Category: Holiday

My Favorite Baking Equipment

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‘Tis the baking season and time to give gifts to your loved ones who bake pie, cake, bread, cookies and so much more. I’ve had lots of questions about my favorite baking equipment and what to get the bakers in your life. You can always find the list of what I am using in my kitchen in my “Shop” tab at the top of my website. I only post the products that I actually use and love. You’ll find a link my beloved torch below. 

I’m also including some gift ideas from small businesses I love. Enjoy!

Gift Ideas from Small Businesses

The Wreath of Joy by Joy Summers

The Wreath of Joy – You can DM your orders to Como Harriet Design on Instagram to get one-of-a-kind bespoke silk flower wreaths made by my good friend, Joy Summers.

Zoë François wearing Silk Oak Designs necklace

Silk Oak Designs – My Mom’s leather and stone handmade necklaces can be worn as chokers (as I prefer in the kitchen) or as looser single and double strands. Visit her site to get more ideas and see the selections of designs. They’ve become the only jewelry I wear and each piece tells a story. Read More

Thanksgiving Desserts

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If you’re like me, by the time November hits you’re already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving desserts. The holiday meal, of course, has plenty to offer, but what stands out more to your guests than the grand finale? Whether you are looking for simple or classic fall flavors, or want to try something a little different this year, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite Thanksgiving Desserts. Of course, if you want to keep it simple, you can always make a classic apple pie. Or better yet, if your guest list is big enough make the apple pie and one or two of these recipes.

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Easter Dessert Recipes

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Pastel Macarons for Easter | ZoeBakes

Especially here in Minnesota, Easter is one of those first milestones of spring. By this time of year we are getting some warmer weather, and that makes it a great time to make colorful and floral desserts. I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite Easter dessert recipes that you can make for the holiday, or are any of those first nice spring days. Read More

Sticky Coconut Maple Bars

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Sticky Coconut Maple Bars | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François

My Granny Neal made a version of these Sticky Coconut Maple Bars every Christmas and I wrote a love letter to them and shared the recipe over at The Kitchn – Granny’s Christmas Bars! They’re really perfect for any occasion, but when I was a little kid they were a special treat reserved for Christmas morning. Enjoy! 

Sticky Coconut Maple Bars | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François 

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

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Purple Sweet Potato Pie | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François

Purple Sweet Potato Pie with a mound of an Italian meringue inspired by Esther Williams (anyone younger than me will have to google her). I was gifted a box of super fun produce by my friend Chadwick Boyd and in the selection from Frieda’s were a pair of bright purple sweet potato. I knew immediately that they would be pie. With Thanksgiving just a couple days away, how could my mind go anywhere else with such a fun bounty. The real surprise came with the topping. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows has been a regular on many Thanksgiving tables, so it seemed natural to pile on meringue and toast it like a marshmallow (a pile of whipped cream would be super tasty too). What I hadn’t planned on was the color. I had reserved the bright purple cooking water after boiling the potatoes, because it was just too pretty to throw away. I typically use a Swiss meringue on a pie, but the Italian version requires making a syrup of sugar and water, which meant I could use my potato water (BOOM, that’s how I’d tint my meringue purple). I had visions of a lavender colored cloud sitting on top of the pie, but when I added the boiling purple syrup to the spinning egg whites it turned bright, bright, bright blue. I’m not entirely sure why, but some chemical reaction in that bowl changed my vision for this pie. I was faced with a bowl of super soft, BLUE meringue and I went for it. I piled it on and then used a star tip to create the swimming cap of a topping (did you look up Esther Williams yet?)

Purple Sweet Potato Pie | ZoeBakes photo by Zoë François

You can see the potatoes and meringue come together in my instagram video.

Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide on how to make pie crust.

Recipe below:

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Raisin Pecan Bread and a Holiday Bread Baking Giveaway!

zoe 532 Comments

Yesterday was my birthday and next week is Thanksgiving, so it seems an excellent time for a HOLIDAY BREAD BAKING GIVEAWAY! I am partnering with some of my all time favorite companies to create the ultimate bread baking package*. First let me tell you about the raisin pecan loaf that I baked from my book, New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Breadin5). I made our big batch of the Master Recipe using Platinum Yeast from Red Star Yeast, then pulled off a piece of dough, rolled in some raisins and pecans Using a French Rolling Pin from JK Adams, let it rest and scored the top with a super sharp Bread Knife from Shun Cutlery just before I baked it in an Emile Henry Cloche. Two days later I took out another piece of dough and rolled in olives and sharp VT cheddar. Five days later I grabbed yet another bit of dough, put it in a proofing basket and baked it as a pure and simple boule. If you have a bucket of dough on hand, you’ll have the base for all of these fantastic loaves. You can see the Cheese bread and Boule on my Instagram account. 

*You can recreate exactly what I did with this fantastic Bread Baking Package from all of these wonderful companies. I will pick THREE winners at random to win packages: 

A supply of Platinum Yeast from Red Star Yeast

A Rolling Pin from JK Adams

A Bread Knife from Shun Cutlery

A Bread Baking Cloche from Emile Henry 

and A copy of my book The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

How to enter to win: There are two ways you can enter, leave a comment below, here on my website or on my Instagram post, just look for the photo of this bread! I will select THREE WINNERS in a few days. USA mailing addresses only!

You can watch me making the bread using all of these fantastic tools on my @zoebakes instagram account video. Recipe to follow.. Read More