Thanksgiving is over :[

Well it's that time of year again... That dreaded time of year...
Christmas.


I don't hate Christmas, I would just prefer it to be less stressful. I'm not quite sure why it stresses me out so much, I think it's because I have a million things to do that day, and not enough hours in the day. I have an immense amount of family that i go to see. Mom's side, dad's side, Jeremy's side and I always feel horrible because I haven't gotten anyone anything..
Oh the joy of the season.. The joy of being broke!


This year, however, i have decided to do something for everyone! Selling my cupcakes has made me a little extra cash than I normally don't have so I have enough to do something! and by something I mean bake...
Bake like the wind, bullseye!
(I don't think that's how it goes, but it sounded good :])


So this year, the family that I see can expect delicious treats! Cookies, mini cupcakes, cookie bars, all sorts of goodies, because lets be honest... What's Christmas without adding on a few extra pounds of sugar?


Moving on with the Christmas theme of this blog, has anyone else noticed that they start putting Christmas stuff up in the stores entirely too early? I mean, the little girl inside of me get's unnaturally excited at the scene of Christmas lights covering houses, but seriously?


Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I know I did. I also had a great black friday! Still didn't get my stand mixer though.. I'm a little put off about that...
Soo... Christmas gift for Amanda?
Stand mixer.


I don't need a kitchenaid or some other expensive one, just something better than my hand mixer that I've burnt out from making frosting three times a week (at least.)
Oh, and i've also decided that if I can figure out a way to do it, I'm going to go into business making frosting. Why, you ask?
Because my frosting is pretty much the bomb.


Done bragging..


I apologize for my lack of recipes on this post, I decided to put a little update, and realized I have no recipe to add with it. Nothing new that I've tried. :[


BUT! I have a suggestion...


If anyone ever needs butterscotch flavoring for anything (I've discovered that it really kicks up the flavor of a yellow cake) use butterscotch OIL.
I've found it for about three bucks at hobby lobby. It's fantastic and really makes cake mixes just that much cooler, but you only need to use a drop or two or else it will be over powering.


Another tip!!
Play around with caramel and heavy cream! Go to the store, get a bag of caramel (the little squares that are wrapped in plastic.. make sure you unwrap all of them!) or caramel bits (you can find them in the baking aisles).. Add a couple tablespoons of cream to some caramels and melt it in the microwave, stirring frequently. It's a really good way to make caramel topping for ice cream or to drizzle it over top home made chocolates or peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (Ill post the recipe for those eventually). And it's super easy to change the consistency to whatever you need it to be.


Hopefully everyone got nice and fat from turkey!!! Have a good week!

Cookies for everyone!

I hate baking cookies.

Usually the recipes I get are never quite right, the cookies end up hard after two days and they just never bake right for me!

But I have come up with a recipe that I doctored to fit my baking needs. A simple GREAT recipe that makes amazingly awesome cookies.

Anyhow,

I have found myself addicted to the show Sweet Genius. Not only because Ron Ben-Israel is a mad scientist of a baker, but the mandatory ingredients are just crazy! Cheese curls, durian, ostrich eggs, jaw breakers? Love it.

But, I hate that he's so prejudiced against the "childish" desserts! What's wrong with a little whimsy every now and then? A little childhood nostalgia!?
WHERE HAS THE FUN GONE?!

*ahem* Now that I'm done being dramatic...

Here is simply the most amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe, so that we may all be a little childish at times :]

Ingredients:

4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 sticks butter-- melted
2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar (or better known as plain old sugar)
2 TBS vanilla extract
2 whole egg
2 egg yolk
1 12oz bag of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl-- set aside

Cream together melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar

beat in vanilla, eggs, and yolks until light and creamy

slowly add the dry mix, beating on a low speed.

fold in chocolate chips.

**Grease cookie sheets.
Roll dough in 1in balls and place on cookie sheet at least 1/2 inch apart.
Bake about 15-17 mins


NOTES::

This makes a TON of cookies.. Like, close to 5 dozen. So if you don't want that many, cut it in half. (but lets be honest, who doesn't love having a ton of cookies on hand?)

The egg YOLK is extremely important in this recipe. It makes the cookies super chewy and rich, please be sure you add just the yolks where it calls for it.

If you're like me and you want super chewy soft cookies, take the cookies out about 2 mins early. They'll continue to bake while they're out of the oven.

Best way to store them so they don't get hard? Zip-loc baggies. Be sure they are totally sealed and your cookies will stay soft and chewy for a week or so.

Mini chips are the best for this recipe! You get chocolate chips in every bite, but DO NOT beat them into your batter. Get a big wooden spoon or a spatula and fold them in. This will make the cookies nice and fat and insures that you get chocolate in every bite!

Hope you love my recipe as much as we did here! And I hope the notes help you on your cookie endeavors!