new challenges to things we’re good at in order to become even better at them. I’ve come to a point in baking where I typically don’t want to make something simple, or that I’ve made in the past. In making new things, I really like combining elements of past recipes together, and of course, it is always fun making things completely different from anything I’ve made before. These campfire cups were a combination of a few things I’ve made in the past. I have been making graham cracker crust like I did in these for a family favorite, “Mystery Bars” (also known as seven layer bars to most of the world), since I was a little girl. The chocolate part is a brownie, which I, along with every other American baker, am very used to making. And I toasted the marshmallows on top the same way I have for sweet potato casserole in the past.

However, none of that was a challenge, given that I was very comfortable with every individual part of this new treat. For me, the challenge was making something pretty. You see, most of the time, the things I make taste good, but I’m typically not too concerned with how things look. But now that I have a food blog, I figured maybe I should be. So before I made these, I decided I wanted to make something cute (and of course, delicious!). And if I do say so myself, I think I succeeded.

Three-Cheese Stuffed Pizza Crust Bites

Three-Cheese Stuffed Pizza Crust Bites

I have a confession to make: I actually don’t like pizza. I know, how is that possible? Am I crazy? How am I American??? In theory I should like pizza—I like carbs, tomato sauce, and cheese—but somehow in pizza form, I just can’t do it. I think that it has something to do with how unhealthy I know pizza is, and the idea of eating a slab of greasy cheese just doesn’t appeal to me. I do, however, LOVE breadsticks and pizza crust, especially stuffed crust (yes, I know, my taste buds make no sense). Growing up, my mom would always leave out salad dressing for us to dunk our crusts in, and the crust quickly became my favorite part of the whole pizza. So, I knew I wanted to make something that would combine the texture and taste of pizza crust with the dunkability of a breadstick. I also had a crust recipe from Eat, Live, Run that a friend recommended that I had been dying to try for months. Thus, the stuffed pizza crust bite was born.

Chocolate Ganache Toffee Cookies

Chocolate Ganache Toffee Cookies

Are you ever so angry that you just want to break something? I know I am.

I’m a tad emotionally invested in Vanderbilt basketball, and am constantly getting my heart crushed by almost-amazing wins/seasons that have wildly disappointing ends. For example, I just got done watching us almost beat #1 Kentucky and almost end their 50-game home winning streak. Needless to say, I’m a bit upset.  

You may well ask, “OK, what does this have to do with baking and those delicious cookies in the picture above?”

Well, my friends, I’m advising you all on a way to take out your anger/ urge to break things productively. 


By breaking candy bars and putting them on top of cookies.

Vanilla Cinnamon Challah French Toast

Vanilla Cinnamon Challah French Toast

Shabbat Shalom!

While I’m unfortunately not actually Jewish (thanks Birthright application board), I absolutely love most traditional Jewish foods. My many favorites include falafel, brisket, latkes, and especially challah. As you may or may not know, challah is a delicious braided bread made with eggs that is typically prepared and eaten for Shabbat. The bread has a deliciously thick crust and a slight sweetness that combine to make the best bread you will ever taste. Seriously. The best.

I first had challah last semester when Dena’s and my suitemate Bre brought some back from Hillel, and I have been in love ever since. Although I have not had much experience with making yeast breads (because let’s be honest: I am impatient and dough takes forever to rise), I really wanted to try my hand at making challah. Most recipes make at least two loaves, but I really only wanted to make one loaf because although I definitely could eat two loaves of challah, it is probably in my best interest not to.

Nutella Pumpkin Pie Bars with a Snickerdoodle Crust

Nutella Pumpkin Pie Bars with a Snickerdoodle Crust

Not even kidding. You really can make a dessert that allows you to combine the wonder of nutella, pumpkin pie, and snickerdoodles all into one bite (not that you’ll be able to stop after one).   

This is one of those great recipes that allow us obsessive bakers to avoid having to make a decision when we’re in one of those "I want to bake EVERYTHING" moods. As you may have guessed, I was in one of those moods...and then I ended up with this. No regrets.

Creamy, Dreamy Peanut Butter Pie

Creamy, Dreamy Peanut Butter Pie

As you may know, today is Ash Wednesday which marks the official start of Lent. As a tradition, many people give up some vice for the 40 days between Lent and Easter, such as television, Facebook, soda, etc. Last year, I gave up sweets, which was hell on earth not exactly easy, but I survived and the challenge was extremely rewarding in the end. This year, I’m attempting once again to give up sweets. Now, you may wonder how somebody who writes a baking blog expects to give up sweets, but fear not sweet baby reader for:

1. I can (and will) still bake for other people so that I can creepily live vicariously through watching them eat sweets still bring joy to their lives and

2. I have enough recipes and photos stockpiled that I could probably post a different recipe every day and still not run out until long after Easter.

Still, the impending temporary loss of sweets from my life is a loss that must be mourned, and how better to do so than with a decadent, amazing dessert?



