Salted Caramel, the new Pumpkin.

Gold.  I’ve struck gold.  I have created THE perfect salted caramel recipe.  If I do say so myself.   🙂  Salted Caramel Apple Bread.

I was asked to participate in a product review for the Sweet Creations by Good Cook NonStick Mini Loaf Pan and create an original recipe.   My level of expertise on reviewing bakeware-high.  My level of expertise on creating an original recipe-n/a.

Before I unveil the recipe of all recipes (or in my case the only recipe), let’s discuss the pan.  It is a four cup (four loaf) pan which is great because you can make smaller loaves (bread, meatloaves, etc.) or make different types of loaves.  This versatility is great for anyone cooking for more than one.   It has a nonstick coating.  My loaves came right out when I flipped the pan over.  The pan is a tad lighter than I expected (not necessarily a negative).  Overall this pan is great addition to any baker’s arsenal of pans.

Now…(drum roll please)…the recipe:

All MincedReviewers get 25% off the mini loaf pan!  Click here to shop.  Enter the code: SWEETLOAF .

Happy Baking everyone!!

Product o’ the Week! 5.0

This week’s ‘Product o’ the Week’ is…

The OXO Good Grips Scrub brush and holder set.  Okay, so not exactly a gadget to help you cook BUT it is something to help clean your stuff after you cook!   I found this at Bed Bath and Beyond and love love love it.  I have always used OXO scrub brushes but what I love is the holder.  The holder catches all of the dripping water and keeps your sink area clean and dry.  You just tip to drain and throw it in dish washer to clean.  Love it!  Click on the picture to get more details and the price on the Bed Bath and Beyond website.

OXO Good Grips Scrub brush with Holder.

Happy Scrubbing!

Product o’ the Week! 4.0

This week’s ‘Product o’ the Week’ is… (cue drum roll)

The Wilton Baking Mat!  My friend Kristen clued me in on this amazing baking tool when she came over for our annual Christmas cooking day.  Of course, I had heard of silicone baking mats but I hadn’t tried them.   I immediately headed out to buy baking mats to try.  I’m in love.  No more cookies that look amazing on the top but too brown (coughburntcough) on the bottom.  They don’t stick.  Easy clean up.   If you enjoy baking, I highly highly recommend these.  Such a great investment!  Click on ‘Wilton Baking Mat’ above to get more information.

Happy Baking!!

Don’t blame yourself.

Nonstick

Insulated

Aluminum

People tend to blame themselves when their cookies don’t turn out as planned. Undercooked. Overcooked. Burnt to a crisp. It must be the your fault or the recipe’s fault, right? Well, sometimes that may be true but very often it is the cookie sheet. Different types of cookie sheets produce different end results. It is important to understand the differences. Here is a quick breakdown:

Cookie Sheets 101:

• Nonstick– Nonstick cookie sheets are the most common cookie sheet that you will find in the bakeware aisle. Within nonstick you will find darker and lighter finishes. The dark or light finish has a great impact on how your cookie will turn out. Darker finishes tend to brown your cookies faster and lighter finishes will typically produce a lighter cookie. I recommend reducing your oven temperature by 25 degrees when using a darker finish. I know that I sound like an irritating broken record but do not spray your nonstick cookie sheets with cooking spray or baking spray (the spray with the flour). Use parchment paper or butter.
• Aluminum– Aluminum cookie sheets are an excellent heat conductor and typically heat the cookies evenly with the only real downside being that it can be difficult to get your cookie golden brown.
• Insulated– Insulated cookie sheets are basically two layers of metal with a thin layer of air in between (see image above). The air in between the layers of metal heats to the oven temperature and bakes evenly across the entire pan ensuring your cookies all bake at the same rate. Cookies tend to bake slower on this type of cookie sheet and don’t brown as quickly. I don’t recommend insulated cookie sheets for cookies with a ton of a butter The butter tends to melt and leak out before the dough sets. When this happens, the cookies end up having thin edges.

My ultimate recommendation is to buy aluminum. Shiny, aluminum cookie sheets. Use parchment paper and call it a day. There are many options and I do realize that personal preference plays a part but in terms of being the most versatile, I vote aluminum. For those of you who dig nonstick or insulated, you may just need to play with your oven temperatures to get those pans to work for you.

