Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
You know...
You know you're not sick anymore when you have the energy to bake cinnamon sticky rolls...and eat them.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Talia bakes a cake and a cupcake
I was surprised to find carrot cake categorized under "kid friendly" recipes on allrecipes.com.
As a child, I'd seen carrot cakes in cake display cabinets and always imagined them to be yucky.
Don't get me wrong, I love carrots. I was brought up to believe that carrots would make my eyesight stay as sharp as a bunny rabbit's. My mother even reinforced this belief by telling me, at the dinner table, the tales of Little Rabbit who liked to eat carrot dishes not unlike the ones she made.
My point is, Little Rabbit-my carrot chomping role model- never ate no carrot cake. He had em' in soups, in roasts, boiled, steamed, even mashed but never as a dessert. I always imagined that carrots were meant to be savory, which is why I've never eaten a carrot cake before...until today.
Since I love spices so much, my boyfriend had mentioned that I might like it. So I found this recipe, with over 1,600 reviews on allrecipes.com (which I suppose, means at least 2,000 people have probably thought that this recipe was worth trying).
I have to admit, I still had my doubts as I mixed the batter...
....but the first bite of the warm, vitamin A packed sweet and spiciness changed my mind
Carrot Cake
-adapted from allrecipes.com-
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
½ cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups grated carrots (I used 2 carrots)
1/2 cup raisins
1.Grate carrots, soak raisins in hot water, set both aside.
2.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F).
3.In a large bowl, mix sugars with oil, beat in eggs, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stir in carrots.
4.Squeeze water from raisins and fold into the batter. Pour into prepared pan.
5.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely
Note: The recipe comes with a cream cheese frosting which I skipped because I neither like nor possess any of the stuff
I baked mine in a dish and had some some batter leftover to fill a cupcake cup.
As a child, I'd seen carrot cakes in cake display cabinets and always imagined them to be yucky.
Don't get me wrong, I love carrots. I was brought up to believe that carrots would make my eyesight stay as sharp as a bunny rabbit's. My mother even reinforced this belief by telling me, at the dinner table, the tales of Little Rabbit who liked to eat carrot dishes not unlike the ones she made.
My point is, Little Rabbit-my carrot chomping role model- never ate no carrot cake. He had em' in soups, in roasts, boiled, steamed, even mashed but never as a dessert. I always imagined that carrots were meant to be savory, which is why I've never eaten a carrot cake before...until today.
Since I love spices so much, my boyfriend had mentioned that I might like it. So I found this recipe, with over 1,600 reviews on allrecipes.com (which I suppose, means at least 2,000 people have probably thought that this recipe was worth trying).
I have to admit, I still had my doubts as I mixed the batter...
....but the first bite of the warm, vitamin A packed sweet and spiciness changed my mind
Carrot Cake
-adapted from allrecipes.com-
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
½ cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups grated carrots (I used 2 carrots)
1/2 cup raisins
1.Grate carrots, soak raisins in hot water, set both aside.
2.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F).
3.In a large bowl, mix sugars with oil, beat in eggs, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stir in carrots.
4.Squeeze water from raisins and fold into the batter. Pour into prepared pan.
5.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely
Note: The recipe comes with a cream cheese frosting which I skipped because I neither like nor possess any of the stuff
I baked mine in a dish and had some some batter leftover to fill a cupcake cup.
Friday, April 24, 2009
cookies and flowers
It's been a really long, rough week for both my boyfriend and me. After my class finished on Friday, I thought I'd bake some chocolate chip cookies to cheer him up.
Just as I was going to pop them into the oven, the door clicked...
he'd brought a bunch of roses for me because he wanted me to feel better.
Life can be so cute
almost like an O Henry story, with less loss and more awwww
*Edit*
Boyfriend loved the cookies a lot and suggested I put up the recipe here:
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
-modified from allrecipes
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dark and milk chocolate chunks
1.Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chunks.
3.Chill cookie dough for two hours or overnight.
4.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F ). Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown. If you use butter, the cookies will probably spread.
Just as I was going to pop them into the oven, the door clicked...
he'd brought a bunch of roses for me because he wanted me to feel better.
Life can be so cute
almost like an O Henry story, with less loss and more awwww
*Edit*
Boyfriend loved the cookies a lot and suggested I put up the recipe here:
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
-modified from allrecipes
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dark and milk chocolate chunks
1.Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chunks.
