Caramel Apple Bars

If you know me at all you know that I love fall. I get a little too excited about going to the pumpkin patch, eating everything pumpkin I can find (has anyone tried Trader Joe's pumpkin cream cheese?!), stepping in as many leaf piles as I can, and coming up with new ways to use the delicious apples that grow so well in Oregon.

This fall I was the lucky recipient of a Groupon for 10 lbs of apples from a local farm from my dad. I have used the apples to make dehydrated apple rings, applesauce, apple fruit rolls, and pumpkin apple crumb bread. Its been a few weeks and I still had a few of the beautiful granny smith apples left so I decided to try a new recipe.

I absolutely adore apple crisp but I wanted to make something that I could share with friends and family and that didn't need to be eaten right our of the oven. In my search for recipes I came across this recipe for caramel apple bars. It is like a apple crisp, but in bar form. With caramel! GENIUS!

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Hello! Yes, the muffin girl is still alive! I just had a busy month of moving related activities, but I am happy to report that I am all moved in to a lovely 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment with one of my best friends. The apartment complex is very nice, and I love our open kitchen floor plan. I can picture myself baking many wonderful treats there! (Not that I have done much of that yet...).

But I do have a treat that I made about a month ago that I would love to share with you. You may or may not know about my obsession with lavender, but if you do not, than all you need to know is I love eating lavender and experimenting with it in in cooking and baking.

When visiting the Oregon Lavender festival this year I was introduced to Lavender Lemon Shortbread. Oh my! And of course I instantly fell in love.

Orange Almond Blueberry Muffins

Hello! You've found me! After posting to The Fox Foodie blog for over a year I knew it was time for a change. I don't think I was looking much into the future when I created it, as I never thought of what I would do once I graduated from George Fox University and it was no longer as appropriate to call myself the Fox Foodie. 

Although as an alum I could still refer to myself with such a name, but I feel times are a changin' and so must this blog. I am now--as my friends would call me--a "real adult". I am no longer a college student, and am trying to make this blog reflect that (besides I needed to redeem myself after neglecting The Fox Foodie since February!).

How did I become "The Muffin Girl" you might ask? Well, besides being a cute and catchy name, if I had to pick one thing I enjoy cooking or baking the most I would have to say muffins! Muffins are the slightly healthier cousin of the cupcake (and if you know me at all you will know I have a slight obsession with cupcakes), and can be eaten for breakfast without too much guilt!

Banana Crumb Muffins

My idea of a perfect afternoon is one where I don't have class, and have some free time without any of that pressing homework that has to be done now or never. On these afternoons I like to bake. 

I make sure my apartment is perfect and clean, the animals are all happy, candles are lit, and pandora is playing some version of a love song. 

Once everything is beautiful and perfect I begin. I preheat my oven and pull my beloved pink Kitchenaid away from the wall. No matter what I bake I know that this is a time of relaxation and healing. There is nothing better than baking to make a stressful day better. 

There is something simply magical about turning inedible things like flour and raw eggs into an edible little gift that can make anyone smile.

There is also something so reassuring about baking. It reminds me of a quote from the move Julie and Julia. When Julie is asked what she loves she says this, "Chocolate cream pie! You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. You can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. That's such a comfort."

Middle Eastern Tabbouleh

 

I completely missed my birthday. No, not my real birthday, but something almost as important: my blog's first birthday. The Fox Foodie turned one year old on January 30th and no one but me knew anything about it!

I was planning on having a birthday celebration. I thought it would be appropriate to blog a cake recipe of something of that sort like 17andBaking did on her first birthday, but there was a huge dilemma that stood in my way.

My hard drive crashed.

I was without a computer for over a week. And no computer equals no blogging. So, now I am celebrating my first birthday. Not with cake, but with tabbouleh. (Oh, and I bought myself a copy of Will Write for Food as a gift!).