feelin' hot, hot, hot

You may choose to keep your oven off when it's hot outside. While this is a completely sensible idea, this has not been my action of choice recently. Was it merely a competition to see if I could get the house hot enough to match the 100 degree temps outside? No. Although that did almost happen a few weeks ago. I cranked the oven up several times in preparation for a visit from my BFF, Kristy. While Greg was certainly not complaining about the excessive amount of treats, he did question why I was making four desserts for one person spending a day and a half at our house. Especially since it seemed like I was willingly turning our house into a desert. And after spending the weekend sweating while being on a sugar high, I was questioning the decision myself...but wait until you see what was on the menu.

Sugar cookies (featuring orange sugar crystals)

Chocolate macarons (with a purplish hue)

White chocolate ice cream with fudge ripple (and a side of fresh raspberries)

There were also chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, but somehow these escaped the camera lens. Instead, here is the sweet guest of honor and one crazy baker.

The weekend ended with a breakfast that may very well have topped all of my desserts on the taste scale. Greg made us stuffed french toast using brioche bread and a cream cheese/raspberry filling. Kristy and I both requested seconds.

As a thank you for a such a delicious breakfast (and not to be outdone), I made Greg buttermilk biscuits for our 4th of July picnic. The picnic ended up being in our living room since it was so hot outside, but the food was just as tasty.

Nothing says I love you more than heart-shaped biscuits...

except perhaps my new favorite muffins. We bought a giant tub of blueberries during our visit to Costco with Kristy, so I just had to make a batch of blueberry muffins last week. To be specific, I made blueberry lemon poppyseed muffins with crumb topping.

They tasted just as heavenly as they look. And they finally satisfied my need for the oven to be on for awhile. I'm officially taking a birthday baking hiatus. (Except for the baking I get paid to do of course...more on that coming soon.)