Mom and I watched the Oscars Sunday night. Wasn't that invested in the nominees this year as I have been others. Although, it did make me interested in a few of the films, like Argo and Silver Linings Playbook. I was glad that Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for Best Actress. Ben Affleck gave the sweetest acceptance speech that included a thank-you to his wife. Awww...
Was glad to hear that the host isn't planning to host next year. Good.
So.... One of the snacks I made was a "pre-packaged" whoopie pie, well, pies. It was a Pilsbury mix- make the cake, spoon onto the cookie sheet, bake, then frost and assemble. They turned out pretty good. Next time I think I'd use canned frosting instead. It would be thicker.
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Lazy Snickerdoodles
Tonight I had a hankering for something sweet.
Ok, I'll be honest. Mom readily agreed with me.
We went off to the pantry to see what we could use. I first thought about peanut butter cookies, but I wanted to save the PB for sandwiches. So... Snickerdoodles it would be.
Now the traditional way to make Snickerdoodles is to roll the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar. We didn't do that. Plus, we added chopped walnuts, also not a traditional thing.
After we scooped the dough, we just plopped them on the cookie sheet, flattened them a little, and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them- hence the "lazy" part.
They aren't pretty, but they taste good.
Ok, I'll be honest. Mom readily agreed with me.
We went off to the pantry to see what we could use. I first thought about peanut butter cookies, but I wanted to save the PB for sandwiches. So... Snickerdoodles it would be.
Now the traditional way to make Snickerdoodles is to roll the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar. We didn't do that. Plus, we added chopped walnuts, also not a traditional thing.
After we scooped the dough, we just plopped them on the cookie sheet, flattened them a little, and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them- hence the "lazy" part.
They aren't pretty, but they taste good.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Oreos Rethought / Things that Irk Me about Twilight
Yes, I know I'm late. My apologies. I've been busy. Anyway... Happy new year.
This past week, Mom found a recipe for Oreo cookie balls. Basically, they're like cake pops, just with oreos. Instead of frosting, you use cream cheese. When they're mushed together, roll them in balls and dip them in white chocolate bark. They're good- pretty rich.
So, the other day I thought about what irks me about Twilight.
1) Bella doesn't appreciate good furniture. In the novel "Eclipse," Bella is over at the Cullen's house with Alice for a sleepover. (a pretense) Edward gets her this nice four-poster bed to sleep in; it's set up in his room, all nice and stuff. Instead she sleeps on his sofa. I was like, Bella, that's a nice bed!
2) Edward needs to chill (some more). If you haven't noticed in the books and/or movies, he's a little uptight. And I totally get his point. Vampires are after his girlfriend, he's been alive for over one hundred years, he has a case of TMI (too much information) from being a mind reader. And he's overprotective of her. But he loves her.
3) Victoria. I was a little disappointed that Stephenie had to kill off Victoria in Eclipse. I thought Bryce Dallas Howard was really good as Victoria in the film. It's a good thing Bryce got a second chance to take the role.
4) Ok, this doesn't irk me, it's just a suggestion. Stephenie Meyer needs to write just one more book about Twilight, at least from the perspective of Jacob and Renesmee. Maybe half from them, half from Bella and Edward.
This past week, Mom found a recipe for Oreo cookie balls. Basically, they're like cake pops, just with oreos. Instead of frosting, you use cream cheese. When they're mushed together, roll them in balls and dip them in white chocolate bark. They're good- pretty rich.
So, the other day I thought about what
1) Bella doesn't appreciate good furniture. In the novel "Eclipse," Bella is over at the Cullen's house with Alice for a sleepover. (a pretense) Edward gets her this nice four-poster bed to sleep in; it's set up in his room, all nice and stuff. Instead she sleeps on his sofa. I was like, Bella, that's a nice bed!
2) Edward needs to chill (some more). If you haven't noticed in the books and/or movies, he's a little uptight. And I totally get his point. Vampires are after his girlfriend, he's been alive for over one hundred years, he has a case of TMI (too much information) from being a mind reader. And he's overprotective of her. But he loves her.