3.Chill cookie dough for two hours or overnight.
4.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F ). Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown. If you use butter, the cookies will probably spread.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Strawberry Bread
I can't believe we ate up the apple bread in 2 days. It was good stuff and I was eager to fill the bread box up again as soon as the last crumb had been devoured (by me).
The concept of adding strawberries to bread is one that is quite new to me, but they are still in season and the recipe that I found from joyofbaking.com looked so easy that I decided to try it out.
I love baking with spices, it makes the house smell really nice, plus the scent of cinnamon apparently helps boost brain activity and relaxes the tired mind. It also works effectively as an anti-depressant-just the smell I need to get through the midterms!
Strawberry Bread
-recipe from joyofbaking, with minor changes-
1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F ) and place the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of your loaf pan. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mash the banana with the sugar using a spoon (it’s almost like creaming it, but stickier),mix in the oil and vanilla. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
4. Add the flour mixture (in three additions) and yogurt (in two additions) to the wet mixture alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 1 loaf.
Note: Definitely bake this for at least 45 minutes, I took mine out a bit too early and the center was a bit gooey (I'm not complaining though). You also want to make sure you wash the strawberries thoroughly before you use them in China because they use quite a bit of pesticide
The concept of adding strawberries to bread is one that is quite new to me, but they are still in season and the recipe that I found from joyofbaking.com looked so easy that I decided to try it out.
I love baking with spices, it makes the house smell really nice, plus the scent of cinnamon apparently helps boost brain activity and relaxes the tired mind. It also works effectively as an anti-depressant-just the smell I need to get through the midterms!
Strawberry Bread
-recipe from joyofbaking, with minor changes-
1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F ) and place the oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of your loaf pan. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mash the banana with the sugar using a spoon (it’s almost like creaming it, but stickier),mix in the oil and vanilla. Then, beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
4. Add the flour mixture (in three additions) and yogurt (in two additions) to the wet mixture alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake about one hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 1 loaf.
Note: Definitely bake this for at least 45 minutes, I took mine out a bit too early and the center was a bit gooey (I'm not complaining though). You also want to make sure you wash the strawberries thoroughly before you use them in China because they use quite a bit of pesticide
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Spiced Apple Bread
After a horrendous week of midterm assignments and (ugh) group presentations at the university, baking was wonderful way to de-stress.
I've been spending alot of time at the Starbucks outside of my school(they upgrade your the size of your coffee if you flash your student ID, it's awesome)because I had to be on standby near school grounds as my presentation group kept calling group meetings out of nowhere.
They've got some new zucchini bread thing that they keep trying to get you to get on top of your coffee purchase because it's their job. Anyway, I didn't get it because, well, I'm me. But I had a look at it through the glass shelf and thought, "I'll bet I could make something that looks like that".
And so I did. Except with apples.
Spiced Applesauce Bread with Peanut Crumbs
-modified from allrecipes
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried currants
Peanut Crumb Topping
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1.Soak currants in hot water and set aside. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk; beat well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt; stir until smooth. Fold in the currants. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3.For crumb topping: In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and peanut butter together with your fingers to create crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.
4.Bake bread in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
The bread turned out really nice and moist, I liked it a lot. There's not alot of fat in it, but I used quite alot of sugar.
Applesauce doesn't come cheap or easily in Beijing so I made my own using another recipe adapted from allrecipes. It made the bread even better because it was chunky, plus mashing is always fun^^
Here's the recipe
Chunky Homemade Applesauce
4 medium sized apples
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1. Put all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to boil and simmer on low hear for about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and mash apples with potato masher
I've been spending alot of time at the Starbucks outside of my school(they upgrade your the size of your coffee if you flash your student ID, it's awesome)because I had to be on standby near school grounds as my presentation group kept calling group meetings out of nowhere.
They've got some new zucchini bread thing that they keep trying to get you to get on top of your coffee purchase because it's their job. Anyway, I didn't get it because, well, I'm me. But I had a look at it through the glass shelf and thought, "I'll bet I could make something that looks like that".
And so I did. Except with apples.
Spiced Applesauce Bread with Peanut Crumbs
-modified from allrecipes
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried currants
Peanut Crumb Topping
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1.Soak currants in hot water and set aside. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk; beat well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt; stir until smooth. Fold in the currants. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3.For crumb topping: In a bowl, mix flour, sugar and peanut butter together with your fingers to create crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.
