If Life Hands You Flat Cookies, Make Cookie Bites!

Do your cookies ever turn out looking like this? Well, it's not your oven, it's you.

Oh, sad cookie :(

Don't be ashamed, it happens to all of us. It even happened to me last week. (GASP! I know!) I was in a hurry and didn't let the butter come all the way to room temperature. That resulted in butter that wouldn't cream with the sugar. This is a super necessary step because the sugar crystals are cutting holes into the butter and those holes are what fill up with gases made by the baking powder/soda, which gives cookies their lift. Cold butter = no holes = flat cookies. Sad day. Even sadder is that there really isn't a fix that you can go back and do after the fact.
But wait! Don't throw all that dough into the trash! (or eat it all raw) Make cookie dough bites! You know, like those ones you can buy at the store? But these are even better because you can make them as big as you want!

What you need:
Cookie dough (I like using chocolate chip cookie dough)
1 pound (at least) Chocolate (the good stuff, none of that quik candy)
Double boiler
Candy thermometer


You're going to get a quick lesson on tempering chocolate. Tempering is an important step in the candy making process and if you skip it or do it improperly it will result in dull, streaky, chalky, or crystallized chocolate. Lucky for us it's pretty easy if you have the right tools! (I have a tempering unit, but if I'm doing lots of chocolate I use the stove method).

My tempering unit, it's idiot proof!

1. Simmer water (not boiling) in a saucepan and place 2/3 of your chocolate in the double boiler. Attach your candy thermometer and get to stirring with a rubber spatula (not a metal/wood spoon).
2. You want dark chocolate to reach 115 degrees and milk/white chocolate to reach 110 degrees, and NO HIGHER! Once it hits that temperature (and you've been stirring all this time, right?), remove the double boiler, wipe off the bottom and set it on a heat proof surface.
3. Add the remaining 1/3 of your chocolate. Stir it in. The residual heat will melt most if not all of this. If you have any chunks left over once it cools to 84 degrees you can just remove them.
4. Replace the bowl over the saucepan until the chocolate reaches 89 (dark) or 87 (milk/white). Do not let it go over 91.
Yay! You have tempered chocolate! This chocolate will make a shiny candy with a great 'snap'. Keep it warm while you are working with it (86 for milk/white, and 88 for dark).

These are about 1 1/2 T sized

Now that you have tempered chocolate, form little balls of cookie dough and refrigerate. Dip the firm balls of dough into the chocolate. With the hand that is not holding the dipping utensil, tap the wrist of the hand that is holding it to shake off the excess chocolate. Place the dipped cookie dough on wax paper or a SilPat mat and let cool.

Dark chocolate covered cookie dough bites!

Mmmmmm! No more wasted cookie dough, ever!

Did You Know?

Did you know you can freeze cake? It freezes really well actually, sheet cakes, cupcakes, cake balls, even cake crumbs. And you know what else? Those big box grocery stores do it all the time. In fact, a cake made in your own house and frozen for a week or two is probably going to be fresher than those you get from the store. Frosted or unfrosted, it really doesn't make a difference. Did you make a whole batch of cupcakes and only needed half? Freeze the rest. Really. They defrost in about 30 minutes, which coincidentally is about the time it takes to whip up a batch of frosting, ice them, and get them to where they're going. Bingo, ready made cupcakes, you're now everyone's favorite person.
You know what else I have frozen? Cookie dough. I usually have logs of cookie dough in the freezer, ready to cut off a few for when those unexpected people show up. (Perfect since my cookie recipe takes up to 48 hours!!!) And you know what? Those big box stores get those in frozen too, and they can sit for weeks to months in the freezers there. How do I know this? I worked there. Don't get me wrong, those grocery store goodies taste darn good, but not quite the same as customizing them to your personal taste and getting them fresh from the oven.
Plus, you know exactly what went into your goodies, who touched them, and how long ago they were made. That's a win in my book over the grocery stores any day! So if you're one of those super people who take a day to cook for the whole week, try baking some goodies ahead too. I swear they keep in the freezer just fine for up to month! Perfect for the average busy family with no time whip up a batch of something every time one of the kids/husband/neighbor needs something.

Is It a Cupcake, Or a Cake? Both!

I love cupcake cakes. They combine the best of both worlds, like the easy single serve-ability from the cupcakes and a large decorating surface like a sheet cake. You can arrange the cupcakes into a super cute shape (like this golf course cupcake cake) or just as a sheet like I did with this Bronco's cake. All you need is a dozen cupcakes (or more, depending on what you want to arrange or how many you're feeding) of your favorite flavor, a batch of buttercream frosting, and some food coloring! Yay!
Find a board and cover it in foil, or go to WalMart and get yourself one of those cake boards. Before decorating, lay out the cupcakes in the design you want. This is the time to move them around, before they're 'glued' down. Once you have the design down, dab some frosting on the bottom of each cupcake liner and use that to 'glue' the cupcake to the board. Slap a generous amount of frosting on top of the cupcakes and start spreading it smooth. Pipe a border with a large star tip and voila! You have a blank slate for a cupcake cake!

No plates necessary!

For this Bronco's birthday cake I did the above, but before piping on the border I airbrushed the surface a lovely Bronco's blue and hand drew on the Bronco's logo. I outlined the horse in black and filled in with the white and orange. After piping on the celebratory well wishes, the border went on, along with some confetti sprinkles, and bingo! a fabulous cake!

