Everyday Baking with Nordic Ware #MadeinUSA #BundtSquared #PrismBakeware

* I was sent Nordic Ware items for this review. All opinions in this post are my own.

I love to bake! I have been baking cookies since I was a teenager and truly love it. I now love to bake cakes and cookies for my own family. My son is old enough to help measure ingredients and stir the ingredients in a bowl, he is always eager to help with baking. I enjoy the whole process of baking from the bowls I stir in, the freshness of ingredients and the bake ware.  I even have a few favorite items. My favorite pan for baking has been a bundt cake pan but I have been wanting to have something different and special for the cakes I bake.

I have been using Nordic Ware cooking items for many years. I like that they are durable, made in the U.S.A. and BPA-free and melamine-free materials in their products. I recently had the opportunity to try a few new products from Nordic Ware and I am now obsessed with the Bundt Square Pan. It makes the most beautiful square bundt with geometric patterns. I have set aside my round bundt cake pan for now and I will be using this pan for many of my holiday baking creations to come. 

I baked a lemon blueberry cake for my first time using the Square Bundt Pan and I was wowed! The cake came out easily since I followed the directions of putting oil and flour on the pan. It made a beautiful golden crust and the peaks and valleys made from the pan perfectly held the lemon glazing icing I made. There is something about a pretty cake makes me want to share it and eat more of it. Be sure to tap the bottom of the pan a few times on the counter top before placing in the oven to get out any air bubbles. Allow for 10 minutes for cake to cool once it is done to ensure the cake does not tear, do not wait longer than that to remove cake or the sugars solidify and will make cake stuck in the pan.

For my recipe I used a premade lemon cake mix adding in lemon juice and blueberries. I made my favorite lemon glaze recipe from Martha Stewart website with 2 cups of confectioners sugar and 4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. The glaze should thick yet pourable. It tastes amazing on the cake.

I also love to roast veggies and make oven baked fries making the new Natural Prism bake ware perfect for me. The herringbone grid pattern of the baking sheet allows for proper air flow to make your food crispier and easier release from the sheet. The rim of the sheet pan is galvanized steel making it resistant to warping during baking. The pans are non stick made of natural uncoated aluminum like pastry chefs all over the world use.  Next on my list to try on the prism bake sheet is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I was sent some of the new Prep and Serve bowls. They are microwavable with slip free bottoms and BPA free. I love the fun lively colors they add to my baking experience. They are great for making and serving cold pasta salads and fruit salads too.

I have my eye on another baking pan by Nordic Ware, the Botanical Pumpkin Loaf Pan. It would be perfect for the fall season.

To see more of Nordic Ware items and learn more about the family owned American based company you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Pear Coffee-Cake Muffins Recipe From Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Sometimes I think it's the little things that make up a happy life. It's true that big life events can be wonderful, but they just don't happen often enough for me. So, I'm finding ways to increase my everyday happiness, and that includes these pear muffins.

A cup of coffee and a warm, delicious muffin with butter inside makes my morning start out happy. It's an easy way to start the day, and these muffins let you use your favorite fruit in them, whether that's pears, apples, plums, or berries.

This recipe is from one of my favorite baking books, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. The recipe calls for plums, which I love, but when I saw these gorgeous red pears at the market, I decided to use them instead of the plums.

Peel and chop the pears. I love the fragrance and taste of pears, and it's one of my favorite fruits to use in my fall and winter baking.

After you have mixed the batter, fill the muffin tin half full, and distribute the pear pieces evenly over the batter. Top with remaining batter, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

These smell wonderful as they are baking in the oven. And they keep well for a couple of days in the refrigerator. I just popped them, with a little butter, into the microwave and heated them up, and they were still delicious.

I gave some of these muffins to our neighbors, and they just loved them. That's also one of the things I enjoy about baking, is being able to share something I made with others, and making that lovely connection with them.

These muffins are very much worth the effort of making them, and perfect for a morning of baking on a chilly fall morning.

Recipe For Pear Coffee-Cake Muffins

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3 ripe pears, peeled and cut into small chunks (other fruits may be used, plums, apples, or berries)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or use paper liners, set aside.
Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and milk. Whisk in the melted butter. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Dividing evenly, fill each of the muffin cups halfway with batter. Smooth the batter with an offset spatula.

Distribute the pear pieces evenly among the cups, scattering them over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter on top, dividing evenly. Sprinkle tops with the reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the muffins are puffed and golden brown, and a cake tester inserted of one muffin comes out clean, 16-18 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let stand 5-10 minutes. Turn out the muffins onto the rack to cool a few minutes, serve warm.

*Note: the recipe says it only makes 10 muffins, but I easily made 12.

Snowball Cookie Recipe

As the children get older and start attending school (elementary or preschool) holiday teachers gifts are something we love to make and buy. Teachers are a very important part of our lives, they help mold our children into the adults they will someday be. I want them to know how important they are to not only my children, but to our family as a whole. Homemade gifts, along with a gift card to their favorite coffee shop or café are a pretty standard gift for our family to give. This year we made Snowball Cookies for the teachers and they were a huge hit! The boys helped out by rolling the dough in the "snow", it ended up everywhere but at least they had fun!

 

Mini Blueberry Muffins

I don't know about you but I love anything that comes in a mini form and mini muffins are no exception. They are perfect for a quick little snack for you or your little ones. Put them in a Christmas cupcake liner and you can call it a holiday treat!

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, at room temp

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries or 2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Baking Candy Cane Chocolate Cupcakes With Land O' Lakes Butter #HolidayButter #shop #cbias

Holiday baking has been a long tradition in my family, so I'm very excited to be in the kitchen baking some of my favorite treats.

Chocolate and peppermint are a must during the holiday season, so I combined the two and made these yummy cupcakes.

My grandchildren were thrilled when they saw them, and it was a real struggle for them to wait until after dinner to have one.

The key to successful baking for me, is using the highest quality ingredients that I can. Butter is one of those ingredients, and I always like stocking up on it at this time of the year.