i'd rather be baking

Ryan has a thing for blueberry muffins. You may recall the muffin extravaganza of 2009, which included quite possibly the world’s most perfect blueberry muffins. I wanted to make some for him, and I really should have stuck with the recipe I already knew and loved. But you know me, I can’t leave well enough alone.

My Google Reader is pretty much equally divided between ridiculous food and super healthy blogs, which is a pretty accurate representation of, well, me. The moral of the story is that we can’t all eat butter laden, crumb-topped morsels of deliciousness every morning. We have skinny jeans to wear and races to run. You understand.

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After the said lovely family visit, I got up at the crack of dawn to decorate a zillion cupcakes at the bakery, and then passed out in a glorious nap. It was much needed. And then I woke up hungry for this granola from Peas and Thank You. I mean, really: it was the first thought on my mind when I woke up.

However, I didn’t have cherries or almonds. But I did have cranberries and pistachios, which just happens to be the best and prettiest granola I’ve made yet. And I like to make do. That’s just how my momma raised me.

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Hi friends! We just returned from a lovely long weekend at home, where we watched my “little” sister graduate from high school. Time flies when you’re having fun, or something like that.

But before we left, I baked some ridiculous cookies. I found this dark chocolate bark with cherries and hazelnuts at Whole Foods, and I really couldn’t leave it there. It was calling me. So I chopped it up and made cookies.

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Early this week I had a brilliant idea for lightening my favorite brownie recipe. I was fairly convinced that a healthier brownie couldn’t be this easy and still taste good, but somehow, it was. I then proceeded to badly strain a muscle in my back and felt extremely grateful to have this snack/dessert/breakfast on hand without having to bake again for a few days. Because I certainly can’t last without goodies in the house. Heaven forbid.

I baked them in cupcake papers, intending for Ryan to take them to work as usual, but these are too good, and so much healthier than the original recipe that I just had to keep them. I froze a few and have happily nibbled on the rest all week.

And the great thing about these cupcake-sized brownies is that they’re already portioned out. And guess what? I cut the butter involved by nearly two-thirds and they’re still rich, delicious, and pretty indulgent-tasting. Can a girl ask for much more than that? I think not.

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One thing I’m loving about Utah is the abundance of cheap, beautiful produce. Recently this has meant apples (especially my favorite, Granny Smiths!) at prices I haven’t seen since last October. I’m not sure what the cause of this bounty is, but I’m not complaining.

I know what you must be thinking: it’s March, nearly April. Who cares about apples right now? And don’t we all have bathing suits to fit into soon, anyhow? Let me tell you: you need this bread.

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