Outside of the recipes I post, I do a lot of other baking, whether I’m trying a new recipe, taking something to Bible study, or just making something sweet to enjoy. This is a recap of everything I baked (and other treats that didn’t require baking) in the month of April. If you’re interested in recipes for items not already posted in the blog, leave me a message. I’d be glad to post it for you!
1. Easter Cookie Cake
I have made this cookie cake recipe numerous times and it always turns out great! It’s really a go-to when I need something that can serve a lot of people, but takes minimal effort. The buttercream piping doesn’t have to be fancy; I just wanted to do something more fun for Easter. I’m still working on those skills, but I was really happy with how this turned out.
2. Fluffy Biscuits
If you missed it, the recipe for these biscuits is in this post. They are super quick and easy to make, and they taste great, just like the ones my grandpa used to make growing up. I’ll admit that for ease, I previously have bought canned biscuits when I wanted to have them with a meal, but after making these the few times that I have, I will definitely be making my own from now on!
3. Gluten & Dairy Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
I made these cookies to take to one of our Bible study nights this month. We always have a potluck style meal, and I often bring dessert (go figure!). Due to some food allergies, I’ve had to play around some with gluten and dairy free baking, which can be a challenge for me. However, it has been a good opportunity to learn. I did have some frustrations with these cookie related to the baking time on the recipe, but I adjusted what I needed to and they turned out really good. These were very rich with a brownie-like texture in the middle – definitely a crowd pleaser!
4. Zucchini Bread
This zucchini bread is another one of my grandpa’s recipes. I shared it here. I have always made banana bread as my go-to quick bread, but I was surprised again by how much I enjoy having this bread as well. I had a little trouble with it sticking to the bottom of my loaf pans, so I’ll need to figure out what I can do to prevent that in the future.
5. Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Buttercream
I made these cupcakes for a bake off at my church and they turned out SO good. Sadly, I did not win, but I was still super proud of this bake. I have done swirled icing before, but this was the first time I have used a 1M piping tip to do a rosette on a cupcake. I thought they turned out really good for my first time, and I’m excited to keep improving that skill. Recipe for the cupcakes here and how to and recipes for the frosting here.
6. Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies with Reese’s Pieces®
These cookies were fantastic! I was originally going to do a peanut butter cookie with the peanut butter chips and Reese’s Pieces®, but I asked my husband what his preference would be and he said he wanted chocolate cookies with the peanut butter inclusions. I’m so glad he suggested that because the chocolate helped balance out the peanut butter so nicely. These are excellent cookies to have with a glass of milk! Recipe and full review here.
7. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Fudge Ripple
I recently got an ice cream maker, so I have been trying that out. This is only the second time I’ve made it. When I planned it out, I was originally going to make a cookies and cream flavor, but we ate all the cookies before I got around to making the ice cream. This combo came up from a mix of ingredients I already had from other bakes this month. It turned out pretty good, though I think I could have added more peanut butter to the ice cream base. Ice cream recipes to come later this summer 😉
8. Strawberry Jam
This is another one of the recipes I posted this month – you can find it here. My grandma taught me how to make this jam many years ago, and it was nice to make it again and relearn how to water bath can it. I’ll definitely be water bath canning again when I make apple butter this fall. For now, I will be enjoying this delicious jam as well as gifting a few jars.
9. Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are just simple chocolate chip cookies I made to take to Bible study. I had planned to only make the jelly roll that’s pictured below, but thought the kids might like cookies. I only took 11 cookies because I, of course, had to try one – delicious! I really like this recipe because it can be made in one bowl without the mixer and it only makes a dozen cookies. That makes it perfect for making the dough and trying different inclusion combinations.
10. Strawberry Jelly Roll
As I said, I made this jelly roll to take to Bible study, and I’ll give you one chance to guess what strawberry jam I used for the filling. The flavor of it was really good, but I felt the sponge was a little dry. I believe I baked it too long, so I would love to try this again to see if I can get the cake right.
11. Artisan Bread
Not a dessert, but bread is one of the things I bake most often. This is just a regular, white, artisan loaf. I dabbled a little with sourdough, but have decided to put learning that on hold for now while I have other more important projects and responsibilities. The recipe I use for this loaf is really easy and doesn’t require kneading, which is just what I “knead” in a bread recipe.
12. Banana Nut Muffins
Due to my perpetual issue of bananas that don’t get eaten quickly enough, I had a few that needed to be used. I would normally make some bread, but decided to do something a little different and make muffins. These turned out fine, and were super moist, but I was not crazy about them. Next time, I’ll probably just make the bread.
13. Butterscotch Chip Cookies
My mom, sister, and aunt came over to my house, and I didn’t have a sweet treat for us to snack on (shocking, I know!), so I whipped these cookies up. I used the same cookie recipe as the chocolate chip ones, but swapped out the chocolate chips for butterscotch. They were so good! That cookie recipe will be a regular for me because it’s quick, easy, and delicious.
14. Turtle Cheesecake
The last recipe I posted for April was this turtle cheesecake (find it here). Inspired by the first cheesecake I called my favorite, this was both delicious and nostalgic. I had a little frustration with the water bath, but everything turned out just fine, and I’m looking forward to trying out some other flavors.
15. Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
I wanted to surprise my sister at work for her birthday, so I took her some flowers, a diet Coke, and these cookies. They are just a simple sugar cookie with sprinkles added in. They were super delicious and festive! This is definitely a recipe I’ll be making in the future.
If you made it this far, thanks for reviewing all of the things I baked this month. It was way more than I intended, but I’m so thankful I get to spend time doing something I love. If you saw something here I don’t have a recipe posted for, leave a comment and I’ll get it to you so that you can try it out. I’ve got another heavy month of baking in May with two different birthdays and a family reunion, so keep a look out for the next recap to see what I decide to make ☺️
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