Baking Bug

I love being a Mama, especially one that gets to stay-at-home. One of the unforeseen joys is being able to develop more hobbies and actually try to get good at them: sewing, crafting, decorating, cooking...and now baking.

Since sewing, diy, and crafting are a bit on the back-burner, I guess something enviably had to take their place for now. And baking is something I can do while E is awake and do it with him. Plus this is THE perfect time of year to turn that oven on, throw something apple-pumpkin-sugary in, and inhale its sweet aroma.

My trial run with E, if you remember, was an amazingly delicious Pumpkin Carmel Cheesecake Turtle Bread. We then moved onto some yummy Apple Fritter Muffins. And after both their huge successes in taste and baking performances, we've been on a big roll since. I've tried to make something new at least once a week. 

W had a work pot-luck on Halloween so the night before I made Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. {pictured above} W got to pull out his culinary school skills and teach me a thing or two about soft and stiff peaks for whipped cream topping. He's a great teacher and I always learn a lot when he's in the kitchen with me. It made for a fun evening as we were both huddled over the mixer and scarfing down 'samples'.

Definitely love learning how to make more things from scratch, but I will admit that I'm way too intimated by yeast so I've steered clear of anything that requires it. And my piping skills, as you can see in the pic, need some serious help! My most recent challenge was this recipe for Pumpkin scones. I left them in the oven for too long and burnt the edges, but they were actually still tasty. After hitting the store this week for more butter and half-n-half, I'm determined not to over-bake them again!

Have any baking blogs or recipes to share?! I'm on the hunt for next week's treat.