Baking – Page 9 – Emerald Thunder

Cookie Madness!

June 9, 2011August 27, 2011 Emerald Thunder

This post will be devoted to cookies! I’ve made three completely different recipes, and I don’t think I could possibly choose one that I love the most. They were all so different and delectable.

I’ll start with the Pomegranate White Chocolate Chip Cookies. These were one of my baking bonanzas from February and I just had to bake them again, even though once again I failed to document the process. Oh well!

I also had to make a substitution because I wanted them so badly and couldn’t get out to buy eggs. As a result I used half a banana in place of the egg. Thankfully it worked out wonderfully. The banana added a bit of something extra to the taste and I must say that I happen to like it better than the original recipe. I just might keep this substitution in mind when and if I make them for a third time.

They went over really well with my friends when I brought them to class one day. I kept the bag out during class, and one friend just kept reaching his hand into the bag and munching absent-mindedly throughout the entire hour. I think he liked them just a bit, haha.

For my next cookies I failed to get even one picture of them. I took the Glazed Lemon Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod to a picnic in Washington Square Park the other day, and by the time I got there they were all SQUASHED and in chunks. Thankfully it didn’t affect the taste, but it would have been nice to get a picture of them in the park.

They were light and lemon-y and a perfect summer cookie. I omitted the glaze this time, and I might keep it that way so that they don’t become overwhelmingly sweet.

For my final cookie I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe from The Joy of Baking. I managed to transport these to the park without too much damage, but I didn’t take pictures of them there. Instead they became the first baked good to be photographed on my new windowsill.

Ta-da!

I’m not really feeling the direct sunlight for my photos. I much prefer my old sill and the indirect lighting because it was much less harsh and didn’t create such bold shadows on my food.

I thought I might also include the sandwiches we ate on our picnic in the park. My friend made us ham and cheese with mayo, spinach, and Texas tomato on bird seed bread from Whole Foods.

Great sandwiches, Anne! You can be in charge of sandwiches any time.

Baking

The Post of Chocolate DEATH!

June 7, 2011March 25, 2012 Emerald Thunder

During my time away from the blog I made a couple of things that, if made repeatedly, could result in a death by chocolate. They were too delicious and absolutely to die for!

These Cheesecake Brownies from Buns in my Oven were fantastic. I made them for dessert for dinner at a friend’s apartment. We each made something, and it was all really good. We gorged ourselves on pulled brisket, mashed potatoes, potato rolls, and my brownies–a good old homemade, stick to your ribs dinner that we were all seriously craving by the end of the semester.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of them before we dug in, but that just means I’ll have to make them again sometime.

My next dessert of death consisted of my go-to brownies with homemade ice cream.

The brownies were so moist and gooey that I hope I can replicate this same effect in the future. Rather than use semi-sweet chocolate chips like I usually use, I had a giant bar of dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s that I chopped up and melted into the batter, and then I added more chunks before baking.

YUM!

For the ice cream, I found this super easy recipe on kevinandamanda.com. It didn’t even require an ice cream maker, rock salt, or any of that stuff! Color me a happy camper. I’m definitely going to be making this over and over and adding in tons of mix-ins. I should start thinking of combinations right now.

Doesn’t it look like pure FUDGE? Delicious death in a bowl, that’s all I have to say.

Baking

Cheesecake!!

June 6, 2011August 27, 2011 Emerald Thunder

A friend pointed out this Vanilla Yogurt Cheesecake recipe a few weeks ago just as I was falling in love with greek yogurt, so it couldn’t have been better timing. With the use of non-fat yogurt, this is certainly a lighter variation on classic cheesecake. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of a final product, but I was happily surprised.

I’m actually not a huge fan of plain cheesecake, but I enjoyed this one. It’s usually the intense cream cheese tang that I don’t enjoy as much, but this recipe just didn’t have too much of a tang, which was surprising considering the block of cream cheese and 16 ounces of greek yogurt it had. I probably could have added more cream cheese since the overall flavor was extremely subtle.

I slightly over-baked the crust, which is seeming to become a habit of mine. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pre-made chocolate graham crust I used, so at least I know I won’t buy it again, even if it’s on sale.

The cheesecake also sank a LOT after I turned off the oven, but it actually didn’t crack like most do. I must admit I was a bit nervous about the cracking and sinking, as that always happens when I make cheesecakes, so this result wasn’t unexpected.

