More Cookies

Wow, I've learned from my mistakes. The first being, remember that you substitute 1/2 crisco butter flavored for butter in the cookies. The second, don't roll out the cookies on a REALLY humid day. Both of these factors, went into my cutout cookies that I just got done making. They came out fine, and taste great, but were a pain. And I had to work really, really quickly!

I went back to the cutout cookie recipe I used two times ago. I still think I prefer the one I usually use, but I just can't get over all of the waste of the eggs in the recipe. I should try to figure out if I can just use 1 whole egg in place of 2 egg whites... I guess I'll have to look into it!

Birthday Cakes

I had a busy weekend of baking cakes. I had to do two Elmo birthday cakes.. They were so fun. I used the frozen buttercream transfer method and was very happy with the results. My only problem I had was that the cake recipes I used were for bundt pans and they sunk in the middle more then I would have liked. The taste was excellent though. Very moist! I will have to try to research it a bit further. I also, used a different buttercream and I had pros and cons to it. I'd maybe use it again with some changes. But you never know until you try, and I really liked not having to use meraigne powder.

So, here it is!

Buttercream

Well, I'm on a baking marathon the next month or so. I've got three orders, so it will definetely keep me busy. I made all of the buttercream for the cakes for this weekend. I tried a new recipe that is a crusting buttercream but elliminates the meraigne powder and uses dream whip instead. I didn't really see much difference, however, I haven't tried to do anything with it yet. I also made a batch of "buttery buttercream" to do the frozen buttercream transfer with. That I will start tonight along with baking the cakes.. So much to do, so little time. Of course, I'll post the finished product.

Back to Banana

Tomorrow Jeff and I have a wedding to go to so I thought I'd make some cookies for the babysitters. Since I have bananas in the freezer, I"m going to make chocolate chip banana cookies. These have to be one of my favorites. I do make the frosting for the top, but these are wonderfully soft, and almost like a cake! I'm going to eliminate the walnuts since my father in law can't have nuts and may add a few extra chocolate chips. I've been making these for years, and they are always a hit!

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/chunky-banana-chocolate-chip-cookies

Catching Up

Well, I'm just catching up a bit. Seems like with the new house, I'm still baking, but just not getting my pictures uploaded. Here are some pictures of cookies I decorated for a graduation party. These were not my favorite of all I've ever made, but there were so many of them, I didn't have the time to focus on the detail. The chocolate cake is the darn good chocolate cake from the cake mix dr. Came out wonderful, it is such a good cake, I froze some to use to make ice cream blizzards. I forgot to take a picture of the cake out of the pan unfortuantely. The other picture is of a blueberry custard pie. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com. The pie was good. The custard part was good, but I think I'd have prefered a little more of a traditional custard then a sour cream based one. There was a hint of sour cream taste rather then sweetness. But the crumb topping and blueberry part were great. I also made a cream cheese pie crust to go with it. I noticed that these crusts brown so much better then store bought ones. I think I'm hooked on making my own pie crusts. Mmmm Pie! Enjoy!

Cookies

I made a similar recipe to the one posted below except this recipe replaced some of the white sugar with confectionary sugar and I used a mixture of flour and confectionary sugar to roll them out. I definetely think this did help to make the cookies softer. I also underbaked them about a minute which I definetely think helped too. The cookies came out pretty good. I'm not sure I noticed a huge different in taste from the original, but they definetely are softer then some of the others I made. I used cookie icing to decorate and used four drops of Lorann Cotton Candy oil to flavor. Next time I think I need to use more though as you can't really taste the difference. I will post pictures of the cookies once I get them uploaded.

Banana Bread Update

Yum, It was pretty good. It definetely came out moist with a slight banana flavor. I might add another banana next time for a better banana flavor. I almost could taste the applesauce more then the banana. But it was good - a good starting point. Now, I'll have to make again w/ some changes to perfect it. Its gone for now though! In only 2 days.

Banana Bread

I bought a lot of extra bananas this week in hopes of making banana bread. I went simple with this loaf b/c I wanted the baby to be able to eat it, so I stayed away from the nuts. I used the standard recipe from my better homes and garden cookbook and made one change:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinammon
3 medium bananas
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tbsp canola oil
1 egg
We haven't tasted it yet, but it certainly looked and smelled delicious coming out of the oven! I will post the results from the boys as soon as I hear them:)

Finally Some Pictures!

