Well, it’s Thanksgiving round 2 today. This evening we are heading to a friend’s house to celebrate the holiday all over again, and I just finished up this praline pumpkin cheesecake.  I’ve made it once before, and it’s a great make-ahead holiday dessert- you get cheesecake, pumpkin, caramel, pecans, and gingersnaps all in one. For the crust this time, I actually thawed some frozen gingersnap cookie dough leftover from the 2013 Holiday Cookie Book creation, crumbled and baked it, and then ground it up for ‘homemade’ crumbs. Store-bought cookies however, work just as fine.  In addition to pumpkin, sweet potato puree could also be equally substituted.  Now that it’s December, I’d say the holiday baking frenzy has officially began! I hope you all are enjoying your kitchens this time of [...]

I too, find this hard to believe, but I think I may have spent the whole month of October eating entirely too much pumpkin. It’s lost its appeal to me, at least for now. Talk to me in a week. This recipe comes from the brilliant Yotam Ottolenghi. If you’ve never flipped through any of his cookbooks (Plenty, Jerusalem, Ottolenghi), you’re in for a treat. In a little ski town with limited options for Asian/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine, Zack and I love Yotam’s globally-inspired and vegetable-heavy recipes. They are a refreshing breath of air when we get into a what-to-make-for-dinner or repeat-meals rut. The cake calls for olive oil, with lemon zest, diced apples, and raisins playing a supporting role in the cake’s flavor. It’s surprisingly delicious, and different. Just what [...]

I think I have finally accepted that winter is upon us. Two nights ago I was standing in my kitchen, washing dishes, and I noticed that the sidewalk outside looked wet. “It must be raining…”, I had thought. Twenty minutes later, another glance revealed a few inches of powdery white snow. I turned off the kitchen lights and stared out at the frenzy of flakes. It was enchanting and a tiny bit exciting. We ended up getting about 6 inches that night. Our warm Colorado sunshine melted most of it the next day. Seeing that kind of snowfall makes me think of all the upcoming things this winter season that we are looking forward to. In about a month from now Zack and I will go to the US Forest [...]

Some of you may remember my posts/photos from last summer detailing a few of the pastries I would make for our local coffeehouse, Yeti’s Grind.  The most popular pastries were usually homemade versions of nostalgic Hostess treats. But can you really act surprised? A from-scratch version of anything will always taste better than the pre-packaged  and processed one. And think of the preservatives you are keeping out of your body! So here it is, a recipe for homemade Ding Dongs I have been a little reluctant to share because it’s that good.  Dark chocolate cake, fluffy vanilla filling, and glossy chocolate glaze goodness all in one. I use an Italian meringue buttercream to fill these but feel free to sub in your favorite vanilla frosting.   Please enjoy responsibly. I’m [...]

Now that I am back in the mountains after visiting family in Indiana for a few weeks, I’ve finally had some high altitude kitchen time. Being at sea level because I had to remind myself not to ‘altitude adjust’ whenever I baked anything! In Indiana, all of the trees and shrubs were blossoming when I first arrived and it was so beautiful. I got lucky this spring because I returned to town when everything decided to bloom here too. It’s beginning to look like summer! Each day our aspen trees open their leaves a little more and the hummingbirds have arrived by the fleets. So, whoopie pies. In the last two years, whoopie pies have certainly been a ‘trendy’ food. When gourmet food shops and bakeries began showcasing the whoopie [...]

Now into our second week of May, the grass keeps getting greener and the snow continues to melt. I like the direction things are heading. And today, it rained! No snow this time. I have been very busy working on my upcoming downloadable High Altitude Bakes Breads Cookbook. A lot of progress was made this week and it looks like I’ll have that finished up and ready in the next week or two. I’d also like to mention that for the past two days my diet has consisted mostly of, well, bread. Oops. My favorites so far- naan, almond coffeecake, no-knead dutch oven bread, and chocolate-filled whole wheat buns. All of them, however, are delicious. Nothing compares to freshly baked, homemade bread. This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day. Even the [...]

In light of all the events that happened this past week in Boston, I turned to my kitchen to process the sadness. This may be a high altitude baking blog, but I felt compelled to make something,  just to let Boston know we are thinking of them- whether it’s in Colorado or elsewhere. I was going to make Boston Cream Pie pancakes- fluffy vanilla pancakes layered with vanilla custard and topped with a drizzle of chocolate glaze. My thinking was they’d be great for brunch, dessert, or a late night snack. But as I was looking at recipes and getting some ideas, I realized I really just wanted to make original Boston Cream Pie. It’s the official dessert of Massachusetts, and a classic- fluffy, spongy cake, cool vanilla custard, and [...]

I could use a boost. Closing day was on Sunday, and since Saturday night we have gotten pounded with snow-almost (if not already) 3 feet. That’s a lot of snow. I’m tired of clearing it off of my car, I’m tired of strapping on boots, I’m tired of adding extra layers to go outside. I know that it’s springtime, and that on the next sunny day a lot of it will be gone. But I just wanted a moment to whine because I really would like to get on with my favorite time of year- Summer! Ok, I’m done. Despite all the white everywhere, I must add that it’s been beautiful in its own little twisted way. Many of the snow showers have been the heavy, wet snow that clings [...]

Greetings, everyone! It’s another snowy day in the Rockies. The sun hasn’t come out yet so the snow is still clinging to many of the tree branches and it’s lovely. Late yesterday, we took the beast out for a snowy romp. He seemed to enjoy himself and even dug up a frozen elk leg. Quite a day. Tonight I am meeting up with a friend who cannot consume gluten. As a professional pastry chef I find it very satisfying when I can overcome baking obstacles- high altitude for one, and currently, gluten-free baking- with a delicious outcome. I’ve always felt the best way to start gluten-free baking is with a recipe that is naturally gluten-free. For example, don’t start off trying to make breadsticks. That kind of recipe will require [...]