Sweet Talk with Francine's Sweets: Episode 19
- Alayna Kendall
- May 28
- 4 min read
Alayna here. We’re back with volume 19 of the sweetest email in your inbox.
We’ve got a new Baking Bites tool, an exclusive barre3 cookie flavor, and the best way to thank the teachers in your life.
Let’s sweet talk.
Baking Bites: Tips for the Every Day Baker
The Ruler
The humble ruler gets the spotlight today! It’s not just for drawing straight lines or measuring the length of a paper clip. I’m here to tell you that the ruler is an important and necessary tool you need in your kitchen.
You’ve probably read a recipe that says something along the lines of “roll dough into a 12 inch x 6 inch rectangle. These are the times my ego gets the best of me. Surely I can eye ball this. Tools? Those are for peasants. Me? I am a BAKER, I can do this on my own. Aaaand inevitably, I roll something out too small, ruining the whole look of my baking project. Or maybe you’re rolling sugar cookie dough and the recipe says to roll it 1/4 of an inch thick. For all I know, that could mean the width of my mattress or the height of the Willis Tower, WHO KNOWS.
A ruler takes all the guess work out of baking. And it’s small enough to be easily tucked into a drawer or stuck in a utensil holder with your spatulas. But do buy a “kitchen-use only” ruler. This isn’t the same one you’ve had since 3rd grade and used to draw straight lines with a Sharpie, inevitably getting it all black and smudge-y. And it’s not the one you’ve had in your tool kit for the past 43 years that’s covered in dirt. Fork over $2 and get a fresh one.
One way I just used mine this past week was to measure my cookie cake pan. I’ve been finding that my pan bakes a cookie cake that is just a tad too big for my cookie cake box. One side of the cookie cake keeps getting a bit smushed when I package it and it’s been driving me crazy when I see pictures of it. So to solve that solution, I used my ruler to measure the diameter of the pan, and compared that to the height of my cookie cake box. Turns out my cake pan was just an inch too wide. I quickly remedied that by ordering a 10 inch cake pan and now all is well in the world. And don’t worry, you’ll still get the same amount of cookie in the cookie cake, it’ll just be a bit thicker aka gooey-r and tastier.
I use a ruler when I bake cinnamon rolls, scones, biscuits, pie dough, cookies, etc. Don’t leave measuring up to guesswork, because baking is a science and it helps to be exact. You’ll be amazed how much you use it in the kitchen!
Also, speaking of baking being a science, I recently watched this YouTube video about a bakery called Wayfarer Bread in San Diego, CA. The owner, Crystal White, said something so profound, I had to share it with you. She said “What I like about baking is you’re really rewarded for your attention to detail. If you’re a rule follower, baking is for you.” I’ve never related more to anything in my life! Finally my attention to detail and rule following is paying off! And if you (like me!) enjoy watching vids about how bakeries are run, then check it out!
Barre3 Pop-Up EXCLUSIVE Flavor:
Peanut Butter Oreo Chunk
My next pop-up is at barre3 Grand Rapids on Thursday, June 12th from 4-6:30pm! And I’m so excited to reveal that I’ll be offering an EXCLUSIVE cookie flavor that will only be available for pre-orders and purchase at the pop-up! In the spirit of The Parent Trap and all things summer, I’ll be offering a BRAND NEW cookie flavor, Peanut Butter Oreo Chunk. It’s a peanut butter dough that’s filled with crushed Oreos, chunks of homemade Oreo peanut butter chocolate bark (yup, you read that right) and it’s stuffed with a WHOLE Oreo (you also read THAT right)-topped with flaky sea salt, ofc. Once I sell out on June 12th, it’ll be off the menu. If I were you, I’d order asap.
I’ll have all my new flavors at the pop-up too, plus the regulars, as well as some Hot Fudge Sundae Kits! I highly recommend placing a pre-order as I’ve sold out at almost every pop-up I’ve done.
Come hungry! 😉
Thank-A-Teacher Boxes
If it were up to me, no one would go to school past Memorial Day, but since no one asked for my two cents, here we are. If your child is still in school next week, thank his or her teacher who is inevitably counting down the days (or seconds), until summer vacation. Think of all they’ve put up with this past year: explaining long division, grading that same long division, recess duty in sub-zero temps, planning field trips and not losing a kid (easier said than done), and much, much more. They deserve, fresh-baked, homemade cookies (and an all-expenses paid vacation to Jamaica, IMO) and our Thank-A-Teacher box is the perfect gift. You choose the cookie flavors your teacher would like best, and I wrap it in a cute school-themed bow, and include a blank tag for you to write a short thank you. They’re cute, tasty, and one less thing for you to worry about!
Thanks for reading!
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