… with a capacity of 1.5 lbs, running at 110 volts, and 60 Hz; what could it be?
Boyfriend Unit asked me what I thought about the two of use purchasing this, as a Christmas present to each other. Would I?!
I asked him, “Are you sure?”
He said, “Yup, I’m sure.”
Stay tuned until tomorrow.
If you know what this is, click Like.
If you don’t, leave a comment!
If a pastry explodes in the oven, does it make a sound? More importantly, does it still taste good?
I researched how to make traditional strudel pastry but it sounds like a nightmare so, not today. I trawled the entire grocery store looking for phyllo pastry and discovered it’s kept near the frozen berries. This is my first strudel and I’m pleased with the results, however next time I’ll add raisins and reduce the lemon juice.
Shout-out to Boyfriend for being my camera man.
Time required: 1.5 hours
Yields: 6 pieces
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $24
Cost per piece: $4
Kitchen implements I used:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F / 176°C. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour.
2. Peel, core, and mince the apples. Toss them in a sauce pan with the water, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook on Med-Low for 10 min, stirring often.
3. Combine corn starch and lemon juice, whisk until smooth, then add to cooked apple mixture and simmer for 1 more minute before removing from heat.
We do not want juicy strudel.
4. Place one piece of phyllo on the baking tray. Brush with butter, and sprinkle one teaspoon of breadcrumbs. Don’t stress about making this even, doesn’t really matter.
Do this two more times, then add fourth and final layer (do not add butter or crumbs to top layer).
5. Spoon the filling down one side vertically, leaving room at the edges.
Give camera man 2 thumbs up.
6. Use the parchment paper to support the pastry as you lift it, you’re trying to tuck it over and under the apple filling, and then carefully roll it over like so. Once you’ve got the first turn, peel the parchment paper back towards you.
Keep turning it, and between turns try to smooth it with your hands to an even shape.
This was a little nerve-wracking, worried about tearing it.
Roll it up 3-4 times until it’s at the edge.
7. Brush butter inside the open edge then flip it so the seam is on the bottom. Tuck the ends in.
8. Dust with a cinnamon sugar mix.
9. Bake 20-25 min until golden brown.
10. Cool on rack at least 5 min before serving. Mein gott! What is this?
Verdict:
You want to get judged harshly? Tell people in advance you are using phyllo instead of making the pastry yourself.
Response from best friend: “0_0 That is really shocking.”
This was fairly simple to make. Aside from the explosion, it turned out great. I may have had a tantrum when I saw that, but I cut it in thirds first, and got 4 nicely sliced pieces, and 2 messy pieces. Cutting through the strudel after it’s baked it harder than I anticipated.
Playlist: Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes
Miracles really do happen. I made penuche fudge. And it set! Pardon me while I sob with joy.
I guess the sixth time is the charm? It’s been over a year and a half since I first dabbled in making fudge, and it was such a discouraging endeavor I promised myself I’d wait a good long while before subjecting myself to such misery again.
I found this recipe on Old Tyme Fudge, and I followed it exactly (aside from one minor adjustment since I ran out of something.) I really like this site because the author writes very clear recipes, and has good tips for fudge newbs.
Before you get started:
Underbeaten fudge will never set, and overbeaten fudge will turn into a brick. The time window between those stages is razor-thin. Beating fudge to the proper consistency is probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in the kitchen, and I’m still learning.
If your fudge doesn’t set, or gets bricked, don’t get discouraged! You can freeze underbeaten fudge to be used as a topping for ice cream, and bricked fudge can be re-melted.
Don’t go trying to double recipes or substitute ingredients until you know what you’re doing.
Fudge must be stirred, and then not stirred, at specific times. If you stir at the wrong stage you will get grainy lumpy fudge which is worse than having no fudge at all.
Hot sugar is napalm. Once it’s getting close to the right temperature you have to watch it like a hawk and get ready to pounce. Turn off the tv, turn off the phone, shun the world when you are making fudge.
Humidity will ruin your fudge, unless you compensate for that by increasing the cooking time and temperature, but that’s more at the expert-level. If it’s wet outside don’t even bother.
Time required: 8.5 hours (about 1 hour of actual doing stuff)
Yields: about 30 pieces
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $25
Cost per piece: $0.83 (can you price perfection?)
Kitchen implements I used:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Line the square pan with foil and grease it. Also grease the entire inside of the sauce pan, all the way up the sides. Grease the flat beater of the mixer too.
