Homemade Oreos

To celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Oreos [because who wouldn't want to celebrate that, really?] I decided to try my hand at making the homemade version. I wanted something quite similar to what a real oreo tastes like, but obviously there had to be some differences. Those differences would include the size, ingredients for the filling, and overall texture after they had "aged" a few days. 

The cookie was made by combining all the dry ingredients and then slowly mixing in the butter. It was incredibly crumbly, and it took forever to get all the butter mixed into dry ingredients. I may have sworn up and down when cocoa powder mixed with flour flew out of the Kitchen Aid for the umpteenth time. I may have also cursed the day I decided to try and make these cookies. Eventually I took my little hand torch to the bowl in order to melt the butter ever so slightly so it would stick together. 

Clearly Orly was not too invested in the process.

When I finally finished the actual cookie part of the recipe they ended up turning out very similarly to shortbread. They ended up being quite crunchy and sandy when eaten straight.

I wanted to mix things up a little, so I made a semi-sweet chocolate ganache for a filling along with the normal white chocolate filling.

The cookies with the semi-sweet chocolate filling were incredibly rich. Like almost too rich. Maybe that's a good thing though. You eat half a cookie and you're fine dessert wise? That would help with my ever expanding waistline. The white chocolate filled ones were not so intense, although the cookies was still incredibly rich what with the crazy amount of butter and cocoa powder. 

I loved the look of the dark chocolate cookie which was attained by using dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of the normal cocoa powder usually bought in store. Delicious. 

 Interested in making these tasty little treats? Here's the link to the recipe I used. By the by, this ladies entire blog is incredible! I found it one night and ended up using three of her recipes within days of each other.

Baby Shower Cake

I made a cake. This one was requested for a small tea party/baby shower that one of my friends was throwing. Her little baby girl is due in March, and I am VERY excited to meet their bundle of joy. She essentially told me that because of being super pregnant, it's hard for her to focus on cooking and what-not. So I helped her out.

I am going to attach a recipe so you can try out this beaut' for yourself.

Very-Vanilla Butter Sponge Cake Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 2 tsp lemon juice or extract 6 large eggs, separated, room temperature (best separated when cold) 3/4 cup plain, full-fat yogurt 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 tsp almond extract Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare three 6" pans with parchment paper and set aside. 2. Cream butter, half of sugar, and lemon juice/extract in mixer until very pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). 3. Add egg yolks, one by one, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Add extracts, mix well. 4. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture on low speed until just incorporated. Add yogurt on low speed. 5. Transfer to another bowl, clean mixer bowl and wipe with vinegar or lemon juice on paper towel, to eliminate any trace of grease.  6. Whip room temperature egg whites and remaining sugar until stiff peaks form (about ten minutes). 7. Fold into cake batter gently. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until inserted skewer comes clean.  8. Let cool completely before layering and frosting. I used a white chocolate buttercream frosting recipe that I found online for the frosting  of this cake. I think it tasted delectable. I also used raspberries as a garnish on top. Next time, if I have the money for it, I plan to add raspberries to the middle of the layers as well. I think that would give the cake a  little more of a kick.  The fun thing about this cake was the size. It was little but high. I wish that I had been able  to taste it so I would know if it was actually tasty or not. I am just going to guess that it was.

Christmas Cookies - Part Two

I work at Starbucks currently. It is the job that I kind of fell into last August. I had worked there previously back in 2008 in between highschool and college, so it was a coming back to the old stomping ground kind of thing for me. Some of the regulars back in 2008 are still regulars now in 2012. It blows my mind how some people just have the same routine year in and year out. I think I am too antsy for that.

I digress.

So around Christmas I was making some cookies [like a boss obvs] and decided that I have been working at Starbucks for way too long. It was truly apparent that I have been working there far too long because I zoned out for a half hour, and this is what came to my vision after zoning back into reality. 

Yikes. All my gingerbread men were wearing Starbucks aprons and holding Starbucks' red Christmas cups. Two of them were even wearing bowties like my manager does. 

It seems kind of funny, but the gingerbread man above even had an injured foot* like my manager. What are the odds? 

The last kicker in all of this? One of the barista gingerbread ladies has an uncomfortable look on her face, very similar to how I look at work ALL THE TIME! This is truly a creepy coincidence. 

Thankfully after I snapped out of it and stopped icing cookies with Starbucks aprons, I was able to salvage some Christmas trees.

Maybe next year I will have gingerbread men who aren't trying to over-caffeinate the masses with concentrated espresso. Just maybe it will be a Christmas miracle.

And if you are looking for a kick-butt gingerbread recipe, look no farther than Martha Stewart's website. It was the second gingerbread recipe I used during Christmas, and they really turned out so tasty and wonderful. I recommend it highly.

*Chad's foot isn't actually injured, he just wears thrifted boots, which is practically a form of injury.

Christmas Cookies - Part One

What was supposed to be a relaxing day off in December quickly turned into a cookie fest. As it turns out, December is filled with parties and get togethers. It was requested that I turn out a bajillion cookies in order to appease the hungry holiday guests that amass at these various events. My mother is just too popular for her own good and has to be invited to every single event within a twenty mile radius of our home.

I made what was supposed to be sugar cookies. Interestingly enough, they ended up turning out like a mix between sugar cookies and shortbread cookies. They shaped well but crumbled just slightly after they had cooled. They were just delicious. 

Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar (just whipped 1 cup sugar in the food processor until it was blended and then measured out 3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces & softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Whisk the flour, sugar, & salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

2) Beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, then continue to beat until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, 1 to 2 minutes.

3) Beat in the cream cheese & vanilla until he dough just begins to form large clumps, about thirty seconds.

4) Knead the dough in the large bowl by hand a few times until it forms a large, cohesive mass. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter, divide it in half, and shape it into a two four inch disks. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until they begin to firm up, 20 to 30 minutes.

5) Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375. Work with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to a 1/8″ thickness (or however thick you prefer your cookies) between two sheets of parchment paper. Slide the rolled dough and parchment onto a baking sheet & refrigerate again until firm.

6) Working with one sheet of dough at a time cut out shapes using cookie cutters and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 1″ apart. Bake the cookies until light golden brown, about ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

7) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, about thirty minutes. When cooled, the cookies can be decorated as desired.

Sugar Cookie Frosting

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup shortening
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring

In a large bowl, cream together confectioners sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about five minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.

The frosting worked quite well for decorating and such. It held its shape well, and it was very smooth. My only qualm with it was that it tasted like shortening to me. If I were to do anything different next time, it would be to either add more vanilla extract, or find a frosting recipe that didn't involve shortening. It just seems to affect the over all taste.