Me and chocolate saying goodbye for now…

Baked Donuts in a Honey Apple Juice Glaze, Coated in Cinnamon and Brown Sugar

Baked Donuts in a Honey Apple Juice Glaze, Coated in Cinnamon and Brown Sugar

Have you ever considered making donuts, but quickly given up, thinking it would require a deep fryer and a ton of oil, or that you couldn’t make donuts nearly as good as those you get at your local donut shop?

If so, think again.  

Cheesecake-Swirled Brookies with Chocolate-Covered Pretzels and Marshmallows

 Cheesecake-Swirled Brookies with Chocolate-Covered Pretzels and Marshmallows

When it comes to baked goods, my hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Anything Involving Chocolate

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Everything Else

As such, I am a huge fan of any creation that showcases chocolate at its finest. One of the biggest questions that must be answered before baking, however, is the age old “What should I make?” Is today a cookie day? A brownie day? What about cupcakes, pie, or cheesecake? Maybe I’ll try a novelty dessert? Once this question is answered, the flavors usually seem to fall into place, but this initial decision as to genre of goodie can pose a real challenge for me.

The Birth of a Blog (Part 2)

Greetings world! Welcome to our baking blog. Above is a picture of me, Dena (left) and my beautiful roommate, Lauren (right). We took this picture just over a month ago, the first time we baked together (at midnight, might I add). We'll use this blog to document an extreme case of what happens when you give two cooks a kitchen. 

Now I'll tell you a bit about myself. I'm originally from Atlanta, GA and am currently a junior at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. Like Lauren, I've been baking basically since I left the womb. Growing up, I baked a lot with my mother, who is a wonderful baker and real-food cook as well. I haven't quite mastered the latter yet, I literally just learned how to make pasta a few months ago. But I am absolutely obsessed with baking, partially because it's a fun creative outlet, and partially because my diet is made up mainly of baked goods (wish I was kidding). I've been baking even more than usual lately. I attribute that to the fact that I've returned to the States with a new "disfrutar la vida" (enjoy life) approach to life, and I often find baking to be a quite enjoyable alternative to say, studying. I've loved being able to bake at college because there's always someone who will eat what I make (I mean, besides me). 

 My signature baking ingredients are: Nutella, peanut butter, cinnamon, pumpkin, and chocolate. I rarely if ever make anything without at least one of those ingredients. 

I think I can speak for both Lauren and myself when I advise you to bake anything we post that looks appealing to you. We will not post anything that is not 100% delicious. So bake what looks good to you, and spread the happiness that only baked goods can bring with your friends, family, and even your enemies if you're feeling generous.

Good night, good luck, and when in doubt, bake.

<3 Dena

The Birth of a Blog...

Hello everybody! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lauren and I am a college student who is beyond obsessed with cooking, and even more obsessed with baking. To me, food is an art that you can see, smell, and taste. I started cooking the second I was tall enough to reach the stove, and I have not stopped since. I see every food that I have not yet made as a challenge waiting to be completed, and over the years I have experimented with almost every type of food imaginable. Whether it be rolling my own sushi or making marshmallows from scratch, or even using a hammer to pound out homemade noodles (yes, true story), I have embraced the art of cooking to its fullest. My mom has often referred to me as a mad scientist chef because I almost never use recipes, and when I do I almost never follow them without changing them to make them just a little bit more special (and delicious!). This year, I have my own kitchen in my dorm and a wonderful roommate named Dena who is equally obsessed with baking. (I’ll let Dena introduce herself in another post!) In other words, my baking has reached a fever pitch. Dena and I have become notorious among our friends for the pictures we post on Facebook of the things we bake, as well as for our proclivity to spring sweet treats on unsuspecting victims. Hey, we can’t eat it all ourselves! (Well, we could but stretchy pants only stretch so far…)

            Anyway, I got the idea to start this blog while looking for an apron at Anthropologie (Shopping--yet another one of Dena’s and my mutual obsessions). As I tried on a couple of aprons, I started talking with the saleswoman. I told her about my baking habit, and she asked what types of things I baked. Oh man, did she ever open Pandora’s Box. Poor woman. As I inundated her with my babble over chai cupcakes and key lime cookies, her eyes actually didn’t glaze over. In fact, she seemed intrigued by what I was saying. “You should start a food blog,” she said. “And then once you do, you should come back and tell me what it’s called so that I can start reading it!” I paused. I had never considered the idea of a blog before. The more I thought about it, however, the more perfect it sounded. I already loved to take pictures of what I made and share the details with everybody I knew. Why not expand this past the confines of my Facebook newsfeed?

          I mentioned the idea of a food blog to Dena, and she was sold. We immediately began brainstorming names for our blog and finally settled on “When in Doubt, Bake.” Why? Because we love to bake whatever we can, whenever we can, however we can. Whether we’re stressed, procrastinating, having a party, or just have some extra time on a Friday and a spare jar of Nutella, one or both of us is probably in the tiny kitchen of our dorm making the whole apartment smell incredible. We hope that this blog will serve both as a creative outlet for us and as an inspiration for others. After all, your “Recipes I Want to Make” list can always use a couple more items, right? (*Note: Dena’s list is currently well over 70…)