Vanilla: The most over-looked flavor. Honestly.

I love, LOVE vanilla. And by vanilla, I mean the REAL deal. No imitation, liquid-mess for me. Pure vanilla beans or extract add a subtle hint to your baked good. It acts how salt does to savory food:  brings out the most pure and true flavor of the ingredient you are baking with.



I often get a "shocked" face when I tell people I enjoy vanilla and it ranks as one of my favorite flavors. "Why?" They always ask,  "You're a foodie, you cook and bake for a living! Vanilla is so...blah." Not to me, vanilla has been washed down with imitation flavors and ingredients. I saw a white cake recipe with no vanilla extract!!! Oh why! People often see, if it a white, pale, or yellow color baked good, it MUST be vanilla flavored. Nope. There are small differences between white cake, vanilla cake, and yellow cake.

Knowing vanilla beans are costly, I use them sparingly. I go for real vanilla extract. Be sure to make sure the label says "REAL" not "IMITATION." What exactly is imitation vanilla? It is byproducts of wood and contains weird chemcicals. Gross. If the bottle says "vanilla flavoring," that is a combination of real and fake vanilla extracts.

http://www.thevanillabeanblog.com/ <-- and="and" anilla="anilla" baking="baking" bean="bean" blog="blog" by="by" check="check" delightful="delightful" her="her" is="is" out="out" psst="psst" sarah.="sarah." strong="strong" sweet="sweet" the="the" truly="truly">

I always use vanilla extact in my cookies, cakes, and frostings. It adds a soft richness that you, and your taste testers, will notice. Don't over look it the next time you want to bake something delicious: vanilla bean pound cake, vanilla shortbread, vanilla cream cheese frosting, vanilla-chocolate sauce....

Happy Baking,
Kimm AKA Vanilla lover!

5 ways to use Halloween candy in your sweet treats!

Halloween is right around the corner! This means: a true excess in overly sweet candy at your finger tips. Instead of consuming all of the sweetness at once, try adding it to your next baked good to make it extra special and unique.

5 uses for Halloween candy:

1) Candy corn: Add it your next batch of rice krispie treats! Now, are you worried that it may be too sweet? Try adding chopped nuts for a salty-bite to it.

2) Halloween-colored M & M's: Add it to your next cookie recipe, like chocolate chips. My personal favorite? Double chocolate with coconut.

3) Tootsie Rolls: A nice, gooey center for your cupcakes! When you are baking cupcakes, fill the cupcake liner half way with cake batter, then add a small piece of tootsie roll, and finally more cake batter. The filling will be soft and sweet, very similar to a ganache filling.

4) Mini chocolate-candy bars: I love chopping them up in bite-size pieces and adding them to my brownie or blondie recipe. Be sure to save a few for the topping as an easy garnish.

5) Chocolate bars: Since Halloween means fall has arrived, I love making homemade hot cocoa with leftover chocolate bars! Warm your favorite milk of choice in a small saucepan, break up your chocolate bar into small pieces, add it to the warm milk, and stir. Enjoy!

And, what is the best solution for leftover candy: consume with a friend! (My #1 choice!)

Happy Halloween,
Kimm