So I'm aware that I'm a little late getting my Easter post up, but I've been really busy recently...
Easter was really great! Church was awe-some. Afterward, our apartment had a fun get together. I bought a ham and successfully glazed it! Once we had stuffed ourselves on green bean casserole (thanks to G), orange creamsicle jello (thanks to S) and mashed potatoes (thanks to N), we went out and had our own little twist of an easter egg hunt. Ok, ok, it wasn't our own. Technically it originated in Texas and N was the one to introduce us to it. Basically, for like a month we cracked eggs in a special way so we could save the shell mostly intact (after we washed it out). Easter Sunday, N dyed them and S and G helped put confetti in all of them (I was busy with the ham). So after dinner we went outside and cracked them on each others heads! It was way fun and there's still confetti and egg debris outside on the grass behind our building.
Once we had cracked all our eggs we went back inside to watch The Testiments (which I still love! and cry during).
In the spirit of the ressurection of our Lord and Savoir, here are a couple of YouTube videos...
An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ
All Creatures of Our God and King (one of my fav's)
To keep with the Baking theme of this Blog, I made a yummy, chocolate mush on Easter which we have dubbed "Chocolate Thunder". I unfortunately didn't get a picture of it, so basically imagine a mixture of Chocolate Cake with Sour Milk, Sour Cream Frosting, Chocolate Pudding, and watered down raspberry jam. Sooo good! Trust me on this.
Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunday. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Girl Scout cookies?
So Conference Weekend was awesome! (ya ok, two weeks late I know) N and G went and visited family so S and I stayed home and watched. I love being able to hear the words of the Lord! I decided that Sunday I would have a baking extravaganza. Mainly to keep busy and give some people in the ward cookies, but also because I have recently decided to become a PASTRY CHEF!!! I think by my most recent calculation I decided that it's going to take me about three years before I can get my degree from the pastry school of my choice. I still have to graduate from BYU (hopefully August 2010), and then I'm planning on finding a job for a year to finance said educational adventure. Plus it might be nice to take a trip somewhere foreign. We'll see...
But back to Conference weekend. I was looking for recipes to bake when I stumbled upon one for Caremel de Lites (aka Samoas!). After about a month of wishing I knew some Girl Scouts, I realized I'm talented enough to make my own GS cookies. So I found a recipe for Thin Mints and got super excited to bake all of Sunday. I then realized that I should have my own baking blog! So...this is officially becoming my baking blog. Fear not! In case you were wondering how you are going to keep track of my busy, busy life I'm still going to add tidbits about my random happenings. I might even update more.
Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.
Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes 30 bar cookies.
Mock Thin Mints
An Occasional Chocolate recipe
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2 T. Water
2 T. Cooking Oil
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 pkg. Guittard Chocolate Chips
2−3 drops Mint Flavoring Oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs, water, cooking oil, and cocoa. Blend together well. Let stand for 20 minutes, and then shape into 1/2 inch balls. Place balls on cookie sheet 2 inches a part and smash down flat using a spoon covered in non-stick spray. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Heat chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. When completely melted add a couple drops of the mint flavoring. Dip the cookies into the chocolate using a dipping tool
After having to combine melted chocolate chips with cookies I realized two things; 1) I need better chocolate chips to melt down so things aren't so thickly covered, 2) I need to get better at working with chocolate. I just chatted with a girl in my ward who dipped her own strawberries for our wards desert night and she said she uses Almond Bark chocolate from Wal Mart for her melted chocolate purposes. I shall investigate.
Oh PS...this is what I made on the Saturday of Conference. It turned out pretty good I think.
Elvis Gooey Butter Cake
recipe from Paula Deen
Ingredients:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, melted
Mint leave (for garnish)
Whipped cream (for garnish)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs and butter together and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 13 X 9-inch baking pan. Prepare filling.
Filling:
One 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 whole banana
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
One 16-ounce box powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add peanut butter; beat. Add the banana and butter and mix well. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees if using a metal pan; 350 degrees if using a glass pan. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not over bake. Top cake slice with mint leaf and dollop of whipped cream.
I put half a can of chocolate frosting on top. Chocolate + Banana's+Peanut Butter=Yummm!
But back to Conference weekend. I was looking for recipes to bake when I stumbled upon one for Caremel de Lites (aka Samoas!). After about a month of wishing I knew some Girl Scouts, I realized I'm talented enough to make my own GS cookies. So I found a recipe for Thin Mints and got super excited to bake all of Sunday. I then realized that I should have my own baking blog! So...this is officially becoming my baking blog. Fear not! In case you were wondering how you are going to keep track of my busy, busy life I'm still going to add tidbits about my random happenings. I might even update more.
Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.
Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes 30 bar cookies.
Mock Thin MintsAn Occasional Chocolate recipe
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2 T. Water
2 T. Cooking Oil
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 pkg. Guittard Chocolate Chips
2−3 drops Mint Flavoring Oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs, water, cooking oil, and cocoa. Blend together well. Let stand for 20 minutes, and then shape into 1/2 inch balls. Place balls on cookie sheet 2 inches a part and smash down flat using a spoon covered in non-stick spray. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Heat chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. When completely melted add a couple drops of the mint flavoring. Dip the cookies into the chocolate using a dipping tool
After having to combine melted chocolate chips with cookies I realized two things; 1) I need better chocolate chips to melt down so things aren't so thickly covered, 2) I need to get better at working with chocolate. I just chatted with a girl in my ward who dipped her own strawberries for our wards desert night and she said she uses Almond Bark chocolate from Wal Mart for her melted chocolate purposes. I shall investigate.
Oh PS...this is what I made on the Saturday of Conference. It turned out pretty good I think.
Elvis Gooey Butter Cakerecipe from Paula Deen
Ingredients:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, melted
Mint leave (for garnish)
Whipped cream (for garnish)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs and butter together and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 13 X 9-inch baking pan. Prepare filling.
Filling:
One 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 whole banana
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
One 16-ounce box powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add peanut butter; beat. Add the banana and butter and mix well. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees if using a metal pan; 350 degrees if using a glass pan. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not over bake. Top cake slice with mint leaf and dollop of whipped cream.
I put half a can of chocolate frosting on top. Chocolate + Banana's+Peanut Butter=Yummm!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Weekend update
Sorry that last post was ridiculously long!
I went on a semi real adventure Saturday morning! G and I decided to hike the Y. I love hiking, even if I don't do it very often. Most def one of my favorite things to do and definitely my favorite out of doors activity.
Saturday was also S's birthday. To celebrate we made Oreo Balls, saw The Dutchess, went grocery shopping, and watched The Muppet's Christmas Carol. I made her a Black Forest cake that turned out better than the first one I made which you can see in the movie titled "Cake" S uploaded 2 months ago on Facebook.
This is the pretty one:
Fast Sunday's are really good things. I enjoy them a lot.
Today was the First Presidency Christmas Message. It was beautiful! I love the First Presidency.
My cousin Lily got baptized today! I'm so proud of her! It will be hard for her to be the only active member of her family. Hopefully she'll be a good example for her younger brothers.
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