It took thirty-two hours and five sticks of butter (yes, you read that right), but these beautiful Pecan Sticky Buns are finally ready to devour.

I’ve made these before, via Dorie’s ‘Baking’, albeit with slight differences. Both recipes are time-consuming and incredibly loaded with calories, but the end result is gorgeous and something akin to perfection. Flaky layers of brioche enfold a sugary, cinnamon filling studded with chopped pecans. Drizzled on top is a caramelized brown sugar syrup, dotted with pecan halves. Truly special, these sticky buns make for a perfect breakfast when paired with a steaming cup of coffee, or even as a dessert table addition. They’re also appreciated when gifted to a certain sweet next-door neighbor.

Pecan Sticky Buns (pg. 190-192)
Source: Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Nicole of Cookies on Friday are our lovely hostesses this week. Click over to their blogs for the complete recipe and for a list of participating bakers, check the ‘Leave-Your-Link’ post on TWD:BWJ!

This is what happens when you just know deep-down in your heart, in the recesses of your mind, that you have a jar of olives in your pantry. You start the yeast, gather your dry ingredients and then notice that not only do you not have the olives you needed, but you don’t have anything remotely close to them lying around. That’s when you decide to go rogue on Dorie and create your own Fougasse.

Substituting the freshly-minced garlic of two cloves for those darn olives, I created a Provençal Garlic Fougasse. I’m sure the lovely people of Provence would be thrilled with it, too (not). Oh well… it turned out to be some of the best bread I’ve ever baked up. The yeast cooperated wonderfully and the lemon zest paired perfectly with the garlic. All in all, I’d say it was a win!

Click over to the FFwD ‘Leave-Your-Link’ post for a list of the Doristas who participated this week… with the proper ingredients, I’m sure!

#85 – Provençal Garlic Fougasse (pgs. 48-50)
Adapted from: Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

It seems like forever since I’ve last posted. Lately, I’ve been a little bogged down… not only physically, but emotionally, too.

After returning from vacation, I found that my desk at work resembled Expedition Everest. Add to that that we’re less than six months away from the wedding and we haven’t booked a location for the reception, which means that we’re still looking for catering, linens, tableware, lighting and entertainment, too. And those bridesmaid dresses? Yeah, right.

Since my resident brownie tester is away on business for the next two weeks, I needed a nice, big, chocolatey pick-me-up. And seeing how these brownies were good enough to make it into Ms. Joy’s debut cookbook, I figured they’d be good enough for me, too. This is the second time I’ve made them, they’re that yummy. I skip the frosting that’s included in the book version, though… gotta think about fitting into that dress!

Hooray for the upcoming weekend! Not only is it starting to feel like Summer around here, but Saturday is Cinco de Mayo… a day filled with yummy Mexican food, chips & salsa and (if you’re like me) lots of margaritas!

And just in time for those festive parties, I’m sharing below this great Mexican Pasta Salad. It’s a perfect picnic dish, as it takes just 10 minutes to prepare and can be ready 2 days ahead of time! Filled with good-for-you veggies, it’s a great no-guilt side dish… especially after a few slushy margaritas!

Live Sigma Kappa’s theme for May is a ‘Kickoff to Summer’! And since everything about this season screams tranquil blue waters and sandy beaches to me, I decided these ‘Caribbean Sand Bars’ were the perfect treat to share. Of course, being no where near a beach (or even the slightest blue waters), this is as close as I can get.

We did just return from Florida, though, so I guess that counts for now! Click over to ‘LSK’ to see my post or save the recipe below to your Ziplist Recipe Boxes and Shopping Lists!

Shredded coconut is not a friend of mine. It’s tropical scent sends me to my knees, but the texture completely turns me off. So, when this recipe rolled around, I knew that I’d be gifting these to a lucky little neighbor of mine.

