Weighing in...

I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I converted to weighing ingredients when I bake. It is much more consistent and ensures accuracy with your baking. I resisted the idea at first, however after reading several cookbooks and articles (and with Alton Browns prompting), I realized this was the way to go.

It can be a bit tricky since not all recipes include weight. I was able to find weights for AP flour, sugar, and brown sugar. Now that I am making a switch to whole grains for baking, I will eventually have to find weights for whole wheat, and white whole wheat flour. Luckily "King Arthur Whole Grain Baking" uses weights.

To illustrate the benefit of using a scale, I conducted a little experiment. A cup of all purpose flour should weigh 4 3/4 ounces. I had Jim measure out 1 cup of flour (scooping out of the flour canister and then leveling off by sliding the knife across the measuring cup), I measured 1 cup of flour as I normally would in the past (same method as Jim), and I then measured 1 cup of flour using the scoop method recommended on websites and food blogs. This method tells you to fluff the flour, scoop it in to your measuring cup, and level it with the scoop.





We weighed each of the three measurements and here are the results:
Jims "cup" of flour weighed 5.3 ounces
My "cup" of flour weighed 4.6 ounces
My scooped "cup" of flour weighed 4.4 ounces

None of these weighed 4.75 ounces and my scooped cup weighed nearly one full ounce less than Jims.

Convinced? Give it a try. It really will make a difference in your baking.

Here is my scale. It was around $20. My recommendation is a scale with a tare function. This means you weigh your flour, hit tare and the scale goes back to zero. Now you can weigh the next ingredient in the same bowl. Keep weighing, taring, and weighing in the same bowl. One bowl is surely better than eight measuring cups to wash.

The Million Dollar Cookie Review

Lets start with this -
What recipe is REALLY worthy of million dollars? According to Jim, I make the best lasagna he has ever eaten, but I doubt anyone would hand me over a cool million for the recipe.
I have read a lot a negative comments about this recipe winning, and personally I think its a lot of whining. People are mad that a plain old peanut butter cookie won, they are angry that the winner used pre-made cookie dough, etc. etc.
Lets be frank - bakeoffs and cooking contests are creative marketing tools for companies. Its not as if Pillsbury just enjoys handing out money. They have a stake in it as well. There is a reason that there is a list of items handed out, and you must pick at least two of those items to use in the recipes. It is about promoting products, and its about promoting products that bring a nice profit over those that don't. Pillsbury sells a lot of convenience items (pre made pie crusts, refrigerated biscuits and crescents, cookie dough, etc.), and although I am no marketing expert, I would be pretty safe in saying that those convenience items (can you say pre made cookie dough) bring in a much better profit than the flour that would be used in a homemade peanut butter cookie dough. I don't know the winner of the contest, but I would bet she is more than capable of making a great peanut butter cookie from scratch. I would also bet that if she had submitted this recipe making the dough from scratch, she would not have made the cut as a finalist. It goes a little something like this: She uses the dough, we see the recipe, we follow the recipe, and pillsbury pre-made peanut butter cookie dough starts flying off the shelf. Carolyn probably didn't use pre-made cookie dough becuase she couldn't bake, she used to help increase the chances of making the contest as a finalist.
I happened to LOVE this cookie, so did Jim, and our friend Sarah. We are the only three that tried them - so three for three liked them. The cinnamon was something I would have NEVER thought of, and it was a nice touch. I don't normally buy premade cookie dough, but did for this recipe, and will make these again.
One final note - A lot a the reviewers (ecspecially on the Pillsbury site) talked about how they have a much better recipe, and they could have easily won the prize over this recipe. Well my friend, I say go for it. The contest is open to the public, and you can enter as many recipes as you like.

Yummy and Easy

A little teaser....

Its been a week. Way to long, and I am sorry. To make up for it, there are four posts today.

Today was not the best day. It was stressful and sad and I knew baking would make me feel a little better. I order two cookbooks and they finally came in on Tuesday, so I had lots of option for my "therapy". After looking through my cookbook 101 Easy Peasy Cookie Recipes, I went with the one Jim so kindly picked out yesterday - Chocolate Marshmallow Melts.
I had dinner going in the crockpot (more on that to follow), which meant as soon as I was done working I could start the baking straight away. One of the benefits of working from home is that at 5:00, I am done and my only commute is the walk from the office to the kitchen! So I stopped working, and 45 minutes later....Tadaaa!

I really like this picture. And I really LOVE this cookie. I normally eat only one or two of my cookies, but today, I had three....yes three! The marshmallow stays nice and gooey and when you take a bite (or cut it like I did for the picture) some of the marshmallow oozes down. So so good! The recipes says it yields 36 - I got 32 cookies out of it. Which is plenty, but I say that because you should wait to cut your marshmallows until you know how many you will need.

