Pompe Á L'Huile - Provençal Olive Oil Brioche

This Pompe Á L'Huile, an olive oil brioche, is a soft and fluffy orange scented bread. It's a traditional Christmas bread from Provence, but it's so good that there's no reason you can't enjoy this any time of year. 

This month, the Bread Baking Babes are making an olive oil brioche. Pompe Á L'Huile actually means "oil pump." It got its name from when olive oil producers in Provence would add flour to their oil vats at the end of the season to absorb the last of the olive oil. They then took the oiled flour to the community baker, who would create a version of this bread. 

Wicked Witch Cones

These Wicked Witch Cones are a fun project you can do with kids. I should probably put the word wicked in quotes because these cones don't look at all wicked to me!

I made these wicked witch cones with ice cream, so it took a little while to make these because I had to keep returning them to the freezer to keep them from melting. I guess I could have made "melting witch" cones!

Uzbek Rice with Beef and Carrots (Plov)

Plov is a meaty rice dish that is considered the national dish of Uzbekistan. It is typically made with rice, onions, garlic, carrots, and either lamb or beef. 

As is the tradition, this pilaf dish is made in layers, beginning with the meat, the onions, the carrots, and finally the rice. I made this Uzbek rice with beef, but lamb would be delicious too. It's sometimes made in large quantities for gatherings. If you are curious, there is a photo on Wikipedia of a huge vat of Plov being prepared. 

Mini Chocolate Almond Babka

This Mini Chocolate Almond Babka is made with an enriched brioche dough and is filled with swirls of chocolate and almonds. 

This little babka is made with just one cup of flour and baked in a mini loaf pan. I love it because enriched doughs, especially ones with butter, tend to not last as long as leaner doughs (ones with just flour, water, salt, and yeast). There are just two of us, and only so much room in our freezer. Making a mini version of a babka is great solution. 

Werewolf Sliders

These werewolf sliders are a fun to make Halloween treat. You can make them to serve at a party or prepare the ingredients for your guests to get creative and make their own. 

I had fun making these a few years ago with my grandkids but never posted them! Now that Halloween is approaching, it's the perfect time to share. 

Giant Nutella Pop Tart

This giant Nutella Pop Tart is a fun take on the classic breakast pastry. It's definitely too big for a toaster but it is just right for dessert. 

This big Nutella Pop Tart starts with a pie dough and then is filled with a generous amount of Nutella. Once it's done baking in the oven, it's topped with a chocolate glaze with sprinkles, making it super tasty and fun. Who doesn't love fun desserts? 

Iced Lime Cookies

These slice and bake iced lime cookies begin with a shortbread-style dough, but they are flavored with fresh lime zest, lime juice, and even lime oil, to bring out the sweet citrusy flavor. 

These lime cookies are rolled in sparkling sugar, baked, and then dunked in a lime flavored glaze. Finally, they are finished with more lime zest.