3) Victoria. I was a little disappointed that Stephenie had to kill off Victoria in Eclipse. I thought Bryce Dallas Howard was really good as Victoria in the film. It's a good thing Bryce got a second chance to take the role.
4) Ok, this doesn't irk me, it's just a suggestion. Stephenie Meyer needs to write just one more book about Twilight, at least from the perspective of Jacob and Renesmee. Maybe half from them, half from Bella and Edward.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
"Fun-Da-Middles" Not so Fun / Culinary Cheating
Okay... you may have seen those Betty Crocker (might be wrong on the brand) cupcake mixes where you put the creme in the middle then bake. Kind of like Twinkies, and they've made other varieties. I used the vanilla mix / vanilla creme one; they also have chocolate/vanilla, and vanilla/chocolate.
You mix the cake mix, then put 2/3rds or so in the tins, squeeze a dollop of creme in, then put some more batter on top. Mine weren't so precise, though they came out okay. There are exact instructions on how to put the creme in (DON'T let the creme touch the sides). Bake, and you have your own Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, whatever. They taste good. They're fine. They'll cure your sweet tooth. Honestly, I won't buy these too often.
If someone from BC ever reads this, try putting a frosting tip mechanism with the creme. It'll go in easier; the user will have better control.
Round 2: Me v. Roasted Cauliflower. I won. It came out much better this time. Kept the temp much lower- about 300-325 deg.
So... I was buying stuff at the store today when Another National Brand (who shall remain nameless) came out with their own whoopie pie mix. Picked up the box, looked at the instructions, and thought, "I could copy this myself." (And I'm sure at least a few dozen other people have.) So I snapped a picture of the instructions, bought my own cake mix and frosting. I'll be attempting this in the future.
You mix the cake mix, then put 2/3rds or so in the tins, squeeze a dollop of creme in, then put some more batter on top. Mine weren't so precise, though they came out okay. There are exact instructions on how to put the creme in (DON'T let the creme touch the sides). Bake, and you have your own Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, whatever. They taste good. They're fine. They'll cure your sweet tooth. Honestly, I won't buy these too often.
If someone from BC ever reads this, try putting a frosting tip mechanism with the creme. It'll go in easier; the user will have better control.
Round 2: Me v. Roasted Cauliflower. I won. It came out much better this time. Kept the temp much lower- about 300-325 deg.
So... I was buying stuff at the store today when Another National Brand (who shall remain nameless) came out with their own whoopie pie mix. Picked up the box, looked at the instructions, and thought, "I could copy this myself." (And I'm sure at least a few dozen other people have.) So I snapped a picture of the instructions, bought my own cake mix and frosting. I'll be attempting this in the future.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Brownies vs. Marshmallows
"What a marshmallow!"- Jacob Black, New Moon
(Ha ha.)
The newest recipe that I have tried most recently involves brownie mix. It was based on taking cookie dough, putting it in muffin tins, and when it was pretty much baked, you put in a Hershey's Kiss, mini peanut butter cup, etc.-- thus creating a "cookie cup." So I wondered: can it be done with brownie mix?
It can. Sort of.
It depends on what you want to put in it. Peanut butter cups work beautifully. Marshmallows don't, so much. Those are the two variables I tried. Both items I put in before the brownies were baked. The marshmallows just seemed to float, melt, then simply toast on top. The peanut butter cups just remain in their chocolate beds, slightly melting. There's probably some good news for the marshmallow camp- the marshmallow develops an almost taffy-like consistency after it comes out of the oven.
[And now, an official disclaimer from Mom: she's making me say that I used one large marshmallow per tin. I should have just mixed up mini marshmallows in the batter.]
I'd like to try these in mini muffin tins. The brownies came out soft and fudgy; I tried not to overbake them.
Next up on my baking list and blog: the new bake-your-own "twinkies" that you may have seen in grocery stores.
(Ha ha.)
The newest recipe that I have tried most recently involves brownie mix. It was based on taking cookie dough, putting it in muffin tins, and when it was pretty much baked, you put in a Hershey's Kiss, mini peanut butter cup, etc.-- thus creating a "cookie cup." So I wondered: can it be done with brownie mix?
It can. Sort of.