Not Just for S'mores Anymore!

Let me just put this out there, I'm a buttercream frosting kind of girl. To me there's nothing better than a big ol' corner piece of cake, other than maybe a corner piece of cake with ice cream! I personally don't like the taste of fondant but I have to admit, it does make a beautiful end product. I mean, what's the point of eating a cake if there's no frosting and you just pull off the fondant?! But, sometimes you just have to use fondant and when that time comes, there's marshmallow fondant. Yep, fondant made out of marshmallows. I swear, it really does taste like marshmallows (but it does still have the same texture as other fondants for those of you with texture issues). While it tastes way better than regular fondant, it melts a little bit more easily so it's not quite as versatile but great for indoor parties!

Fondant TP roll 1st anniversary cake

Marshmallow Fondant
8 oz mini marshmallows (if you plan on coloring the fondant, get similar colored marshmallows)
1 lb (4 C) powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
2 T water
Flavors/extracts/colors (vanilla, lemon, chocolate, peanut butter, etc)

In a large microwave safe bowl melt the marshmallows for about 1 minute. Stir with a silicone spatula until all the little 'mallows are melted. Add the flavors/extracts/colors at this point if you are only making one color or flavor for this batch, otherwise add those after the powdered sugar.

Add the powdered sugar 1 C at a time and carefully stir it in. Continue to add sugar until it won't take anymore. Scrape the mixture out on to a work surface that has been very much covered/dusted with powdered sugar. Dust your hands with sugar too, and start kneading that sticky mess of marshmallows with the rest of the sugar that wouldn't stir in. Continue to knead until the fondant is smooth, elastic, and not super sticky. Too much sugar here will make the fondant stiff and difficult to work with.

*If you are making multiple batches of flavors/colors, split up the fondant and shape each one into a disk. You'll knead the flavors and colors in with your hands so gloves would be a great idea at this point. Add the extracts/colors to the center of the disk and fold the fondant in on itself. Knead the fondant until the colors are completely incorporated and no longer streaky.

To use right away roll it out on a powdered sugar covered surface. To store for later wrap tightly with plastic cling wrap and keep in the fridge. You'll need to microwave it for 10-15 seconds and knead it a bit before rolling it out after you take it out of the fridge.

Once it's rolled out, roll it on to the rolling pin and unroll over your cake that has been crumb coated (and the crumb coat should have 'crusted' by now). Smooth the fondant on with your hands starting from the top down smoothing out any pleats and wrinkles as you go and pressing it lightly into the cake. Cut the extra off of the bottom (I use a sharp pizza wheel cutter). Get out your plastic fondant smoother and go back over the fondant to take out any leftover fingerprints and wrinkles. Cut off any excess fondant. I stick mine in the fridge at this point to firm the crumb coat and make sure it sticks to the fondant.

At this point you cant decorate the rest with buttercream (YUM) or other fondant decorations. There are tons of little tools to make flowers and molds to make borders that will make your cake stand out!

Fresh and Sweet

Summer is the perfect time to bake with fresh fruit. I made a delicious fresh strawberry pie for the 4th of July along with some cookies, of course. Now, if only I could have one of you send me some of the fresh berries from Mary's Berries I think that's the only way this pie could be any better!
This recipe is a three part-er, the crust, the 'filling', and the glaze.

Doesn't that look pretty-ful?

One Crust Pie Pastry
2/3 C shortening
1/4 C butter (cold, cut into pats)
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 C Flour
1/4-1/3 C ice cold water

In a mixer, sift in the flour, add the salt, add the shortening and turn on to low. Add the butter one cold pat at a time (make sure it's cold! Have I said that enough?!) Once the dough looks like a crumbly mess add the water 1 Tablespoon at a time. You'll have enough water when you can reach in and squeeze the dough and it holds together but isn't sticky. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Before rolling out, let it come to room temp for about 15 minutes. I like to roll mine out on a silpat mat, but any floured surface will do. When you roll it out, aim for about 1/4 inch thick. To get it into the pan easier, roll the dough onto your rolling pin, and unroll into your floured pie pan. Fix the edges how you like them, I like to roll the tops in and seal with a fork. Now, put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Super important here before you blind bake a pie crust (that's baking without filling). Preheat the oven to 350, prick the bottom of the dough with a fork to let out the steam, cover the edges with foil and bake for 8 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for another 12. Let the crust cool completely.

Strawberry Pie 'Filling'
8 C washed, hulled, and sliced in half berries
1/2 C Nutella or sweetened cream cheese

On the cooled pie crust, spread the Nutella or cream cheese over the bottom. Arrange the strawberries in a pretty circle. Refrigerate. Done.

Strawberry Pie Glaze
1 1/2 C strawberries, washed and hulled (these can be the ugly ones that weren't good enough to go in the pie)
1/2 C water
1/2 C sugar
2 T cornstarch

In a blender combine the berries and water. On the stove stir together the sugar and cornstarch, pour in the water/berries mix. Heat on medium until bubbly (not boiling) and thick. Remove from heat for 10 minutes and do NOT stir while it's cooling. Feel free to stir while it's cooking though.
Just before serving pour or brush the glaze over the pie. Do not do this more than 3 hours before serving or you'll have a mushy mess. And if you have left over glaze it's basically strawberry jelly. YUM! Super delicious on toast.