Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods – Page 13 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

This recipe is another Simply Delicious “take” on something that already largely exists in a slightly different form. These aren’t really these kind of macaroons (the Passover kind). They’re not these kind of macarons (the French kind) either.

17-52: Apricot Macaroons were part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

Mine were a horror show compared to the picture on the card–I blame poor tools (my pastry bag blew its side out early on, rendering it useless and me bagless) even though any chef knows that’s a cop-out. I also blame exhaustion–these were the last ones I made of all of the recipes.

I had high hopes for these. They sounded great. And to be honest, it still might have been my fault these went badly. 17-61: Vanilla Chip Cookies were part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

Maybe I overworked them. Maybe my dough was too warm. Maybe it was my oven or my pans. Something just didn’t work out here. After the jump, I’ll show you what happened.

I’ve made quick bread from Simply Delicious before (17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread) and it turned out well–this recipe is no exception. 17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread is part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

I chose to include this recipe in my holiday gifts this year because I wanted to include some different textures, flavors, and shapes, as well as reflecting the abundance of citrus fruit during winter in California. 🍊

Hopefully I haven’t caught you too late for this year’s batch of holiday baking. If so, keep this one around for next year–17-37: Holiday Cookies is a great butter cookie recipe for using cutters or presses. This is part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

I got a new cookie press for Christmas last year, and finally got to test it out this year. This cookie press is AWESOME–so much easier than the old stubborn buggers from the past.

Another recipe that I intended to cover earlier (when it was more relevant). Whatever, you can totally still eat 17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins in mid-to-late November.

The recipe card says “not-too-sweet”…they’re not kidding. These are good, but only if you have some preserves or butter to go along with it. On their own, they’re a bit…dry.

Not every recipe is going to be avant-garde. 17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies aren’t treading any new territory here, but that’s not always necessary. Sometimes, just doing a nice version of a classic is just as good, if not better.

Anytime’s a good time of year for these, but why not give them a go the next time you find yourself with some unexpected raisins or oatmeal. Hey, it happens.

🎃 I started this one over a month ago, when it would have still been relevant/timely, but procrastination got the best of me. Late, but hopefully not too late, here’s 17-46: Pumpkin Streusel Muffins.

If you’re not totally over pumpkin yet, these are a nice option for breakfast or dessert.

I made these along with 17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins and 17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as part of a “fall” baked goods basket for the break room. These muffins were the first of the assortment to disappear. 🍂

17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread tastes delicious, but took forever to end up making, since I never seemed to have bananas, dates, and coconut all at the same time. 🌴

If you like banana bread, this is a really good take on that. Plus, 3 palms instead of 1! Such a deal! 👍

I don’t know about you, but my grandma is not much of a baker. Or a cook. In fact, if it can’t be cooked in a microwave, she’s really not that interested. However, someone at Simply Delicious must have had a grandma who liked to bake, since they included 17-36: Grandma’s Spice Cake.

I suppose they called it Grandma’s Spice Cake because it’s “old-fashioned”. Regardless of if an actual grandma baked/created this, it’s actually pretty good.

It’s feeling a bit unbalanced around here–we need more from the back of the book. Here’s one from a brand new group: Pies & Cakes. Just in time for the cooler weather, we have 16-47: Orange-Almond Pie.

This came out really well: it tasted great, and you can make it in a toaster oven!