Baked Apple Goodness

My duties in the kitchen are diminishing as time goes on. I shouldn't say "duties" because baking is something I used to really enjoy. But lately, the Sailor has been doing all the cooking and the baking. I'm not complaining though! He's far more talented than me and enjoys it. He started out with delicious breads like this Dutch Oven Bread, which he insists is so simple that even I could make it. And he's moved on to chocolate chip cookies (THE best I've ever tasted!), muffins, tarts and more.

This past weekend, I came home from the gym to this breakfast-- An Apple Dutch Baby with maple syrup and fresh strawberries (Good thing I went to the gym earlier!)

It came out of the oven super fluffy like fried dough, and I was expecting it to taste like a giant pancake. It was more of an egg dish though, which suited me perfectly!



And Sunday, he whipped up this batch of Whole Wheat Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins from a recipe I saw on Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. He substituted regular milk for buttermilk and added flax seed at my request.

Sweet Tooth Sweet Life

I'm a big fan of pumpkin and of substituting applesauce in baking recipes, but together... not so sure. I'd say this recipe was just okay. The muffins are moist and have the consistency of a quick bread, so they're hearty. But there's just something lacking, that prevents me from wanting to eat the entire batch, like I usually do when there are homemade baked goodies in the house! 

My last adventure in baking was another attempt at Peanut Butter Runner's Perfect Paleo Banana Bread, and I'm so glad I tried making it again! Not sure what I did wrong the first time when I baked it last spring, but this batch was just delish! Since the Sailor wasn't a huge fan, I ended up freezing half of the loaf. It was a treat to pull out and have bread that tasted as fresh as the day I made it.

Peanut Butter Runner

What have you been baking recently?