Other | Grin and Bake It!

Written on August 23, 2010 by Kate

So my boy came home last night from his first camping trip… the first sentence out of his mouth was, “Camping is really not my thing Mom.”. He showed up pretty dirty and in a foul mood. Apparently, sleeping in a tent and riding in a car for 8 hours isn’t his thing either.

On Saturday, the dads took their boys on a 7 mile hike to one of the waterfalls. My boy’s dad was so proud of him for persevering. (By the way, they both have two very different interpretations of the weekend.) While recounting the details of the hike to me, the boy said, “Oh my gosh, you hike and hike for hours to get the top of a waterfall. Then you get there and look down. What’s the point? There’s no point at all.” Sadly, he doesn’t seem to have developed an appreciation for nature and the wonder of Yosemite.

The boy did tell me that all of the chocolate chip cookies I sent him with were eaten, and he asked if I’d make another batch right away. It doesn’t look like he will be camping anytime soon (if he can help it), but he will definitely be eating more of these cookies.

Yes, there are three billion food blogging posts with chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is a good one, and worth trying. I’m not going to say it’s the holy grail of chocolate chip cookies, but I guarantee it will help you get through a tough situation. The cookie bakes up pretty flat. It’s soft and chewy on the inside, and crispy on the outside.

Have a great week everyone! We’re planning on enjoying these last two weeks before the school year starts.

Yet Another Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, and chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

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Written on August 5, 2010 by Kate

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I’ve got one of my favorites of all favorites to tell you about this week… Bakeat350.The blogger behind Bakeat350 is Bridget from Texas. Her genuine warmth travels through cyberspace right to your computer. I don’t know how she does it, but it’s true. This is where I go for cookie inspiration! I’m always in awe of what she creates, and have learned a ton from her.

Bridget is a naturally gifted teacher, who loves to share her knowledge and original baking ideas through her blog. You will absolutely love the step by step photo tutorials she creates. She visually breaks the baking process into manageable steps. She would be dynamite in a classroom, but that wouldn’t leave her much time to blog (so don’t go getting your teaching credential any time soon Bridget! We need you in the blogosphere!).

If you want to try designing your own sugar cookies, Bakeat350 is the place to start. And if you’ve been decorating cookies for years, this is where to go for new ideas and inspiration. Bridget also makes a ton of other sweet recipes.

Bridget is as….

and so are her cookies. (Don’t you love these? She shows you how to make these adorable cookies right down to the little, blue button.)

She’s not just a cookie lover… she enjoys an adult beverage now and then.

Oh how I love these beer sugar cookies. I just wish Bridget lived closer so we could chat about cookies over happy hour!

And did I mention she recently started her own university and recruited a few fabulous mentors. Go check it out.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

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Written on August 5, 2010 by Kate

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Do not be fooled by that smile. This is a naughty dog who does not like it when the blogging world takes away the attention she feels she is owed. Today she took the memory card, with all of my pictures, out of the computer tower, and bit into it… wiped it out, all gone, adios photos. And it’s not the first time she’s done it. A few weeks ago, while pretending to sleep at my feet under my desk, a message popped up on the computer screen saying it could not read the disc. Hmmm… maybe because a sneaky pup removed it. Who does this??? Now all I can do is pray that when Prince Charming shows up, he’ll bring his photo recovery software with him.

After reading the novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, I became convinced there is a two-year old inside of her body. If you are a dog lover, this is an absolute must read. Plus, they’re making it into a movie starring Patrick Dempsey, and although I will always love you Ronald Miller, I don’t see how the movie can even compare to the book. The book reminds us of the special bond that we and our pups have. It’s a good thing you’re cute Winnie!!

Off to have a glass of wine… or two… or three… or possibly the entire bottle. Kendall J. will listen to my sob story!

Be back tomorrow to share another one of my favorite foodies with you.

