Tie Dye Frosting

Mom discovered a new piping technique, so I decided to test it out!What you're supposed to do is take a little bit of gel food coloring, and 'paint' it onto the inside of the piping bag. You can see the tutorial that mom found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxMvKb8dSoOn the tutorial, she gets a really pretty two-toned frosting, where just the edges of the frosting are a different color. Mine are...not like that. Obviously! The first batch, I put too much coloring in and it just made the frosting bright pink. The second batch, I put in too little and it literally added no color. The third batch, I still put a little too much, but not as much. It created a weird tye die effect! Definitely try this some day if you're bored. But it takes a lot to perfect, I'm sure. Mom likes these more than I do. Tie Dye Frosting Recipe

• 1-2 lbs buttercream frosting, white



• Gel food coloring, any color



• A small paint brush

Preparation

• Snip off the end of a piping bag and fit it with the tip of your choice (preferably something with ridges)



• Use a paint brush to brush some food coloring onto the inside of the piping bag. Use the link above to watch the official tutorial!



• Pipe onto the cupcakes!

(There's something wrong with the formatting tonight. Sorry if it looks weird!)

Chocolate Frogs and Owl Pops

SPRING BREAK! WOO!
...This means nothing to me except that I can finally relax for a week. (Maybe.)
So to celebrate, we've got a Harry Potter themed entry today!Anybody who's read/seen Harry Potter knows about chocolate frogs. They're enchanted little bits of candy that can hop around like real frogs (But Ron Weasley says that they've only got one good jump in them). Well, I found the mold for them online, and saw molds for owl lollipops so I bought that, too!There's really not much to say about these! They're super easy to make, and quite impressive. You could use chocolate chips, which I did for my first batch, but melted chocolate chips get a little bit sticky, so it's not optimal. Use candy wafers instead! Hobby Lobby has a great selection: Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate... I even used peanut butter wafers, and mixed in some butterscotch chips for one batch. YUM!Hobby Lobby (and I'm sure any craft store) also has a selection of candy molds, though they're more generic things like flowers.Chocolate Frogs and Owl Pops Recipe

• Candy molds
• Small lollipop sticks (if necessary)
• Candy wafers (1-2 bags)

Preparation

• Melt candy wafers according to the directions on the back of the package.
• Pour melted chocolate into the molds.
• Optional: Put the chocolate into a piping bag, and cut off the tip. This allows more precise filling.
• If making lollipops, put the stick in the slot and twirl in the chocolate to cover it. Cover with a bit more chocolate.
• Tap the molds on the counter a few times, to get any air bubbles out.
• Put in the fridge for ~15 minutes or so, to set.
• Carefully turn upside down, and press to release.

Pizza

One of my favorite things is going over to my older brother's house, to hang out with him and his girlfriend. Admittedly, it's mostly because they always have delicious foods. For Oscar night, they did not disappoint. We made pizza!My roommate was astonished when I told her that I'd never made pizza before, but... it's just something we didn't do when I was little. But hey, we got to make our own dough, so it was as close to baking as I could get!There are three great things about making pizza: 1) It's way cheaper than ordering a pizza, 2) You can make it exactly how you want it, 3) It can be a bonding experience!
My brother was watching the Oscars, oblivious to all but the screen, while his girlfriend and I were in the kitchen, kneading the dough for our pizzas. So fun!

She's a pro at kneading dough

Next time I'm going to make a pizza with provel cheese. According to Wikipedia, it's a processed cheese from a mix of cheddar, swiss, and provolone. The way I know it is a mix of provolone and mozzarella. Either way, it's my favorite!
Pizza Recipe

• 1 envelope pizza yeast (we used Fleischmann's brand)
• 1 c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 c very warm water
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1/2-3/4c flour
• 1 can pizza sauce
• 1 package cheese (ex: mozzarella, or provel)
• Additional toppings

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425
• Grease a pizza pan.
• Combine yeast, 1c flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add water and oil, and mix together until well blended, about 1 minute.
• Gradually add remaining flour until a soft dough ball is formed; it will be slightly sticky. Add more flour if needed.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, or about 4 minutes.
• Press dough into the pizza pan, flattening until it fills the pan. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork.
• Add desired amount of sauce, cheese, and toppings.
• Bake 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and the crust is brown.

