Secret Baker – Season II. Better than before.

The Secret Bakers are back in the kitchen not that the weather has cooled and chocolate won’t melt in the mail. In case you missed it, the Secret Bakers are a bunch of bakers who bake and mail to a surprise recipient. We sign up each month A Baker is matched to a Bakee and of go the packages. Lots of fun because you never know who you will be receiving a delightful box of delicious goodies.

The Theme for October was Fall Flavors. And this is what went through the mail:

Tracey said: Margot sent me a wonderful package containing fig jam, speculaa cookies and chocolate shortbread from Miette (which was so good I ate it all before I remembered to snap a picture) 🙂

Jessie sent Jovonn some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins

Katy probably shared her “a wonderful pumpkin ginger cake from Lisa!” with her family

Kayte’s boys must have really liked what she got from Nina because…“OOPS…guys ate them before I took any pictures.”But I did find out Nina sent them Brownies and Pumpking Chocolate Chip Cookies. Sounds delicious. In turn she sent Bethie Dorie’s Mini Apple Bundts, Dorie’s Peanuttiest Blondies, and David Lebovitz’ Chocolate Almond Toffee. Sounds like a great box to get in the mail.

JoVonn sent Jessica Maple-Chocolate Chip Shortbread & Pumpkin Granola

It seems Whitney and Susan exchanged goodies. They got each other. But it definitely wasn’t a problem. Whitney sent Susan

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies.

As for me, I got some great cookies from Kelly. Sugar Pecan

And three was all I had left when it came to take pictures.

There are about 15 of us exchanging goodies each month. For November the There is BUNDTS!!1 If you want to join in the fun for December, just leave me a comment. Love to have ya!!

And, by the way, NaBloPoMo Day 8.

 

Secret Baker – Round III – Healthy Treats

It’s time for Round III of the Secret Bakers.If you want to know how the SB got started you can to HERE. I recapped December which was Christmas Cookies and Sarah (aka Blue Ridge Baker), who hosted Round I, has the November Round up HERE. If you haven’t participated in previous rounds and would like to join us, please email the following information to traceysculinaryadventures@gmail.com:

– Your name
– Your shipping address
– Your email address
– Your blog address (if applicable)
– Any food allergies, dietary restrictions, food aversions, etc…

If you have participated in the past and would like to join us this month too, just shoot Tracey (or Sarah or Me) a quick email to let us know. Tracey already has your information so no need to resend. The last day to sign-up for this round is January 12 (you will receive information about the person you’re baking for on January 13) and we will ship our packages on January 19. Thanks to Wendy of Pinkstripes for suggesting the theme for this round: Healthy Treats! Everyone seems ready to lighten things up this month and healthier recipes, even for desserts, abound so there are tons of possibilities (whole grains, whole wheat, reduced fat, reduced carb, fruit, less processed sugar, etc). We hope you’ll join us!

 

Secret Baker – Round II – Christmas Cookies.

A lot of us don’t get a chance to actually bake for other people (except for the holidays). Sure, we give goodies to friends, family, but we don’t often set out to bake for specific others – especially people we don’t know, and other Bakers at that. And that’s what Secret Baker is all about. Baking for other Bakers.
Round II was all about Christmas Cookies. There were 20 of us participating this time. Fun!!

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Here’s a picture of the Nut Balls that I (Di) received from Helga. They’re similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies, but with the addition of bourbon. Mmm. =)

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Wendy was in Fiji enjoying the Beautiful Blue seas and did not get a chance to bake, but she sent Sarah a great box of goodies which she can use to make other goodies including Vanilla, Vanilla Paste, etc.

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Kelly said, “My cookies were from Nina, over at Nina’s Cupcakes. She made Ginger Chocolate chip and Banana Chocolate Chip.“

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Susan – “My Secret Baker was Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen table. She sent me one dozen Lemon Sables, one dozen Orange Sables and one dozen Peppermint/chocolate bon-bons. She also enclosed a lovely Christmas card. The goodies were delicious and greatly appreciated!

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Lisa was excited – “She (Beth) sent Christmas invites, white chocolate bark from Trader’s, an ornament, biscotti.

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Katie said, “I received Maple Doodles and Salted Caramel Shortbread from Kelly Johnson, of Ashville, N.C.”

