Baking My Way Through Quarantine

Hello! I hope you’re all doing well. Like much of the world, I’ve been locked away for the past ten weeks. You may think it’s a writer's dream, but the truth is the words have been scarce. Instead, I’ve been reviewing and revising my two most recent manuscripts, Daisy Deely and Backyard Boys, and I'm excited to announce that Backyard Boys is now officially titled THE BACKYARD SECRETS OF DANNY WEXLER and will be coming out next summer.

Also, I’ve been baking. Oh, have I been baking.

It started with my one old standby - really my one and only - banana muffins. But after a few batches, I realized one really can get sick of them. Who knew? So I moved on. Below are some of my quarantine culinary creations. I call them “Corona Comfort Food.” Before you get too impressed, know that for every recipe I googled, there was an easy version and a complicated version. I always opted for the easy version. Also, I’m happy to share where I found these recipes. You can find links to them by clicking on the photos. 

Jewish Apple Cake

Lemon Pound Cake

Oatmeal Cookies

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffeecake

Scones

Banana Breakfast Bars

One other thing to note: I inadvertently added an extra stick of butter to the scones (oops) but I had it on British authority that while they didn’t taste like authentic scones, they were still really good. I mean, they did have twice the amount of butter so...

Other recipe notes.. for the lemon cake, I skipped the glaze and opted for powder sugar, and for the banana breakfast bars, I passed on the peanut butter drizzle and added chocolate chips instead because chocolate. FYI, for those interested, my banana muffin recipe is from my tried and true Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. You know the one your mother had with the red and white checkerboard cover? This mom has it too.

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy. Happy baking!
Xo,
Karen