Batter Licker

My butternut squash bonanza continues! Think of this as a play on pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Except way better.

Honestly, I thought these up a year ago and never got around to making them. But they haunted me through spring and summer, and now that we’re back to peak butternut squash season, I had to make it happen.

So when last weekend’s Friendsgiving dinner got scheduled, it was a no-brainer. I knew exactly what I wanted to try.

That’s the beauty of Friendsgiving. My friends and I officially launched the make-whatever-you-want concept last year, after decades of being told by our families that, no, we could not make butternut squash soup as an appetizer instead of Bopop’s bowl full of grapefruit tradition, and no, we could not make a cornbread, sausage and peppers stuffing instead of the rustic bread, sausage, apple and onion standard.

… Read the rest of butternut squash cupcakes with maple-sage goat cheese frosting on BatterLicker.com!

I’m not trying to fool you. I know you’ve seen me make caramel before, and in step-by-step detail. But not with bourbon and Fall spices.

For wedding dessert bar purposes, I kept up appearances by making about 400 of my standard fleur de sel caramels. I had to, or there might have been an Occupy Dessert Bar movement. Seriously. People get passionate over burnt sugar with salt, at least in my family.

But for my own creative purposes, I wanted to try something a little different. Something infused with Autumn. Something boozy. Bourbon spice caramels were born.

Welcome to my month-before-the-wedding -continues-into-month-after-the-wedding-because-I-didn’t-get-my-sh*t-together blog series. … Read the rest of project wedding dessert bar: part 8 (fleur de sel caramels; bourbon spice caramels) on BatterLicker.com!

After the fudge-making session, it’s time to get baking again! And now, it’s ginger molasses cookie time. Even though it’s been quite a few years since I first made these cookies, I’m still obsessed and can polish off a dozen in one sitting without a second thought.

But what I’m dying to know this time around is why is there sugar already spilled all over my counter when I haven’t started baking yet?!?!?

Welcome to my month-before-the-wedding blog series. … Read the rest of project wedding dessert bar: part 4 (soft ginger molasses cookies) on BatterLicker.com!

Two weeks ago, I stood in an aisle at Whole Foods, paralyzed by a $7 jar of kimchi. When an entire head of cabbage would run me only $1, $7 for a jar containing maybe 1/6th head of cabbage seemed outrageous, even for Whole Foods prepared products. But I didn’t have a few days to let my own cabbage ferment, as bibimbap was the dinner plan for that very night and the veggies I had grated the day before were not going to stay crunchy for another day. Why and how had I planned so carefully ahead and done the prep work, but utterly forgotten such an essential ingredient?!?

… Read the rest of fake kimchi on BatterLicker.com!

Several friends of mine have been singing the glory of Heidi Swanson’s Coconut Red Lentil Soup for over a year. Now that I finally saddled up and made a variation of that soup, I’m inclined to join their joyful chorus.

… Read the rest of sprouted bean coconut curry soup on BatterLicker.com!