**A few baking tips**

• Coating the pan- My mom used to keep the foil wrapper from the stick butter, fold it up and keep it in a zip loc bag to use for her baking. She would put the butter side face down and rub it on her cookie sheets and then toss the foil.
• Baking evenly- Turn your cookie sheet once when cooking. I usually set the timer for 1/2 the total cooking time, flip it around and then continue baking.
• Leave the cookies on the sheet for at least two minutes after removing from the oven. It is easier to remove them and place them on the cooling rack.
• Completely cool the cookie sheet before placing more dough on them.

Please add any other tips or tricks that you have. Happy cookie making everyone!

Unraveling the material

Glass Bread Pan

Metal Bread Pan

Ceramic Bread Pan

Silicone Bread Pan

You need a bread pan.  No big deal.  Drive to (insert your retailer of choice here).  Walk to the kitchenware department.  Turn down the bakeware aisle.  Grab a metal bread pan.  Wait.  There is a glass one.  Put the metal one back.  Grab the glass.  Start walking again. Wait. There is a ceramic one. Pretty color. Put the glass one back. Grab the ceramic.  Indecision starts to set in. Which one’s cheapest.  Sold.  Get me out of this madness.  Sound familiar.  Okay, admittedly a bit exaggerated, but you get the point.  Good grief there are a lot of bakeware options.  With so many options, I thought it would be great to give you a brief cheat sheet to help you as you are shopping or baking.

• Metal (nonstick) – Nonstick Metal is arguably the most popular material used in bakeware.  It is versatile, light and typically nests well for easy storage. Similar to non stick cookware, you need to be diligent about NOT spraying it with cooking spray (even if the recipe says to) and NOT using metal utensils.   You can put a little butter or oil on a paper towel and coat the pan if you feel a coating is necessary.  I usually also coat the sides of my baking pans with flour or powdered sugar after coating with oil or butter.  The best use for metal is for baked goods (bread, muffins, cake, cookies, etc.).  It comes in an infinite array of shapes and sizes.
• Glass – Glass bakeware is made from tempered glass and is an excellent heat conductor. It can go from the refrigerator/freezer directly to a hot oven. However, you do need to make sure that once out of the oven, you allow it to cool down to room temperature before placing in the refrigerator/freezer. Glass is great for casseroles, particularly highly acidic dishes (i.e. pasta dishes). It is fairly easy to clean and does not stain. As an added bonus, you can spray cooking spray on it to your heart’s content. You do need to make sure you clean thoroughly so that any cooking spray residue is removed. **Important sidenote-You may need to adjust your cooking time down or slightly reduce the cooking temperature because glass tends to heat quickly and it retains heat longer (meaning it will still cook a little after you take it out)*** Glass bakeware has become synonymous with Pyrex but I want to point out that while Pyrex is arguably one of the biggest manufacturers of glass bakeware, there are other options. Anchor Hocking, as an example, also has great glass bakeware.
• Ceramic/ Stoneware – What I love about ceramic and stoneware is that it can literally go from oven to table. Ceramic typically comes in white (or french white) but the latest and greatest trend is color. Lots of color. Ceramic is incredibly versatile. You can freeze it, microwave it, bake with it and serve out of it.
• Silicone – Compared to the materials listed above, silicone is still in its infancy. It is a relatively new material that quite honestly has never really caught on to the masses. Several mass retailers did attempt to bring this trend to their customers but it did not sell well. Silicone, while innovative, takes the average consumer too far outside of their comfort zone. It has less structure so it is perceived as flimsier. It doesn’t stack well, so it raises concerns of storage.   Whether silicone will gain traction in the bakeware remains to be seen.

This is just one aspect of bakeware.  There is MUCH to discuss.  I will also be diving into the types of pans that are available (i.e. cookie sheets-dark coated, light coated, insulated???) in a future blog.  So much time.  So few options.  Strike that.  Reverse it.  (in the words of Mr. Willy Wonka 🙂 ).  Happy baking everyone!!  Until next time..