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Written on July 30, 2010 by Kate

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When I started my obsession with food blogs a few years ago, there were just a handful of food blogging sites that I visited regularly. It didn’t take long to discover that the food blogosphere can be a bit overwhelming once you dive in. There are bloggers that I’ve followed, either for their fabulous recipes and ideas, amazing photos, tips and tutorials, or their personal writing styles. But every once in awhile, when I come across a food blog that has all of the above, it earns “Favorite Foodie” status in my book.

I could rattle off a whole bunch of my favorites right here, many of which can be found on my link love page, but a list of links really won’t allow you to get to know any of these bloggers. Instead, each Friday I’m going to share one of my favorite food bloggers with you. I have a feeling, you’re going to love them as much as I do.

First up, is the blogger behind Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Kristan from Arkansas. I think it’s a possibility that we were twins separated at birth, except she’s a lot funnier than I am. She’s not just funny, the girl is hilarious! Her anecdotals, stories about being a mom, and her fabulous fun treat ideas keep me stalking her site daily. One of the best parts about blogging is getting to make friends with people all over the world that have similar interests. The bummer is when you find people you’d actually love to hang out with, but find out there’s several thousands of miles between you. I’ve told Kristan that if she ever gets back to visit California, we will plan a day of reality trash t.v. and I will personally take her on a house tour of the Real Housewives of the OC. And if I’m lucky, she’ll show me how to make one of her amazing creations.

When you visit her site, I guarantee you’re going to want to make these…

Rice Krispie Ice Cream Cones ~ These are filled with candy and are perfect party favors. That’s not ice cream on top, but rice krispie treats. You will earn favorite mom status if you make these for your kiddos and their friends. Kristan shows you how and always posts lots of great photos, along with her recipes.

and after you’ve made those, then you’ll want to make the cutest brownie bites ever…

and when you come across these lipstick cookies, you’ll be so impressed, you’ll have to find out how in the heck she made them. Have you ever seen anything like these? These would be perfect for a girl’s night, or for a little girl’s dress up party.

I could go on and on about her soda cupcakes, chocolate covered potato chips, and homeade Twinkies, but I’d be barely scratching the surface of her creativity. Go stop by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen to meet Kristan, and you’ll see why I’m hooked!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Written on July 2, 2010 by Kate

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Need to add a little red, white, and blue to your dessert table? These attention getters are all easy and quick to whip up. Check out these all-American cupcakes that I baked up for Memorial Day. You can use a cake mix from a box!

Firecracker Krispies

Star Spangled Strawberries

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July with your family and friends!

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Written on June 27, 2010 by Kate

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Oh how I love free holiday printables. Here are a few graphic designers who’ve posted their 4th of July goodies free for all of us to print and enjoy. These small finishing touches pull an event together.

Rebecca at The Pink Orange, posted freebies, invites, straw flags, and buffet signs that you can edit at The Sweetest Occasion

Bella Grace Party Designs offers cupcake toppers/circle tags

The Party Dress has posted food tent cards and cupcake toppers (above)

Pin Wheel Cupcake Toppers, The Long Thread

Tweedle Designs posts banner (above), tags, straw flags, invites, treat toppers, water bottle wrappers, and more.

Hope you’re inspired, I am!

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Written on May 27, 2010 by Kate

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Last Saturday marked the end of the Little League spring season. This is my son’s 3^rd year of baseball and will forever be remembered as the season he fell in love with the sport. The boy lives, eats, and breathes baseball now. Mind you, I have no athletic ability and no interest in sports, but I love watching him out there. He’s made me a fan of baseball. The Naughty One and Blake’s grandparents made it to every game this season. They’re his biggest fans!

Just a few years ago, my dad was thrilled to take the boy to his first Angels game. Once they got there though, all the boy wanted to do was get snacks from the snack bar. They spent a lot of time going back and forth to the concession stands. They ended up making a great memory ~ a flat tire and a game of cards in the parking lot afterward. I don’t think they could even tell you who won the game that day.

