Petite treats has been a popular trend this year, and following suit an adorable new cookbook has been released called “Petite Treats” which features delicious, bite-sized, reduced-guilt sweets that are sure to charm family and friends at any gathering. This cookbook shows you how to miniaturize everything from tiny fruit scones and mini pies to bite-size brownies and cutesy cannoli. But be warned, you will need to borrow or purchase miniature pans for a few recipes (such as mini bundt cake and doughnut pans)

One of the recipes I wanted to make were called F. U. Brownies. With ginger nutmeg and cloves they sounded deserving of such a name. However, I decided not to make them for this review because in my mind, calling a batch of brownies “petite” only requires cutting the bars up smaller, which seams like cheating to me. Although not quite as annoying as when a recipe claims to be “light” by cutting down the portion size. However I may need to still make it, but I doubt I will be cutting it into small squares!

First I made the Frosted Apple Spice Muffins. Just like the description says they taste like hot spiced apple cider in muffin form. These were a big hit at a Christmas party I attended. Even though I picked recipes from this cookbook that applied to the current season, this cookbook has recipes fit for all year round.

Then I made Cranberry Orange Rolls. These cinnamon rolls were exceptionally adorable in petite form. And dangerous because you feel less guilty eating a few smaller ones than one regular sized. More petite cinnamon rolls may occur soon!

One year ago: Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Mix

Two years ago: Bacon and Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Beth Cook Publicity. I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I first moved to Memphis, I was a bit distraught over the fact that Panera had zero presence. But after a couple of years I got my wish and my favorite pick two combination for lunch was within reach. When I went there most recently, I realized it had been a little while since my last visit because I was pleasantly surprised with new choices.

As usual, I had trouble picking just one item so I chose the “You Pick 2″ combination option with the Low-Fat Vegetarian Garden Vegetable with Pesto soup with the Big Kid Grilled Cheese.

The soup is low-fat and vegetarian with diced tomatoes, sliced zucchini, yellow beans, fresh Swiss chard, cauliflower, bell peppers and pearled barley in a tomato broth with a dollop of nut-free basil pesto. Such a great combination of flavors, and so scrumptious that I would rather get it from them than try to recreate it (and ultimately fail) at home. I have to admit that I expected the pesto to be a visible dollop on top, but it must’ve been mixed in – not a big deal!

The second half of my “You Pick 2″ was their Big Kid Grilled Cheese with Gruyere, Vermont white cheddar, organic sliced American cheese and applewood- smoked bacon. I may make every grilled cheese from now on this way. On a normal day I would’ve paired this with their tomato soup, but I couldn’t resist the garden vegetable soup.

And while we’re talking about it, my lunch companion got their Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese, which is pure gooey deliciousness – the way mac and cheese should be. Also notice that yes, we ate outside because it was mid-December and in the high 60s.

What’s your favorite Panera Bread soup? Don’t have a favorite, then which would would you like to try? Find out more on Panera’s website.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my meal and for my time to write this post by the DailyBuzz Food Tastemakers program. However, this did not sway my personal thoughts and opinions on my experience at Panera.

What on earth is a “Breadhead”? It is a dedicated baker, someone who bakes often, who thinks and dreams about bread and is not afraid to experiment.  And in How to Be a Breadhead: A Beginner’s Guide to Baking, by Father Dominic (“The Bread Monk” of PBS television fame), you’ll learn more than just basic techniques—you’ll find out why yeast behaves the way it does, how to substitute different flours in a recipe, and how to take a simple dough and make it extraordinary for a special occasion. All in a friendly style of instruction, with helpful photos and illustrations. He also has a Bread Blog which can be found at www.breadmonk.com.

I have made yeast breads many times, but I would not consider myself an expert by any means. So while reading through the lessons prior to the actual recipes, I learned a few things I thought I should share:

• There is about a 5% difference between measuring cups for dry and liquid ingredients. I knew there was, but didn’t know exactly. When measuring out several cups of flour it adds up!
• You will use a little less flour in a recipe when using bread flour instead of all-purpose because it has a greater content of proteins.
• When doubling a recipe requiring yeast, you do not need to double the amount of yeast. One package of yeast (or 2-1/4 tsp) is enough for every 4 cups of flour.
• The gluten matrix formed during kneading is what helps bread hold its shape even when baked free-form.
• A traditional way to test for bread doneness is to thump the bottom after removing from the pan – if it sounds hollow it’s done.
• The best blades for slicing bread are not serrate but wavy. Add one to your wishlist!

