Something Actually Made by Maura!

I know, I know. We've all been thinking it. This blog is getting boring. Too much type and not enough sarcasm/baking. I get it reader, I do. There's a problem though:

Oh my goodness I want some french toast muffins. I can think of nothing I would like more in this moment than some delicious french toast muffins. And I would have some, homemade ones - if cinnamon swirl bread was not $4/loaf. $4!? Ok, as an economics student and a breathing human with common sense, I am well aware that I am being ripped-off when I have to pay that much for a loaf of bread. Do you want to know why I think that price is so high - Pepperidge Farm has a monopoly on the cinnamon-swirl/cinnamon-raisin-swirl/brown-sugar-cinnamon-swirl bread market! There are no adequate substitutes at the grocery store. No competing firm to keep the market at a competitive price. And until PF brings back the dark chocolate-coated Bordeaux cookie, I just refuse to buy their bread unless it is on sale. Womp, womp.

So I got vinegar instead. Vinegar and cream cheese. Why? Because of this. Could that cake look any more delicious? Despite my lack of 8" cake pans (add cake pans to the list of school supplies I'll be buying next year), I was willing to give it a try in one large, rectangular pan. So what if Bakerella's cake looks better than mine, hers should! That lady is a goddess when it comes to baked goods. Mine would at least taste as good! Nope. Foiled again. I forgot that the recipe calls for buttermilk. Cue extreme anger/disappointment. Yeah, yeah - I should have checked the recipe ingredients before going to the store, but remember, I thought I would be making those darn muffins!

(Plus just looking at the 6 cups of confectioners sugar that go into the cream cheese icing made my blood sugar levels jump and I almost developed diabetes at that very moment. I understand most baked goods are terrible for me, but really, 6 CUPS?!?!)

Let's regroup here, folks. I just ate some cinnamon french toast cereal (store brand of course, if I can't afford a loaf of bread there's no way General Mills would make it into this girl's kitchen cabinet). My coffee just finished brewing so I think the plan is to drink copious amounts of liquid caffeine and then find a delicious looking recipe (sans any type of bread topping) to tackle. I am still a little sad that I won't get to eat a bread-like baked good topped with bread, but I guess I'll survive....

While you wait to find out what I did bake, I saw this in the grocery store today...

...and thought "Why does Giant not want me buying candy or tabloids? What if I want a chocolate bar with my meager grocery basket of milk, eggs, and frozen mixed berries? What if I actually care about what the Kardashians are up to and I want to read about Kourtney and Scott?" Don't judge me, you care too. There is nothing to be ashamed of when all you want is to read your horoscope and some good gossip in a trashy magazine. Anyways, Giant is not trying to help me lead a more morally-restrained lifestyle. I saw a sign that said "Family-Friendly Aisle." They just don't have candy or magazines so busy moms and dads don't have to listen to annoying - I mean adorable - little rugrats beg for a candy bar every time they have to check-out.
Hope you found that amusing, if not, go read a trashy magazine, they tend to be pretty amusing.

...

One hour and a cup of vanilla-cinnamon coffee later:

There is a coffee cake in the oven. A coffee cake covered in a streusel recipe that was begging to be doubled. Life is good. Now to (im)patiently wait another twenty-or-so minutes...

It's like a picture frame filled with streusel!

Finally, a delicious-smelling, ugly-looking, yummy-tasting coffee cake
made by maura.

Mmmmm...

(Here's the recipe, it just received the Apartment 428 stamp of approval so you know it's good.)