On Saturday, I attended a bake sale where I sold a few of my treats. I posted a sign saying the recipes for the treats would soon be featured here and they will be. I've already posted the recipe for the Homemade Oreos and I was going to post the recipes for the Mini Apple Pies, Uncle Mike's Almond Praline Squares, and the Cinnamon Almond Palmiers. Unfortunately, right when I was in the middle of writing the recipe for the Mini Apple Pies, my browser decided it wanted to close unexpectedly and I lost all of the work I'd spent 10 minutes typing. So, I retyped it and my browser close, yet again. Now rather than type it a third time and throw my laptop across the room in a fit of frustration, I'm just going to step away from my computer and post the recipes at a later time.
I promise to get the recipes up within the next dew days and I apologize ahead of time for the delay. Please come back in a few days and I will, hopefully, have the recipes up.
Thank you so much,
-Taylor
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Homemade Oreos
I personally enjoy things a lot more when they've been homemade. There's just something delicious about food that's been made in your own kitchen or by someone you know. No matter how much I love the Oreos you can buy in the store, I have to say that since trying this recipe, I prefer it over the store bought brand. (Sorry Oreos) They're soft and have that ooie gooie factor that the regular ones just don't have.
While I use this recipe a lot, I can't take credit for it. I found this lovely recipe at My Baking Addiction and you can find it there. (Click the link and it will take you directly to the recipe. any links I use will take you directly to whatever it is I'm talking about)
But! When I made this recipe the first time I liked the icing but I've since changed it because it is very sweet (like a regular Oreo) and with the cookie I thought it was a little much. So, I use a sweet cream cheese frosting instead.
Cream Cheese Icing
Yield: Enough for frosting 30 Oreo Cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1-2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed, or in a stand mixer, cream unsalted butter, cream cheese, and vanilla.
2. Still at a medium speed, slowly incorporate powdered sugar. Add as much or as little as you want until you get the consistency that you like.
3. Place icing on a cookie, whether using a spoon or piping bag, and smoosh with another cookie. I used a zip block bag that I just cut one corner off of. Since it's going to be pressed together anyway I didn't feel the need to use a tip.
Note: If you want/like the sweeter frosting you can go ahead and use the one featured on My Baking Addiction, but this is the one I use.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Till next time,
-Taylor
Monday, April 4, 2011
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Before trying this recipe, I honestly didn't know that red velvet cakes required chocolate. When I told my mom this, she didn't believe me until I showed her several red velvet cake recipes. But after putting my own spin on this, it's become one of my all time favorite recipes. The cake was moist without being overly dense and the icing, while sweet with a tang, balanced out the flavor of the cake.
When I'm sick, I like to experiment, and this take on a traditional red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting was no exception. I picked up the basic ingredients from My Baking Addiction but added my own where I felt necessary. And the accompanying cream cheese frosting I've made so many times; it's extremely easy and you can find a recipe for it virtually anywhere, so feel free to use your own if you like.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch cocoa powder but you can use bittersweet or semisweet as well)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon white vinegar (You can also use white wine vinegar if it's all you have in the house)
1-2 tablespoons shaved bittersweet chocolate
1-2 dashes of cinnamon
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners or grease tins with Crisco vegetable shortening or nonstick cooking spray.
2.) Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl.
3.) In a large bowl with a hand blender, or in a stand mixer, combine vegetable oil and sugar until well blended. Add egg and mix until incorporated.
4.) Turn your mixer down to a low speed and add vanilla extract then slowly add red food coloring until desired color is reached. I didn't count exactly how much I added but it was about 1-2 tablespoons or until it was a cherry red.
5.) Add half of the flour mixture then half of the buttermilk, alternating until both are used up.
6.) In a small dish, mix baking soda and vinegar. Then add into batter, mixing till blended.
7.) At this point, I tested the batter and I personally found it could use something. So I added 2 dashes of cinnamon and about 2 tablespoons of shaved bittersweet chocolate. If you don't find it needs anything else, you don't need to add the cinnamon or bittersweet chocolate.
8.) Using a large spoon, scoop batter into cupcake wells until about 3/4 of the way filled. I panicked when the batter came out as liquid-y as it did, but it came out fine and the cupcakes rose perfectly. Bake for about 20-24 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through so the cakes are evenly baked, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes: enough to frost 12 cupcakes with a little left over
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3-4 cups powdered sugar (also known as confectioners' sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1.) In a medium bowl with a hand blender, or in a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, and vegetable shortening until fully combined.
2.) At a slower speed, add vanilla extract then slowly incorporate powdered sugar until you've reached the desired thickness. I personally don't like things that are really sweet so I only added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract because with the powdered sugar, I felt it was sweet enough. But if you want it sweeter you can go ahead and add another teaspoon of vanilla extract.
After the cupcakes have fully cooled, apply desired amount of frosting. I used a large round icing tip to apply mine and then added a bit more shaved bittersweet chocolate for a it of a decorative touch.
