Tales of a Blogger and a Bread Machine

Once upon a time….

There lived a blogger who loved to bake.

Muffins, cookies, and the occasional cake.

And sometimes she even would go the extra mile,

to make homemade bread that made everyone smile.

So when it came about to buy a bread machine,

she knew she could whip up something quite mean.

It gave her arms the chance to rest,

and then came the initial test.

She had to pick what kind to make,

she figured it out and was ready to bake!

She layered the ingredients one by one,

Already this was so much fun!

Her new machine was a Wolfgang Puck,

she hoped it would bring her goodness and luck.

She chose to make a favorite bread,

“Cardamom can’t be beat!” she said.

She bought freshly ground cardamom seeds,

it fulfilled all of her bread-making needs.

3 hours later it was finished,

but the smell of bread had not diminished.

She pulled out the loaf and knew it’d be fab,

she put it on the cutting board to cut a slab.

Fluffy, chewy, and such a delight,

she knew she had done everything right.

Needless to say, she has a new man,

now she’ll throw out her oven bread-making pan.

For the new bread maker is just so great,

so many more recipes--she can barely wait!

The End

Hope you all liked my little rendition of a rhyming tale! Overall I absolutely love my bread machine and so glad I went with the Wolfgang Puck one! It makes horizontal loaves vs. the standard vertical loaf. It has 11 cycles—and I can even make cakes and jam in it! If you’ve been debating on getting a bread machine—do it! I know everyone does not have one, so when I post a recipe, I will try to find a link to a similar one that doesn’t require a machine!

Finnish Cardamom Loaf

Adapted from Better Homes and Garden The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking

Prep time: 10 min

Makes: 1 2lb loaf(27 slices)

Ingredients

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg or 2 egg whites
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine, cut up
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup sugar, or sugar substitute
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 1/4 dry yeast or bread machine yeast

Directions

• Select loaf size. Add the ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Select the basic white bread cycle.

If you haven’t tried cardamom, don’t delay! It’s a member of the ginger family and gives off a spicy-sweet flavor. It is a Far East spice that changed the Western World’s spices forever!

No bread machine? No problem! Click here to do it by hand.

 

 

 

Christmas Cookie Countdown [Day 3]

Today I was rummaging through my baking boxes(which I organized a few days ago finally!)and I found a gift I got quite awhile ago. It was a package of sugar cookie mix with a small snowflake cookie cutter inside a cooking mit. It was from Better Home and Gardens, and it really is a cute gift idea. I have no clue where the person who gave this to me got it, but I wish I knew so I could get some for gifts. But then it got me thinking I could make my own! Pick up a neat little Christmas oven mitt and fill it with a bag of cookie mix and attach a little cookie cutter with a ribbon! What a cheap, but nice homemade gift. If you went to the Dollar Store, you could whip up one of these for under $4! I have a feeling I may be making a few for last minute gifts. Anyway, when I found this mix, I figured I better use it, but I didn't want to make another plain ol' sugar cookie for our Christmas platters. So I decided I was going to create my own cookie with one of my favorite spices in the world! I opened my spice rack and pulled out my beloved cardamom spice!! Something about the holiday season brings to mind the delicious loaves of cardamom bread I would recieve each year from a family friend. The golden loaves would be topped with a dusting of red or green sugar and I would eat a slice each morning for breakfast, savoring each bite. Then to my delight, I got the "secret" recipe one year from her, and realized how much work goes into making a masterpiece like that. I am going to make the bread sometime, but for now I wanted to clone the taste of this scrumptious bread, and make it into a cookie! My creation was a yummy one for sure because everytime I would turn around, a little snowflake cookie would be missing! "Dad did you take one of those cookies?" I would yell into the living room. "Yeah, wow these are really good." And this went on about 5 times over the course of the day. Even my dog got out of his comfy bed and came to see what the tantalizing smell was. I ended up giving him a broken piece and that was a mistake, because he kept drooling for more. Needless to say, I am so happy I could clone this bread into a bite size cookie!

Cassie's Cardamom Snowflake Crisps

Ingredients:

1 bag of sugar cookie mix(the standard size)+ingredients listed on bag

1 tsp. cardamom spice

1/4 C flour for dusting surface

1/2 C powdered sugar+1 tsp cinnamon for dusting

Cookie cutter (I used a small snowflake)

Directions:

1)Mix all ingredients together as stated on sugar cookie pouch and add in the cardamom.

2)Let chill for 1/2 hour, just so it is easier to handle. Meanwhile, preheat oven to the temperature stated on mix. Then roll out to 1/4" thick on floured surface and cut with cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet(or one with tinfoil/parchment paper) and pop in the oven for the amount of time stated on the mix.

3)Mix powered sugar and cinnamon together in a cup. Once out of the oven, use a sifter to dust the powdered sugar mixture over the warm cookies. Enjoy with a glass of hot chocolate! =)