Tag Archives: food

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Patty’s peppermint chocolate cups

I challenge you to find a Patty who doesn’t like peppermint. She does not exist! And if she does, I don’t want to meet her. Tonight I’m trying a new method of making candy, and we’ll see if it works out. I am making this recipe up as I go so let’s hope it turns out.

I based this idea off my chocolate peanut butter cups, and used my favourite Belgian chocolate, to make delicious candies with a bold peppermint flavour. I tried to use a new technique to coat the chocolate but you’ll have to wait and see if it was worth it.

Time required: 1 hr

Yields: 10 (ten!) candies

Cost per portion: $3.60

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $36.00 with Belgian chocolate, about $14.00 with generic

Special kitchen implements I used:

  • digital scale
  • serrated knife
  • mini baking cups
  • large container with lid

Ingredients:

  • 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 3 oz white chocolate
  • 3 oz mint semi-sweet Chipits
  • 1-2 drops peppermint extract

Instructions:

1. Used a serrated blade to chop the semi-sweet chocolate and set it aside.  Chop and weigh the white chocolate and place that into a separate container with the peppermint chocolate Chipits.

2. Transfer chocolate to microwave-safe bowls.  Microwave the semi-sweet for 2.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

3. Spoon the chocolate into the mini muffin liners, the 3 on the left are the new technique I tried.

For the first three cups, I used a pastry brush to paint the chocolate over the bottom and sides, planning to fill the middle with the white-peppermint chocolate, then top with another layer of semi-sweet. But I realized I didn’t have enough chocolate, so after painting three I gave up, and just put a dollop of chocolate into the others.

Remember to gently shake each cup so the chocolate settles smoothly.

4. Chill for 20 min.

5. Melt the white chocolate and peppermint Chipits on High for 3.5 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until evenly combined.

6. Stir in peppermint extract.

7. Spoon melted mixture on top of chilled cups.

8. Refrigerate another 30 minutes.

Remove wrapper and…

Can you see the thin layer of semi-sweet at the bottom of the cup?

Verdict:

OMG yum. Really loving these. Wish I had made more. Will do this again with triple the quantities.

Boyfriend said, “Heaven. I live in Heaven. It smells like Heaven, it tastes like Heaven. If I could picture in my mind what it’s like to be in Heaven, that is it.”

And what happened to the three painted cups?

Yeesh, that idea was a wash! I think would have worked better with a thicker coating of chocolate and a top layer.

Playlist: grumbling Boyfriend

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Patty’s turtle brownies

Ah, turtles. Despite the fact that I hate nuts, I thoroughly enjoy Nestlé Turtles, and I really enjoy turtle brownies (sans nuts). I haven’t baked much lately because I AM SUPER STRESSED OUT, and today I was in the mood for something simple. I decided to make half with nuts for Boyfriend because I am a really nice person.

Good to know before you start:

This process involves caramelizing sugar, which I have written about before, so let me sum up: caramelizing can be rather dangerous and lead to hideous scarring. Try not to maim yourself.

Time required: 2 hours (40 min prep, 20 min bake, 1 hr chill)

Yields: about 30 pieces

Cost per piece: $1.66

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $18.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • baking pan: 9″ x 13″
  • parchment paper
  • pastry blender

Ingredients:

  • 2 C flour
  • divided amounts of brown sugar, 1 C and ¾ C
  • divided amounts of margarine, ½ C and ¾ C
  • 1½ C chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 2 C milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 176° C / 350°F. Line baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix 1 C of sugar with the flour, and cut in ½ C margarine. with a pastry blender, blending until coarse crumbs form.

You can do this the smart way and use pre-measured blocks of margarine, or you can do it the foolish way. Anyway, moving right along…

3. Pat mixture into baking pan.

4. Sprinkle nuts onto crust. Ugh, disgusting. I’m only doing this for Boyfriend’s sake so I’ll put nuts on half. Or… one third. Yup looks like half to me!

5. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, melt the remaining amounts of sugar and margarine (¾ C of each), and stir constantly. Once mixture is boiling, let it boil for 1 minute, then immediately pour onto crust.