4.Bake bread in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
The bread turned out really nice and moist, I liked it a lot. There's not alot of fat in it, but I used quite alot of sugar.
Applesauce doesn't come cheap or easily in Beijing so I made my own using another recipe adapted from allrecipes. It made the bread even better because it was chunky, plus mashing is always fun^^
Here's the recipe
Chunky Homemade Applesauce
4 medium sized apples
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1. Put all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to boil and simmer on low hear for about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and mash apples with potato masher
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Banana Date Streusel Bread
I was shopping at the Lotus supermarket when I spied by the fruit weighing counter, bags of overripe bananas going really cheap. It was like 2 kuai a jin! I mean come on, what did I REALLY have to lose? (or so I reason)
With the help of google, I figured out that the best way to use up 7 overripe bananas was to bake banana bread with them. So I did. And I'm telling you, it was well worth my kuais!
Banana bread is a lot of fun to make because it involves mashing up bananas. You wouldn't believe how much fun banana mashing can be until you've tried it yourself.
Got an anger management problem? Take it out on some bananas!
Ah, carbs can be fun after all...
Banana Date Streusel Spice Bread
modified from Allrecipes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
110 ml oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
6-7 mashed overripe bananas
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup chopped Chinese dates
Streusel Topping
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons wheat bran
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1.Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F).
2.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda,cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together oil and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Mix in chopped dates.
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. (I had enough batter for 2 loaves)
4.In a small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, bran. Pour in the oil mix them by hand until it looks coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the bread batter.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool and then turn it out of the pan to eat or store.
With the help of google, I figured out that the best way to use up 7 overripe bananas was to bake banana bread with them. So I did. And I'm telling you, it was well worth my kuais!
Banana bread is a lot of fun to make because it involves mashing up bananas. You wouldn't believe how much fun banana mashing can be until you've tried it yourself.
Got an anger management problem? Take it out on some bananas!
Ah, carbs can be fun after all...
Banana Date Streusel Spice Bread
modified from Allrecipes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
110 ml oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
6-7 mashed overripe bananas
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup chopped Chinese dates
Streusel Topping
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons wheat bran
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1.Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F).
2.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda,cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together oil and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Mix in chopped dates.
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. (I had enough batter for 2 loaves)
4.In a small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, bran. Pour in the oil mix them by hand until it looks coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the bread batter.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool and then turn it out of the pan to eat or store.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
D'oooooh
I don't know which freaks me out more, carbohydrates or fried food-but one thing's for sure: if you combine 'em, I'm definitely gonna hate em'...
...which is why I can't think of anything nice to say about doughnuts.
They are first and foremost carbs-empty ones that that!-and the whole concept of fried dough is enough to make any carb fearing health freak (myself) shudder. (*enter frightful images of golden brown dough taken out of deep fryer and soaked in and dripping with oil*)
Honestly, how did people ever come up with the idea of frying a carb? I can't help but to stare at people biting into a doughnut, or those that line up for ages at J-Co for them (like my brother), how can people eat that stuff? How is it even a food?!
Ok. End doughnut hate rant.
Why then, am I making the very food item I just professed my hate for?
Two words: Bimbo Doughnuts. (or should I say donettes? )
My boyfriend loves chocolate Bimbo doughnuts and is constantly buying them from the nearby mini mart.
(I know this sounds psychotic but) It disturbs me to a degree to see him eat that stuff because well, you see doughnut, I see sugar, flour and fat. (*enter horror film scream**return frightful images of golden brown dough taken out of deep fryer and soaked in and dripping with oil*)
So I've been wondering for some time if it were possible for me to give this "treat" a healthier makeover. I finally found recipes for baked doughnuts on veganyumyum and littlecornerofmine that sounded just about all right so I decided to try them out today...
...and learned to hate them even more....
First of all, I didn't have doughnut molds. The dough was sticky AS and impossible to mold with my hands. So what was I supposed to do?
I'll tell you what I did and did not work!!!
I placed the tin cap from my bottle of smirnoff in the center of a ramekin cup and poured in the dough.
I have to admit, I really thought it was going to work up until the dough (as it began to rise, and this dough rises like crazy) lifted the damned bottle cap up like the beanstalk lifted Jack's house into the air. So every few seconds, I had to stick a fork into the oven to press the bottle cap down in hopes of keeping its shape.
