Jolene's Recipe Journal

Each January I make a list of recipes or techniques I'd like to master and a great source of information is Nielsen Massey's Better Your Bake .  I've used their tips previously in some of our favorite dishes, Honey Vanilla Pancakes (Tip #1: How to separate eggs & whisk), Brown Butter Chocolate Snickerdoodles (Tip #2: How to brown butter), and Mini Chocolate Eclairs with Vanilla Pastry Cream (Tip #4: How to fill a pastry bag). Disclaimer:  I received product from Nielsen-Massey to use in creation of this post.  This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.  I earn a small commission at no cost to you with the purchase of the product. All opinions are my own. One of the items on this year's list is madeleines.  I've seen them on several cooking competition shows and they have always intrigued me.  There is nothing worse than following all the steps of a recipe and then when you go to turn the item out of the pan, nothing happens.  Proper pan preparation is

I hope that you've enjoyed Spring Sweets Week as much as I have!  I've found so many new things that I can't wait to try, my fellow bloggers are so creative. For my last recipe, I'm sharing a spin on a quick bread that I found in my Gram's recipe box. Hers used blueberries, but I swapped those out for some strawberries and rhubarb. This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. If you can't get fresh strawberries or rhubarb, frozen is fine. I put in some rhubarb plants last year and was lucky to have frozen some in 1 cup portions, it's hard to find here this time of year.  I like to toss add ins for quick breads, muffins, and cakes with a little flour to keep it from sinking to the bottom, something that my Gram taught me to do. I sprinkle the top with a bit of raw sugar before baking, I just love th

I hope you've been enjoying Spring Sweets Week as much as I have.  I'm constantly amazed by the awesome, creative recipes my fellow bloggers come up with! For me, some ideas pop straight into my head right away, and this dessert was one of those.  

  One of the first cookies I can remember eating is a pizzelle, and I'm still a huge fan today.  Even though you need a special iron to make them, the rest of it is really so simple. This time around I took the basic pizzelle recipe and instead of vanilla or anise, I used Adams lemon extract. I also used some of their yellow food coloring to distinguish them from my regular pizzelle.

I've talked often about our family gatherings and all of the great food I remember from growing up. It seems like I have a much clearer memory of the desserts more than anything else.  I remember a larger, puffy cookie that was almost crumbly in texture, shaped like crosses or Easter eggs, covered with a glaze and sprinkles.   This post is sponsored in conjunction with SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone. For many years I've been trying to get the recipe for these cookies, and was given the run around, or pointed towards recipes on the web that were nothing like what I remembered. I was flipping through my mom's recipe box and there it was, stuck to another card.  Auntie Ann's Famous Italian Cookies.  I couldn't believe it! Knowing that she may not have been given the complete or even correct recipe since she was an "outsider,&qu