Fudge

Man, these blog posts keep getting further and further apart..
Oh well!

I wanted to branch out and try something new, and somebody recommended that I try fudge.

I've always been a little intimidated by it.. I mean, it involves boiling something, stirring constantly, not burning it (burning stuff comes so naturally to me!)... it's a lot, right?

Ingredients before they're mixed

WRONG-O!

Because that's what microwaves were invented for!

I hadn't even thought to make this in the microwave until I asked my mom for advice, and she gave me the "Duh, Taylor, how did you not think of that?" tone.

Making fudge just got a whooole loooot easier!
I didn't have any square cake pans on hand, and mom had said that a 9x13 pan was too big, so I used a round cake pan instead. It made for thick pieces, but you can cut them small! But something slightly larger than a 9x9 pan is preferable.

And most importantly... my friends enjoyed it! Yay!
Fudge Recipe

• 1 1/2 sticks margarine (I'm sure butter would work too, we're just a margarine family)
• 3 c sugar
• 2/3 c (aka 5 oz aka 1 small can) evaporated milk
• 1 small (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 12oz package chocolate chips
• Optional: 1 c chopped nuts
• Note: This recipe is on the back of the marshmallow creme container! But it calls for baking squares-- far more expensive than chocolate chips!

Preparation

• Melt margarine in microwave in a 2 qt, microwave safe dish.
• Add sugar and milk; mix well.
• Microwave for 3 minutes. Stir.
• Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir.
• Microwave for 5.5 minutes. Stir.
• Remove from microwave, and add marshmallow creme and vanilla.
• (Note: Running your spatula under hot water first will get the creme out easier!)
• Once that's mixed, add your chocolate chips.
• Mix until well combined and pour into a buttered pan.
• Place in fridge to set firmly, or leave at room temperature for a more gooey texture.

Fried Bread

Oh man, I am SO lacking in the entries! I made orange-flavored cupcakes in green papers for the Super Bowl (Packers!) but didn't frost them, so they really weren't worthy of even getting a blog post.

So here's one of my all-time favorite things, that my grandma used to make. Fried bread!My grandma used to make this every Sunday morning. I still the big family gathering, and the huge mixing bowl in her kitchen that was just -full- of dough. She'd grab a handful, flatten it out, and fry it up.

...I cheated. I just bought a bag of frozen dough balls at the store! But I still did like grandma, and put them in a dish under a rag to let the dough thaw and rise. The longer it sits out, the larger they'll be!The most important parts of this are to make sure that 1) you have enough oil, and 2) the oil is hot enough. If you don't or it's not, they won't cook properly. Which I guess is true of anything that you fry, but I don't fry stuff often! These float, so you only need about 1-2" of oil in the bottom of a pan to be sure they don't touch the bottom.If you like funnel cake, or those tasty doughnuts they serve in chinese restaurants, or sopapillas, you'll like these! I've always eaten them with plain granulated sugar, but my roommate put agave nectar and brown sugar on one of hers! Then she put brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon on her second one. Yummm.

Yes, it's just as unhealthy as it sounds, but... c'mon. It's worth it!
Fried Bread Recipe

• 1 bag frozen dinner rolls (I bought one with 12 rolls)
• Vegetable oil
• Optional:
• Sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, agave nectar, etc. for topping

Preparation

• Sit the amount of rolls out that you intend to fry. (ex: 6 rolls, to serve 3 people) Place in a rounded cake pan, and cover with a rag.
• Let thaw and rise for at least a couple of hours.
• Heat oil over medium heat, and make sure it's heated fully. At least 1-2" of oil should cover the bottom of the pan.
• One roll at a time, flatten to about 1/4" thick. Lay in the oil.
• If hot enough, it should immediately rise and bubble up around it. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, then use tongs to flip.
• Once the other side is golden as well, lay on a plate covered in a paper towel, to drain.
• Add your toppings, and enjoy!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Happy birthday, Alex!!