When I finally took it out of the oven, I had to operate the "doughnut" with a kitchen knife to get the bottle cap out. I also trimmed the doughnut hole to make it prettier (and ate the center, which I will admit did taste pretty good)
So much work for a stupid cake with a stupid hole!
To make it look more presentable, I heated up some cream and poured it over chocolate chunks to make an icing of some sorts.
Doughnut-cake-thing gets a makeover
So I set out to bake doughnuts but ended up with half a dozen cupcakes instead...
...each disguised with chocolate icing
I suppose the problem really was me. Had I owned a doughnut pan or been more skilled a baker, this might have ended better ><
But really, when you think about it, aren't doughnuts really just cakes with holes in them?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Cookie Delivery
Before I begin, I just want to say this:
Shelled pecans are dangerous little nuts that should come with warnings on their packaging:
WARNING Do Not Attempt To De-Shell Entire Package With Fingers-or- Excessive Pecan Shelling Can Be Hazardous To Your Thumb.
Stupid innocent looking nut
I learned this the painful way.
-On a side note: I also discovered that the most efficient way to get the little buggers out (if you, like me, do not own a nutcracker) is by throwing them hard on the ground. They crack open quite beautifully this way-though some might question the ingeniousity of the method on the basis of hygienic concerns-
The reason I was shelling pecans of all things was because I wanted to use them in the chocolate chip cookies I was baking for my brother.
The last time I'd attempted to offer my cookies to him was during his birthday last year. I baked an assortment of cookies, put them in a pretty tupperware box, ventured out to the post office, endured looks of ridicule from post officers, paid for express delivery! only to have the cookies ROT in some obscure post office in Shanghai due to the fact that my brother was not home to receive the package and never went to collect it.
*breathes* I have gotten over that.
Since I am visiting him in Shanghai for the weekend, I figured that I could make a personal cookie delivery.
Bahtiyar once mentioned his like for Famous Amos and Mrs Fields, so I thought he might appreciate homemade cookies since you can't get either kind in China. You can get big cookies at Subway but they just suck.
I decided to bake him chocolate chip cookies using a recipe from Smitten Kitchen (a food blog I've come to like very much).
The thing about the recipe is that it calls for ALOT of chocolate chip, I'm talking about A WHOLE FREAKING LOT. The chocolate chips hold together the dough instead of the other way around...
...which is supposedly a good thing.
You see, personally, I don't appreciate chocolate much. I'm more of a nut-nut. I have great difficulty sympathizing with nut haters. If I had it my way, there would be nut chip cookies with no chocolate. If a chocolate chip cookie did not have nuts in them, I would not even want to try them. (but this isn't about me)
According to Smitten Kitchen, chocolate lovers apparently dislike having nuts because they don't want the "glorious" taste of chocolate to be overpowered by the nuts.
So I chopped up the pecans to the point where they were just nut specks. It was like mincing garlic but more fun.
Fact: Talia experiences maniacal pleasure when chopping chocolate and nuts. It is possibly the funnest part of baking.
I usually make my cookies big and soft, but my brother is a bit of a couch potato and I thought he'd enjoy having bite-sized ones.
BAD IDEA.
I almost burnt the little balls of dough and they came out really hard.
I fed two to Andy who, between loud crunches, informed me with all the decorum of a diplomat, that they were indeed slightly overcooked. He then proceeded to eat some of the cookie dough and declared that they were destined to be hard cookies.
Suspecting that I shouldn't have skimped on the butter, I threw the rest of the batter into the fridge and whipped up soft oatmeal cookies.
Those thankfully turned out delicious and beautiful. I divided the dough into three parts and made raisin, pecan and orange zest flavored oatmeal cookies.
I then baked the chocolate chip cookie dough at a higher temperature, making them bigger this time and watched over the oven like a hawk.
This time they came out chewy.
Anyway, my brother ate them just now and he liked them. He is usually very picky with food. I am happy. Blistered fingers and all.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Cookie Monster Unleashed
I am probably one of the biggest carb-o-phobics you will ever meet.
Yet I love baking, and I love homemade cookies.
The carb-hating cookie monster, just another lovely physiological conflict in the mental world of Talia
I rarely make cookies, for fear of going into some kind of crazy binge, not unlike the actual sesame street character in question.
