Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Until we meet again (soon!)


I posted at the end of last week that I've been blogging for four years now.  I wasn't entirely sure how to begin.  I started by just posting some of our favorites, and assorted things that I decided to make.  So not that much different from what I do now. =)  That got me through the first month or so.  Then I decided to be brave.  After reading this post from Peabody, I decided to join a fairly new baking group called Tuesdays with Dorie.  At the time I thought I was crazy, but it's one of the best things I ever did. I've learned to bake lots of amazing things, and made some fantastic friends.  


In the beginning, I participated almost every week.  Over time, other things (work & family being two of the biggest) claimed more of my time than they used to, though I still tried to keep up.  For the past couple months, I've still been baking a lot of the time, but haven't always had the time or felt the inspiration to write.  And now, after four years, we've come to the end of the book.  Don't worry, you'll continue to see Dorie recipes here on my blog, since there are some that I haven't posted that I want to.  Not to mention the fact that Dorie has written other books.  But more about that in a bit.  
  

I was looking through some of my earliest blog posts and was amazed to see how much my girls have grown.  When I started all this, Brianna was about the age that Gillian is now.  Wow.  After getting a new baking book for Christmas, Brianna made us breakfast (mini corn muffins) on Monday pretty much all by herself.  I have to say, it's quite a change to be just a coach when you're used to being the baker.  I promised Gillian that she could help me with the TWD recipe, fittingly the Kids' Thumbprints.  She helped me measure things on the scale and add them to the mixing bowl.  When the dough was done, she helped me shape it into balls and did most of the thumbprints.  Her only complaint was that she doesn't really like peanut butter. =)


We mostly followed the recipe as written.  I did chill the dough for a bit after it was made, since it seemed kind of soft.  To make sure the dough balls were all the same size, I used my #70 disher to portion the dough, which we then rolled between our hands to form smooth balls.  We filled most of the cookies with a couple big chocolate chips, but left a few empty to be filled with raspberry jam after baking.  A handful of cookies ended up with both when I discovered that I had a little jam left over.  The size of cookies we made took 14 minutes to bake.  We did skip the chopped nuts on the outside of the cookies; I knew there was no way the girls would even consider eating them that way.


The verdict?  Well like I said, G doesn't like peanut butter, so she isn't a huge fan of the cookies.  B thought that they were okay, but nothing great.  Fortunately, Jamie liked them a lot.  And I'm sure I'll be able to find a home for any extra cookies.  I was surprised to find that I preferred the jam ones.  I think it's because the chips didn't melt to fill the thumbprints (which makes sense, in retrospect).  If I make these again, I'll used chopped chocolate instead of chips, or just fill the holes with ganache after baking.

If you'd like to try the recipe, you can find it in Baking From My Home to Yours, of course.  For this final week of this incarnation of TWD, Dorie herself is our host and will have the recipe up as well.  If you're not currently a member of Tuesdays with Dorie, membership in the group will be opening up again very soon.  The next book will be Baking with Julia.  I've had a copy of the book for a long time, but haven't really baked from it.  I'm hoping that this will be the push I need to pull it off the shelf.  

I'm sure there will be lots of participants this week, so be sure to check out all the Links!


23 comments:

  1. I thought about skipping the chopped peanuts but wanted to make the recipe as written this week. It's so sweet to have watched the girls grow up and start baking themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your girls are adorable and the cookies are pretty cute also. 4 years is a long time; some things are the same but others, like your girls, are very different! TWD has taught us a lot, about baking and life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, what a sweet time and bond you have formed in your kitchen with your girls. A memory, I assure you they will treasure all their lives. I sense another blogger in your future. :") I loved reading your post, Di.
    AmyRuth

    Congratulations

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great post Di! I feel the same sentiments as you. TWD has been a great group to be a part of. I will be late making these cookies as my family just left. I need a nap first. HA. They look good. Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Di, your girls are too cute. My own 3 girls grew up, as well as my 3 boys, now I'm baking with grandchildren. It's wondrful.
    I've met so many wonderful bakers here. Thank you.
    Have a Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's been a fun group! Im glad you were a part of it! Your girls are adorable..It looks like they enjoy being in the kitchen!
    Love your cookies!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love having help in the kitchen from my kiddos. Your girls look like they are having fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So happy you just jumped in and started baking and blogging and adding so much fun to my weeks...where would we be without Twitter?!!! It's been really nice baking with you all these years and thanks for all the encouragement to "just get it done" when I dragged my feet on chocolate weeks. You chocolate lovers are all alike...lol. Your cookies look great. I think your sous chefs are gorgeous and beautiful, I can't believe what a difference 4 years makes in their growing up...wow. Nice photo of you and the book...oh, so cute! xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you so much for joining and baking along all this time. Its been such a pleasure getting to know you through your posts and twitter. I so hope you will join us for the next round. Much love Di.

    ReplyDelete
  10. hah!I skipped the chopped nut because I forgot to buy them. Isn't amazing how much our kids have grown and changed in the last four years? My daughter has also started baking by herself! Crazy. I am glad I got to bake along with you and I am looking forward to February! :) Your cookies look great! Bummer that they weren't loved.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your girls are lovely and your cookies look delicious! My, how we've all grown!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gorgeous cookies Di, no nuts here either (though probably no surprise there) :) I've loved baking along with you over the years, especially when we have the chance to do it together over Twitter more recently! Your girls are so sweet, I die over the cuteness of G in that apron. I'm not going to bake through the next book, but I'm sure I'll be following along (through your blogs and your tweets)!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It has been a great, wonderful, tasty ride these last 3.5 years. Cannot believe how much we have learned from Dorie. And from each other. Twitterbakes/cooks were so much fun. Thanks for all the non-TWD recipes!!

    Your girls are so adorable and growing so fast.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yum! So happy to have been able to bake alongside you. Looking forward to our next adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Aww, Gillian is adorable - and she has made some fine looking thumbprints. Glad to have been part of this group. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Di - these look like "thumbprints" ... I love. Not coated with nuts... although they were good! What perfect thumbs to use for the cookies! Looks like they had fun - which is the most important part! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ciao DI ! Your girls are great ! I cannot wait to bake again with you ! Baci and Happy new year !

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh it's been so fun baking with you! I love the pictures of your girls baking, too!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm excited for the new book, and glad you will be baking along!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Isn't it wonderful to have a journal of not only your kids growing up, but also some of the dishes you have prepared together?! How fabulous! Your cookies look so pretty and a perfect recipe to make with your girls. I hope you and your family have a wonderful New Year, Di, and I wish your many blessings in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love those pictures of the girls in the kitchen. Sharing my love of baking with my daughter has been one of the great rewards of the TWD enterprise for me. But selfishly, I like baking alone too!

    Have a wonderful new year and I look forward to baking along with you and Julia in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  22. What an adorable pair of sous chefs you have! :D
    I had some issues with the chocolate chips too (I just crammed in a few more as soon as the pan was pulled from the oven.)
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  23. you have the makings of 2 new chefs!
    I Love peanut butter cookies, and love to see kids cooking in the kitchen!

    ReplyDelete