2. Combine everything in the sauce pan except the vanilla. Heat on Medium, stirring constantly.
Ugh, yummy!
3. Once mixture boils, reduce heat to Med-Low and STOP STIRRING. Insert candy thermometer.
4. Once mixture reaches 238°F / 114°C, remove from heat. It takes a long time for the sugar to reach the correct heat, mine took about an hour. Hence the beer.
5. Just as it’s about to hit the right temperature, remove from stove and carefully place pot into cold water bath. DO NOT STIR. Sugar will keep getting hotter and hotter if you let it sit there, so the cold water bath will immediately bring down the temperature and prevents the fudge from overcooking.
6. Let it cool for about an hour, until temp falls to 120°F / 49°C. Once the mixture has cooled to this stage, there will be a skim on top, just ignore it. Transfer to mixing bowl and pour in the vanilla.
Also don’t worry about the fat that rises to the surface.
7. People tell you “beat until it loses the gloss” or “beat until it lightens”. That’s really hard to judge when you are new. Today’s fudge took 28 minutes of beating on speeds 1, 2, and 3. In the past I’ve had fudge turn into a brick under 9 minutes, so there is a learning curve here.
It was a dark molasses colour at first.
After about 10 minutes it had lightened considerably but was still runny.
Now 20 minutes in and I’m worried, why isn’t it firming up? What have I done wrong?
About 25 minutes, still seems fairly glossy, and runny, but when I raise the beater the ropey strands are getting stiff.
After 28 minutes I couldn’t take it anymore and stopped. I am not sure if it’s because a KitchenAid beats with such force, but it seemed like the beater was moving too easily through the fudge. When I would stop to scrape the bowl it was harder to do by hand so I figured it must be close to done.
8. Pour into prepared pan and let sit at least 4 hours. Hmmm, air bubbles. I don’t remember air bubbles in fudge before.
9. Lift out of pan and score the top with a knife, then slice into squares.
Real fudge is creamy, and sort of shears away from the knife. It also melts on your tongue, and tastes amazing. Like this!!
Verdict:
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. It set. Come look, it set!!”
Sigh. So good. Am so happy.
Playlist: Celldweller – Stay With Me (Unlikely)
“Thou shall not covet thy sister’s appliance.”
I chanted those words to myself the first time I saw M’s glorious new acquisition. I am not often struck with home appliance lust, but there was something compelling about the mixer. I was so determined to own a KitchenAid that I started buying attachments before I got the mixer.
Their mixers are so shiny. And powerful. And expensive. They have a smooth, rounded design, high gloss finish, plenty of chrome, and a hint of retro. But are they worth the hype?
Functionality: There are two main types of KA mixers: tilt-head which have a smaller bowl and lots of colour choices, or the lift-bowls which have bigger bowl capacity but limited colour selection. For the hobby baker, the smaller tilt-head is a good choice.
Price: The mixers and accessories get marked down a lot the week after Christmas and Mother’s Day. If you are patient, you can get the one you want for a very good price.
Be aware the prices change a lot. You’ll see a huge variance in pricing (over $200) on the websites for Amazon.ca, Canadian Tire, Future Shop, and Wal-mart. My advice is figure out which model you want first, understand the specialty colours have a price mark-up, and when the one you want goes on sale, go for it!
This is a KitchenAid Artisan 10-Speed 325 Watt Stand Mixer (model # KSM150PSBU) in cobalt blue.
I purchased my precious on May 4, 2011 from FutureShop.ca for $219.99 and the shipping was free. The after-tax total was $248.59 CAD. It came with a stainless steel bowl (no spout), and four attachments: flat beater, wire whip, pouring shield, and dough hook. For comparison the same model is currently selling for $500 before tax, so the sale price makes quite a difference!
Specs: The details below are from the Canadian KA website and the information is current as of today’s date. Most of the attachments are compatible with all mixer models but do your own research, there are some negative reviews online about people in Europe buying incompatible parts from the North American distributors.
Tilt-head mixers:
Architect series, 5-qt (4.73 L), 5 colours
Artisan series 5-qt (4.73 L), 25 colours
Classic series, 4.5-qt (4.26 L), 2 colours
Ultra Power Plus, 4.5-qt (4.26 L), 3 colours
Bowl-lift mixers:
Professional 600 series, 6-qt (5.68 L), 4 colours
Professional 7-qt (6.6 L), 1 colour
Colour: Obviously the Artisan has the most colour selection. Buying a stand mixer is like buying a car, you can research all you want online but you won’t get a real sense of the colour until you see it in person. Personally I think the cobalt blue is more of a deep rich violet blue, but I love it anyway.