When we weren’t spending our waking hours out on the ball field these past few months, we were watching it on television… every game over and over again. Every game is like a final exam. Throughout the game (all nine innings), I’m asked questions like, “Let’s say there is a player on first and a player on third base. When the next player bats, where should the ball be thrown?”. Heck if I know. Luckily, I have the baseball nut to explain the plays in detail to me.

I made cupcakes and cookie favors for our end of season celebration. I had extra cookie dough left over after making the large baseball cookies and decided to make team cupcake toppers with their University team letter on them. I googled to see what the “f” for Fullerton looked like. I made small cookies, piped and flood them blue, and then used Wilton tip #1 for the letters. I was happy with how they turned out, as I don’t consider myself the greatest at piping.

The cupcakes were amazing! I finally have found my standard go-to white cake recipe. There is no need to look any further. This is it! It uses a boxed cake mix, but I challenge anyone to come up with a moister cake from scratch than this one. It truly tastes like wedding cake, light and moist, and flavorful. You can adapt this recipe in a ton of ways. I made them with a slight lemon flavor. Traditional wedding cakes often use almond flavoring, so feel free to omit the lemon extract and add almond instead. Just remember that extracts are strong, a little goes a long way.

The white icing I used on these is my standard white frosting that I use when I’m making cupcakes for kids. It has kid appeal, in that it tastes almost exactly like the grocery store bakery icing tastes like. This may be too sweet for some, but no child has objected yet!

White Wedding Cake Cake/Cupcake Recipe

Adapted from Recipezaar.com

1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cups water

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. lemon extract *

1 cup sour cream

4 large egg whites

1 ½ tsp. lemon zest

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium for 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through mixing. Pour into greased and floured cake pans or cupcake tins. Fill about half way full.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven until tests done (about 16 minutes)

*you may substitute 1 tsp. almond extract for another flavor option

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Written on May 18, 2010 by Kate

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Do you agree with the cliche “opposites attract” ? When I think about the couples I know, there are some with very different character traits that have meshed together beautifully. Then, there are other couples I know, that I wonder how in the heck they got together in the first place. Don’t you find that the same is true with some of the ingredients we put together? My current obsession is salted caramel. The salty-sweet combo is a perfect example of “opposites attract”.

I’ve been daydreaming about the chocolate cupcakes that I made for Cupcake Hero for weeks now. Two of my best girlfriends and I decided this was the best chocolate cake recipe on the planet. The Cupcake Hero theme was caramel and I was attempting to make a caramel frappucino in cupcake form. I was thrilled with how they turned out.

Before we officially award the chocolate cupcake with the best cupcake on the planet award, I thought I would bake it again, just to make sure. This time around, I frosted the cupcakes with a salted caramel frosting that I had seen on Gimme Some Oven. This buttercream took an already fabulous cupcake to a whole new level. The frosting requires that you make your own caramel, but do not be afraid. Just follow the directions below, and whatever you do resist the urge to stir. (I’ve posted some pictures below on the right side of the frosting recipe for your reference if you haven’t made home-made caramel before.)

Salt and Caramel are a couple made in heaven, and these cupcakes prove it!

Chocolate Cupcakes (Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

(printable recipe)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup freshly brewed, caramel flavored hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pan.

Combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in mixer and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into cupcake liners, fill a little less than 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Salted Caramel Buttercream (Recipe adapted from CHOW)

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) salted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Briefly stir together granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (pic #1). Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 6 to 7 minutes (pic #2). The key is not to stir it.

Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla (start with a few spoonfuls), stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth (pic. # 3). Set aside until cool to the touch.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add powdered sugar. Mix until well combined (pic. #4). Turn off the mixer, and slowly add caramel. Beat frosting on low to combine, and then increase to medium-high and beat until airy and thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate if not using immediately. *

*If you refrigerate the frosting, be sure to whip it up with your mixer before spreading.

***To frost cupcakes with the swirl (1M tip), you will need more frosting than the recipe makes, double it.

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Baking my way through the trials and triumphs of life!

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