My friend's birthday was recently, and he's also in my writing group, so I thought it'd be fun to bake cupcakes so we could all enjoy them together! I asked him what his favorite cake was, and with his reply of "Carrot cake" I set out on a mission-- to perfect my cream cheese frosting recipe! ...And to bake him birthday cupcakes. ;)

Admittedly, I didn't make the carrot cake from scratch. (And by that, I mean I rarely make ANY cakes from scratch.) But it suuure tasted like it! I didn't know this secret until I started baking much more often with my mom: If you put a cup (one 8-oz container) of sour cream into any box cake mix you're making, it'll add an incredible amount of moisture. It also adds just a bit of denseness, so unless you really over beat them, they'll be more level.I also finally got the cream cheese recipe right! It's the perfect balance between the tartness of the cream cheese, and the sweetness of the powdered sugar. I was tempted to go through the cabinets and find other stuff to put it on!Carrot Cake Recipe

• 1 box carrot cake mix
• Eggs (varies depending on brand)
• Vegetable oil (varies depending on brand)
• 1- 8oz container sour cream

Preparation

• Preheat oven according to box.
• Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.
• Combine the ingredients.
• Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill the 24 liners.
• Bake according to box.
• Remove from oven, let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 2- 8oz packages cream cheese
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 5.5 c powdered sugar

Preparation

• Cream together cream cheese and butter.
• Scrape sides, add vanilla, and quickly mix in.
• Add powdered sugar 1-2 cups at a time.
• Note: If you're frosting these with a knife, you'll probably only need about 1/2 of the recipe. This is larger for piping purposes.

And to toot my own horn (Toot toot!) I had more than one person say that these were the best carrot cake cupcakes they'd ever eaten. YAY!!

Slow Cooked Cinnamon Apples

I've made cinnamon apples before, but my roommate found a recipe for them, that came in our box of crock pot liners! So I figured, what better day to make them than on a day when I'm snowed in?
I will never get over how delicious they are. I've always been a big apple pie fan, but I'm also big on textures, and the crust always leaves a weird taste/feeling in my mouth. Ask my mom.. even today, if I have a piece of pie I'll eat the center out and leave the crust skeleton behind.
This recipe is really big. I didn't take it into account until I was washing/slicing/coring SIX apples. So if you're just making these for you, or you and one other person, definitely half the recipe.
The recipe says to serve them with vanilla ice cream, but since I work at a frozen yogurt shop, I figured I'd serve them with froyo instead. So tasty! I drizzled some of the excess cinnamon-juice over the froyo, and it tasted like fried ice cream! Definitely a great treat.
Slow Cooked Cinnamon Apples Recipe

• 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges.
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 stick butter, melted
• Optional: Vanilla ice cream/frozen yogurt

Preparation

• If using a crock pot liner, place snugly into crock pot.
• Slice apples and place in a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• 8 slices (1 apple) at a time, put into sugar mix and coat well, then put into the crock pot.
• Once all apples are in, pour in remaining mixture, and drizzle with butter.
• Place lid on crock pot.
• Cook on low for 3 hours, or high for 2 hours.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream/frozen yogurt, and top with extra cinnamon-juice if desired.

Lemon Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting

While I was home, mom and I baked a few different things! We tried s'mores cupcakes, which were..not as good as they sound, in my opinion. I'm not going to blog about them. But I AM going to blog about the best cupcakes on the planet: These lemon cupcakes!

The cupcakes were filled with lemon curd, and then topped with meringue, which we toasted with the kitchen torch that mom got for Christmas. She got one from me and one from dad, and we liked the one he bought more..but still!
Mom asked me to rate these on a scale from 1-10. I gave them a 9/10 at first, and then decided that no, these were a 10/10. The perfect cupcake.

They're lemony without being over-the-top sour. There's also no actual frosting, so it doesn't suffer from too-sweet-frosting syndrome either! The lemon curd in the middle is enough to give the cupcake a little 'pop', while being balanced with the meringue.

Getting torched!

I regret only eating one and a half. She took them to work the next day, and they were gone. Gooone gone gone... I want more now!