Since discovering what an awesome cookie baker I am, I developed a somewhat superior attitude towards all commercially packaged cookies-Oreos? Chips Ahoy? Famous Amos? So Not worth the calories.(which I suppose makes me a Picky Cookie Monster)
Anyway, I baked two batches last Saturday to share with my boyfriend, who was sweet and agreed to be my gastronomical guinea pig.
It doesn't help that I also happen to be an awesome cookie baker
Here's what I made:
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
¼ cup margarine, softened
¼ cup virgin olive oil
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cups rolled oats
½ cup dark raisins
½ cup golden raisins
1. Before doing anything else, soak the raisins in boiled water and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and olive oil with the sugars until smooth. Then add the vanilla and beat in the egg. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture by spoonfuls, and then stir in the oats and raisins (drained).
4. I usually refrigerate my cookie dough for at least an hour, or overnight, depending on how soon I want it.
5. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Take a tablespoonful of cookie dough and shape it into the size and thickness that you want it to be (the end product will be a little bigger and flatter). Place it onto ungreased cookie sheets or aluminum foil and repeat with the rest of the dough (this much be the dumbest sounding recipe in the world)
6. Bake for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and when they look just about done, remove cookies from the oven and let them stand for ½ a minute or so if you want the bottom to be crunchier. Remove from sheets, and allow to cool. I got about 12 medium, soft cookies outta this.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
-recipe adapted from AllRecipes-
½ cup margarine
½ cup peanut butter (crunchy, smooth, salted, unsalted, whatever you have)
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup quick cooking oats
1.In a large bowl, cream together margarine, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla. Then beat in the egg.
2.In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add this mixture by spoonfuls to the sugar mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3.Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown. Remove from oven and allow them to cool. I made about 18 cookies from this.
The peanut butter cookies came out just okay. I think it's because I used salted peanut butter this time (that was what we had in the kitchen). Also, the original recipe makes peanut butter cookie sandwiches, which are prettier looking.
They turned out better the last time I made them, filling and all:
This is the filling step I'd skipped:
Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.
Yet I love baking, and I love homemade cookies.
The carb-hating cookie monster, just another lovely physiological conflict in the mental world of Talia
I rarely make cookies, for fear of going into some kind of crazy binge, not unlike the actual sesame street character in question.
Since discovering what an awesome cookie baker I am, I developed a somewhat superior attitude towards all commercially packaged cookies-Oreos? Chips Ahoy? Famous Amos? So Not worth the calories.(which I suppose makes me a Picky Cookie Monster)
Anyway, I baked two batches last Saturday to share with my boyfriend, who was sweet and agreed to be my gastronomical guinea pig.
It doesn't help that I also happen to be an awesome cookie baker
Here's what I made:
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
¼ cup margarine, softened
¼ cup virgin olive oil
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cups rolled oats
½ cup dark raisins
½ cup golden raisins
1. Before doing anything else, soak the raisins in boiled water and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and olive oil with the sugars until smooth. Then add the vanilla and beat in the egg. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture by spoonfuls, and then stir in the oats and raisins (drained).
4. I usually refrigerate my cookie dough for at least an hour, or overnight, depending on how soon I want it.
5. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Take a tablespoonful of cookie dough and shape it into the size and thickness that you want it to be (the end product will be a little bigger and flatter). Place it onto ungreased cookie sheets or aluminum foil and repeat with the rest of the dough (this much be the dumbest sounding recipe in the world)
6. Bake for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and when they look just about done, remove cookies from the oven and let them stand for ½ a minute or so if you want the bottom to be crunchier. Remove from sheets, and allow to cool. I got about 12 medium, soft cookies outta this.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
-recipe adapted from AllRecipes-
½ cup margarine
½ cup peanut butter (crunchy, smooth, salted, unsalted, whatever you have)
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup quick cooking oats
1.In a large bowl, cream together margarine, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla. Then beat in the egg.
2.In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add this mixture by spoonfuls to the sugar mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3.Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown. Remove from oven and allow them to cool. I made about 18 cookies from this.
The peanut butter cookies came out just okay. I think it's because I used salted peanut butter this time (that was what we had in the kitchen). Also, the original recipe makes peanut butter cookie sandwiches, which are prettier looking.
They turned out better the last time I made them, filling and all:
This is the filling step I'd skipped:
Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.
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About Me
- Talia
- I'm a journalism student and a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Baking, getting random Chinese ingredients, reading recipes and playing in the kitchen are part of my many interests.