Attachment and accessories: I have the ice cream maker attachment (part # KICA0WH) which I received in Oct 2012 as a gift. It comes with four pieces: freeze bowl, dasher, adapter ring, and drive assembly. It is pretty awesome, and I recommend it.
I misunderstood the instructions, which indicate that some (not all) tilt-head mixers require the adapter ring to make the bowl fit into the mixer. Mine does not require the ring.
I have a spare mixing bowl so I can make batter and icing without stopping to clean the bowl. I purchased the 5 quart glass bowl with lid (model # K5GB) before I purchased the mixer actually… I found it for $20 at an in-store sale at a Future Shop in Toronto. I’ve noticed that Wal-mart sells the same bowl for $80 but they reduce it to $20 around Christmas.
I chilled it here to make whipped cream. This is definitely worth waiting for the sale. It’s also a lot wider than the stainless steel bowl that comes with the Artisan, so it’s easier to pour into while the mixer is running.
Buyer beware: As with any mass-produced product, there are lemons and angry buyers. I would definitely recommend you research product reviews before you buy.
A common complaint about KA mixers is that after a time, black grease drips down into the bowl. This is food-grade oil used to lubricate the motor, and KA recommends you run the mixer regularly to prevent this drip down.
You will need to adjust the beater height and tighten the attachment bolt periodically.
When mine was brand new, I’d notice some purple dye would come off when I wiped it down. This has not led to any discolouration however.
You may need to adjust the mixing time on some recipes because the KA mixer goes fast, so flour-heavy mixtures may become over beaten until you get used to the high speed. My first attempt to make whipped cream was a disaster.
Was it worth it? I think so.
I use my KitchenAid mixer in almost everything I bake. Before I got one, I used a little plastic stand mixer which bounced across the counter as it ran, unless I stood there to hold it in place. I don’t have that problem anymore, the KA mixer is solid, so I can start it and walk away to work on something else. I’ve had it for 22 months and so far everything has run smoothly.
I’m not going to lie, what initially attracted me was THE SHINY and the beautiful colours. It is my trusty tool to make lots of delicious goodies. I’m glad I bought it.
I asked Boyfriend Unit to provide his unbiased opinion, “Was Nemo a good purchase?”
His response? “I can’t provide an unbiased opinion. Since you bought it, I get to eat so many good things.”
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and up in the city,
We made lots of chocolate, but not in a jiffy
The boxes were packed and sent on the train,
In hopes that my peeps would enjoy them again.
What is better than chocolate? If you guessed “not very much” you would be right, and if you guessed “homemade chocolates” you’re be righter. More right? Whatever.
I have just finished eating a chocolate, which we made last week as Christmas gifts for family and friends. Last year we had lots of pretty boxes. I sort of forgot to order more boxes and we ran out this time. Luckily Boyfriend channeled MacGyver and made me some DIY boxes.
I was really excited to make chocolates again this year because we got all the extra chocolate moulds I wanted, and had two of each shape, which makes it a lot easier to do. Here is the map.
Tried two new flavours this year: milk chocolate and toasted almond, and semi-sweet chocolate caramel chews. Said bye-bye to the dulche de leche and chocolate ganache.
I am so over the idea of Toblerone ganache. It never works out. “Toblerone goo” would be more apt. Never again! I’m just melting solid Toblerone bars from now on.
I really love making chocolates. Just looking at them fills me with joy. I have a few more boxes to give to some friends. 😉
I also made my peppermint bark. Le yum.
What type of chocolate is your favourite?
The Starks are always right. Pumpkin-flavoured everything is coming.
Before you get started: Freeze your ice cream bowl for at least 15 hours. After all the ingredients are combined, chill at least 1 hour before churning. This recipe is from the book that came with the attachment.
Time required: 3 hours (under 1 hour of actual work)
Yields: about 8 cups of ice cream
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $29.
Cost per scoop: maybe $1.80
Kitchen implements I used:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Scald the half and half in a heavy-bottomed sauce pot.
2. Combine yolks, sugar, and vanilla.
3. Use a strainer, and gradually temper in the hot half and half. Eww yuck skim.
4. Whisk in pumpkin pie spice.
5. Return mixture to stove, heat on medium-low for 10 min, stirring frequently. It’ll thicken. Don’t let it boil though.
6. Remove pot from heat.
7. Add canned pumpkin and heavy cream to mixing bowl. Strain in the hot mixture and whisk together.
Some desserts cannot be strained enough. I wholeheartedly endorse straining anything that involves scalded dairy.