-Taylor
When I'm sick, I like to experiment, and this take on a traditional red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting was no exception. I picked up the basic ingredients from My Baking Addiction but added my own where I felt necessary. And the accompanying cream cheese frosting I've made so many times; it's extremely easy and you can find a recipe for it virtually anywhere, so feel free to use your own if you like.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used dutch cocoa powder but you can use bittersweet or semisweet as well)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon white vinegar (You can also use white wine vinegar if it's all you have in the house)
1-2 tablespoons shaved bittersweet chocolate
1-2 dashes of cinnamon
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners or grease tins with Crisco vegetable shortening or nonstick cooking spray.
2.) Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a small bowl.
3.) In a large bowl with a hand blender, or in a stand mixer, combine vegetable oil and sugar until well blended. Add egg and mix until incorporated.
4.) Turn your mixer down to a low speed and add vanilla extract then slowly add red food coloring until desired color is reached. I didn't count exactly how much I added but it was about 1-2 tablespoons or until it was a cherry red.
5.) Add half of the flour mixture then half of the buttermilk, alternating until both are used up.
6.) In a small dish, mix baking soda and vinegar. Then add into batter, mixing till blended.
7.) At this point, I tested the batter and I personally found it could use something. So I added 2 dashes of cinnamon and about 2 tablespoons of shaved bittersweet chocolate. If you don't find it needs anything else, you don't need to add the cinnamon or bittersweet chocolate.
8.) Using a large spoon, scoop batter into cupcake wells until about 3/4 of the way filled. I panicked when the batter came out as liquid-y as it did, but it came out fine and the cupcakes rose perfectly. Bake for about 20-24 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through so the cakes are evenly baked, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes: enough to frost 12 cupcakes with a little left over
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3-4 cups powdered sugar (also known as confectioners' sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1.) In a medium bowl with a hand blender, or in a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, and vegetable shortening until fully combined.
2.) At a slower speed, add vanilla extract then slowly incorporate powdered sugar until you've reached the desired thickness. I personally don't like things that are really sweet so I only added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract because with the powdered sugar, I felt it was sweet enough. But if you want it sweeter you can go ahead and add another teaspoon of vanilla extract.
After the cupcakes have fully cooled, apply desired amount of frosting. I used a large round icing tip to apply mine and then added a bit more shaved bittersweet chocolate for a it of a decorative touch.
-Taylor
Sunday, April 3, 2011
About Me
Hello everyone.
My name is Taylor, I'm currently in high school preparing for my future and I like to cook, bake, and do other crafts in my free time. I've created this blog to share the things I try out with all of you. I love tweaking recipes and trying new things and sometimes I find something that may work better or may not work at all and I want to share it with other amature cooks and bakers out there.
Since I'm still young, a lot of the recipes I use are ones that were passed down to me from my mom's cookbooks, my aunts', friends', and other people around me. But I do like trying out new things too so I often find myself on websites or flipping through my own cookbooks that I've collected looking for something that looks delicious and is easy to make.
A few of my inspirations are:
Betty Crocker
My Baking Addiction
Food Network
Family Circle
Better Homes and Gardens
My mom, sister, stepmom, and all my female relatives who all have their own tastes and perspectives on food. They all influence how I look at food and the tastes that I personally enjoy, giving me so many ideas and much encouragement.
In about two weeks I'm going to be going to a sort of bake sale, fair, gathering and I'm going to be selling a few of the treats that make my family and friends happy when I make them. I'll be posting those recipes and more on here so that all of you can have fun making them your own too.
I hope you enjoy this blog and that it inspires you to put your own twists on old or new recipes,
Taylor
My name is Taylor, I'm currently in high school preparing for my future and I like to cook, bake, and do other crafts in my free time. I've created this blog to share the things I try out with all of you. I love tweaking recipes and trying new things and sometimes I find something that may work better or may not work at all and I want to share it with other amature cooks and bakers out there.
Since I'm still young, a lot of the recipes I use are ones that were passed down to me from my mom's cookbooks, my aunts', friends', and other people around me. But I do like trying out new things too so I often find myself on websites or flipping through my own cookbooks that I've collected looking for something that looks delicious and is easy to make.
A few of my inspirations are:
Betty Crocker
My Baking Addiction
Food Network
Family Circle
Better Homes and Gardens
My mom, sister, stepmom, and all my female relatives who all have their own tastes and perspectives on food. They all influence how I look at food and the tastes that I personally enjoy, giving me so many ideas and much encouragement.
In about two weeks I'm going to be going to a sort of bake sale, fair, gathering and I'm going to be selling a few of the treats that make my family and friends happy when I make them. I'll be posting those recipes and more on here so that all of you can have fun making them your own too.
I hope you enjoy this blog and that it inspires you to put your own twists on old or new recipes,
Taylor
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)