Monday, December 26, 2011

Buttery Sugar Cookies!

I found a fantastic sugar cookie recipe! *thrilled*

Notes:
Initially, I fourth-ed the recipe as I wanted to test its reliability. The cookie dough was rather sticky...and they spread immensely in the oven. They melded into one another...so it was like...a deformed, flat....cookie. It was incredibly thin, too. I scraped it off, and started again, thinking that perhaps my approximated 1/4th of an egg and 1/4th cup of butter had been off. 


The second and third batches, I only halved the recipe.They still spread quite a bit but not as much as beforehand. One reason could be the increase in accuracy...as well as my careful mixing to ensure the butter was properly integrated into the dough. Still...even though the consistency of the dough was smoother, the cookies were very thin :( The third batch...see, I put all the batches in for 7 mins rather than 9 mins and it worked for the first two batches, but not for the third...the middles weren't cooked...so I had to stuff them in the oven for an extra few minutes. I ended up with two small batches of sugar cookies, which were thin but still yummy! :) 

Next time I make these, I'll probably ensure I follow the recipe's 9 minutes' calling(I've had bad experiences following the baking time assigned in recipes), and add a bit more flour so that the cookies do not spread as much. Also, generally: Ensure there is substantial spacing as these cookies DO SPREAD, mix balls of dough well to combine butter pieces, ensure the cookie is actually thoroughly cooked! If it looks wet in the middle, let it cook a bit longer. Perhaps then I don't need to rely on time.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Apple-Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake

Ambrosial & Luscious, Nectarous & Scrumptious.








 Standard buttermilk cake with a sprinkling of apple & cinnamon. Turned out beautiful with a glimmering, crisp shell.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Birthday Cake Sandwiches!

It's a sweet friend's birthday tomorrow so I baked her, and another friend whose birthday is today, birthday cake sandwiches. Sadly, not from scratch...but they turned out so yummy(predictably...)! I bought candy corn for ten cents (what an awesome deal!) and made tiny goodie bags out of them. I set the sandwiches in a carrying box, and then placed the leftover cookies on top. And the candy corn bags around. How lovely is that?! :O


 -Scream! No burns? *dashes for camera
 *so...beautiful(sobs)
So good.






THE COOKIES WERE MADE FROM YELLOW BUTTER CAKE MIX

Friday, October 21, 2011

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

(Not made from scratch) Yummy Yummy, Cinnamon Roll Cookies in My Tummy. Or COOKIE; they're not exactly light.

 These were delightful to make---I panicked when I was rolling the dough since it was very fragile but my mom and I managed to successfully roll, freeze, and slice the cookies! This was my first time making this kind of cookie/pastry, and I'm considering making actual cinnamon rolls since I managed these so well.


...Hmm...mostly well...
(Half of the cookies burnt, and half survived: they were all the more delighted that they'd proven their worth against their arrogant competitors, so confident on the highest rung...)

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Butterfly Cake

I hosted a party yesterday for a good friend who achieved her 17th milestone this past Wednesday, and baked this lovely cake(cake mix) in addition to a trifle. If you would like the recipe/ingredients or need help with any potential decorating ideas, feel free to leave a comment.
The cake turned out delicious and very cute!


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Disaster: Cake Balls

Yeah...that lovely surprise I mentioned? Didn't happen. I don't know whether you've heard of cake balls? They're basically cake crumbs mixed with frosting into balls, which are then dipped into some sort of coating. I think I made a few mistakes...1). I screwed up the proportions. I baked the cake, but my mom really wanted to try some by itself, so i cut around 1/8th of it and put it on a plate for her. No biggie, right? Then I used around 3/4th of the frosting container which happened to be just too much for the amount of cake I was working with. I hoped it'd become less sticky, wet, and more solid after refrigerating it...but no. I tried to microwave, and then boil the white chocolate bars I'd gotten for the dipping but I suppose I really should have gotten the actual candy melt moulds or Almond Bar...when I microwaved, it didnt melt all the way. When I boiled, it burnt. So yeah...that was disappointing. On a good note, a few weeks ago my friend baked a triple layer white cake with delicious frosting! Not homemade but it completely rocked! I think it's time for me to start baking again...I havent baked anything, really, since the red velvet cupcakes...


Anyway, that's all for now! :)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Today, I baked homemade red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting(also made from scratch by yours truly). They turned out fantastic. I took them to a party this evening, and they were a hit!
 I didn't have time for a photo shoot today but when I bake the rest of the batter up tomorrow I plan to snap some pics and post them here. Next on my list is...a lovely, sweet surprise to be revealed in about a week from now :)

___________





Sunday, August 14, 2011

Berry-Cake Splendor

I was going to make red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting before I made anything else...but I found a lovely recipe for strawberry-blueberry buttermilk cake. It turned out a bit messy, and the edges were a bit tough, but the cake itself was moist and lovely, especially with a stroke of whipped cream! Imagine it with the whipped cream-picture taking occurred before it was actually served :)






My first adventure with buttermilk is inspiring me to concoct apple-cinnamon buttermilk cake next! Ah, can't forget red velvet cupcakes though!

Till Next Time,


Friday, August 5, 2011

Snickerdoodles!

It's getting late but I wanted to post about today's success in the kitchen: SNICKERDOODLES. Now that I think about it, it's a rather lengthy, though cute name for such a simple cookie.

Snickerdoodles I Baked from Scratch

Usually the snickerdoodles I, and probably you, are more familiar with are the wide, thin versions of these little cinnamon-and-sugar coated balls but for some reason, they didn't spread much. I suspect it's because I didn't add enough shortening. However, tomorrow when I use the rest of the refrigerated dough I shall bake at a lower temperature in the hopes that they turn out looking like the more common cookies. Still, they tasted great!























Next Planned Endeavor:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Question: Would imitation vanilla extract affect the original taste of red velvet cake? If so, what substitute(without ANY alcohol) would be suitable for this dessert?