The Art of Baking

I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen (rather than the studio) the past few days baking desserts in preparation for my adult children coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday. I put away my paints, palettes, and brushes in exchange for the mixmaster, cookie sheets, cake pans, and butter. My Grandma Esther would be proud, as I not only baked many of her family recipes but I also created a small cook book for my children, nieces, and nephews so that they each will have the opportunity to continue the legacy of what has become family favorite dessert recipes.

Below are crescent rolls that are filled with butter, cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. Once they are rolled they have to sit an hour before baking so that the yeast dough can rise a bit.

Fresh out of the oven.

Coffee cake, sour cream dough with a filling of brown sugar, white sugar, lemon and orange rind, walnuts, and raisins.

 Mandel bread, a buttery cookie with almonds and walnuts, very similar to biscotti.

Basic chocolate frosting, it goes well with anything and everything!

Chocolate buttermilk cake with frosting.

Banana cake with and without frosting.

Basic brownies sprinkled with powdered sugar.

My grandmother had 3 sons, my father was the oldest. I was the first born of her granddaughters and always felt a special bond with my grandmother. I have wonderful memories of family holiday dinners and in a way it felt as if I was channeling her with all of the baking I did this week and then by putting together her recipes for the kids. There is definitely an art of baking and cooking. On facebook today one of my cousins posted this comment after seeing some of these photos - "When grandma would make me scrambled eggs she would say 'a little paprika just for color'". My grandmother was an incredible artist in the kitchen, this post is in honor of her memory.

Grandma and me around 1965.