17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

The only chocolate-containing component in my holiday baked goods assortment, 17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are honestly pretty good any time of year. So if you’re reading this at some other time of year besides Christmas Eve, don’t feel like you can’t make these.

I found a way to mess these up as well (seems like this year I had a hard time with some things that should have been really easy), but I’ve made them before previously to this, and both times (then and now) they’re still definitely very edible and good.


Read more

17-52: Apricot Macaroons

17-52: Apricot Macaroons

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.


Read more

17-61: Vanilla Chip Cookies

17-61: Vanilla Chip Cookies

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.


Read more

17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread

17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread

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. 🍊


Read more

17-37: Holiday Cookies

17-37: Holiday Cookies

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.


Read more

17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

17-68: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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.


Read more

17-46: Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

17-46: Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

🎃  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. 🍂


Read more

4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes

4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes

4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes is the third of my recent 3-recipes-at-1-time attempt–the others being 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter and 7-55: Sunday Pork Stew.

I think I’ve made these before, despite the lack of notations. These were really easy and pretty good–very mild yet still flavorful.


Read more

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew was part of a recent 3-recipes-at-1-time attempt, which also included 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter and 4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes.

I had originally intended to make a different pork recipe, but when faced with an unexpected ingredient shortage (someone used my mushrooms), I rolled with it and dug out another pork recipe for which I had ingredients on hand. This would have been better with pasta or rice, as suggested on the card, but dinner is dinner when you’re hungry.


Read more

4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter

4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter

This recipe, 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter along with 7-55: Sunday Pork Stew and 4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes were my first attempt at trying to do 3 of these entry recipes at once. It ended up being harder to do than I thought.

One I’ve made before, about 6 years ago along with 6-40: Peppercorn Chicken Breasts and some other ones. I really like this technique/flavor profile–I use it a lot, even when I’m not documenting it for the Internet.


Read more