Listen Up!

I have something a little different for you in this post.  Follow the link and listen up! : )
Short and Sweet

What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Warning:  If you have deadlines approaching, avoid clicking the links below.  The social media network discussed in this post is highly addictive and should be visited with caution!

Sometimes, we don’t know what we’re in the mood for.  Sometimes, we just want whatever looks good.  For these occasions when you’re not even sure what recipe to search for, I present to you Pinterest. 

Pinterest describes itself as “an online pinboard” where you can “organize and share things you love.”  This site isn’t dedicated solely to baking, as it is a place to collect all of the things you love, but there is usually at least one yummy-looking recipe within the top few rows of posts.  If you’re not in the mood for scrolling, you can also select the category “Food & Drink" by hovering over the “Everything” title at the top of the page.  

On the “Food & Drink” page, you will find recipes of all sorts.  There’s savory and sweet and healthy and guilty-pleasure-worthy.  With pictures included for every recipe, it’s just like window shopping, but for food!  There are plenty of options to browse through, so something is sure to strike your fancy.  This browsing method is what led my roommate and I to this (speaking of guilty-pleasure-worthy). 

Too Good!

One of my favorite features of Pinterest is that you can “repin” things to your own boards to save them for later.  I can’t wait to try these and this!

A word to the wise:  Many pins on one page of Pinterest will catch your attention.  For this reason, I suggest opening the links to each pin in a new tab by right clicking on them.  This way, you won’t leave the main page.  If you leave the main page and then return, new pins will have been posted and you may not be able to find the original pins you wanted to check out. 

Another perk of Pinterest is that you can follow boards.  When I find a recipe I like, I usually take a look at what other types of things are included on the board and then decide if I want to follow or not.  Sometimes I like users’ pins so much that I follow all of their boards.  This is a great way to connect with like minded individuals with taste similar to yours.  You can also comment on pins and tag other users in your pin explanations.

Pinterest isn’t only for when you don’t know what you want.  Say you’re hungry for something pumpkin-y (as we all are since the leaves are changing and autumn is upon us).  Just type “pumpkin” in the search bar and see what yummy treats (and dinner options too) come your way.

 You’ll have to request an invite in order to start pinning, but happy browsing until then!  Consider yourself warned: Pinterest and procrastination go hand in hand, so only pin when you’ve got some time to kill (like when your cookie-oreo-brownie concoction is in the oven!). 

YourSpace, MySpace, BakeSpace

In years gone by, people gathered to share baked goods through means of a cookie swap or a cake walk.  While these are still great ideas for social gatherings, it makes more sense for the modern baker to get these experiences online.  In the vast world of social media, it is easy to find like-minded individuals who share your passion for baking and all things sweet.

Meet “the web’s tastiest social network,” BakeSpace.  As the name of this site indicates,   it is similar to social networks in the likes of MySpace and Facebook.  BakeSpace allows users to add friends, share recipes, and even find a mentor.  Mentors are matched with users who are looking to learn their area of expertise.  

Recipes can be searched by many different characteristics so that you can always find exactly what you are looking for.  My favorite feature of the website is that once you find a recipe you like you can add it to your “recipe box” and organize all of the yummy treats you want to try.  Often when searching for a recipe online, you come across other things that aren’t exactly what you’re looking for, but are still very enticing.  I like that this site allows you the option to save recipes in a place where they can easily be accessed at a later date whenever the craving strikes.  

BakeSpace also allows you to follow certain recipe categories that interest you.  I follow all of my true loves: cake, cheesecake, cupcakes, and cookies. J My favorite times to bake are holidays, so I also follow my two favorites, Halloween and Christmas.  It’s great that BakeSpace allows you to customize your recipe feed to fit your baking style.

BakeSpace allows users to review recipes posted by other users.  Reading over the reviews can help in the pivotal moment when deciding if a recipe is worthy of your precious time.  Adding an extra social element, BakeSpace offers a “conversations” tab which includes message boards where you can start a conversation or join one.

Social media is allowing today’s bakers to connect in a whole new way.  I can’t wait to see how recipes are shared and friendships are made 20 years from now! 

How Sweet it is...

Snickerdoodles.  Sugar cookies.  Homemade bread.  Apple pie.  These are the things that I can’t see, taste or smell without thinking of a couple of the best people in my life, my grandparents.  One slight whiff of any of these items takes me back to their house in the hollow, five years old, wearing Gram’s apron and standing on a stool eager to help her bake. 

Last Sunday was Grandparent’s Day and I got to thinking how much my grandparents have influenced me.  They’ve taught me more than any professor, made me laugh more than my favorite TV shows and loved me more than words could ever encompass.  They’re always there to lend an ear, offer advice and make me feel better.  Many of my grandparents’ lessons were taught in the ultimate classroom, the kitchen.  .  Here are a few of the most memorable.