Use a spatula to carefully spread the caramel, work quickly because as the caramel cools it will firm and start to tear up the crust.

6. Bake in the oven for 20 min.

7. Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot crust. Wait 3 minutes, giving the chocolate time to melt.

8. Use spatula to gently spread chocolate.

9. Chill for at least one hour and cut into squares.

His and hers! No nuts for me. Seriously, why would anybody want to spoil turtles with nuts? Reptiles lay eggs anyway.

Verdict: Delicious! I love turtle brownies, they are cheap, they are quick, and they are easy to make.

Playlist: Lacuna Coil

What is your favourite stress-free dessert to fall back on?

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My Little Pony cupcakes

Is it moon mist ice cream turned into cake? Is it an ode to Jem & the Holograms? Is it a tribute to Moosel and Eleroo? No!! It’s BLUE BELLE!

You may be ignorant unaware of who Blue Belle is. She was the blue and lavender My Little Pony.

I give you… “the Blue Belle”.

Totally by accident.

You may be wondering, “What the hell is that??”

It’s a white velvet cake batter, augmented with blueberry juice, and topped with blueberry frosting, and a few other tweaks. Originally I was planning to make blue velvet batter, but that really isn’t going to work until I get my hands on some concentrated gel colours. I wondered if adding real blueberry juice would darken it. It did not.

Good to know before you start:

My batter was oddly dry today, and the cupcakes overdone.  I baked the first batch for 20 minutes, and the second batch for 19 minutes, and all of them browned. Unsure why.

I ran out of icing sugar and my icing was really watery tonight.

Time required: 1.5 hrs

Yields: 24 medium cupcakes

Cost per cupcake: $2.17

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $52.00

Special kitchen implements I used:

  • KitchenAid
  • muffin tin

Cupcake ingredients:

  • 3 egg whites, room temp
  • 3 TBSP of 2% milk
  • ⅓C + 3 TBSP buttermilk (all together, not divided)
  • 1½ TSP vanilla extract
  • 2 C self-rising cake flour
  • 1 C granulated white sugar
  • 2½ TSP baking powder
  • ½ C butter, room temp
  • 4-5 TBSP of juice from a thawed package of frozen blueberries
  • 16 drops blue food colouring

Frosting ingredients:

  • 5 TBSP butter, room temp
  • 3 C icing sugar
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1 TBSP milk
  • 2 TBSP thawed blueberry juice

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C / 347°F. Use rack that is third from the top.

2. Separate the egg whites into a medium bowl, and save the yolks for something else. Stir in the vanilla and the 2% milk. Whisk until just combined and set aside.

3. In your mixer, with a flat beater attachment, add: cake flour, white sugar, and baking powder. Beat on Low for 30 seconds.

4. Add butter and the buttermilk. Beat on Low until combined, and then beat on Medium for 90 seconds.

5. Add the food colouring and blueberry juice. Fabulous!

6. Add half the egg white mixture and continue on Medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add the remaining egg whites, beat another 30 seconds.

7. Spoon into muffin tins.  Bake 19 min or less. Immediately transfer to cooling rack for at least one hour before frosting.

This is the first time in my life I’ve gotten exactly 24 cupcakes. I’m so excited!!

8. Make your frosting and beat until smooth.

Ooh, that’s going to be delish. I can tell.

Verdict:

Not at all what I set out to make, yet totally worthwhile. Despite their bizarre appearance, and the slightly burnt factor, these had a wonderful flavour and I’ll definitely retry after tweaking the recipe a bit.

“I know they look funny but I think they’ll be good. What do you think?” I asked.

“”Hmmm.” said Boyfriend. “They look like Ompa-Loompas, in the negative.I’m game.”

“They most certainly do not look like Ompa-Loompas! They’re… My Little Pony cupcakes!!”

(chew…. chew…)

“What do you think? I find them a bit dry.”

“The icing is really good, very blueberryish. They kind of reminded me of your white velvet cake, but not. They’re… interesting. I liked them.”

Playlist: Final Fantasy VI – Terra’s theme

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Vanilla review

I’m going to talk about vanilla. Partly to educate you, and partly (okay mostly), because I love the sound of my own voice. Narcissistic baker is narcissistic.

