I've been thinking about the

Pullman loaf pans for a few years, but I didn't think I'd stick to making sandwich bread enough to commit to them. Mrs Baird's has been fine and is good. Last year though, I started noticing that I would forget about a loaf for a while and there was never any mold. Bread used to always mold, always. I left some in the drawer and a month past its expiration date, it looked and smelled fine. That's not right. I kept on with my store bought bread and that was that. A few months later, I saw a video of a guy pointing out the same thing. That was it. I started buying store made bread and it would get moldy days later, but it didn't taste great. Back to those Pullman pans...

I ordered a couple of the pans with lids off Amazon. I've emailed USA Pan because that lid with the sticker? That one has a sticky residue that I can't get off.

Anyway, I went ahead and tried a sandwich bread recipe from She's In Her Apron. She made it with three pans, but that didn't work great for me. I did try it three different ways. I made one loaf in the pan with the lid, one in the other pan without a lid, and the third loaf was in a small loaf pan. 

The small loaf had issues.

See the little chunks? What causes this? Did I cut it before it cooled completely?

The next two did fine.

No lid on the left and with the lid on the right.

I also bought a slicer.

I waited longer for those two to cool and I think that helped.

I also bought bags.

I bagged it all up and that was that. It is good, but it's more crumbly than Mrs Baird's - not as soft, chewy, and flexible. Is that from the preservatives? I need to do some more research. I need to practice more. I mean this was my first attempt. I need to figure out where to make changes. I'm sure it's operator error, but still. I just need to work on it.

I want to keep on. I want to know what's in my bread. I want to know it won't last long and will mold like bread always used to - like it is supposed to.

Cosme has been asking for a few days

if we have anything sweet.  My reply each time has been cereal.  Yesterday I figured I should make something sweet.  I had everything on hand for chocolate chip cookies so that was the plan.  The one thing I hate about making cookies is the process.  Load a tray, bake, load another tray, bake... Cakes are so much easier.  Bake it, frost it, eat it.  After I decided on cookies and had the butter softened and ready to go, I found out I didn't really have time to be standing there baking at least 3 sheets of cookies for 10 minutes each.  I saw an option of baking one big cookie in a pan.  Yes.

The recipe called for a certain sized pan that I didn't have.  I had one bigger and one smaller.  I went smaller and grabbed another for the extra.

I think I'll make chocolate chip cookies like this every time.  It was fast and easy.  My favorite.  And just so you know, the recipe on the back of Kroger chocolate chips is the same as the Tollhouse recipe.

The cookies have also inspired me to go for a walk this morning. 

I think I'll go across the street to the walking trail but I'm feeling a little off about it.  A neighbor posted something about hearing a big cat then another replied with seeing a big cat.  After I read that, a cousin posted a picture of a bobcat in her neighbor's yard (hours away but still).  I don't know.  Maybe I'd be safer at home with the tray of cookies.

at one point I

had it in my head that I wanted to make raspberry thumbprint cookies so I bought a jar of raspberry stuff.  This stuff right here to be exact.

I knew I needed to make a dessert yesterday (just because we didn't have anything sweet in the house) so I went to my Pinterest dessert board.  I saw the thumbprint cookies and that really sounded like more effort than I was willing to put in.  I started scrolling through recipes that sounded easy enough and then I'd check the ingredients list to see if it was doable and then I came across THIS one for Strawberry Shortbread Bars.  While it sounded easy enough, I knew I didn't have strawberry jam on hand.  Then I remembered the jar of raspberry.

Thank goodness it only makes a 9x9 pan because they're good.  They're REALLY good and just as awesome, they're REALLY easy.  I'll definitely make these again... but no time soon because they're kind of addicting.  Maybe next time I'll try them with strawberry like the recipe calls for... or maybe even blueberry... YUM.  I won't deny it either.  I already had one this morning.

I should probably get up and walk away because the longer I sit here and stare at this picture, the more I'm tempted to reach over and grab another one.  I don't guess there would be a problem with that.  Raspberry fruit spread and shortbread.  Isn't that basically like having toast with jelly?  I like the way I think.

the bazaar was

yesterday.  That means we're done selling raffle tickets.  That also means we're exhausted.  We spent most of our day at the KC hall yesterday.  Compared to some of the jobs other people had, ours was somewhat easy for the actual event.  We really only had to decorate our table and endure a little bit of chaos while people were turning their tickets in.  We had a chance to walk around and check out everything else going on in our down time.  We each offered to help out a little in the other departments too.  Cosme donated some flight time for the auction, which went for over $1000.  I offered to bake something for the cake walk, which has always been one of my favorite events... go figure.  So, yeah, I finally got around to baking the official cake I delivered.  (Remember my test run from last week?)  Anyway, I baked a three-layered vanilla with almond buttercream.  I decided I'd make cream cheese coffee cakes too.  It's also one of those things I don't make too often so every time I make it, I cross my fingers that it'll turn out okay.  The recipe makes four cakes so I always keep one for us to sample.  I started my dough the night before and put it in the refrigerator overnight, just like the recipe says and just like I've always done.  Saturday afternoon I pulled the dough out and it didn't look like it had done anything.  At that point I could've thrown the dough out and been happy with the vanilla cake... but, no.  I was determined to get it right.  I didn't throw the other dough out but put it aside and started a new batch.  I left the other dough out to see if it would rise.  Sunday morning I checked my second batch and it looked like it had risen just a bit.  I decided to move forward and finish the cakes.  I mixed the cream cheese filling, rolled out the dough, put it all together and let it rise.  Before I'd done that, I'd taken the dough that flopped and made little balls and set them in a pan.  (Do you see where I'm going with this?)  I figured I'd try something new.  If it really flopped, I wouldn't be as bothered.  After those balls had actually risen and I realized that they might not be a total loss, I made little indentions in the top.  (Now do you really see where I'm going with this?)  I whipped up a half batch of that cream cheese filling and filled it in the holes.  I let that bake for about 20 minutes and then drizzled a vanilla icing over the top.

That's where I went with that.  Cream cheese kolaches.

Then I stuck the coffee cakes in the oven.  When they came out, I added a little bit of almond to the icing and drizzled that over the top.

I kept one to sample, called a friend to come pick up another one (me at 6:58 on a Sunday morning "if you're up, hungry and want to send someone by to pick it up, I've got a coffee cake that just came out of the oven") and the other two went to the cake walk.

Oh yeah, I realized I had a lot of buttermilk left over for the vanilla cake so I used two smaller to-go sheet pans and make sheet cakes.  I'd only made it in a regular sheet pan in the past so when I divided it into smaller pans, I wondered about the quality.  I had to keep one for us to sample, of course.

A few hours later we were ready to head out to the bazaar.

I probably gained 13 pounds during my test run and sampling.  Also, I think my exhaustion from the bazaar might be enhanced due to my four day sugar high.  On that note, a piece of cake and a nap sound great right now.