Chocolate Caramel Cake

I should be finishing tidying up the house right now because we have friends coming for the weekend in just an hour or so, but I wanted to share this recipe with you.  After all, I’m sure one of you needs to bake a cake this weekend and still hasn’t found the perfect recipe.  If so, look no further than this little blog post, especially if you are a sweet frosting kind of person! 
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Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

The hardest part about making these bars is waiting for the chocolate to set.  I put together a batch yesterday morning while I was still half asleep.  The chocolate didn’t have time to fully set by the time we left for my brother’s house for brunch, but luckily he and my sister-in-law never seem to mind if I need to borrow their knife and cutting board, especially when peanut butter and chocolate are involved. 
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Vanilla Pretzels

Happy 2013!  I hope this year started off well for you!  For the past few years I’ve made something pretzel-related to celebrate the New Year.  According to one of my grandmothers, pretzels bring good luck.  Who wouldn’t want more luck, especially if it is channeled through something tasty? 
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Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Because it’s never too late to put out cookies and milk for Santa...

Merry Christmas!
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Apricot-Ginger Slice and Bakes

How did this happen?  I let December 1st pass without mentioning the fact that it was the 2nd year anniversary of Anush Lini.  Luckily, it is never too late to celebrate, and today has a most auspicious date of 12-12-12.  First things first.  Thank you!  I love sharing with you, and I’m so honored that you spend a few minutes of your day reading my baking ramblings!  The butter count for the past year was a rotund 45.75 sticks.  Ok, ok, I know I shouldn’t be using that many significant figures, but there it is.  I’m going there.  That is just shy of 23 cups.  Good thing all of that butter wasn’t eaten all at once!
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Vanilla Bean Slice and Bakes

Hello!  I hope your week is off to an excellent start!  This weekend I managed to use 11 sticks of butter in just under 5 hours.  It might just be a personal record.  I plan on breaking it this Friday when I continue with my holiday baking on my day off.  This past weekend I didn’t just bake; we also went to a Grace Potter and the Nocturnals concert, saw the boys, and managed to squeeze in a nap.  The nap was very much needed.  When a 4 year old tells you that you need to get more rest because you misidentified a roller truck, napping becomes a priority.  Apparently my concert recovery is not the same as it used to be.  The concert was awesome, even if the woman standing next to me sang every single song off-key at the top of her lungs.  To her credit, it was clear that she was super excited to see the show and the fact that she knew all of the words and could sing and tweet at the same time was pretty impressive.
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Mounds Bar Cookies

Have you made your list and checked it twice?  Your cookie list, that is!  I hope your baking season is off to an excellent start!  All of this commercialization is taking away from the real focus of the holidays: baked goods!  I’ve been tinkering with my holiday cookie list since we first turned on our heat.  I think I finally have it squared away.  It is a carefully honed list of 14 super secret items.  Some are cookies.  Some are candies.  Some are just flavor ideas right now.  To get all 14 made, I’m going to have to make a plan and stick to it.  Luckily making the plan is half of the fun of holiday baking!  Raise your hand if you love making baking lists and timelines!  Ahem, I hope I am not the only one wildly waving my arm in the air.  Regardless, this is a great time of year because you get to bake so many great things and share them with so many wonderful people.  The world would be a better place if we had more baking-focused holidays!
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