Late to the party and lazy to start.

Hi, so I'm officially making my late introduction to this blog. I apologize for not posting until now but I've been busy with switching companies at work as well as just being too lazy to do anything unless it involved watching Netflix and reading. 

I'll try my best to post something once a week but forgive me if I don't. My sister is more the baker in the family, and lately I've been obsessed with perfume (don't judge me). Anyway, let's kick this off with a recipe for Double Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Now this recipe is courtesy of JoyofBaking.com and you can find it under the muffin section so I won't go into too much detail (because I'm lazy). This is a fairly simple recipe and I wish I had taken more pictures but I will show you a couple. 

Like my sister has said before, it's always a good idea to gather your ingredients before you start. Now I changed a few things in this recipe. The first was that I set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 375. That's just my personal preference.  

Second, when whisking together the dry ingredients I added a couple teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips because why not? 

With the wet ingredients, the recipe called for 1 cup of buttermilk. It was surprising but I actually had buttermilk, sadly I only had 1/2 cup left so I threw that in with 1/2 of heavy whipping cream because I love using it to bake with. Heavy cream is amazing and so unhealthy. But if you wanted healthy, why are you here? 

After mixing the dry and wet ingredients and putting those little paper cups in the muffin pan, I got halfway through pouring the batter when I had an awesome idea. I made the decision to place a Hershey's kiss or a mini Reese's cup into the center of each muffin. When they came out the candy inside was nice and melty and delicious!  

The easiest way to do this is to fill the cups halfway, place a piece of candy (your choice) into each one then fill them the rest of the way up, they end up looking like this: 

Sorry if the picture sucks. After you toss this into the oven, it should slowly start to rise. It will look like the following picture when it's around the ten-12 minute mark (mine baked for 20 minutes per the recipes suggestion). 

I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the finished product but they were delicious and they never made it to the next day. I left for five minutes while they cooled and there were four missing when I came back so I'd take that as a compliment. 

Now the recipe included a chocolate fudge frosting but I was just not prepared to give my friends that much diabetes, not yet anyway. If you would like to give it a shot be my guest and tell me how it goes, I'd love to hear what you think about the recipe because from where I stand, they're pretty darn tasty. 

I'll try to have more pictures but until then, stay sweet and thanks for reading! 

Now back to watching Netflix. 

Oh Canada, with your delicious treats and funny bacon

Man it's been a tiring couple of weeks.

Recently started a new second job and that's been interesting. As well as quite frustrating.
Still found time to bake in between all these hectic hours.

Because I have a problem.

Side note: One of my jobs is at a retail location that deals with crafts and whatnot. I won't disclose which one but I'm sure you get the gist of it.
Managed to score this beauty for half off.

If you can't tell, it's an icing smoother for cakes. Sorry about the water droplets, I had just taken it out of the package and washed it in preparation to take it's first frosting virginity. But yes. I'm quite excited to use this. There is at least one birthday coming up. Maybe I'll be able to whip this bad boy out soon.

Anywho!

When I first started getting into baking, the first site I really got into was joyofbaking.com. It's run by the fabulous (at least from what I can tell) Stephanie Jaworski. I believe she has tested every recipe she posts and they are mostly from various cookbooks. She'll put her own spin on it or just follow it according to the original published aspects. 

Either way, her recipes are what got me started and have helped me get to the point I'm at. Her directions are clear and her tips at making sure your goodies comes out right are quite on point.  
So yeah, check it out! They don't disappoint. 

So I found a little time to making some Butter Tart Squares. As stated in the article, they are similar in flavor and texture to a pecan pie but in a more convenient form. 
And if you don't love pecan pie then you're a communist. 
Sorry. Gotta say it.

Alright. Here we go.
First gather your ingredients again.

Then, make sure you grease your baking pan(s). I doubled this recipe too. If you're wondering why I double my recipes often, it's because I love to share when a recipe comes out well. 
And I like to pan off most of my treats so I don't end up eating them all. Preventative measures people. 

Also, for a recipe that deals with a crust, I don't recommend flouring the pan or laying down parchment paper. Crusts don't typically have a hard time coming out of your receptacle due to all of the butter IN the recipe. 
Okay, the crust is the first step. For this you'll first beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

  

Make sure to cut the butter into pieces. This will make it easier to beat.
Don't you love my stand-mixer guys? Damn, I sure do.

 

This is how it should look after you've beaten it into submission.

Now to add the flour and salt. Only mix until the dough comes together. 

Now here comes the fun part! Time to spread out your dough into your prepared pan. Make sure to make it as even as possible. 

Since I doubled the recipe, I just mashed the dough onto the bottom a little bit at a time until they both looked similar enough.
Next, bake the crust for about 20 to 25 minutes or until pale golden in color. I make sure to keep a close eye when baking crusts. When given baking times I like to check about 10 minutes in to gauge how much to adjust the time according to how shitty my oven is. Never, ever assume the suggested baking time is adequate for your baking equipment.