One of the most valuable spices in the world, with outrageous pricing, vanilla adds that je ne sais quoi to your baked goods. A good artist needs good tools, and the quality of your vanilla can be tasted in the finished product. Arranged from left to right in order of my favourites:

  • Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla beans, by Rodelle
  • pure Tahitian vanilla extract 120 mL, by Vanilla, Saffron Imports
  • pure vanilla paste, 60 mL, by Saffron Imports
  • pure Madagascar vanilla extract 59 mL, by McCormick Gourmet Organic
  • pure vanilla extract 46 mL, by Club House
  • artificial vanilla extract 235 mL or 1L, by No Name

What is vanilla?

The tiny vials of vanilla extract found in stores are a flavouring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, a vine native to Central America.  It takes around 3 years before a vine bears fruit, and the beans take 9-10 months to ripen.  Beans are picked before they ripen.

The beans are cured in 4 steps: killing, sweating, slow-drying, and conditioning. Afterwards they are sorted by grade, commercial value is determined by the length of the bean, the highest quality are over 15cm in length, and as the beans get shorter, their worth drops.

Vanilla is classified by cultivar: Madagascar, Bourbon-Madagascar, Tahitian, Mexican,  and West Indian are the major ones I know of.

Review & price comparison

Before you buy a vanilla product check the label. Organic and pure may not mean what you think they mean. A good vanilla will not contain added sugars, caramel colouring, synthetic vanillin (a byproduct of the pulp industry), or corn syrup.
 

Product: Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla beans, by Rodelle
Price: 10 beans for $11.99 at Moncton Costco, (2 tubes of 5, or $1.20 per bean), purchased winter 2011
Review: My sister sent these to me in the mail. These are the best beans I have found so far. The label reads Kirkland Signature (Costco house brand), and also Rodelle, who is a supplier of premium vanilla. The label does not specify the cultivar but Rodelle’s website says “the majority” of their products are Bourbon-Madagascar beans. I’ve noticed that Tahitian beans are thinner and shorter than Madagascar, and these Rodelle beans are long and plump, so I am willing to bet they are from Madagascar.
 

Product: Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla beans, by Tosca
Price: 2 beans at Loblaws / Superstore for $7.99 (in 1 tube, or $4.00 per bean), purchased Jan 2011
Review: These were decent. Tosca products are imported by National Importers and you will get a much better deal buying one case (24 beans, 2 per tube) for $59.88 which is $2.50 per bean from the supplier instead of the store. The beans were okay length, a little on the thin side, with a pleasant flavour and aroma. Tosca sells premium (grade A) beans from Papua New Guinea, but the packaging does not classify the cultivar. However, their extract is made from Bourbon-Madagascar so I assume the beans are too.
 

Product: “organic” vanilla beans and Tahitian vanilla beans, supplier unknown
Price: approx. $6.00 for one organic bean, $2.00 for one Tahitian, at Domino’s Foods, St. Lawrence Market, purchased Nov 2010
Review: I have mixed feelings on these. I was excited when I bought them because I love buying stuff at the market, and they were priced better than the grocery store. The Tahitians were really skinny. The organics were a bit plumper. They both dried out quickly. I recall that my impression after using them for the first time was that considering how long it takes to get down to the market, and the cost of the beans, it’s not really worth it for me.
 

Product: pure organic Madagascar vanilla beans, by Sun Rise Brand
Price: 2 beans for $5.99 at No Frills, summer 2011
Review: Haven’t tried these. Noticed the bottom of the gold label says puresaffron@rogers.com and that seems weird.
 

Product: 120 mL of pure Tahitian vanilla extract by Vanilla, Saffron Imports
Label: vanilla bean extractives, alcohol 35%, water, no sugar
Price: $11.99 at Domino’s Foods, St. Lawrence Market, purchased Nov 2010
Review: Don’t be fooled by the plain packaging. This is amazing. Out of all the extracts I have tried, this has the best flavour and is well-worth the money. Unfortunately they will only ship products to Canada if there is no alcohol, and this contains alcohol, so you’ll have to find a re-seller which gets pricey. :[
 

Product: pure vanilla paste, 60 mL by Vanilla, Saffron Imports
Label: contains vanilla beans
Price: $6.99 at Domino’s Foods, St. Lawrence Market, purchased Nov 2010
Review: Flavourful and interesting product, a nice change from using a liquid extract. Difficult to extract from the bottle, the paste is thick.
 