1.       Be yourself.  When I was young, my grandmother would stand quietly at the sink doing dishes while my cousins and I dumped colored sugar by the handful onto our cutout cookies.  We made trees red, reindeer yellow and stars green.  My grandmother never tried to make us follow the world’s rules of color.  We were having fun, using our imaginations and getting a little creative and she let us do so.

2.       Be prepared.  My grandfather always gets out each ingredient before he starts a recipe.  This way, he doesn’t get into the middle of something only to have to run to the store for flour.  My grandfather is incredibly wise.  By making sure you have everything you need, you avoid getting yourself into a situation that you aren’t ready for and may not be able to get out of.

3.       Timing isn’t everything.  Probably 90% of my grandmother’s recipes have the wrong time listed on them.  She still puts the timer on, but periodically touches the cookies for doneness.  When I was little, I thought this was a super power.  Over the years, I’ve also developed “the touch.”  Sometimes, you can just feel when things are right.

4.       Many hands make light work.  A few times each year, my family gathers at my grandparents’ house to make pierogies from scratch.  Every family member has a different role.  My grandpa makes the cheesy potatoes.  My mom and grandma handle making the dough.  I roll it out.  My cousin cuts the circles of dough.  My aunt puts the filling on each one.  Everyone else is in charge of pinching.  Acting as a team, we crank out several dozen pierogies in couple hours.  By working together, we can accomplish a lot more than we can alone.

My grandparents mean the world to me.  They’re the type of people that I think of and can’t help but smile.  All the little lessons I’ve learned from them will stay with me for a lifetime.  Check out this blogger's lessons from her grandparents.  

My grandmother always says that there’s no reason not to share your recipes so I’ll leave you with one for her flawless snickerdoodles.  They’re perfect, I promise.   


Snickerdoodles
3 3/4 c. Flour



1/2 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Cream of Tartar
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. Milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt


3 T. Sugar
3 T. Cinnamon


Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, milk & vanilla.  Add dry ingredients.  Dough will be sticky.  Form dough into 1 1/2" balls - roll in cinnamon and sugar.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 about 8 minutes until light golden.

Yum! :) 

Search Bar to Dessert Bars

Going back twenty years, or even less, the home cook’s recipe box was only as large as their circle of contacts.  Fast forward to today and our assortment of recipes is as expansive as our culinary imaginations.  The introduction of social media into the kitchen has made this possible.

My mom’s recipe collection includes several handed down from her mother, a few from neighbors, friends and co-workers and a couple magazine clippings here and there.  My recipe box includes all of those, plus a folder of bookmarks for recipes from my favorite blogs.  It doesn’t even stop there.  Let’s say one day, like today, I have an urge to make something different.  With just a few clicks, I know exactly what I’ll be popping in the oven this afternoon. 

I’m sure you’re curious where these clicks have taken me.  The first brings me to one of my go-to baking blogs, Smitten Kitchen.  The second takes me to the search box, where I type “blueberry.”  Nothing is better than blueberry baked goods in the summer.  After a quick scan of the search results, the third click brings us to our final stop, Blueberry Boy Bait.   

It starts with two sticks of butter.  Could anything bad possibly come from this?  I think not.

Mmmmm.  So anxious, I could barely wait for it to bake!

It just so happens that the final product lured my boy all the way from Pittsburgh! ;)

The nice thing about building your baking repertoire through blogs is that you end up building a relationship with certain bloggers and you come to know that the recipes that they post will likely turn out well.  Just as my mother and grandmother have a few trusted friends that always come across recipes that are big hits, I have a few blogs that I rely on to make me look like a star in the kitchen.  A trusted friend of mine introduced me to Bakerella and it was love at first bite.  Over the years, I’ve come to depend on the recipes and comments from her followers to select a recipe that is sure to be a winner. 

Another one of my favorite things about finding recipes on blogs is that they’ve been tested in a real life kitchen not only by the blogger themselves, but also often by those who have commented.  These comments can be a really great resource.  For example, I once found Pepperoni Pizza Puffs on another of my favorite blogs, Noble Pig.  Much to my dismay, the recipe indicated that I needed to use a mini muffin pan.  In a small kitchen shared with 2 others, I am only able to have the truly essential pans on hand.  The mini muffin style didn’t make the cut.  Upon reading the comments, I found one that solved my dilemma completely.

Now, not only was I confident that it would work, but I didn’t even have to do the guess work myself to adjust the baking time.  I also love when people post that they substituted one ingredient for another and let you know how it turned out.  For example, using skim milk instead of whole milk.  It’s nice to know whether this type of swap will ruin the outcome before wasting your own time trying it out.  A magazine clipping simply can't provide perks such as these.  


Social media has greatly improved the baking experience.  Not only can you choose from an infinite number of recipes, but you can also find great information in the comments posted along with them.  Now that you know the benefits blogs have introduced, get out there and bake up a storm.