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.