Have no fear, it will all combine into this.
8. Chill at least one hour before churning into ice cream.
9. When you are ready to make ice cream, churn on speed 1 for 15-20 minutes until dasher clicks.
It stayed pretty fluid until about 15 minutes, that’s when I could see it was starting to firm up. Mine took 18 minutes before the first click.
I am pleased to report this time that I have figured out the frozen bowl completely, it stayed in place, and no thumbs were pinched.
10. Transfer to tupperware container and freeze at least 1 hour before serving.
11. Let thaw a few minutes before scooping with beautiful blue KitchenAid scoop!!
Verdict: Boyfriend says it tastes just like pumpkin pie, it was so good. I can’t really tell what it tastes like because I have a cold and my taste buds have died. :[
Making ice cream is so great! What shall I do with all of the frozen egg whites I have left over?
Playlist: Halo OST
It’s Thanksgiving. I have no pumpkin. But I have something better.
This was a three-person enterprise made by yours truly, Boyfriend, and our friend V. This recipe is from the book that came with my ice cream maker, and I used my favourite Callebaut Belgian chocolate instead of baking squares, and added peanut butter chips. It was even more of a production than the cookies ‘n cream if you can imagine!
Before you get started: Your ice cream bowl needs to be frozen for at least 15 hours.
Once your start churning the ice cream, never, ever stop the mixer.
Time required: 2 days (1.5 hours of actual work and overnight chilling)
Yields: about 8 cups of ice cream
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $41, depending on the quality of chocolate
Cost per scoop: maybe $2.50
Kitchen implements required:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Chop the chocolate with a serrated blade, weigh it out and set aside. (The milk chocolate needs to be kept seperate, but the semi-sweet and unsweetened can be put in the same bowl.)
2. Using a double boiler on low, heat ½ C of the heavy cream, with the semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate. Stir often and once chocolate has melted smoothly, remove from heat.
3. In a different sauce pan on medium, heat the half and half to steaming. Remove from heat. (I convinced Boyfriend and V to do the stirring and pot watching because I HATE that part. Ah, helpers!)
4. In a small bowl combine sugar and cocoa. Set aside.
5. In mixer combine egg yolks and sugar/cocoa mix, beat til blended.
6. Gradually temper in the warm chocolate/cream mixture into the yolks. Strain the warm half and half into the yolks. Don’t skip straining, it catches a huge skim which you don’t want in your ice cream. Or maybe you do. Ew. Blend on low until mixture is thoroughly combined.
7. Return mixture to sauce pan, heat to scalding (small bubbles form under surface but don’t let it boil). It will thicken up a bit but don’t worry.
8. Remove from heat, and stir in the remaining 1½ C of heavy cream into the hot mixture. Cover and chill overnight.
9. The next day, place frozen bowl in mixer and start the mixer. Pour in chilled mixture, all at once, and beat on speed 1 for 10-15 minutes.
So yeah… what I said about don’t stop once you’ve started? The bowl was making a funny noise, and Boyfriend determined I put the bowl on backwards. The mixer was stopped for 30 seconds to re-position the bowl. Bad idea. By the time the mixer started back up, the ice cream had completely frozen to the bowl and he had to churn it by hand like crazy to get it going again, while I cursed and shouted in the background.
“It’s ruined. It’s going to be awful. Look, it’s not even moving!”
“It’s not ruined, it’s going to be fine!”
10. When 30 seconds remain, add milk chocolate, and peanut butter chips.
11. Transfer to tupperware container and freeze at least 2 hours.
12. Let stand 10 minutes before scooping.
Verdict: Wow, this is delicious. It reminds me a lot of Chocolate Supreme ice cream which I haven’t had in years. It’s very rich though. Three scoops was way too much. Can’t wait til V gets to try it.
Playlist: Halo OST
For reasons I have never been able to fathom, Boyfriend does not like ice cream. But that’s totally cool, because that means there is more for me. Behold! Homemade ice cream!!
How did I make ice cream, you ask? Well! My wonderful family sent me the KitchenAid ice cream maker for my birthday. It’s an attachment designed to fit any model of a KA mixer, and I have been lusting after it for months. I can’t believe it’s finally mine!!
Before you get started: Making ice cream can be a two-day process. The bowl used to churn the cream needs to be frozen for at least 15 hours, and the recipe may require that you chill the mixed ingredients over night. This particular recipe (from the book that comes with the attachment) is very similar to making custard. I used real vanilla bean instead of extract though.