Product: pure Madagascar vanilla extract 59 mL, by McCormick Gourmet Organic
Label: water, organic alcohol, extractives of organic vanilla beans, organic corn syrup
Price: $8.38 at Toronto Wal-mart, purchased Aug 2010
Review: I am a little confused, what is organic alcohol? What is so “pure” about adding corn syrup to vanilla? Their product info says this is “the highest quality” and I have to disagree. The flavour was not to my liking.
 

Product: pure vanilla extract 46 mL, by Club House
Contains: water, alcohol, sugar, vanilla bean extractives
Price: $3.94 at Toronto Wal-mart (also at $3.93 at No Frills), purchased Aug 2011
Review: This is okay but I wouldn’t buy it again.
 

Product: artificial vanilla extract 235 mL and 1L, by No Name
Contains: water, alchohol, caramel colour, artificial flavour
Price: $2.89 for 235 mL at No Frills ($3.49 at Loblaws), and 1L for $6.99 at No Frills, summer 2011
Review: I only use this stuff when I make cookies. My inner snob did not want to admit that.
 

Conclusion:

The beans are cheapest at Costco, $1.20 per bean to get a package of 10 is pretty awesome. Very nice quality. Hopefully you have a relative with a membership that you can harass.

I would love to find a cheaper source for the extracts from the Vanilla, Saffron Imports company.  Hey there, you guys at Vanilla, Saffron! If you have any extra 32 oz. bottles I would be happy to take them off your hands.

I’m not sure why my favourite extract is Tahitian when my favourite beans are Madagascaran.

What is your favourite vanilla product?

Playlist: Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata

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Candied bacon

Are you trying to win an argument, or earn forgiveness? Perhaps somebody in your life had a bad day? Do you ever just look at a situation and think, “I wish people would just smile.”?  I have two suggestions for you.

Make candied bacon. All sorrows will be forgotten.

Make chocolate-covered bacon. You will be elevated from mere mortal to goddess.

Tonight I made brown sugar candied bacon, maple syrup candied bacon, and chocolate-covered bacon. I did this heinous thing because Boyfriend had a bad morning, and I wanted to put a smile on his face. Oh, did I ever!

Before I got to work on this, I consulted my bacon guru M, who introduced me to Epic Meal Time, and loves all thing bacon. (Actually M coached me through cooking my first tray of bacon.) After listening to his sage advice on the questionable art of candying bacon, I got started.

Time required: 1 hr

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $18.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • large cookie tray
  • tin foil
  • cooling rack
  • basting brush

Ingredients:

  • package of bacon
  • 2 TBSP maple syrup
  • 4-6 TBSP dark brown sugar
  • 1 square semi-sweet chocolate

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 177°C / 350°F. Line the baking sheet with tin foil, and place the cooling rack on top of the sheet.

2. Place the bacon onto the rack and don’t let the pieces touch.  Pictured above the tray are dishes of brown sugar, chocolate, and pure Nova Scotia maple syrup.

3. I used a large spoon to sprinkle sugar onto the first two strips, and pressed down with the spoon to get it flat.  The middle strip is plain, because it’s getting coated in chocolate later.  The two strips on the right have been basted on both sides with maple syrup, although you can’t tell.

4. I baked it in 6 stages:

  • 8 minutes, flip and reapply sugar and syrup
  • 8 minutes, flip and reapply
  • 5 minutes, flip and reapply
  • 5 minutes, just flip
  • 5 minutes, just flip
  • 5 minutes, just flip
  • after 36 minutes you’re done, remove from oven
  • blot both sides of the plain pieces (but not the others), and let all the pieces sit to cool

If you were thinking of skipping using tinfoil, don’t. By this point the caramelized sugar started smoking. I wasn’t positive that it had cooked long enough but after letting it sit for a few minutes it felt very crisp.