Overall this recipe makes an enjoyable cheesecake, but that’s only my opinion. However, those who enjoy really being able to taste the cream cheese might beg to differ. But if I make cheesecake again, it’ll probably be of the “No-Bake” variety.

Also, these strawberries are so ripe and sweet! I ended up buying three pints of them, and I’m sure they’ll be gone in a matter of days.

Baking, Celtic Thunder

Well, I Certainly Fell Off the Face of the Earth

June 5, 2011August 27, 2011 Emerald Thunder

What can I say. I completely disappeared and didn’t want to face the world for that last month of school. But it’s over now and the 2011 Summer of Fun has officially begun! I’ve made so many things that I still need to post about, and those will be coming along bit by bit.

But first, I would like to wish all the health and happiness in the world to Ryan Kelly, my beloved Dark Destroyer, who officially left Celtic Thunder on May 12, 2011. I am so happy I was able to meet you in Boston in 2009 and to say hello to you a couple of other times over the past couple of years. Good luck in whatever you choose to pursue next, you have my full love and support.

I think I should move on to happier news now, don’t you think?

I’d like to come back to the blogging world with this fantastic cake recipe. I’m a sucker for doughnut muffins and anything doughnut, so this certainly hit the mark: The Donut Cake! It turned out absolutely wonderfully.

I think the secrets to this cake were the hints of nutmeg and cornmeal in the batter. The strawberries were a nice complement to the cake as well, so I’m glad I had them on hand, even if they were originally frozen.

I couldn’t get enough of this fake doughnut-y goodness. I can’t wait to make it again and again and again. You can have cake for breakfast, right? It has the word doughnut in its title, so that must count for something.

And if I eat it with strawberries or some kind of fruit on the side? Totally a breakfast food. I’m going to tell myself whatever I need to in order to convince myself that this can be eaten for breakfast without guilt. OH! I think I just came up with the winning justification: it doesn’t have chocolate, so it’s nice and light and breakfast-worthy! There we go. Donut cake for breakfast for everyone! Enjoy!

Baking

And Breathe

April 16, 2011August 27, 2011 Emerald Thunder

I have bad luck. Really, I do. Especially during last August, a little while ago, and now. What is up with this? Is this karma for my jokingly snarky and sarcastic comments? If so, I think I’m going to have bad luck for the rest of my life because I simply can’t give up the snark and sarcasm. It’s not like I really mean it when I say those things . . . and I can’t really help when I say them, it just kind of happens. Otherwise, I think I’m a pretty nice person. So why is it rain on Emerald Thunder Spring again? Have I been too happy lately and this is supposed to bring me back to equilibrium? If so, it can stop now, please, because I haven’t been *so* happy that it warrants all of this.

*end rant . . . I hope*

Nope, not over yet. I should have figured something else would happen. I started writing this before my cupcakes were out of the oven, and when I went to get them they were completely FLAT. No pretty little domes at all *sigh*. At least they still taste good. I was planning on covering them in buttercream anyway, but this just follows along with the string of seemingly small issues that have been building up over the last few weeks. I’m probably going to need to have a nice little panic attack/breakdown in a while if it keeps up, though. Then I’ll be good to go. I think that will probably occur around the time I get my final grades back for the semester, or rather, as I’m waiting for the first one to show up and everyone else here has already gotten them all back.

*15 minutes later*

Nope, the cupcakes not coming out right wasn’t bad luck. It was sheer STUPIDITY. The goals of my bonanzas REALLY aren’t working out well because evidently I can’t even read a measuring cup properly right now. The recipe called for 1 3/4 cups of flour and I only put 1 1/4 cups, and the same thing happened for the sugar, as it called for 1 1/2 cups and I only added 1 cup.

This really serves me right for BWCD, or Baking While Completely Distracted. I blame the gloomy weather. I’ve been really reflective today for some reason–listening to Backstreet Boys ballads, thinking about my life, what I really want, and why I am the way I am–and I spent a good chunk of time just listening and staring out my window at the city while pondering. For some reason this usually happens when the weather is bad, but at least today gave me a chance to slowly figure it all out. I stress the SLOWLY part.

Just like I needed to figure out (but this time quickly) what to do with these cupcakes that completely stuck to the pan because I don’t like to use liners (I’m a huge fan of the outside layer of cakes/cupcakes/brownies. I love that contrasting texture. Yum!). I had crumbled cake in one hand and delicious chocolate buttercream in the other. That could only mean one thing: CAKE BALLS! I crumbled up the failed cupcakes (they still tasted okay, thank goodness) and mixed them in with the frosting.