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JoVonn Givens sent Kara some delicious treats – chocolate chip pecan cookies, white chocolate craisin macadamia nut cookies, and sweet and spicy pecans. They were all delicious, especially the craisin cookies. 🙂

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And in return Jovonn recieived these cute gingerbread men and pinwheels. Yum!!My Secret Baker was Kara of the Lucky Wife. Happy Holidays!

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“Leslie from Lethally Delicious sent me {Wendy} 2 kinds of bar cookies: maple macadamia bars (love the tropical) & brown sugar shortbread ( love the flavor).”

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“I got these Cinnamon Bun Cookies from Whitney who blogs at Nosh and Tell” – Mary Ann.

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Says Kayte -“the goodies I received from Margot of Effort to Deliciousness. They are shortbread, toffee, and ginger cookies, all really really excellent! Margot is quite the baker! And extremely generous!”

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Here is the great package I received from Susan…Not only did she send me these yummies (biscotti! buckeyes!) but she also sent a photo DVD of Virginia. Gorgeous photos. So I’m thrilled if she’s my permanent Secret Baker. 🙂 Sorry, Leslie. We rotate EVERY month!!

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Oh, I hope Sarah took pics(they are on her blog) because over half her cookies have been devoured!! Spice Sables, Expresso Crinkles and Coconut Chocolate pinwheels. All fantastic!! I hope so too, Beth, because they sound delicious.

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Di sent Julie Caramel Snack Mix (the recipe is here) and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Julie says they ate everything before they had a chance to take pictures

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My Secret Baker recipient was Tracey. “Thanks so much – it all looks really fabulous, delicious and so festive!! Can you share what was in the box? I am sure I’ll be sampling several things tonight :)” Yes, I can – shortbread buttons, Southern Pralines, Choco/Mint Christmas Trees, and Eggnog Logs.

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Katie Patch sent me some great cookies. Shortbread, poppy seed tea cookies and Almond flavored tea cookies. All of it was delicious. I would have to say that shortbread is one of my favorite cookies and this one certainly filled the bill. Thanks, Katie.

There are two more bakers who got some great cookies, but I haven’t heard from. When I do , I will add them.

If you are looking forward to Round III, you can Sign up with Tracey for January.

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Margot’s baker was Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen Instead of redoing her conversation I am just going to link to her post about her goodies from Mare.

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Helga said, “Tracey sent me soft and chewy gingerbread, candy cane sugar cookies, and double chocolate coconut cookies.” And the pic is on the way.

 

Secret Baker – Round 2. Christmas Cookies!!

Howdy, Y’all. It’s TI-IME!! For Secret Baker that is. And the theme for this round is Christmas Cookies. If you want to join in the FUN all you have to do is contact ME, or SARAH of Blue Ridge Baker or TRACEY of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. The last round was so much fun. Everyone who participated got some great goodies and go to know their ‘partner’ better.

The last day to sign up is Monday, November 30 with Cookie Mail on Monday, December 7.

If you missed the first round you can read about it on Sarah’s Site. Come join the FUN!!

 

Secret Baker

As I wander around the blogsphere visiting Baker’s sites I am always noticing how much everyone enjoys seeing everyone else’s baked goodies. Often there are comments like, “Oh, I wish I could share that with you.” or “Let me have a bite.” We know it isn’t possible because most of us live far, far, far away to just pop in for coffee and a visit.

Well last nite on twitter Tracey, Sarah, and I came up with a solution to that problem. Kayte, when she caught up with the posts, said, “Wow, leave you 3 alone for an evening & you come up with all sorts of things 2 keep us busy!” And so we did. The Secret Baker. A new take on Secret Santa which is always fun. Here are the details:

Sarah at The Blue Ridge Baker will be hosting the first round. If you would like to get a surprise package in the mail (and send one in exchange, though not necessarily to the same person) email the following information to travelingteapot@hotmail.com :

– Your name
– Your shipping address
– Your email address
– Any food allergies, dietary restrictions, food aversions, etc…


The theme for the first round is – FALL!


The last day to join for round 1 is Monday, October 26th.

We will all ship out on Monday, November 2nd. It is important to ship out on this date so we can be sure the goodies will arrive before the weekend.

All of the bakees will be chosen at random, and you will be contacted via email on October 27th with the name, address and dietary details of the person you’ll be baking for.

Think of it as Christmas in November.

Happy Baking, y’all.