It depends on what you want to put in it. Peanut butter cups work beautifully. Marshmallows don't, so much. Those are the two variables I tried. Both items I put in before the brownies were baked. The marshmallows just seemed to float, melt, then simply toast on top. The peanut butter cups just remain in their chocolate beds, slightly melting. There's probably some good news for the marshmallow camp- the marshmallow develops an almost taffy-like consistency after it comes out of the oven.
[And now, an official disclaimer from Mom: she's making me say that I used one large marshmallow per tin. I should have just mixed up mini marshmallows in the batter.]
I'd like to try these in mini muffin tins. The brownies came out soft and fudgy; I tried not to overbake them.
Next up on my baking list and blog: the new bake-your-own "twinkies" that you may have seen in grocery stores.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Southern... Toffee?
I had wanted to make this saltine cracker toffee candy for a while. Paula Deen has a recipe of it, but the one I used was from http://tammysrecipes.com/easy_saltine_cracker_candy . It's pretty easy to make, all you need is crackers, brown sugar, butter, nuts, and chocolate chips.
You combine the brown sugar and butter, and bring it to a boil. Okay, done. Pour it over the crackers that you've laid out on a baking sheet. Pop it into the oven for a few minutes, put the chocolate on it, let that melt, then put the nuts on top. Let cool, then put it in the fridge to solidify.
There was one problem. I probably should have doubled the recipe for the toffee, because it didn't really make enough to cover the crackers. The mixture wasn't quite liquified enough, and thus, was not that "pourable." I quickly learned that I didn't have enough chocolate chips on hand. I tried to make do with a remnant of a chocolate bar. The semisweet chips didn't melt that great. Paula uses chocolate bars.
All in all, if you need a sugar fix, this is it. One other thing-- Mom suggested putting the nuts on after the toffee, instead of on the chocolate. (Some of the nuts had fallen off)
If I try this recipe again, I would do a little bit of tweaking.
You combine the brown sugar and butter, and bring it to a boil. Okay, done. Pour it over the crackers that you've laid out on a baking sheet. Pop it into the oven for a few minutes, put the chocolate on it, let that melt, then put the nuts on top. Let cool, then put it in the fridge to solidify.
There was one problem. I probably should have doubled the recipe for the toffee, because it didn't really make enough to cover the crackers. The mixture wasn't quite liquified enough, and thus, was not that "pourable." I quickly learned that I didn't have enough chocolate chips on hand. I tried to make do with a remnant of a chocolate bar. The semisweet chips didn't melt that great. Paula uses chocolate bars.
All in all, if you need a sugar fix, this is it. One other thing-- Mom suggested putting the nuts on after the toffee, instead of on the chocolate. (Some of the nuts had fallen off)
If I try this recipe again, I would do a little bit of tweaking.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
"We have no bananas..."
I don't really care for bananas. Let me clarify: I'm not crazy about eating bananas by themselves. I'm not really sure why.
That being said, I really like a recipe I came across once for banana bread cobbler. And, I do like banana bread. So I thought I'd blog about my attempt to make banana bread-- in muffin form.
I'm working off a recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. It's something Giada de Laurentiis featured on a show of hers. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giadas-weekend-getaways/flours-famous-banana-bread-recipe/index.html
One of the curious things I noticed was that you beat the eggs and sugar together. I'd never done that before in a recipe. I'm using a muffin pan because I don't have a loaf pan. There are 3 ½ bananas (mashed) in this recipe, and toasted walnuts. (Yum. Sprinkled a few extra on top. Mom and I like walnuts.) A little bit of cinnamon is included.
The batter seemed a bit thin, even with the bananas, so I was a bit concerned about the tins overflowing, But they were fine. These do not take nearly as long to bake. It seems like just under a half-hour is perfect. My oven runs kind of hot, so I'm lowering it some more for the leftover batch. These puppies are hot when they come out of the oven, even with a 2-minute rest period. They smell good, too.
The Verdict:
These are really good. They're moist, nutty, and have chunks of banana.
(By the way, the title comes from this old song that my dad had referenced to once in a great while. So I looked it up, and it has a pretty interesting history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes!_We_Have_No_Bananas )
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