5. Once the bacon has cooled, melt the chocolate and use a spoon to coat one side of the plain strip. Let it sit for  awhile before picking it up by the edges to flip, and coat the other side. I re-heated the chocolate so it would be easy to work with.

My plan was to use milk chocolate, but it seized. Boyfriend requested bittersweet chocolate but we are out, so he got semi-sweet instead.

6. After coating the second side, let it firm up. Once it’s as hardened it’s ready.  I let it sit around 30 minutes so it was still a bit soft. If you want more of a candy bar feeling I imagine you’ll need to let it sit a lot longer.

Verdict: I made this for Boyfriend because his morning got off to a bad start and he was in a foul mood for most of the day – until he walked in the door. Once he saw what I was making, I had to beat him off with a spoon.

First we tasted the brown sugar pieces. Boyfriend said, “Hmm. It’s good… it’s pleasant…it’s nice. Not too crunchy, but not chewy. I don’t know if I can describe it.”

Next we tried the maple syrup pieces, which tasted just like regular bacon, albeit more maple flavoured.

We finished with the chocolate, which I thought was vile, but as soon as he took a bite, Boyfriend said, “Oh yeah! Oh yum! We have a winner!”

Once his raging taste buds calmed down, Boyfriend said , “I really liked the brown sugar but – actually no, I’m going to say the chocolate is my favourite.”

I thought the chocolate-covered bacon had a strange texture, and a smokey after taste, which was not present in the other pieces. Not being a bacon fan, I did find the brown sugar pieces tolerable, and kind of interesting to eat.

Playlist: Bambi – Little April Showers

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Chocolate caramels

Last night I ventured into bold new territory: the art of candy making.  Chocolate caramels dusted with coarse sea salt are probably not the best breakfast, but this is from the girl who used to eat brown sugar for breakfast so really, what did you expect?

I adapted this recipe from Nestlé’s Chocolate 3 Books In 1 which is on Amazon.com. My last few attempts to make caramel failed miserably, so let’s see how this goes.

Good to know before you start: Caramel can be a dangerous item to make. You must heat sugar to a very high temperature and hot sugar is like napalm, it will burn you terribly.

Before you begin, fill the sink with cold water and ice cubes, and in the event of a burn, immediately submerge the injured arm into the cold water.

Minimize the risk of burns by wearing a heavy long-sleeved shirt, use long oven mitts, and do not put your face near the pot. Be aware that caramel will bubble up like lava once liquid is added, use a deep pot and a long-handled spoon to stir. Stir slowly, avoid splashing.

You need at least 45 minutes in the kitchen uninterrupted.  You cannot walk away from the stove, so pre-measure your ingredients and only start caramel when you have the time to do it, don’t try to rush it or you’ll be sorry.

The original recipe uses two packets (each 1 oz) of Nestlé Toll House CHOCO BAKE pre-melted unsweetened chocolate flavour. I have no idea what that is, and I substituted with cocoa powder and two extra tablespoons of butter.  If using the Choco Bake stuff you only need 1 C of butter.

Time required: 1 hr, plus over night to set

Yields: about 28 pieces

Cost per piece: $1.21

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $34.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • candy thermometer
  • baking pan 8″ x 8″ and one larger one
  • tin foil
  • plastic wrap
  • mini muffin cups
  • ice cubes

Ingredients:

  • 18 TBSP unsalted butter (2 sticks + 2 TBSP), melted
  • 1 C granulated white sugar
  • 1 C brown sugar, packed
  • 1 C corn syrup
  • 414 mL sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 TBSP cocoa
  • 1 TSP pure vanilla extract
  • coarse sea salt

Instructions:

1. Line baking pan with foil and grease.

2. Measure out condensed milk and cocoa, set aside.

3. In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add: butter, white and brown sugars, and corn syrup. Cook over Medium heat, stirring constantly.

Mix it all up…

4. Once mixture is boiling, add cocoa powder and condensed milk. Reduce heat to Medium-Low and stir often (almost constantly).

The goal is to obtain a temperature of 118°C / 245°F which should take at least half an hour. Once it’s been bubbling that long, check with a candy thermometer, which is soft ball stage.