We had a hard time finding the lemon curd, but I found it in the grocery store aisle where they have jelly and jam! So if you're looking for it, look there.

Lemon Cupcakes Recipe

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 package instant lemon pudding
• 1 c sour cream
• 3/4 c veggie oil
• 3/4 c water
• 4 eggs
• 1 container lemon curd

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix everything but the lemon curd in an electric mixer on medium for two minutes.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake 15-18 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Core cupcakes, and fill with lemon curd. Use the cores of the cupcakes as caps to fill the hole.

Lemon Meringue Recipe

• 8 large egg whites
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

• Bring 1-2" of water to boil in a saucepan.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk ingredients well. Place above the boiling water.
• Continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch, and sugar is dissolved, around 2-3 minutes.
• Move to stand mixer if available, and using the whisk attachment, beat at next-to-high speed until it holds a soft peak, around five minutes.
• Pipe onto cupcakes, and toast lightly with a kitchen torch if available.

Brown Bag Biscuits

My dad is off on a hunting trip, and as my mom says.. "While the cat's away, the mice can watch as much Harry Potter as they want!" So that's what we've been doing!

Last night we had giant, frozen strawberry daiquiris and watched Harry Potter and Despicable Me! And this morning, more Harry Potter. We also had bacon, eggs, and brown bag biscuits!

I haven't eaten these since junior high. They were one of the very first things that I learned to bake on my own!
While they're -called- brown bag biscuits, I didn't actually use a brown bag. That just spells a mess for me! But "bowl biscuits" isn't as catchy.

I always forget how much I love these until I make them. They remind me of monkey bread, but they're much less sticky. They're easier to make and eat, too. And, personally, I find them tastier.
The most important part of the recipe, to take a page from Paula Deen's book, is not to run short on the butter! You dip the biscuits in it, but you also pour the remaining butter over the biscuits before baking, so don't skimp.

You can serve these on a plate like I have in the picture, but...c'mon. They're so much better right out of the pan, where they can sit and soak in the butter!

Brown Bag Biscuit Recipe

• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 + 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t allspice
• 1/4 t ginger
• 6 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 container of biscuits

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400
• Spray a 9x9 cake pan well with Pam.
• In a small bowl, melt the butter.
• In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
• Cut the biscuits in 1/2 if small biscuits, or 1/4 if larger biscuits.
• Dip the biscuit pieces in butter, then drop into the bowl with the spices. Coat well.
• Line pieces up in a single layer in the cake pan as you go.
• Once finished, sprinkle the remaining spices over the biscuits, then drizzle remaining butter.
• Bake 10-12 minutes, until brown, or when the center biscuit is done.
• Note: You can serve these on a plate as I've done in the picture, but they're better right out of the pan, where they get to sit and soak up the extra butter!

Red Velvet Cookies

Being back home for so long, I thought it'd be nice to bake some cookies for everyone at my job here! I didn't want to make anything too difficult or too time consuming though, so I baked one of my old recipes: Cake mix cookies.
This time, I went for red velvet cake! With cream cheese frosting, these were a very decadent little dessert.

...Hm. My brain is a little on the tired side, so that's all I can think to say about these!
I can say though, that you can either roll these out and cut them into shapes, or drop them onto the pan by 1/2 tbsp full. What I did was scoop them with the 1/2 tbsp, then roll that into a nice ball.

Then I used the back of a spoon and pressed them down so they were about 1/4" thick.
Red Velvet Cookie Recipe

• One box red velvet cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c vegetable oil

Preparation

• Beat together cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil. Scrape sides/bottom of bowl often, until everything is incorporated.
• Roll into a log and wrap with cling wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
• Cut slices to bake, or roll out and cut out shapes, or scoop dough with a 1/2tbsp spoon.. however you want to form these, do it!
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to firm.
• Cool completely, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 2 - 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

• Cream together cream cheese and butter.
• Beat in vanilla, and then gradually add in powdered sugar.
• Note: I like my cream cheese frosting less sweet than some, so add powdered sugar to taste.
• Frost cookies!