There is a helpful video here which shows how to assemble and use the attachment. Changing the ingredients or the ratios can screw up your finished product.
Time required: 2 days (1.5 hour of actual work)
Yields: I don’t even know, it’s a lot.
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $20.
Cost per scoop: Can you price joy? I don’t think so.
Kitchen implements I used:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan on medium heat, combine scraped vanilla bean and the half and half. Heat to steaming.
2. Combine egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Using speed 2 for 30 seconds is enough.
3. Pour hot mixture through strainer and temper into the eggs, and whisk on low to combine.
4. Return entire mixture to stove top, and heat to scalding.
When small bubbles form at the edge it’s ready. Oops. This has heated too much. I used a different sauce pot for the second time and the bottom is too thin. Ugh I knew changing pots was a bad idea but I couldn’t be bothered to wash and dry my best pot for this type of stuff. That’ll teach me.
5. Transfer mix to a metal bowl and place into cold water bath. This will cool the temperature to prevent it from cooking.
After I poured the mixture into the red bowl, I looked at bottom of the sauce pan. Uh oh. This is not good. Scorched eggy mixture. I hope my ice cream doesn’t taste like burnt eggs. That would be worse than having no ice cream at all. 
Hopefully the strainer caught all the bad stuff. (Don’t force stuff through the strainer, that defeats the point of straining.)
(Instant water bath! Sink! Ice cubes! Water!)
6. Cover mixture and chill overnight.
7. The next day, chop up Oreos and set aside.
8. Fit the drive assembly over the pin on the head of the mixer. Take chilled ice cream bowl from freezer, assemble the lock on the base, and set it in the stand. Set the dasher inside the bowl and turn mixer on lowest speed. The head should grab the dasher and turn smoothly.
Now here is where I ran into problems. Try as I might, the bowl would not fit into the base. I wish I had tested this before freezing, but now I’m panicking that my bowl is thawing so I decide to go ahead, and I’ll just hold the bowl steady while it churns. (Not the best idea, a KA mixer churns like you wouldn’t believe even on low and I got my thumbs pinched.)
9. In one pour, add the entire chilled mix to the running mixer (if the mixer is stopped your ingredients will flash freeze to the side of the bowl).
10. Churn on lowest speed for 20 minutes. It will start rising up the sides, the middle looks the right texture but the edges are soft and liquidy, I tried to scrape down the rim a few times but at this point it becomes gloriously messy. I wasn’t worried because from everything I have read about making ice cream at home, it’s normal to get soft serve and you freeze it to harden further.
11. When you have 30 seconds left, add the Oreos. The KA recipe said to use one and half cups of chopped Oreos. That was too much, they flew out of the bowl and hit me in the face. I got Oreos and ice cream everywhere.
12. It’s done! The ice cream is soft serve at this state, so transfer to a tupperware container and freeze for a few hours.
13. When you’re ready to enjoy some, let it sit 5 minutes on the counter before scooping.
Verdict: Delicious!! I invited a friend over and we enjoyed this lovely ice cream on my patio.
I was afraid I ruined it last night when I overcooked it during the second heating phase, but it turned out wonderfully! I’m still unclear why the bowl didn’t fit into the bottom of the mixer. After I cleaned the dishes I tested this again, and the bowl sits in there correctly without the locking piece – so I’m confused. The base lock is specifically for use with the tilt-head Artisan which I have. Oh well. I still got ice cream! And it was wonderful! I will see if I can figure out how to get the bowl situated correctly next time… when I make BELGIAN CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER! Gwahahahah!
Playlist: The Legend of Zelda – Symphony of the Goddesses concert
I’ve never made bread without using my breadmaker, and I’ve never made cinnamon rolls at all. However! Faint heart never won fair dessert, so I thought I’d give it a try today.
This recipe is from Betty Crocker Baking Basics – recipes and tips to bake with confidence, which is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. This is definitely a recipe you need to read through a few times before attempting.
Time required: 4 hours
Yields: 15 rolls
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $38.
Cost per roll: $2.54
Kitchen implements I used:
Dough ingredients:
Filling ingredients:
Glaze ingredients:
Dough instructions:
1. Make the dough in the bowl for your mixer, combine: 2 C flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. (Measure out another 2 C of flour and set it aside.) Blend ingredients well with wooden spoon. It took not quite two of those little packets to get enough yeast.
