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 series.  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).

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.

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.

  March is Maple Month here in NH.  We love getting out to the sugar house and picking up a gallon of syrup and some other maple goodies.