The Making of a Red Velvet Cake, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

Yummy!

First cookies of the holiday season, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups pecan halves
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon; gradually stir into creamed mixture. Fold in rolled oats, cranberries, chocolate chips, and pecans. Drop rounded spoonfuls and press them by hand onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Tips and pointers:

I have made these cookies for a few years now but I wanted them to be more chewy and soft. My secret baking angel suggested that I use 1/4 cup less flour and also finely chop the cranberries and pecans. Press the cookie dough flat by hand on the cookie sheet which makes them spread wider. I bake my cookies for 12 minutes then pull them out of the oven as they will keep cooking as they are cooling which makes them more chewy.

Makes approximately 36 cookies. (More like 4 dozen.)

Preparing the lattice, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

This photo was from my first night apprenticing at Bakesale Betty. My personal goal is to sharpen my baking skills. Also, this is a far cry from being a computer geek. It was a lot of work but very fun. More photos here.
My task for the evening was prepping rhubarb pies. Betty started me out cutting out dough in circles and pressing it into the pie tins. Next, I prepared the rhubarb filling which consist of 25 pounds of rhubarbs, sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest. I mixed the rhubarb filling in a very large steel bowl with a large paddle which was like an oar. I rowed through the mixture and poured it into the pie shells. I took a dinner break and feasted on Betty’s pasta with portobello mushrooms (very yummy!) then she showed me how to make the lattice to cover the pies. I had never made a lattice before. It was much simpler than I expected but it took me a couple of pies to get the hang of cutting away the extra dough. The final touch was brushing the lattice with cream and spreading sugar on the top of each pie. I loaded each cookie sheet of pies on the rack and placed the rack into oven. I prepped a total of 13 pies. I learned from Betty that it is not about speed but quality when baking.
Betty’s oven rack is amazing. The rack spins in the oven so the baked goods cook evenly. Here are the finished pies:

Dessert Goodness, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

I am ready for the holiday baking season. Although, it is a lot of work over these next few weeks, I look forward to this time of year. I have stocked up on all of my baking supplies. The sales have been decent but you have to be careful not too buy too much? How much brown and powdered sugar are you going to use after the holidays? Butter prices creep upward every year. I can remember when you could buy a pound of butter for $.79 around the holidays. I picked up 8 pounds of butter from Costco for about $2.00 per pound. That is about the best deal around plus I do not want to burn up a tank of gas to save a few pennies.
I am staying local for the holidays this year. Of course, my family was not happy about this decision but I really wanted to just take some days off from work, relax, and work on projects around the house. I will attend church on Thanksgiving morning and spend the rest of the day visiting friends that I have not seen in awhile. Good food, good family and friends, and good music are what make my holidays special. We all have so much to be thankful for.
Hope you and yours have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Feeling Orange, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

This is my new orange silicon loaf pan and I made banana bread in it. Being an old school baker, I was a little caution about trying this type of pan. I got it for $10 so I would not feel too bad if I did not like it. Preparation for use is the same as with a steel or aluminum. Place a light coat of cooking spray in the pan before adding the batter. Also, place a cookie sheet under the pan since it will wobble. Amazingly, this pan can handle up to 500 degrees. Notice how the silicon pan expands to accommodate the bread which means it will not rise as high as it would in an aluminum pan. After cooling for a bit, the banana bread came out of the pan very easily. I may have to try out the silicon bundt pan though I am partial to my cast aluminum bundt pans. I added about 10 minutes to my baking time. The bread cooked evenly without any mushy spots.