Turns out, Momma G loves coconut. And I mean, she loves it… with a capital ‘L’. Remember that Italian Cream Cake I posted last September? That was her birthday dessert. So when she tasted these Coconut Friands, she jumped for joy and compared them to something like a macaroon. The batter for these is definitely an unconventional one for a ‘cookie’ (beginning with four egg whites, a lot of shredded coconut, a little sugar and a tablespoon of flour), but the result is just adorable… especially in the shape of tiny golden hearts.

#82 – Coconut Friands (pg. 456)
Source: Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

To see how the other Doristas’ friands fared, click over to the ‘Leave-Your-Link’ post for a list of blogs!

That vacation I mentioned in Tuesday’s post? It’s in the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’! And in honor of our upcoming trip to Disney World this weekend, I decided a Disney dessert would be most definitely appropriate, don’t you think?

C & I have dated for two and a half years, driven countless highways and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to see one another, but never have we flown together on the same plane. Hard to believe, but this is our very first vacation… albeit, our second Disney adventure. During one of my many trips out to California, C and I drove up to Anaheim and spent the day at Disneyland. I had been to Disney World countless times, but never to Disneyland. In fact, I was a part of Disney’s College Program, working as a Merchandise Hostess at Typhoon Lagoon in the Summer of 2002. One of the best times of my life… and most magical. I’m a bit excited to go back (for many reasons). Can you tell??

You must be wondering by now what ‘Hermit Cookies’ have to do with Disney World, right? Well, the sweet in question comes from the ‘Farmers Market’ inside The Land at EPCOT… and from one of the coolest cookbooks in my library, Cooking With Mickey, Vol. II. Since my travel partner isn’t a fan of raisins, I did change up the recipe a little, adding butterscotch chips instead. However, they’re so good, you’d never ever notice!

Disney… here we come!!

Simple, quick and beautiful. Three little words that come to mind when I think of this cake.

As I begin preparing for a week-long vacation (packing, cleaning, doing laundry, etc.), I don’t have the time I’d like to devote to baking. However, with this lemon loaf, it was easy! A handful of ingredients and a few minutes later, I had this gorgeous, bright yellow loaf cooling on the counter. Besides zesting, I also added the juice from all three lemons to the batter (on the advice of this week’s P&Q). It made for a moist and super-tart loaf… perfect for these hot Spring afternoons we’ve been having.

And the vacation? More on that later this week!

Lemon Loaf Cake (pgs. 252-253)
Source: Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Double-duty hostesses for the week are Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty of Life. Check out their blogs for the recipe! And, as always, for a list of this week’s bakers, click over to the ‘Leave-Your-Link’ post on TWD:BWJ!

No matter if you’ve followed the blog for a few months or for a few years, you’ve come to realize that C loves his brownies. It’s a constant request around the house. If I step one foot in the kitchen, I’m asked, “Are you making brownies?” Of course, with a request such as that, I tend to (weekly) scour cookbooks and blogs for different brownie recipes to try. I gotta keep up with what’s hot!

We have our favorites of course, but not one that stands out as an absolute. So, when I saw this one from sweet Susan, of Create Amazing Meals, I knew it was a must-try… especially since she’s been baking them up for over 25 years. You know they must be good!

Just look at that swirl!

Last Friday, I gave everyone eight chances to win a Seafood Prize Pack from Gorton’s, celebrating their ‘Fisherman’s Friday’ promotion. And now… it’s time to make three of my sweet readers happy! Using random.org, numbers 3, 37 & 10 were chosen as winners! Congratulations to Amy, Kelly and Gina… are you ready to get your fish on? I’ll be emailing you with more details, so keep an eye on your inboxes!

Thank you to everyone who entered! If you’re still craving fish, check out this great $1.00 off COUPON from Gorton’s! And don’t forget to enter Gorton’s ‘Fisherman’s Friday’ Giveaway!

Disclosure: By participating in a product review and giveaway with Gorton’s Seafood, I am being compensated with free product coupons. All photography & opinions are my own.