The cookbook is called 101 Easy Peasy Cookie Recipe. It is broke down by bar cookie, drop cookie, no bake cookie, rolled cookie, and shape cookie. I like that most of the recipes use items you would have around, or could get easily. No strange ingredients. There are no pictures, which doesn't bother me, but I did miss the technical portion. There are recipes and that is it. I enjoy actually reading cookbooks - like a regular book and learing new strategies, techniques and tips. I guess Easy Peasy doesn't involve a lot of reading. I would still recommend the book, and have attached a link to it on Amazon. Plus I bought Alton Browns I'm Just Here for More Food. That will be a lot of cookbook reading and learning.

http://www.amazon.com/101-Easy-Peasy-Cookie-Recipes/dp/1434821749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208483098&sr=1-1

Chocolate Marshmallow Melts

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C milk
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 C all purpose flour
• 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 18 Large marshmallows ( I only needed 16 - you will need one marshmallow for every two cookies)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter
3. Beat in egg, mik, and vanilla extract to butter/sugar mixture
4. In seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt
5. Gradually add to flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating after each addition
6. Once combined, drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) onto ungreased baking sheets. I don't grease my cookie sheets, but I do use parchment. The cookies slide right off, and if you take a paper towel and wipe it off while it is still on the cookie sheet and put it away in a cupboard you can reuse a few times Bake for eight minutes.
7. While cookies are baking, use kitchen scissors and cut marshmallows in half.
8. Remove cookies from oven, place marshmallow half, cut side down on cookie and place back in oven for another 3 minutes
9. Transfer to wire racks to cool

Enjoy!

We are having friends for dinner Saturday and I am making molten chocolate cakes - I'll post on Sunday.

A cookie worth one million dollars

The winner of the Pillsbury Bake-off was announced Tuesday. Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies won Carolyn one million dollars. I'll be baking these this weekend and let you know what I think. Let me know your thoughts.

I am sure my Aunt Kim is rushing to the kitchen now to whip some up.



http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=44842

Chocolate Malted Cookies

I was at the grocery store searching for dry milk powder when I stumbled upon malted milk powder. Not that its some amazing new product, just nothing I had purchased before. My mind quickly moved to baking. And suddenly I thought Whoppers! Nope, not the flame broiled, have it your way kind. The yummy chocolate covered malted milk kind. I am sure there are recipes out there for these cookies, but I chose to adapt one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes for this one. The results were delish! And, as you can see from the picture - huge!
I used Alton Browns chewy choc chip cookie recipe from the "Three Chips for Sister Martha" episode. This episode airs again on Food Network on April 22 at 11PM. Here is the link to the recipes from it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_17114,00.html
One of the things I love most about this episode is that it gives you three variations on the recipe to make what you think is the ideal cookie. Some like puffy cake-like cookies (not me), some like a thin crispy cookie (ok with me but Jim loves), and others chewy (my favorite). With these recipes, you can choose.
You can check out all three recipes, but for the cookies above, I use the chewy recipe with the following variations:
2 Cups bread flour (instead of 2 1/4 cups)
1 1/4 Cup malted milk powder (addition to recipe)
1/4 Cup plus 1 T cocoa powder (addition to recipe)
1 Cup milk chocolate chips (instead of 2 Cups semisweet)

We really like these cookies, and Jim suggested that next time I add some chopped up Whoppers to the mix. Great, yummy idea!

Cinnamon Rolls

So, the past two recipes have been cupcakes. There is no real reason, I bake and cook a lot and its all about my mood really. I am kind of obsessed with bread and rolls lately. This weekend I am baking oatmeal refrigerator rolls - a recipe from Aunt Karen (I inherited her when I married Jim). I'll let you know how it goes.
Until then, here is the cinnamon roll recipe I promised. Please note - these need to rise and require some time.

Also, while reading one of my favorite blogs - The Cupcake Project (http://www.cupcakeproject.com/), Stef talked about using vanilla paste. Sounded interesting, and when I saw her frosting recipe using it that tastes like vanilla ice cream - I was sold. Now I just need to find a yummy dessert to use the frosting with. Results will follow.
Check out the blog though, it is interesting and full of great ideas.

OMG - Its like a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll

· 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
· 2 eggs, room temperature
· 1/3 cup margarine, melted
· 4 1/2 cups bread flour
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 cup white sugar
· 1 eight gram package active dry yeast

· 1 cup brown sugar, packed
· 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
· 1/3 cup butter, softened

· 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
· 1/4 cup butter, softened
· 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Dissolve yeast in warm milk.
2. Combine eggs, margarine, bread flour, salt, and sugar. Add in milk and yeast mixture.
3. Knead the dough by hand or using the dough hook on stand mixer. Once mixed, place a small amount of oil on top of the dough and turn dough in oven safe bowl to lightly coat. Place a damp paper towel over bowl.
4. To help dough rise, allow oven to heat to 200 degrees, TURN OFF, and place dough in oven for about an hour or until almost doubled in size.
5. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
6. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Line a 9X13 inch pan with foil and lightly grease. Place rolls in baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
7. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Flip pan over onto a baking sheet, remove foil. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

The last time I made these, I did them the night before and I followed the recipe through placing the rolls in the baking pan in step six, I covered the pan with rolls with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator. I pulled them out of the frig the next morning and let the pan sit for about 15 minutes before baking. They were great!