When done, take out your pan and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.
The article suggests a food processor or hand mixer, but I just used my trusty old stand-mixer again.
Beat more butter and more sugar again until light and fluffy. Brown sugar this time though.

Mix in your eggs, one at a time, until combined. 

Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary!
Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract.

Then add your flour, salt, and baking powder.

 

Now take your cooled crusts and sprinkle raisins/nuts (or either or) onto the bottoms evenly. I used pecans and sultanas. I've had these sultanas sitting in my pantry for EVER. I'm just glad they take so long to go bad. 

 Spread your filling in the pan evenly.

Bake for about another 20 to 25 minutes on this one or until your filling is set. 

Voila! Done! Just make sure to cool on a wire rack before cutting and removing. These are scrumptious both warm and cold.

I gotta be honest. Even though I did take most of these to work, me and the boyfriend devoured most of them ourselves.
They were just so freaking good. 

 

Until next time!

Beer, Blondies, and Brush Strokes

Okay!

It's been an eventful week folks. All the awesome things.
All of them.

Finally got a chance to do a successful baking post. I had a request to do blondies which I have never made before. But after making brownies bunches of times, how hard could it be?

So fucking simple. That's how hard this was.

After doing a simple Google search I came upon this beauty; Candy Bar Blondies.
This is_best thing_

I've always wanted to do a step by step tutorial to help out whoever would like to give this a whirl. It's good to know how the process looks.

First! Gather your ingredients. (I honestly don't usually do this but it's actually nice to have everything at hand and ready to go).

 

The original post uses just a vast array of bite sized milk chocolate candies. I wasn't entirely sure what the requester preferred so I went with mini Reeses cups and chopped Snickers bars.

Next, you'll want to grease up your baking pans. I actually butter them, place parchment paper on the bottom, grease the parchment paper, then coat in flour. Comes out like a charm every time. 

I also doubled the recipe if you couldn't already tell.

I have a stand mixer but I actually did not need it at all for this recipe. It was pretty easy to mix it all by hand.
You have the dry ingredients mixed together first (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).

Then in a separate bowl you mix some of the wet (light brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract)

Mix that shit together and add your eggs.

Mix it all together. AGAIN.

Now it's time to add your dry ingredients. The original post suggests doing this part slowly and only until the flour is just combined enough so that you no longer see those lovely white streaks of powder. It is quite thick.

Next, I split this lovely concoction between two bowls, adding the mini Reese's to one and the chopped Snickers to the other.
Here they are all spread out and lovely in their pans.

Aaaand here they are all finished baking.

I must say this recipe is an ultimate winner. Straight from the oven, they were soft and gooey with glorious chunks of chocolate in each bite.
Even left out at room temperature in a tin they still retained that same scrumptious consistency, though maybe not with all the melty candy goodness. (But that's what microwaves are for right?)

HNNGGGGGGG












SOOOO GOOOOOOOD








It goes without saying that the treats were well received.

Nothing like diabetic inducing desserts to fuel your paint prowess.

Just take a look at all these shenanigans.

Mmmmmm. Dat booty.

This is mine. *cough* Can't quite compete with the skills of my friends.
But maybe one day. (Looks dreamily up towards the heavens).
*Cheesy twinkling music ensues*


But yes.
Twas a good day.

And I'd like to thank my friends for being my guinea pigs for this first real post.
Truly appreciate it.


Adieu

Oh my glob. BISCUITS

Hnnnnggggg

I'm so very full right now. Still no post about baking.

Yet.

But hopefully soon.

I just haven't had the time since my last attempt. Working two part time jobs that add up to sometimes more than full time hours can really drain a lady. Fatigue and exhaustion typically run my day.

I did have a few hours to spend on dinner though; using two of my favorite recipes.
The first is a beef stew recipe from allrecipes.com. I follow the recipe for the most part but I do admit to some slight changes. I usually add about a cup more water with an extra bouillon cube and a bit more cornstarch that I mix with the broth instead of cold water. The results are always amazing.

I am a die-hard biscuit fan. Being a half-breed Asian didn't stop me from loving country food after growing up in the south.
If you want the best biscuit recipe EVER, then this is it. I have tried the original recipe which is awesome but I typically omit the cheddar and pepper to just make it a regular biscuit.
You NEED a pastry cutter though. That's the only way you'll get something light and fluffy enough.
I learned these things the hard way.

Sorry for my crappy photography skills. I have an okay digital camera but the lighting in my apartment just totally blows.

I usually cook while listening to music but today I thought I'd switch it up by listening to some Welcome to Night Vale.
If you're a fan of strange occurrences and random bits of terrifying humor then I suggest you give it a try.

I think you missed a turn at Alburquerque

Nevertheless, here you are!

Not much here yet. Safe to assume that there won't be much to post for a day or two. I tried to get started last night but I had a complete and total kitchen disaster.

This little shindig will be composed of baking and cooking posts/reviews, as well as other miscellaneous crafts that we delve in.

Shall be much fun, yes?

Bear with me.


This might be a bumpy ride.