I've had quite a busy week and haven't gotten to do too much with my blog. I made wheat cinnamon raisin bread in my bread machine last night. I don't have a picture but the boys loved it! This is the second time I"ve made the receipe and both times it came out really good. I answered my phone at work to my 9 mo. old screaming - he wanted more bread.... Here is the recipe I used: http://www.bread-maker.net/Bread-maker-recipes/Whole-Wheat-Cinnamon-Raisin-Bread.htm

Above, I've finally uploaded some pictures of my Lemon Cookies and My Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. Both were super yummy and I would make them again!

Not Much New

Things have been a little quiet on the baking front but I"m ready to kick it up again this weekend! I have a very busy weekend with a baby and a bridal shower. I'm going to try to make Lemon cookies for the bridal shower along with the rest of the chocolate chips that are in my freezer. I find that instead of buying the ready made dough, it is just as easy (and less expensive) to make the dough, roll it into balls, and then stick them in the freezer. Then, you can just take them out and bake! This allows you to make as many as you need without waste.

Here is a link to the Lemon cookies. I will post a picture and update as soon as its completed! http://www.womansday.com/Recipes/Lemon-Dimples-Recipe I was in a rush when I went to the store (with both kids in the cart) so I just bought lemon pie filling for the centers. Otherwise, I plan to make them as stated. I first saw this recipe and knew I had to try it. The only problem: My husband HATES lemon. So, I figured this would be an ideal time to make them, without myself having to eat the whole batch!

Weekend Full of Baking

My birthday cake roll was so yummy!! The filling was not quite as thick as it should have been, but the taste was excellent. My oldest son ate two pieces!

I made some interesting cupcakes this weekend. I used a basic yellow butter golden cake recipe and my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe to create chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Dough--Cupcake--The-BEST-Cupcake-Ever/Detail.aspx?prop31=3 I then topped them off with some homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. When you looked at the cupcakes, they looked normal, but they were so rich you were left running for a drink after you were done. I definetely will make them again!

My Birthday Cake

Every year my husband makes my birthday cake for me. This year, I could not decide what I wanted! I seriously looked for days, until I finally decided on the Strawberry Mallow Cake Roll from the taste of home magazine http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Strawberry-Mallow-Cake-Roll.

Unfortunately for my husband, the process to make this was a little difficult. However, the cake turned our great. The only downfall was that I told him to use less strawberry cream cheese b/c I wanted to save some for Jase's lunch (he loves it on his sandwiches). Well, I'm not sure if this was what caused it, but all of the filling came out of the roll! Perhaps, we should have added more confectionary sugar to "thicken it". But, it looks yummy! I can't wait until tonight to try it!

Pictures

Well, cookie favors are already done and I'm finally getting to post a picture. All in all, they came out well. I used royal icing for these because I had some left from a previous job and wanted to use it up. I haven't tasted any yet because I've got just enough for the shower, but I will be sure to make a post about the taste at a later date. Enjoy the pictures!

Cut Out Cookies

Well, I tried a new cutout cookie recipe yesterday. I have a couple that I usually change between, but the one I use for my decorated cookies calls for 3 whole eggs and 5 egg yolks, which seems like such a waste of egg to me. So, I decided to try another recipe. Here is the recipe I tried:

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

I made a couple changes in that I used 1/2 tbsp. of vanilla and added a 1/2 tsp of butter extract. And I used butter flavored crisco in place of 1/2 of the butter. The cookies weren't bad, in fact I think I will use this in place of my other recipe. However, they were a little hard on the bottoms. On another blog, I saw this same recipe, but 1/2 cup of the sugar was replaced with 1/2 cup of confectionary sugar, and then the cookies were rolled in confectionary sugar. I think I may have another task set aside for me to see if this does help not make them so tough on the bottom.

New Twist on Pie

This weekend I made my triple berry pie. This pie is always a favorite of mine and everyone who tries it. Basically, I converted a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pie, into a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry pie. I entered this pie into a baking contest at the fair this past year, but unfortunately, it didn't win. So, I'm trying to improve on it. Usually, I use a bought pie crust, but decided this time to make one from scratch. As I was searching through my recipes, I found a pie that used cream cheese. That was when I got the bright idea to use up the strawberry cream cheese I had in the refrigerator. This was one of the best pie crusts ever -- and it especially complemented the strawberry pie without really taking over. It just melted in your mouth. And the best part, it only contained three ingredients, flour, the cream cheese, and butter. I will definetely make this again. It rolled easily and was just perfect!

Just Starting Out

Well, I decided to try this whole thing out. Now, what to say. I'm going to use this blog to discuss all of my "crafting" adventures, including my baking. Right now I"m working on some cookies for a friends shower and trying to finish Logan's Easter Scrapbook page. I bought a new sewing machine over the weekend and really want to make a purse. Where to find the time to do all this????