Once I finished absorbing as much knowledge as I could, I set out to try some of the recipes. First I tried the Pull Apart Garlic Bread using the basic white dough. It was fun getting my fingers dirty (literally) by dipping these into a butter-herb mixture before allowing them to rise in the pan before baking. And they really did pull apart!

Then I got a little fancy with the basic sweet dough and made Butterfly Breakfast Rolls with Nutella. It was very must like making cinnamon rolls, except you cut them at alternating angles and squish them down on the smaller sides to make a butterfly image! I have to admit I also thought it kind of looked like a chameleon face! Rango anyone?

Definitely glad I have this cookbook in my collection. It is a great resource for yeast doughs and breads!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of How to Be a Breadhead from Reedy Press. I was not sompensated for this post. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

One year ago: Ron’s Chili
Two years ago: Oven-Fried Onion Rings

I am sure you all know by now that one of your favorite food bloggers, Jenna Weber of Eat, Live Run, has published her very own book called White Jacket Required. And it’s not just a cookbook, it’s a story about her decision to go to Culinary school after graduating from college and her experiences during and beyond school. While reading her book, certain parts I recalled from reading her blog, such as when she found her great grandmother’s recipes. It was great to have the bits and pieces I read from blog posts all wrapped up into a flowing story.

Through her struggles in Culinary school, love-life, family and an unexpected tragedy, I admire her honesty in her emotions. I have always been very wary of posting too much personal stuff on my blog, but she makes such a strong connection with her readers by doing so in her story. If you love a wonderfully heartfelt book and/or great food you really should pick this one up!

But my favorite thing about this book are the recipes that are included along with the stories at the end of each chapter. Especially when they are mentioned within the story. My life  seems to revolve around food so it seems completely natural to talk about food through life’s experiences. Now I want to make everything in her book, in addition to all of her delicious recipes posted on her blog.

From her book, I made the Golden Granola. With sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts, there was no way I was going to miss out of such an awesomely nutty granola. I eat it by the handfuls, to the point where I need to tell myself to put it away before I eat the entire stock of it. I’ve never liked any granola plain by itself before I met this one. But I do still enjoy it in some vanilla Greek yogurt.

Disclosure: I received a copy of White Jacket Required from FSB Associates. I was not compensated for this post. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

One year ago: Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Bacon and Apple

This cute cookbook by Leila Lindholm called Hello Cupcake offers 45 recipes of delectable cupcakes such as: Sweet Potato, Rock Road, French Meringue, Nutty Pistachio, Nutella, Miss Piggy, Classic and much more. Plus it goes beyond the cuteness of cupcakes with recipes for Lemon Meringue, Double Chocolate and Bling whoopie pies!

The nutty pistachio cupcakes were the first I had to try. Even though I have been meaning to for a long time, this was the first time I’ve ever baked with pistachios. And true to being a novice, I went ahead and shelled all my own pistachios. Holy crapolla is all I have to say. I didn’t realize how many I would have to crack open to get what I needed for these cupcakes! Guess I should’ve splurged on the pre-shelled ones after all. But my effort was well worth it because these cupcakes were perfectly nutty and paired well with a Nutella frosting. The only problem I had was that the ingredient list for the cupcake batter was missing vanilla. It is indicated in the directions to add but no amount given! Thankfully it is an ingredient that can be improvised.

Then I decided to talk a walk on the fruity side and made the blueberry lemon cupcakes with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I’ve always loved cream cheese frosting, but this one was incredibly easy (just melted chocolate mixed with cream cheese) and delicious! I found myself eating the leftover frosting by itself which doesn’t happen often. Usually I need a cupcake/cookie vehicle for my frosting. Oh yea, and the cupcakes were good too .

I would definitely recommend this cookbook if you do not have a good cupcake cookbook already. But be warned, you will need a food scale and liquid measuring cups in order to make these. I find myself using my scale more and more these days when I used to improvise a lot before. Not a bad thing though!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Hello Cupcake from New Holland Publishers. I was not compensated for this post. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

One year ago: Butternut Squash Soup