Baking Day

I decided that today I'm going to join in the baking day that Money Saving Mom is sponsoring. She is going to be doing updates and tweeting about her progress using the Twitter hash tag #bakingday. I'm going to be doing the same. I'll share some pictures here on my blog of the finished product(s).

When the weather gets cooler, I love to bake. I decided that I'm going to try and make a pound cake using Paula Deen's recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/mamas-pound-cake-recipe/index.html I want to make this because it is a good recipe to freeze, per Paula, and I thought it would be nice to have something to put in the freezer with the holidays coming up. I'm hopeful that I'll also get a chance to make some pumpkin bread. I love making pumpkin bread in mini loaves. Of course they don't last long. But they look so cute. My favorite thing to do is add golden raisins, pecans and coconut. It really jazzes up the pumpkin bread.

Wish me luck on the baking. Sawyer wasn't feeling well yesterday, so we are keeping our fingers crossed we will have a good day. He hasn't been sleeping well at all at night. We are in a bad phase with that right now. I think he is getting worn out with not sleeping. And it is wearing us out too.

Hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!

Fabulous Favorite Friday Pick

My Fabulous Favorite Friday pick this week is a Paula Deen recipe that I made last week for our last MOPS meeting. I've made a few different Paula Deen recipes and so far I've had very good luck with them.



This is a great recipe to do when you want something that looks fancy for breakfast. I'm going to try to make it this Memorial Day weekend as a special treat for us. Of course this would be great for when you have company, a holiday, or for a brunch.

Enjoy!

Nutty Orange Coffee Cake

3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 2 teaspoons orange zest 2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count) 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, pecans, and zest; set aside. Separate the biscuits. Place about 3/4 teaspoon cream cheese in the center of each biscuit. Fold each biscuit in half over the cheese, pressing the edges to seal. Dip the biscuits in melted butter, then dredge in the granulated sugar mixture. Place the biscuits, curved-side down, in a single layer in the hollows of a lightly greased 12-cup bundt pan, spacing them evenly (do not stack). Place any remaining biscuits around the tube, filling any gaps. Drizzle any remaining butter over the biscuits, and sprinkle with any remaining sugar mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Immediately invert the cake onto a serving platter. Combine the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, stirring well; drizzle the glaze over the warm cake. Serve warm.


*NOTE: When Paula Deen demo'd this recipe, she said to let the cake cool a few minutes (maybe 5) that way when you do the drizzle it won't completely melt into the cake. As you can see from my pictures, I did that and my drizzle was still visible.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. And let's all remember and keep in our hearts the reason why we celebrate Memorial Day.