Stirring in the cocoa took awhile, it kept floating up and not blending. After 5 min or so it started to look like this:

5. As soon as you reach correct temperature, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

6. Immediately pour into prepared pan, be very careful not to splash yourself.

(In the back is my candy thermometer sitting on the big spoon thing.)

Place dish into cold water bath, this will lower the temperature so the caramel does not keep cooking into the hard ball stage.

7. After the water is no longer cold, remove from water and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it on the counter overnight to set.

It’s easier to handle if you use plastic wrap instead of your bare hands. Cut with a sharp knife.

8. Set into muffin cups, and sprinkle with salt.

Verdict: These were good. Eventually I want to progress to making real caramel without corn syrup but this is a good start. The last few times I’ve attempted real caramel with just sugar and cream and vanilla it was a disaster but this turned out very well.

I tried one without salt, way too sweet though.

Playlist: Jem & the Holograms soundtrack

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Milk chocolate Florentine cookies

I have no idea what a Florentine cookie is but I’m going to make them because I’m hardcore like that. Actually one reason I like making recipes I’ve never tried is there is no preconception of how the item should taste. I find that competing with nostalgia is often a quick road to disappointment.

Since I don’t know what to expect I’m going to treat this like a scientific experiment. I will need to:

  • ask a question
  • do background research
  • construct a hypothesis
  • test my hypothesis by running an experiment
  • analyze data and draw a conclusion
  • communicate your results

Notes related to the experiment will be written in red, like so.

Ask a question: what is a Florentine?

Do background research: I used my Google-Fu but was not enlightened. I have deduced that a Florentine is a flat, “Old World favourite”, sometimes made with cheap ingredients and sometimes jazzed up with lots of funky stuff, but mainly a sandwich-style cookie with a layer of something between the cookies. But that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I remain confused.

Construct a hypothesis: If I follow the recipe in Chocolate 3 books in 1 by Nestlé, which is available on Amazon.com, I will make Florentine cookies, and I will know what they are.

(Mini book review: hard cover, sturdy ring binding, some good recipe ideas, lots of pictures, the majority of the recipes are contained on one page each which is always a plus. It contains contains Holiday Classics, Very Best Baking, and Family Favorites. Cannot locate on on Amazon.ca)

Time required: 1 hr

Yields: supposedly 42 cookies

Cost per cookie: $1.24

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $34.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • large cookie tray
  • tinfoil

Ingredients:

  •  ⅔ C butter, melted (10.6 TBSP)
  • 2 C quick oats
  • 1 C granulated white sugar
  • ⅔ C flour
  • ¼ C corn syrup
  • ½ C milk
  • 1 TSP vanilla extract
  • ¼ TSP salt
  • 1¾ C milk chocolate chips, melted

Test my hypothesis by doing an experiment:

1. Pre-heat oven to 190.5°C / 375°F. Line baking tray with tin foil.

2. Measure out and set aside:

  • wet mixture: milk, corn syrup, vanilla
  • dry mixture: combine in a medium bowl: oats, flour, sugar, and salt
  • chocolate chips (in a small microwave-safe bowl)

In retrospect I would have put the milk and corn syrup into one liquid measuring cup.

3. Melt butter in large pan and remove from heat.

(The vanilla was added here. I was not very efficient in making these.)

4. Stir wet mixture and dry mixture into the butter.

5. Drop cookies by using a level teaspoon onto foil, about 3 inches apart, and spread flat with a spatula.

Poor experiment control # 1: accidentally used tablespoon instead of teaspoon. Big cookies.

Hmm. Lots of goop. Not liking this so far.

6. Bake 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. I expected flat cookies since there is no leavening agent but I didn’t expect them to spread out into Mega-Cookie.

Perhaps it would have been smarter using a maximum of 2 cookies per row, teaspoon sized.

7. Cool cookies completely in pan on wire rack. Once cooled, remove from foil and flip upside down.

Poor experiment control # 2: a lot harder said than done, used a butter knife to pry them apart. Much cursing and shouting.

8. Melt chocolate chips by microwaving on High for 1 min or so, stirring until smooth.  Spread melted chocolate over half of the cookies (on the flat sides), then top with the remaining half of the cookies.

