The sweetest gift you can give your loved one is the pleasure of your company, perhaps over a big carafe of coffee, a glass of fresh orange juice and a big breakfast that you enjoy together while reading the paper on a quiet morning. Or a plate of homemade baked goods, since the time that you’ll put into them makes them worth a lot more than a box of even the most expensive chocolates. And, naturally, what could go better with some homemade baked goods than a copy of The Baking Bites Cookbook? It makes a great Valentine’s Day gift for the baker in your life - and I’m not going to tell if you crack open the cookbook yourself to make a batch of Jelly Donut Muffins to go with that Valentine’s Day Coffee. If you have kids, get them to help out with the gift preparation (i.e. baking the treats) too and you’ll get even more Valentine’s Day brownie points, and you’ll definitely have one sweet day.

The book is available directly from me via PayPal (free US shipping included and a discount if you buy two copies!) and can also be found on Amazon.com.

Hanukkah starts at sundown tonight. For many of my friends, this means the start of several days of holiday parties, and gatherings of family and friends over good food. Part of the tradition of Hanukkah is eating fried foods, using oil in celebration of an historic miracle where a single day’s worth of oil lasted for eight days and nights. Fried potato pancakes, or latkes, are a staple of the holiday, and donuts are a traditional food as well. I’ve been to Hanukkah parties where a box of Krispy Kremes were set out on the dessert table, but I’ve been to even more where party hosts were looking to balance fried foods with lighter, healthier options.

For lighter fare, Oven-Baked Latkes can still come out crispy, with a fraction of the oil of their pan-fried counterparts. They’re good year round and always a popular choice for health-conscious Hanukkah partygoers. Sugar Donut Muffins are an alternative to deep fried donuts, that still deliver the flavor and texture of a good sugar donut.

On the slightly more fried side, you can go with fried latkes, a batch of fluffy Beignets with powdered sugar or some Pumpkin Spice Donuts to infuse some fall and winter spices into the menu. Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Rugelach are a traditional Jewish pastry, but not one that is necessarily traditional for Hanukkah because they’re not fried. That said, they’re still a very popular holiday cookie and I doubt anyone is going to say no to a batch of them at a holiday party.

Last week, I had the opportunity to take a trip out to Orville, Ohio with a few other bloggers and take an inside look at the Smuckers company. Smuckers is known for their jam, but what you might not know is that the family-owned company actually owns quite a few other brands, including Crisco, Jif, Folgers and Eagle Brand, just to name a few of the most well-known. The event that Smuckers put on for us was just wonderful, giving us a preview of some new products, a change to test out some of their existing products, tour their test kitchens and even take a trip through the factory while they made a batch of seasonal Apple Cider Butter, the recipe that started the Smuckers brand off almost 100 years ago.

We started off our tour at the Smuckers store, pictured above. The store is a fully operational store and cafe, but it is also a huge showcase for all kinds of Smuckers products that you won’t necessarily see in stores because they’re regional or simply on limited distribution. There were all the standard jams, of course, but also organic jams and more gourmet lines, such as (my favorite) Smuckers Orchards Finest. I’m a sucker for food shopping no matter where I am, and it was fun to look through all their products. The store had been decorated for Christmas and cleverly incorporated jam into several of their decorations. The chandelier below is made with jars of jam!

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One of the first street foods I tried while in Seoul was hotteok, which was recommended to me by The Girl Who Ate Everything just before I left. Hotteok are breads, either baked or fried until crispy, that are filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. They’re actually a really simple dish, but quite tasty and a nice sweet afternoon snack. I wanted to try and create a similar version that I could make at home, since 12 hours is a long flight to take for a snack!

I saw many variations of this snack, some that looked like pita breads and some that more closely resembled large disc-like donuts. The ratio of bread to filling varied, as did the amount of filling in each. What did not vary was the cinnamon sugar flavor of the filling and the fact that these must be served warm and fresh, so the exterior is slightly crisp and the filling slightly gooey.

I started with a simple, plain bread dough - a non-yeast dough - and kneaded it until it was smooth. I let the dough rest for a few minutes while preparing a cinnamon-sugar filling so the gluten could relax and the dough would be easier to work with, then divided up the dough into pieces and rolled them out to be filled. Once I added some sugar and sealed the breads, I rolled them out again until they were very thin. This turned out to be one of the keys in getting a good texture, so you got plenty of filling in each bite and not too much bread. I cooked them in a skilled with a bit of oil and ate them hot. I’m not going to set up a stand the next time I’m in Seoul, but they were still an excellent snack and a good recreation, with a crispy exterior and a melty center. They are fairly large and quite satisfying, too.

These really are at their best when they’re cooked in a bit of oil. If you want to cook them in a dry skillet, they will puff up more and be a bit “breadier,” tasting more like Cinnamon English Muffins than the street snack I had in Seoul. This isn’t a bad thing, but the version cooked with a bit of oil is just better if you ask me.

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The cupcake cake pops made so popular by Bakerella are made by crumbling up a cake, mixing it with frosting and shaping it into balls, to be stuck on popsicle-type sticks and decorated. They’re adorable and, although they’re a lot of hands-on work, they’re fun to make. These are the first things that I thought of when I saw Wilton’s new Brownie Pop Mold. The silicone pan contains eight deep, rounded cavities that bake give brownies just enough depth to retain their fudginess, while still enabling them to be skewered with popsicle sticks to look like cute cupcake pops and cakesicles.

Aside from keeping up with the cake-pop trend, the idea of brownie pops seems a little strange to devote a whole pan to. Fortunately, you can use this pan for other things, as well. It would make a fantastic mold for ice cream bon bons (just fill, freeze and dip in chocolate) or larger candies. You coupld pipe marshmallows into them to give your homemade ones a more rounded look. Sugar donut muffins baked in this pan would turn out looking like donut holes. The possibilities are endless and the pan gives you a lot more options that you would expext it to!

Mother’s Day is a big brunch holiday. It falls on a Sunday, so there is ample opportunity to sleep in, and going out to brunch takes a lot of the “what should we do today?” question out of the occasion. Restaurants are packed for Mother’s Day brunch, so it is bound to be less expensive and more relaxing to stay home, eat and relax (and open Mother’s Day presents!). Since you’re eating in, there will probably be plenty of time to fuss with a fancy meal, but keep in mind that your mmom probably just wants to spend time with you, so it might be a good idea to choose dishes that are not high-maintenance and/or can be made in advance.

A Cheesey Egg Casserole is a rich, tasty brunch dish that can be made in advance. The casserole can be halved for a small group, but the leftovers taste great, too, if you decide to make the whole thing. A fritatta or crustless quiche can be an easy to  prep option, and one that gives you lots of freedom as to what to include in it. Eggs-in-Toast need to be made at the last minute, but look very cute if it’s just you and mom for breakfast.

Sugar Donut Muffins taste very decadent, and better than many storebought donuts. Coconut Scones, Strawberry Scones and Meyer Lemon Scones are also nice munching options, and recipes for full-sized scones can be used to make minis by cutting each piece in half and reducing the baking time. For a richer brunch pastry, Easy Cinnamon Bun Bread is a great option that requires almost no babysitting. Classic MonkeyBread might be even better than cinnamon buns, but is best for serving to a big group, as it is so easy to share.

Don’t forget that a good pot of coffee, fresh oj and some champagne will really finish of the breakfast