2. Heat milk in a sauce pan on medium until temperature reads between 49°C and 54°C (120°F to 130°F).
3. Add warm milk, egg, and butter to dry ingredients.
4. Beat on low for 1 min, stopping to stir down sides 3 times. Everything should be moistened now.
Beat on medium for 1 min, scrape sides 2 times.
5. Now add the reserved flour, half a cup at a time, and gently beat it in with the wooden spoon. (This was about the time I remembered my KitchenAid has a bread hook, but oh well.)
According to the book, you just stir in the flour as you add it, but my dough was not absorbing the extra flour, the lump of dough kept moving around the bowl but none of the flour got sucked in. Bread dough is kind of weird, I’ve never seen it before. It’s… almost gunky at first, then it gets ropey. Hard to describe.
Anyway I stuck it back in the mixer for a minute and beat the hell out of it. Suggest you uh… find your own path to making bread. Don’t follow my path which is fraught with peril. From the bowl of flour I reserved from the original measuring, I used all but about ½ C.
6. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes.. (What does that even mean?) I decided to put wax paper on a collapsing table, thunk the dough down, and punch the shit out of it. Why? Because I have a teeny tiny amount of counter space and it’s currently all covered in stuff I was too lazy to remove prior to starting this endeavor. In hindsight this may have not been the best idea, but the timer dinged and my 5 minutes were up. Thank God.
7. Spray a bowl with cooking spray, plop the dough in the bowl, and turn it so it gets covered in the cooking spray (I’m not clear why you do this, but that’s what the book said to do).
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (whether to cover loosely, or tightly, is a bone of contention). Leave the bowl alone for 1.5 hours in a draft-free area. I grabbed Voltron to show scale.
8. Behold! The mighty process of fermentation. (That’s what the yeast does to make the bread rise, adding the water re-activates the yeast to produce carbon dioxide, which rises.)
Unwrap the dough and press one finger into it. If the indentation remains in the dough it’s ready. I got so excited about punching the dough I forgot to do this step.
My dough hath risen, am feeling confident, half the battle is won.
Onto the filling!
Filling instructions:
9. Spray the 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray.
10. In a small bowl combine white sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
11. Punch the dough to deflate the gas. (Apparently you aren’t supposed to go Chuck Norris on it, just one or two love taps is enough? Boring!)
12. Flour the counter top or wherever you intend to flatten the dough, and use your hands to spread it out.
13. Roll it into a 10″ x 15″ rectangle.
14. Spread the softened butter over surface, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.
15. Starting with the long side, roll the dough up like a jelly roll.
Try to get an evenly shaped roll of dough. Best of luck with that part.
16. Use a serrated knife to cut into 15 pieces. Or 13, or whatever.
17. Place the pieces into the greased pan.
Cover with plastic wrap again, and leave for 30 min to rise again.
Now it’s time to bake those bad boys.
Baking the rolls:
Pre-heat oven to 176°C / 350°F, and use centre rack.
Take the plastic wrap off the tray of rolls, and bake them for 30 minutes.
18. Remove rolls from the pan immediately and transfer to wire rack. Let cool 5 minutes.
Now all that’s left is to make the glaze and you are done. Finally!
Glaze instructions:
19. Combine icing sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk. Stir until smooth and drizzle over warm rolls.
Sit back and enjoy the results of what feels like an entire day’s work.
Verdict: God, this took forever. I think they are a little bit over done, but Boyfriend thinks they are perfect. I’d take 5 minutes off the baking time when I make them again. They tasted great.
Playlist: Song of the Hero – The Legend of Zelda, Symphony of the Goddesses
Today was a great day. I met someone I really admire (and got her autograph!), and we have company, Boyfriend’s brother stopped in for a visit. I’m told he is a master of chocolate chip cookies, so I wanted to make something a little different. I started with the chocolate chip cookie recipe my sister taught me, and improvised.
Will these cookies blow him away? Just stay right there, and find out!
Time required: 1 hour
Yields: 2 dozen or so
Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $42.
Cost per cookie: $1.75
Kitchen implements I used:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 190°C / 375°F.
2. Cream the Crisco and sugar together.
3. In a glass measuring cup combine egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat into sugar.
4. Combine flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Gradually add to wet.
5. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips.
6. Roll dough into balls, bake 10 min.
7. Cool cookies in pan for 2 min before transferring to wire rack to cool.
8. Pour some milk and enjoy.
Verdict: These were pretty awesome. Will definitely make these again.
Playlist: The Legend of Zelda – Symphony of the Goddesses
SpatulaGoddess.com 