Poor experiment control # 3: didn’t want to eat a lot of cookies so returned most of the chocolate chips back in the container, and melted about ¼C. Am unable to comment on how these cookies taste the next day after the chocolate has set. This is bad science!!

Analyze your data and draw conclusions: I didn’t like these at all. They were very greasy, and the taste was nothing special. I used cheap vanilla extract but doubt my premium vanilla would have saved them.

I suspect Boyfriend didn’t like them either. He didn’t say, but normally he’s falling over himself to eat my cookies (naughty!), but not this time.

I made these because I’ve had a bottle of corn syrup for a year and done nothing with it, and I wanted to get rid of some ingredients in the pantry before Boyfriend has an apoplexy every time he opens it. “It’s bursting with stuff Patty, why do you need so much stuff??”

I’m looking forward to trying other recipes from this book though.

Conjecture:

  1. Is this really an “Old World favourite”? I am thinking no, not if it’s made like this.
  2. Suspect this recipe is loosely based off the idea of a traditional Florentine, whatever that is, but Americanized to utilize cheap ingredients and make it easier to produce. Hard to  imagine traditional Florentines contain corn syrup and quick oats.
  3. Suspect cookies from the Old World, like their architecture, is superior to modern ones. Suspect a traditional Florentine is probably delicious and nothing at all like this recipe.

Playlist: Ayashi no Ceres – OST

Communicate your results: and… publish!

Have you ever been disappointed by a new recipe?

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Boyfriend’s First Blog Post… Ever ;~)

Boyfriend here.

So I have my own blogging account now, never had one before, and don’t know if I’ll even keep up on my own blog, but here is my very 1st blog post, on my girlfriends’ blog.  Thats right world be jealous, my girlfriend is a Spatulagoddess.

My lovely girlfriend had never really made Rice Krispies Squares(RKS) before, but I have many times, so when I heard she was gong to try making them, I put my 2 cents in about making Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Squares(PBCCRKS).  She wasn’t interested :~(  so she went ahead and made her RKS which turned out great.  I told her that was fine, I would just make mine at a later date.

And that date was tonight.

For starters PBCCRKS are made the EXACT same way that one makes regular RKS, only I added 3 large soup spoons worth of Peanut butter in, and then eye-balled out the semi-sweet chocolate chips, mix it all together. 

Now take it from me, it is much better to prep all this before, hand because once the melted marshmallows start to cool it becomes real “fun“*sarcasm* trying to mix it up.  I decided to make these tonight on a whim, and just went to er.  It would been much less messy, and easier on the arm if I hadda prepped everything 1st.

Thank you to Mom, for making these for me as a kid, and for always being there for me when I call to find out what it was you actually did.  I know I could always google it, but Mom always knows best.

And thank you to my wonderful Girlfriend who always inspires with her treats.

This is Boyfriend signing off


P.s. Lol she is checking my punctuation.  Must be careful you don’t want to anger a Spatulagoddess

P.s.s.  LOF’nL not allowed to spell them the way I want to, I “have to spell it the same way as on the box” for the Record I spell them Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Squares.

P.s.s.s. I love this woman from the bottom of my heart

no really signing off now ;~)

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White velvet cupcakes

Velvet. Silk. Leather. At what point do textile-inspired recipe names become weird? Oh, who cares. I have never eaten white velvet before, and I’ve been curious about it for some time.

I found an amusing white velvet recipe on cookbookmaniac that appealed to me, and I paired it the cream cheese frosting in my Betty Crocker book.

Good to know before you start: This recipe uses cake flour which is milled from soft wheat flour (as opposed to all-purpose flour which is milled from a blend of soft and hard wheats), which results in a finished product with a very tender crumb.  Cake flour also has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour.

You can find regular cake flour and self-rising cake flour, which already contains salt and baking powder. I used self-rising, so I skipped the salt entirely and lowered the amount of baking powder. The original recipe calls for full cream milk and caster sugar which I don’t have, so I substituted with granulated white sugar and 2% milk.

Cream cheese frosting must be refrigerated. If you are like me, and don’t like cold cupcakes, don’t frost them ahead of time. Store the cupcakes at room temperature and frost them as needed.

