Good Cakes Bake Shop

This weeks’ lesson is that not all flours are equal just because they are called the same. It’s not that I didn’t already know it, but I didn’t think it would be quite as bad.

So my advice to anyone wondering if saving some money is worth it is this: If you have identified a brand you like that gives you the result you are looking for, stick with it even if it’s more expensive. There is most likely a reason for the added cost.

Now to decide what to do with 40 pounds of dark rye flour, short of tossing it.

We just finished performing Mary Poppins at my daughter’s school, which made me think of making letter cookies. I usually do not use food coloring, but in this case it seemed appropriate. I opted for Watkins All Natural Food Color, which uses vegetables and spices for coloring. This is my first attempt ever using food color. I’ll never be a super super cookie decorator, but this was fun and the cookies are quite tasty. Now to get the song out of my head…

It’s been a cookie marathon the last four days, but I’m ready to call the first round done. This will take care of some orders and gifts.

The Schokladienchen were a challenge this year. I made them the first time last year and everything worked like a charm. It took me four tries to get the egg from not curdling and the solution was essentially to forget about the temperature instructions and to just follow my gut. I guess that’s what I did last year? It was pure stubbornness that I didn’t stop trying after the second batch ended in the trash.