Jelly Roll Cupcake

A cupcake experiment - The Jelly Roll Cupcake. I bought a #230 tip that I found in the cake decorating aisle at Michaels. You use it to fill the center of a cupcake. This could be dangerous! I wanted to try something other than the typical chocolate or vanilla center so I asked Jim and Joe for their ideal cupcake. Jim is quite excited for a "pumpkin roll" cupcake that I plan on making tomorrow. Joe requested jelly roll, and here is what I came up with. I used a butter recipe yellow cake mix for the base, filled with strawberry jam, and topped with a buttercream and strawberry frosting.

This recipe was not a perfect venture.
Slight misstep #1 - I had planned on making the cake from scratch using an angel cake recipe, but forgot to buy cake flour. I keep a lot of cake mixes on hand for my class (its just easier to use a mix since this decorating class is for practice) and had a butter recipe mix. I don't know if I overbeat the mix or if it was that I use real butter and not margarine, but the batter was quite thick. I had to scoop and smooth it into the cupcake papers. This made the cupcake more of sponge like cake, which was wonderful.
Slight misstep #2 - Strawberry Jam. I would probably use jam again, because of the taste, but it is a little messy and difficult. Jam contains pieces of fruit which can clog the tip. It's not a huge issue, but it is a bit of a pain. You probably use jelly and not have the clogging issue, but I just don't like jelly, and if I don't like, it won't use it.

Jelly Roll Cupcake
24 cupcakes
Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix (follow directions and beat til thick)
Strawberry Jam
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
About ten fresh strawberries

Make the cupcakes according to box, using real butter and mixing until thick.
Once cooled, using a decorating bag and tip #230, fill each cupcake center with strawberry jam. Hold the bag so that the tip is straight up and down. Insert deep into the cupcake, and apply pressure to fill the cupcake.
Beat the butter until creamed.
Add salt, turn down mixer to low speed and add confectioners sugar slowly until well combined.
Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the pureed strawberries. Mix until just blended. Frosting should be dense and creamy.
I used a #16 tip to pipe to frosting on the cupcakes.

Wheat bread and rolls

I started experimenting with breads about a month ago. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I love and had never used the dough hook on it. I thought it would be fun to give baking with the rising, proofing, etc. a whirl. So, I bought a sleeve of yeast packets and some bread flour, and began the journey.

My first shot was cinnamon rolls, and they were AMAZING. Jim said they were as good as Cinnabon (he is an honest critic of my culinary experiments). I don't have a picture but I will post the recipe later.

Next was a rosemary round. It was suppose to be just like the bread you get at Macaroni Grill. It wasn't. It was about 1/2 inch tall and looked more like a bread pancake than the nice crusty loaf from the restaurant. Plus, it was a little doughy in the middle - cooked through, but dough like. Judy said she loved and ate more than a polite, trying to be nice helping, so I think she may have really liked it. I didn't. I am pretty sure my water was too hot and I killed the yeast. Therefore, I will probably try to make it again someday.

Joe bought me the Joy of Cooking for my birthday (yeah!), and I started reading the bread section. They highly recommend an instant read thermometer to check the temp of your liquid before adding yeast. You can also test the internal temp of bread to check if its done (thanks Nik!)

This weekend, I made rolls and wheat bread. Both successes!

Rolls:
I actually made the rolls last weekend for Easter dinner. They were a hit. I personally think they are more of a sandwich roll than a true dinner roll, but Jim and Joe really liked them so I made them again Friday to go with the salad we were having for dinner. The method for these rolls is a little different than most breads, but it works well.

Wheat Bread:
The recipe is from the King Arthur Wheat Flour bag. It turned out well. It is more dense than bread you buy at the grocery, and I am very excited to have my sandwich on this yummy bread for lunch tomorrow

Rolls
The recipe makes 16 rolls, but if you made 12 instead they would be a nice size for sandwiches.

• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 pkgs active dry yeast (1/4oz packages)
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup margarine, melted

1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, warm milk, sugar and salt. Remove from heat and add in eggs and yeast.
2. Measure flour into large bowl. Make a large well in the flour and pour milk mixture into it. Do not stir. Cover (with lid if you have one). Let sit for 20 - 30 minutes
3. Pour melted margin into flour mixture and mix well. Add more flour if too sticky***(see below) Cover, and let rise 20 - 30 minutes.
4. Shape the dough into rolls, and place on a baking sheet. Let rise 20 - 30 minutes.
5. Bake rolls in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

***I added a little more than 1/4 cup flour to mixture. It was still a little sticky, but I placed a little butter on my hands when I shaped the dough. It made a nice crust and buttery flavor.