February 27th, 2024
Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls - do I really need to say more?
February 24th, 2024
Biscoff cookies have been all the rage lately, so I decided to make my own. I was ultimately a little disappointed with the texture, but the flavor was spot on. I’d love to give these another shot sometime.
February 22nd, 2024
Chocolate Milk Bread. No, not bread made with chocolate milk, but a milk bread made with chocolate. This bread turned out super soft, and just chocolatey enough to satisfy a chocolate craving.
February, 2024
A bit out of season, but it had to be done. Pumpkin Coffee Cake had been on my to do list for far too long! Ready for fall!
January, 2024
This month brought several new recipe tests, including some new items for Valentines’s Day! I adore cherries, so these chocolate covered cherry cookies were absolutely amazing to me.
I don’t have a lot of experience baking cakes from scratch, but this red (more like pink) velvet cake turned out great! It took a little testing to figure out how much batter to put in the Bundts because cake batter from scratch rises differently than cake batter from a box.
December, 2023
It’s never too early to prep for next year, right? These Gingerbread House kits won’t be released until November of 2024, but I decided to test them out this year on my boys. They LOVED it. Bonus points because the gingerbread stayed fresh for several days just covered on the counter. When it started getting hard I deconstructed the house and stored it in a container with a piece of bread for several more weeks. I think we finally finished eating our house sometime in mid January and it was good to the last bite.
December, 2023
December brought another four flavors of macarons. Gingerbread, Eggnog, Hot Cocoa, and Peppermint. All were met with raving reviews and have been added to my macaron flavor options.
November 7th, 2023
Brioche is a popular bread at my house. My boys like how fluffy and soft it is, and they love to eat a slice for breakfast with apple butter. I came across the idea to make a pumpkin brioche and knew I had to try it out. Brioche is a tricky dough to make, but this recipe was a success.
October 24th, 2023
I tested these so long ago i’d forgotten about them. Broccoli Cheddar scones are going in the win column.
October 20th, 2023
I tried a new bread recipe towards the end of October. Sandwich bread! This bread has now been added into the Bread Club rotation and might even make an appearance at the market this summer.
October 2023
October brought 4 new flavors of macarons! Apple Butter, Pumpkin Spice, Salted Caramel, and a reprise of Churro. Apple Butter was the favorite and I’ve got ideas for improvement for the next time I make them.
September 12th, 2023
While on this churro kick, I decided to try Churro Macarons. I was able to modify my current macaron recipe and find moderate success. The flavor is great! The texture and presentation could stand to improve. I’ve got an idea for how to make tomorrow’s batch better.
September 8th, 2023
I made these Pumpkin Churro Cupcakes for my small group and they got RAVE reviews. Do I dare venture into the world of cupcakes? I'll be the first to admit that my decorating skills are not anywhere near excellent, but flavor is always the priority in my book.
March 28th, 2023
I had several requests for scones last year, so of course that gave me a great excuse to try yet another new recipe. This scone base will work with a ton of mix ins, both sweet and savory!
March 21st, 2023
I like to think that i’m a fairly talented baker. I’m far from a European educated pastry chef, and surprisingly piping and decorating are not a skillset I possess, but come on, how hard can making a decent French Macaron be?
Turns out they weren’t that hard to make at all, but to achieve consistent excellence? That might be a taller order than I anticipated.
Armed with a recipe from a reputable chef/baker, my mom and I finally took the plunge we’ve been talking about for probably close to 10 years. We decided to split the batch and make half lemon, and half strawberry. We were very please with the results of our first attempt! We didn’t really make any major mistakes, our cookies had feet, and they tasted good.
(Goals for next time: thinner cookies, no pointy nubbins on top)
But macarons are small, and they seem to disappear quite quickly, so after making our first batch on Saturday, three days later I decided to make a second attempt to see if I could improve upon the things we weren’t as happy with. Some things went better, some things went worse, but that just means I’ve learned a little more. Overall, I’m fairly happy with these blackberry babes.
(Successes: thinner cookies, no nubbins. Failures: wet dough causing sticking/breaking. Goals: correct viscosity of dough)
Enjoy the photos, and hopefully you’ll be enjoying some of my macarons in the future!
March 7th, 2023
Coffee Cake test #3:
I love a good cinnamon coffee cake, but sometimes you gotta mix it up, and blueberry is the obvious choice.
My dilemma here was figuring out which topping to finish with. So I did them all! The actual coffee cake is the same, so I divided it roughly in thirds and sprinkled streusel and white sparkling sugar before baking. After it cooled, I drizzled a basic powdered sugar glaze over two thirds and ended up with three variations:
Streusel
White Sparkling Sugar with Glaze
Streusel with Glaze
Of course AFTER all of this, I realized I’d forgotten a fourth option:
4. White Sparkling Sugar (no glaze)
What’s your preference?
February 23rd, 2023
Coffee Cake test #2:
After having a slice for breakfast, we have a winner! This is a standard cinnamon coffee cake recipe, and it is delicious! I think it’s going to be a hit at the market this summer.
But you know me, I tire of making the same recipes over and over every week. I plan to make variations of this in many different flavors, including blueberry, lemon, and apple. Are there any other flavors I should try?
February 8th, 2023
We make homemade pizza a lot at our house. It’s easy, it’s delicious. Typically I use a regular yeast pizza dough, made in the morning or the night before. This week I decided to try something different.
Flatbread pizza has been a popular item on restaurant menus for quite awhile now so I thought we’d make our own. These were so easy! I divided my dough into 4 individual sized flatbreads, and we used a homemade jalapeño cream sauce for our Hawaiian pizzas.
I will definitely be making these again for my family, and they may even make an appearance at the market this summer if there’s interest.
January 30th, 2023
I’ve been thinking about the upcoming market season, and wanted to add a few more breakfasty options. Don’t get me wrong, cookies are great, but they don’t sell as well first thing in the morning because everyone has breakfast on their mind.
Coffee cake test #1 - I say test #1 because while it was good, and my kids devoured it for breakfast this morning, my husband and I both thought it was too buttery. I’ve got another recipe to test next week!
January 27th, 2023
We rarely buy store bought cookies. They’re usually too crunchy, slightly stale tasting, and packed with preservatives that give them a shelf life that is entirely too long. No reason we can’t enjoy the same flavors in a MUCH better quality cookie, right?
Introducing homemade Nutter Butters. And, since I don’t mess around with chintzy sized cookies, these babies are whole palm sized peanut buttery goodness!
January 17th, 2023
Brioche is probably one of my favorite types of bread to say. Soft, springy, and very rich, this bread turned out light and flakey when warm, and literally perfect for toast the next morning. Not gonna lie about the amount of butter in this bread (it’s a lot), or the long time it takes this dough to come together (also a lot), but it’s totally worth it.
Who wants to see brioche at the market this summer?
January 10th, 2023
I’ve been working on my Valentine’s menu, and it was a little bland in the color department. The solution is these beautiful red velvet cookies! Red velvet cake is my husband’s favorite (our wedding cake was partially red velvet), and the test batch was approved by him.
Look for these on the Valentine’s menu, opening this Saturday!
January 3rd, 2023
This recipe has been waiting in the wings for four or five months. I finally found the perfect excuse to test it when I sat down to make my Valentine’s menu. I already make a pretty good regular Danish pastry, but this chocolate is a next level concept! I couldn’t decide if I should do a cherry filling, or fresh strawberry, so I did both. Now I can’t decide which I enjoy more.
To order these chocolate delicacies, look for my Valentine’s menu being released on January 14th. These will only be available for pick up on Valentine’s Day, but they’ll probably make an appearance or two at the Smithville Farmers Market this summer.
December 29th, 2022
I’ve been wanting to make rye bread for weeks now, but rye flour is more difficult to find than I thought it would be. Apparently you can’t just waltz into any old grocery store and buy a bag of it. After finally acquiring some earlier this week, I couldn’t wait any longer. Molasses and a hint of cocoa powder give this bread a warm, cozy flavor. Mixing the rye flour with bread flour allow for a chewy, but not too dense texture. I can’t wait to add this to my summer bread line up at the market!
(This bread comes with a free 5 star review from my 3 year old who promptly asked for another slice after inhaling his first.)
