WHOOPIE

Okay - so before I start this post I need to apologize in advance for what I am going to try and pass off as delicious food photos.

I think everyone will be very understanding and overly sympathetic once they hear my well crafted tale...

Crisp Weekends

I always love a reason to bake and sometimes I think I get a little out of hand with it...but that isn't a bad thing right? I dare someone to scold me for baking too many cakes!

A perfect example of this is my Dad's Birthday. It was a few weekends ago, and although a small gathering, it was filled with people that I love and that love my Dad. As a gift, my mom suggested I make the apple cake that they had heard about but disappeared too quickly for them to get a taste. I thought this was a great idea - and what would be even better is if I also made a brown sugar apple cheesecake and a mocha coffee coffee cake (quite the mouthful in more ways than one!).

Fall = Baking

When the first crisp breezes hit Chicago and my allergies cause my nose to itch uncontrollably I know it is Fall. This is exciting for me because Fall is one of my favorite seasons, I say one of because I love them all with the exception of winter - in Chicago, winter sucks.


Fall means cozy sweaters, warm coffee, leaves falling, and apple picking! Apple picking means I need to figure out something to do with close to 11lbs of apples before they rot on my counter! Luckily, us industrious scientists decided to have another BBQ - gotta squeeze them in before the gray, gross winter covers us. My contribution to this shindig was a super easy and equally delicious apple cake. I scoured the internet for a recipe that looked uncomplicated and comfortable. I don't think apple cake should be putting on airs but rather embracing what it truly is - a dessert as cozy as the first sweater day of fall.

I'M STILL HERE

I know I know I thought I fell off the face of the blogosphere (see I know the lingo - I BELONG here) too! But I have just been making HUGE scientific breakthroughs (Nobel Prize anyone?), setting marathon records (Oh a gold medal? Really I just couldn't), and enjoying the good things fall brings (Falling leaves and Fall brews? Yes please!). Back in the real world, I have just been plain busy.

This does not mean I have not been baking - ooooh no no no - I actually have a backlog of baking experiments to share! So here I am and enough babbling and excuses lets get to the goodies!

Cheesecake Bars

For a recent lab BBQ (I know hard to believe but even us lab rats have fun outside -gasp!) I was in charge of bringing the sweet stuff. For a group of 13 people with varied tastes this can be a daunting task, so instead of trying something new and wild I decided to try something new yet tried and true - Cheesecake Bars courtesy of Bakerella.

Who can say no to cheesecake - especially cheesecake with a delicious cookie crust topped with a decadent chocolate ganache - apparently my advisor - oops sorry boss! -  but hopefully the rest of the lab would approve!

Right Off The Bat

I don't believe in starting small - with that in mind my first baking experiment needed to be something I had never imagined I could pull off. The obvious answer? Cupcake Bites by one of my inspirations - Bakerella.

After purchasing (with unnatural levels of excitement) chocolate melts and candy melts and cookie cutters the procedure began!

I used this chocolate cake recipe from Pioneer Woman, another one of my idols (Let me clarify here, I have not yet reached the pinnacle of creating my own delicious recipes such as these lovely ladies have, so until their muses hit me I will humbly attempt to recreate their greatness)