Time required: 2 hours

Yields: 36 mini cupcakes

Cost per cupcake: $1.17

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $42.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • KitchenAid

Cake ingredients:

  • 3 egg whites, room temp
  • ⅔ C milk
  • 1½ TSP vanilla extract
  • 2 C self-rising cake flour
  • 1 C granulated white sugar
  • 1 TSP baking powder (instead of 2½ TSP)
  • NO SALT (instead of ½ TSP)
  • ½ C butter, room temp

Frosting ingredients:

  • one 8 0z block of cream cheese, room temp
  • 4 TBSP butter, room temp
  • 1 TBSP milk
  • 1 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1 TSP vanilla extract
  • 4 C icing sugar

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175°C / 347°F. Use rack that is third from the top.

2. Separate the egg whites into a medium bowl, and save the yolks for something else. Stir in the vanilla and three tablespoons of the milk. Whisk until just combined.

You know, I really wanted to show you a picture of me separating egg whites like a pro, but since nobody was home to be my camera man you’ll just have to use your imagination.

3. In your mixer, with a flat beater attachment, add: cake flour, white sugar, and baking powder. Beat on Low for 30 seconds.

4. Add butter and remaining milk. Beat on Low until combined, and then beat on Medium for 90 seconds.

This is the first time I’ve used the flat beater and it is AWESOME. It is so much easier to beat ingredients with, why did  I use the wire whip for so long??

5. Add half the egg white mixture and continue on Medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add the remaining egg whites, beat another 30 seconds.

6. Spoon into muffin tins.  Bake 14 minutes. Cool in pan for 1 minute, before transferring to cooling rack for at least one hour before frosting.

7. Make your frosting by combining the cream cheese, butter, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat well, and add the icing sugar one cup at a time. Beat until smooth.

(Edit Aug 17, 8:40am) Got up early to take one more picture.

Verdict: Delicious. White velvet cake is really good. My frosting turned out very runny though, next time will use a little less milk, and more icing sugar. These were a big hit, Boyfriend was quite impressed.

It has an unique texture and comes out of the oven so pale, an interesting change from the cupcakes I’m used to. Really enjoyed these.

No idea why I only got 36 minis instead 48, which is what I usually get from converting a cake recipe to minis.

I was discussing this recipe with Best Friend, who (poor girl) has never eaten any type of velvet cake.  Can you imagine? That’s going to be remedied STAT next time I go home.

Next up: blue velvet!

Playlist: A-ha – Take On Me

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Rice Krispies squares

Eureka! I have done it!  I have finally made Rice Krispies squares! Fourth attempt was successful. There was no burning or marshmallow shrinkage this time.

Am so happy. Never making these again!

Recipe:

  • ¼ C melted butter
  • 400 g bag of large marshmallows (official recipe uses one 250 g pkg)
  • ½ TSP vanilla extract
  • 6 C cereal

Instructions:

1. Grease 9″ x 13″ pan.

2. In a large glass bowl melt butter for 1 min.

3. Add marshmallows, stirring until evenly coated. (I cut the marshmallows in half first.)

4. Microwave on High until melted smooth (it took 4 minutes, stirring every 60 seconds).

Wow making these sucks. It’s gooey and sticking to everything, ugh!!

5. Stir in vanilla, then stir in cereal. Hmm. This is the largest glass bowl that I have, and it wasn’t large enough. Yet another excuse to never do this again.

6. Press into prepared pan and chill for an hour.  I used a buttered spoon but it’s impossible to get this crap off the spoon and into the pan. Forget “square”. It is quite lumpy and not sitting flat in the pan, after 5 minutes I’m pissed off from fussing with it and just stick it in the fridge.

Verdict: They tasted pretty decent. I used a lot of marshmallows.

Boyfriend tells me they taste just like they are supposed to. We have a lot of cereal and another bag of marshmallows left over, and he has a different way of preparing them, so my next post might be written by him. 0_0

I was feeling very ashamed of my deficiency, but now I have crossed these squares off of my list of things to make. Never again!!

What supposedly-easy food item is your personal bane?

Playlist: Diablo dungeon theme