Wednesday 31 August 2011

Butter Cookies

     As I said in my previous post, I'm not a big fan of cookies unless they have chocolate in them. So naturally, when I decide to bake cookies, butter cookies are not on the top of the list. In fact, they probably aren't on the list at all! But I decided to try out this butter cookie recipe that had some pretty great reviews. And needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. These cookies were pretty darn good! They are buttery and crumbly, but not to sweet, which is perfect, because then, you can eat more! This is a simple classic butter cookie recipe, but butter cookies are pretty versatile, so you can change it up to your liking. Just think...Cinnamon and Sugar, chocolate and raspberry, coconut, jam, lemon curd, or frosted...You can eat these however you like! Needless to say, I dipped mine in chocolate. I ate the chocolate covered ones before I could take photos of them though! This recipe yields about 12 cookies.






Ingredients:


ounces unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/16 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 large egg yolk

1/2 cup all purpose flour



Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees farenheit (about 160 degrees celcius).
2. Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
3. Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once.
4. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. The dough will be a little sticky at this point, so knead it a few times until it smoothens out.
5. Form balls of about 1/8 inch thickness, and flatten them slightly. These cookies don't spread much, but they do need some room around each cookie.
6. Bake for about 16 to 18 minutes, until the cookies start to turn golden around the edges.




Sunday 28 August 2011

Sugar Cookies

   I know this may sound weird, but I don't like sugar cookies. In fact, I don't like any cookie unless it has chocolate in it. Give me a simple classic chocolate chip cookie and I'll be happy. A few days ago, I decided to bake sugar cookies for a friend who absolutely adores cookies in any form. Obviously I tried one of the sugar cookies I made, and truth be told, these cookies were actually pretty good! The sugar crystals on top added a cute touch to them as well! I can't say I'm in love with sugar cookies now, but I don't hate them anymore either! I'm sure all you sugar cookie fans out there will enjoy this recipe. This recipe is adapted from the allrecipes website.






Ingredients:



1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, softened



  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt




Method:

  1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. 
  2. Beat in eggs and vanilla. 
  3. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
  4. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
  5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 
  6. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
  7. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.












Friday 19 August 2011

Fudge Brownies

    Today was my 17th birthday. It was one of the best birthdays ever! School was fun (shocking, I know!), and then some family friends came over for dinner. There's going to be a party at home tomorrow. But today was a happy, fun day. One of my family friends baked me a delicious chocolate cake. Dinner was a lot of fun. It consisted more of laughter and sharing old memories and funny stories rather than actually eating. Now I'm looking forward to the party tomorrow!
     A lot of people asked me if I was going to bake my birthday cake. I said no. I bake for everyone else's birthdays. Why should I bake for my own? But you know me, I can't pass up an opportunity to bake! So, I baked myself birthday brownies! I came across this recipe from Diving Baking and I knew at once, that this was the recipe I was going to try out. I love fudgy brownies with a crackly crust. This recipe makes the perfect dense fudgy brownies. And the crust....Oh, I could go on forever about how wonderful the crust is! What I'm trying to say is, this recipe is a must try! You won't be disappointed, I promise!!




Ingredients:



3/4 cup butter
1 pound (16 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 cups brown sugar*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla 

*It's hard to get brown sugar here in India, so I use one tablespoon of honey and one cup of white sugar for every cup of brown sugar required, and it comes out perfectly!

Method:








1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish, or line with parchment paper or foil.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. 
3. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Set aside to cool. 



4. Sift the flour into a small mixing bowl. 
5. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture thickens and becomes pale in color, about 4 to 5 minutes. 
6. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. 
7. Add the flour and fold it in quickly but gently with the rubber spatula so that you don’t deflate the air that’s been incorporated into the eggs.





8. Pour the batter into the prepared dish. 
9. Bake until the top looks slightly cracked and feels soft to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.












   

Monday 15 August 2011

Independence Day Mocha Cake

     August 15th...India's Independence Day...A day of celebration for the nation....A national holiday...A day to remember the sacrifices made by our ancestors for our freedom. For most of us, it's just a day off from school or work. A day to sleep in. Today, I had to go to school for the flag hoisting. Some of the juniors recited poems, and sang and danced to patriotic songs. That was our Independence Day celebration. You don't need to know me well to know that I jump at any opportunity I get to bake. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I baked a cake today in celebration of my country's Independence Day. Instead of baking the usual chocolate cake, I decided to bake a coffee cake. Not a cake you eat with coffee...A coffee flavored cake. Let's call it a Mocha Cake, shall we? I made a tiny one, because with only three of us in the house right now (me, my mom, and my brother), I knew it wouldn't get over fast enough to bake something again tomorrow. :P I frosted it with Vanilla Buttercream frosting. You can never go wrong with buttercream frosting. It tastes amazing every time! This recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food site.




CAKE:-


Ingredients:

125 grams butter
125 grams sugar
150 grams self-rising flour
2 eggs
75 ml strong coffee

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (about 180 degrees Celcius). Grease the cake tins, or line with parchment paper.

2. Beat butter and sugar together and pale and creamy.



3.Add the flour and eggs together and beat.

4. Mix in the strong coffee.




5. Pour the batter into the cake tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.




6. Frost with buttercream frosting.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:-

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1  1/4 cup confectionary (icing) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon milk or cream

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar until well combined.
2. Add the vanilla essence and milk/cream and mix.
3. If the frosting is too runny, add some more sugar, and if it's too thick, add some more milk/cream, until it is in frosting consistency.

** For chocolate frosting, add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to the butter and sugar, before adding vanilla essence and milk/cream. For coffee frosting, add half a tablespoon of espresso/coffee powder. For colored frosting, add a few drops of food coloring.





Sunday 14 August 2011

Big Chocolate Chip Cookies

     My dad left for the US early this morning. My cousins asked me to bake something and send it with him. I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies. They're easy to make, and easy to carry on the flight too. Once I'd figured out what to bake them, I was faced with an even bigger problem. Which recipe should I use? After some contemplation, I finally decided to use a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. This is one of my most favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. It's one of the best recipes I've tried out so far. I changed the recipe a bit though. The cookies came out even better, I think. They are thick and chewy, and very chocolatey. :D I'm sure the cookie monster would approve. (Yes, he's my favorite cartoon character, for obvious reasons.) These bakery-style cookies are a must try. :) Om nom nom nom nom.










Ingredients:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips



Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.








2. Mix the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Mix the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. 

4.Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. 

5.Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. 
6.Stir in the chips to taste.


7. Roll a small amount of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Alternatively, use an ice cream scoop to make balls of cookie dough. 
8. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the outer edges start to harden but the centers are still soft. Rotate the baking sheets half way into the baking time. Let the cookies cool before removing them from the baking sheets.