Fall?? Summer?? What??

Summer has flown by!!!!! Heat creates a major baking issue for me--lack of appetite. I know, I know... how could I not be hungry for any baked goods at any time really? The summer sucks it out of me. BUT cooler nights have prompted me to start mixing and chopping again. (I say chopping because of the chopped almonds for the Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti I made the other evening! Mmmmmmm) Baking at night can actually be quite enjoyable. The quiet atmosphere paired with something so calming and enjoyable in itself. You can't help but fall asleep peacefully that night after creating something as beautiful as Zucchini Muffins, Double Chocolate Almond Biscotti, or really anything that tickles your fancy. 

So, summer can kind of suck it when it comes to baking in a non air-conditioned dwelling. That's fine though, you know why? Because the itch to bake always comes back with a vengeance. I have sugary sweet thoughts bouncing around in my head and an upcoming event to help get my Pies back in action. I plan on discussing my other sweets here too more often. Why exclude any delicious treats?!

Pies Made Thus Far...

I thought it would be a good time to recap over what I have made and what is left to bake from my Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook! It's summer time and there are Mounds of Berries out there ready to be picked and put in a Pie! I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped at this point, but it's never too late to delve into your goals again.

Pies Baked:

Green Apple Pie

Fresh Berry Pie(s)

Berries-and-Cream Pie(s)

Canned Fruit Pie

Frozen Fruit Pie(s)

Pecan Pie

Butterscotch Pie

Two-Crust Berry Pie

Two-Crust Fruit Pie

Now I have done variations and different types of these pies. The index at the beginning of the Pie Chapter in Betty has some repeats and many other sub choices listed under the more general Pies (for example a Berry or Fruit Pie). I am trying to figure a way to organize how I have made my Pies and continue to. 

Perhaps a question to all of you readers may be: 1. Shall I bake the pies from the index and choose a variation accordingly if desired or 2. Shall I make every Pie in the chapter, all variations included???

~Playing With Recipes~

I haven't posted in quite some time, I KNOW. Aside from my excuses, I am back in baking action and have a few things to share!

The past few days I have been in the mood to try out my own variations. I had never baked anything with puff pastry before and decided to give it a whirl. I used a pre-made pastry-which I don't plan on doing again. I wanted to see how it baked, etc, first before attempting to make my own. I rolled it out and spread on melted butter, then sprinkled cinnamon & sugar over the butter. Rolled it all up and cut it like you would for cinnamon rolls. 

Right before baking!

 Basically, it took around 40 minutes to bake at 350 degrees F and it was good, but it stuck like mad to the glass pan after it cooled down. Certainly tastey though!!

Fresh from the Oven!

 The second attempt was tonight. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. A classic for sure but I wanted to try out a few flavors I have come across and see what I could create. I am going to keep it a secret for now but I did like the results. 

Thick Dough

The dough was more tastey than the baked product, in my opinion, so I think I need to pick out more flavorful perportions...Something!  My taste testers (My brother Todd and cousin Josh) seemed to enjoy them but they would never disagree with a free dessert. ha.

Not very pretty-but good.

I will definitely keep up this recipe of oatmeal cookies. It is a classic and it's fun to revamp them! It feels good writing again... Any revamped recipes of your own to share?? I would love to hear about them!