cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Snickerdoodle Apple Bread with Gluten Free Option

As soon as the weather starts to get a bit cooler, I am alllllll about cinnamon-filled quick breads as a lovely afternoon snack with a big, big cup of tea.  This snickerdoodle apple bread is PERFECT, with its crackly sugary top and bursting with fresh apples.  What’s even better is you can EASILY make this one gluten free for anybody with allergies and intolerances!

Snickerdoodle Apple Bread with Gluten Free option | cookingalamel.com

This fall season has been SO weird here in Maryland.  We really only started getting cooler days within the past week or so… I remember years that we would be going out trick-or-treating and already have snow!  It’s been hard to get into the mindset of fall baking when we just started getting below 70 degree days, but now that we’re hitting those cooler temperatures and the leaves are actually starting to have pretty colors, let’s bust out all the apple and pumpkin recipes!! [Read more…]

Oatmeal Cookies

Today, I’m sharing a classic comfort cookie recipe — oatmeal cookies!  This was the first recipe I made when we moved into our new house, because a house is clearly not a home until you’ve filled it with the smell of fresh baked cookies.  And guys, my new kitchen is PERFECT for cookie baking — I have way more counter space than any other place we have lived in so far, so I am in baking heaven.  🙂

Now, months later, as our house is just about done being furnished and set up to my liking, I am finally sharing this oatmeal cookie recipe!  The photos have just been hanging out on my camera as I’ve been busy busy doing lots of other house things…

Oatmeal Cookies | cookingalamel.com

These are perfect cookies to have as a mid-afternoon snack with a big cup of tea.  When I work in the morning, I love coming home around 3pm to have a cup of tea and something to satisfy me till dinner time.  These are perfect when you’re looking for a little sweet treat! [Read more…]

Our Wedding 5.13.17 – Food + Drinks

Today, let’s talk wedding FOOD!  It wouldn’t be a food blog without mentioning our menu, right?!

We spent a lot of time coming up with the perfect menu — Alex and I both love appetizers and small plates, so we wanted to really showcase that by having lots of bite-sized things and mini plates.  Tapas style, if you will!  We found a fantastic caterer that was willing to run with our vision, Steve Gemperlein of Stephen’s Kitchen & Catering.  He did everything for us from our rehearsal dinner (a laid-back BBQ buffet), appetizers at cocktail hour, our amazing small-plates style dinner, setting up our cookie table with cookies made by friends and family, and an ice cream bar to finish it off for dessert!

He was extremely flexible and even made it extremely easy for our gluten free guests to find food they could eat.  AND his food was delicious!

Starting with cocktail hour, here’s what our menu looked like:
Assorted vegetables with ranch dip and hummus
Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)
Homemade cheese spread with crackers — THIS was hands down the best thing I’ve ever tasted — he creates his own cheese ball-like spread that is AMAZING. [Read more…]