Now many people may not be familiar with the wonderful aspects of clay cookware. As a matter of fact, quite a lot of people aren’t even aware that the option of cooking in clay even exists. But clay cookware dates back to the Roman times when they enveloped their food in mud clay and tossed it into the fire to cook, producing exceptionally juicy and delicious results.

One of the most well-know clay cookware manufacturers is Romertopf, and with good reason as they have consistently produced quality clayware for many years. Not only can this cookware be used for cooking your meals, but you can also bake fabulous desserts in these containers. And if you love baked fruit you need look no further than the unique banana and apple bakers Romertopf produces. If you’re looking for unique holiday gift ideas, you’ll find these pieces make wonderful gifts for that special person.

It’s hard to believe it, but Halloween is just 10 days away. I’m showing my age by saying this, but I can still remember when we were children, many of our neighbors gave us homemade treats like candied apples, chocolate sweets, and popcorn balls. Of course, that was before all of the bizarre and dangerous behavior of a few individuals that caused us all to switch strictly to pre-wrapped candies and treats.

But if you’re having a Halloween party at your home or just want to make some fun treats for your family, it’s a perfect excuse to break out the classics and make some wonderful caramel apples, decorated sugar cookies, homemade chocolates, and fun Halloween theme cupcakes. And don’t forget the fun of dunking for apples - young and old alike will get a big kick out of it.

Bread might not quite classicly be first thought of as “dessert, but certainly any slice of warm fresh bread tastes quite wonderful enough to qualify. Now if you add things like cinnamon raisin, apple raisin, pumpkin, or many of the other delicious sweet items to your bread, there’s certainly no denying the dessert-like quality and taste. One of our favorite tools to bake our breads in our these sturdy clay mini bread pans from popular clay cookware manufacturer Romertopf.

If you’re thinking of creating some lovely homemade gifts for the holidays this year, these mini pans are perfect for making personalized loaves. You can bake up quite a variety of breads and mix and match them for individual tastes. You can even include some sample jams and butters for wonderful gift baskets that your friends and family are sure to love. Purchasing a few bread pans will pay you back tenfold as you find people coming back with requests for more of your specialty breads. Who knows, you might end up with your own little bakery side business before you know it.

If you, like many people, have food allergies in your family, you’ll find it’s not so hard to switch out many of your favorite recipes to leave out the offending allergens. It’s easy to leave nuts out when called for as most desserts taste just as good without them (with the exception of course of dishes like pecan pie, where the main ingredient is the nuts ). 

Baking cakes without egg, another big allergen, can be tricky when it comes to consistency, but cookies and muffins turn out very nice without the normal egg ingredient. We’ve been very successful simply substituting applesauce and a teaspoon or two of baking powder. Some people also recommend substituting 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of water, and 2-3 teaspoons of baking powder for every 2 eggs called for, but our personal preference is not to use oil whenever possible.