Homemade Pie Crust Tutorial (Pastry Dough) *PICS ACTUALLY WORK! - CRAFTSTER CRAFT CHALLENGES FYI, we won't include this in the final poll. So the Mod Squad kept lamenting that pie crust was sooooo hard and they couldn't do it. And I was thoroughly confused. I've made my share of pie crust and it never seemed that taxing to me! Now, this amount will yield between 5 -7 crusts. Ingredients: * Grandma says use that particular Crisco. **I have ice water pictured but had to take the cubes out as we were using it. Here are the tools you'll need right now: (not pictured, I guess we were too excited!) For later: (You can skimp here if you want. (Again, you won't die without the cover but really, it helps) Measure out your flour. Add your salt and mix it up. (Also, are there any vegans who could confirm or deny that Crisco is vegan?
cobbler baked in jars I made these for the Seattle Bake Sale for Share Our Strength organized by Frantic Foodie (thanks Keren!). I had so much fun making pies in jars that I figured this was the perfect opportunity to bake something else in jars. This time I used half-pint wide mouth jars, a nice size for a bake sale. (Half pint jars washed and drying.) I used the blueberry cobbler recipe from Baking Illustrated. (Look! These are great for bake sales because the packing is an eye catcher. The recipe, with notes on actually making it in jars, is below. Seriously, the cornmeal added to the biscuit batter makes all the difference here. I call this mise en jars, I used the washed jars from the overflowing and sticky (but sooo worth it) test batch. For each batch I used a 10-ounce package of frozen wild blueberries and, for the sake of economy, filled out the rest with locally grown (and gorgeous) frozen blueberries that are sold in 48-ounce bags. The scent of these baked goods right here is amazing. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Homemade Marshmallows I’ve been wanting to make a homemade marshmallows for a long time now, but never really had a reason. I love marshmallows, but don’t eat them very often (but if I have a open bag in the pantry I will eat every last one) — store-bought Stay-Pufts (or their generic counterparts) are just not as pretty as the homemade ones I have seen in Williams Sonoma, with their weird, dry texture and powdery coating (they they were good in a cup of freshly made hot cocoa, but again that didn't stop me from eating them). And believe it or not, I’d never had a homemade marshmallow in my life. After flipping through a handful of my favorite food blogs, past a billion fudge and holiday cake pop recipes, I came across a tutorial for peppermint marshmallows, on a great blog site. I started researching homemade marshmallow recipes. Two Recipes go head to head: Homemade Marshmallows The first recipe I made was Alton Brown’s from the Food Network which did not use egg whites. Homemade Marshmallow Recipe 1. 2. 3.
Ring in a Sweet New Year with Cosmopolitan Cupcakes I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone to learn that I like to ring in the New Year with sweets. Really, I'm not a big drinker, so celebrating with sweet treats is how I indulge. This year though, I'm going for a double whammy and combining one of my favorite cocktails, a Cosmopolitan, with one of my favorite desserts, cupcakes! Cosmopolitan + cupcake = what else?! Cosmopolicakes! What a way to celebrate, huh?! The "grown up" version taste best after sitting overnight. I ended up having to make these cupcakes three times before I got them just right. The first batch of these that I made was delicious, but their texture was really off. First of all, I want to specify that lime zest is preferable to lemon zest. I digress... For the next try, I slightly altered the amounts of everything and replaced the oil with a stick of unsalted butter (margarine for vegan), and some apple sauce to bind everything together better. Whoopsie! I truly love how these turned out!
Cheapest/Easiest Last min gift ever-Chocolate Toffee Pieces; "Christmas Crack!" - COOKING 11/13/11 Note: Over the years since I posted this, there has been lots of talk on the thread. I've gone through and tried to add in as many alternatives & suggestions as possible, as well as answer some candy trouble-shooting questions down below at the bottom of the post! I know there are probably lot of you out there who either need a really simple last minute gift, or who with the terrible economy want to make INEXPENSIVE gifts this year. This is one of the easiest, cheapest, and yet most impressive gourmet-ish gifts I've ever found. The friend who gave me the recipe called it Christmas Crack because it is addictive, it contains crackers, and you 'crack' it apart, but I've found this doesn't tell people much about it, so call it whatever you wish. 1 sleeve saltine crackers3/4 cup brown sugar1 cup butter (salted)1 11.5 oz. package chocolate chips3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let sit for about 5 minutes to melt. Gritty Toffee?
The Pastry Affair - Home - Butterbeer This is part III in a mini-series of Harry Potter snacks from the books brought to life (part I is on Honeydukes treats, part II is all about the cauldron cakes, and part IV showcases decadent butterbeer cupcakes). Last August, my family made the two thousand mile journey to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Orlando has always been one of my family's favorite vacation destinations. Add in my love (and obsession) with Harry Potter and we all knew that once the park officially opened I couldn't be kept away for long. On the big day, we woke up at an obscene hour to a bright dawn. While the rest of my family was dragging their feet and speaking in yawns, I was too excited to dwell on my lack of sleep and tired eyes. This was my moment. When I entered the park, I was immediately swept away by the architecture and the detail. I'm pretty sure I had a grin on my face a mile wide. Believe it or not, "window shopping" was one of my favorite sights in the park.
Your Cup of Cake: Andes Mint Cupcakes New photo from my cookbook “Your Cup of Cake” I was introduced to Andes Mints at a very young age. Though, my strongest memory was not of eating them, it was of being attacked by them. My family commonly went to a little Mexican restaurant in town, and when we finished eating we would get these mints with the check. Ingredients Chocolate Cakes: 1 cup sour cream ½ cup oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs ¼ cup water ½ cup buttermilk Devil’s Food Cake Mix Chocolate Mint Filling: 1/3 cup chocolate chips 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon peppermint extract ¼ cup powdered sugar Mint Buttercream: 8 oz cream cheese 6 tablespoons butter 3-4 cups powdered sugar 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk green food coloring Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Copyright © YourCupofCake I used the Ateco #855 piping tip
Cappuccino-Fudge Cheesecake | Handle the Heat Green apple sorbet I first made green apple sorbet was about a year and a half ago and it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd just received a stand mixer and an ice cream bowl attachment and I was super excited about using it. I picked a recipe and started making it. Not knowing anything about making ice cream and sorbet I didn't realise just how smooth a puree needs to be to make creamy ice cream. I neither pureed the apples enough nor strained them. One and a half years later, with fond memories of the taste of my ill-fated sorbet, I've given it another shot. There are a few things I liked about the original recipe that, unfortunately, didn't carry over into the second attempt. Essentially this recipe is much better than my first attempt and I'm just being picky. If you make this, don't freak out if your apple mixture is super bright green prior to it being frozen in the ice cream machine - it's perfectly normal. Green apple sorbet
Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes If you enjoy cheesecake, then you will love these cupcakes. They consist of cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, a layer of homemade raspberry jelly, and are topped with cream cheese whipped cream. Can you say yum? Ingredients: Cheesecake (3) 8 Ounce Packages Cream Cheese 4 Eggs 1 Cup Sugar 1/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 1 Tablespoon and 1 Teaspoon Flour 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract Fresh Raspberries for Garnish Cream Cheese Whipped Cream 2 and 2/3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream, liquid not already whipped 3 Tablespoons Cream Cheese, softened Raspberry Jelly 1 and 1/3 Cups Raspberries, fresh or frozen 3/4 Cup Sugar 1/4 Cup Water Graham Cracker Crust 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs 1/3 Cup Butter, melted 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar 1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon