Becky Bowers

Peppermint after Halloween is Thanksgiving erasure and I will not have it

Opinion | What is America’s best sports city? Nine compete for the crown. Grit, glamour and green energy define some of the nation’s top sports towns.

If your list doesn’t include Philly, you’re doing it wrong wapo.st/4hoHxcK

It’s too soon for ‘Pumpkin Spice Season’ so stop asking, you weirdos Google search trends reveal people are already trying to figure out when Starbucks will bring back the brand’s signature Pumpkin Spice Lattes. And to that we say ask: are y'all OK?

Tell the people, @emilybloch.com

www.inquirer.com/news/nation-...

Happy May Day! Time to enjoy all the spring flowers

A collage of screenshots from Inquirer interactives that were included in the Interactives Desk's portfolio this year.

So proud to be part of the Interactives Desk at the
@inquirer.com. This year we picked up five bronze medals – one for overall portfolio – and two awards of excellence at the SNDs.

Isn’t this when you rehearsed your proposal, with Uncle Brent pretending to be me? Also, you’re what, 12 in this picture?

Those four hours of support every weekday got our youngest through remote preschool, and kept the rest of us sane.

We called uncle three months in and got more help, is how 💕

This is the first year I’ve made them from the cookbook, versus a copy of the recipe I found online, and I’m realizing from the photo I’ve baked the pastries upside down for years. This is kind of hilarious. Next year! (Also, buy your favorite cookbooks)

@jeremybowers.com likes less-sweet pastries, so we used unsweetened shredded coconut in place of sweetened, and also sprinkled the tops with flaky salt before baking. Both of these were excellent choices

Sourdough Cinnamon Crumb Cake Classic crumb cake made with sourdough starter, for a hint of tang.

Some additional tweaks: I use crumbs (sans topping) from this fam-favorite sourdough cake www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sour...

This is the first year I’ve made them from the cookbook, versus a copy of the recipe I found online, and I’m realizing from the photo I’ve baked the pastries upside down for years. This is kind of hilarious. Next year! (Also, buy your favorite cookbooks)

Time to dig in 💕

Time to dig in 💕

My absolute favorite as a kid

Here they are, fresh from the oven and pre-powdered sugar. The whole house smells like butter & almond!

On the eve, I make the filling and laminate the dough. In the morning, I assemble & bake. Today, the 12-year-old helped me wrap the filling, and the 8-year-old worked with @jeremybowers.com to make the cuts for the claws

On Christmas Eve, I lamented for a moment letting a finicky pastry become a family holiday tradition. Laminating dough! On Christmas Eve! But my eldest says it’s something she looks forward to almost more than anything else, so what can I do? Make those letter folds, man

For the croissant dough, though, I substitute Melissa Weller’s—it includes some whole wheat pastry flour & sourdough starter for flavor

For bear claws, I use a recipe from Model Bakery, which I once visited with my dad.

I’ll need some of that cake for my bear-claw filling!

Yes, baking—bear claws are the mountain to climb today. But warmed up with some cinnamon crumble cake & whole wheat sourdough.

A foodouir pic of @beckybowers.bsky.social’s rolls should grace all of your timelines. Lascivious but tasteful.

Grandma Webster's Dinner Rolls Soft and pull-apart tender, these are the kind of rolls that can complement a holiday table and be used for turkey sandwiches the next day.

Nothing but love for Jim’s grandma’s rolls www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/gran...

Exactly

See how mail-in ballots are processed in Pennsylvania Over two million mail-in ballots have been requested in the state alone for the 2024 election. Here’s what happens to them all.

How does a mail-in ballot become a vote? www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...

The 76: The most vital restaurants in the Philly area The 76 restaurants that are defining Philly’s dining scene right now.

Out today: The Inquirer’s comprehensive (and beautiful!) guide to the 76 essential Philadelphia restaurants www.inquirer.com/food/inq2/be...

I have somehow lived my whole life thinking this meant x:59-ish, and am so grateful to be corrected. A true public service, @ryanpitts.bsky.social. Of course it would mean the bottom of a clock, and thus x:30! (But, also, this kind of blows my mind.)

Some thoughts on news product from both Bowerses in this #ona23 piece from Emily Hood! newsroom.journalists.org/2023/08/26/n...