March Baker's Notes

A transitional month fueled by chocolate chip cookie bark.

Hi Bakers!

I know it’s only Fool’s Spring, but I can’t help my excitement for sunnier weather. As I write, the kids have ditched their jackets and are warming up for baseball season in the backyard. The same yard that was covered in thick blankets of snow less than a month ago. 

It feels cliché to start these monthly catch-ups talking about the weather, but the seasons here in Vancouver mark the passage of time so profoundly. Stating that nature always finds a way is such an understatement for how marvelous it truly is. I went to mend the garden in preparation for spring last week. Under the previously snow-covered soil were verdant green shoots of long forgotten chives, determined to push their way to the surface, their perseverance admirable.

Brown Butter Funfetti Snack Cake

March is so much more than transitional weather patterns. March is daffodils, fresh herbs, and waking up to chirping birds. March is butter yellow, mint and matcha greens, and rhubarb pink. It’s denim and sneakers and baseball hats. It’s hot cross buns, the occasional iced coffee, and asking “do you have a table outside?”

Here are some fun things to Bake, Make, and Do this month.

March To-Do List:

Bake

Funfetti Snack Cake - some rainbow fun for St. Patrick’s Day.

Matcha Strawberry Cake - if you’d rather go green.

Irish Soda Bread - a quick, scone-like bread when you don’t want to fuss with yeast and rise times.

Lemon Curd Cake - add some sunshine when the rain comes back.

Make

Pizza Party Night - even better with friends that bring lux toppings.

Spring Herb Butter - compound butter using tender herbs.

Honey Matcha Lattes - more green for St. Patrick’s Day and every day. 

French Onion Twisty Bread - like the soup but buttery, enriched bread.

Do

Plan and prep the garden - a fun necessity.

Plant salad seeds - seriously, do it!

What I’m Planting:

A year ago, I never even considered a serious garden. I was turned onto planting salad greens last spring, and now I am borderline obsessed. This year, I am focusing on even more lettuce, peas, beans, and cucumbers.

If you have even the smallest desire to garden, TRY PLANTING LETTUCE SEEDS! It’s honestly so satisfying to grow even a small amount of your own food. Lettuce and salad greens (including arugula, spinach, loose leaf blends) don’t need a ton of space or sun, are inexpensive, and can be planted right into the soil. Sow in a semi-shaded patch in the yard or a patio container. And say goodbye to those plastic containers of spring mix!

Plants:

Thyme

Rosemary

Sage

Parsley

Oregano

Violas

Kale (existing)

Seeds:

Arugula

Spinach

Radish

Peas

Lettuce

Calendula

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

Ever accidentally bake cookies too close together and they merge into one? I took my dough for thin and crispy cookies and purposefully baked them into a sheetpan of cookie bark. Break it up into cookie shards or sprinkle over yogurt.

Ingredients:

1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, very soft

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar

1 large yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

4 ounces chocolate chips

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed, half sheet baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

• In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

• Either by hand or with an electric mixer, blend together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until thoroughly combined.

• Add the egg yolk and continue to mix until the sugar begins to dissolve slightly and the mixture lightens in color. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

• Add the flour mixture and stir together with a rubber spatula until nearly combined. Add the milk and stir to combine.

• Add in the chocolate chips and fold to combine.

• Scrape the dough onto the pan. Use an offset spatula to spread it as thin as possible. The chocolate chips will keep you from getting the dough too thin and make holes in the dough - that’s totally fine. It will spread.

• Bake the cookie dough for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown and crisp around the edges. About 10 minutes into baking and again at the end, bang the bottom of the baking pan against the oven rack or countertop to encourage the cookie bark to deflate.

• Cool the cookie bark on a wire rack on the pan. Break apart and enjoy!