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.