December 3rd, 2022
Brownies are a classic treat, but I don’t think blondies get nearly enough credit. A little bit crispy on the outside, gooey and packed with brown sugar and vanilla on the inside. They make a great alternative if you ever don’t want chocolate (* gasp! *). Hiding inside mine are some white chocolate chips, but semi-sweet chips or nuts would also be great additions. There still one more thing to consider though…..
Are you an edge, center, or corner person?
December 1st, 2022
A long time ago, someone suggested I make an eggnog cookie. As someone who does not drink eggnog, the thought wasn’t too appealing to me. This cookie definitely appeals to me! It’s soft, chewy sugar style cookie, bursting with rum flavor and a hint of holiday spice. I may just start drinking eggnog after all.
November 8th, 2022
This pumpkin bread recipe (really, its a pumpkin!) has been open in a browser tab for months. It was surprisingly simple and I just love how it turned out. It would make a great centerpiece for a Thanksgiving table.
October 18th, 2022
Fudge, a holiday staple. I’ve tested a few fudge recipes this fall and so far this chocolate peanut butter one is the winner. Once I have a few more flavors ready this will be added to the Holiday Cookie Box menu! Up next are Cookies & Cream and Mackinac Fudge
October 10th, 2022
Pecan Bars. The ultimate pecan lover’s cookie. There are more pecans in this recipe than any other ingredient.
I am hoping to bring these to the Smithville Holiday Bazaar in November, and offer them again in my holiday cookie boxes!
In the mean time, I do have a few extras! If you’re local and interested, contact me for pricing and pickup.
gingernestgoods@gmail.com
October 8th, 2022
This new Caramel Apple cookie is absolutely delicious. Fresh apples are mixed with a light blend of spices, and packed into a chewy cookie. Once cooled, it’s swirled with a caramel icing and topped with chopped peanuts. It is a gooey caramel apple in cookie form.
But sometimes things don’t always work out, even in my kitchen. What you can’t see is the ratio of fat:sugar:flour that didn’t quite work out and needs major tweaking, not to mention the challenge of adding fresh fruit and all its extra moisture to a cookie. This recipe is going back in the “to test” pile for a later date.
October 4th, 2022
Another new cookie!
I LOVE pumpkin, but I know that’s not always the case for everyone. This chewy Ginger Cookie is another great fall and winter option. I’m hoping to add this as an option to my Christmas Cookie Boxes.
October 3rd, 2022
I’ve been wanting to add more bread recipes to my repertoire, so I’ve been scouring blogs, baking magazines, and friends’ cravings for ideas. This cinnamon raisin swirl bread came together beautifully with inspiration taken from a sourdough recipe I found and memories of cinnamon raisin bread at my grandmother’s house.
I may or may not have eaten two slices of this bread immediately after I sliced it open ;)
Day 2 update: I need to make some minor alterations to this recipe. While still delicious, it didn’t hold its moisture as I would have hoped. I’ll have to try another test batch sometime before this makes the permanent menu.
September 29th, 2022
I absolutely love testing recipes on friends. This week I baked a loaf of Harvest Bread for my small group.
Harvest Bread is a half wheat, half white bread with oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. It’s like fall for people who don’t want pumpkin everything.
September 24th, 2022
Soon after we first moved to Bloomington, on a whim, I baked a batch of muffins for the garage sale. They were a HUGE hit, and that’s when I knew my little home bakery was going to do just fine here.
Today our neighborhood had our annual fall sale, so I got to test out these Holiday Oatmeal cookies. Instead of my traditional oatmeal raisin, these cookies have dried cherries, cranberries, and pistachios. Look for these in my Holiday Cookie Box!
September 21st, 2022
I found this recipe for English Toffee Bars in a cookbook, and I thought it was worth testing out. They’re delicious! But they don’t quite have the Ginger Nest vibe i’m looking for. I won’t be adding this one to the bakery menu, but i’ll be keeping it around for my family and friends. If you’d like the recipe, I would love to share it!
September 17th, 2022
Now that the market is over, I’ll be testing a ton of new recipes!
First on my list is a cookie cake. This “cake” is made of extra large double chocolate chip cookies, layered with white buttercream.
This particular cake has already been claimed, but if you’re interested in pricing or purchasing a similar cake, please let me know!
