Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Chocolate Wakeups
Well these cookies had an unexpected ingredient in them - my kids all guessed that there was cinnamon in them, but could not guess the other ingredient. It was fun watching them throw out guesses. Once my 6 year old found out what it was - she stopped eating them. That didn't stop her from dowing 5 of the cookies before she found out however.
The recipe actually called for 1 pinch of black pepper and 1 pinch of cayenne pepper. I was a bit nervous adding this to a cookie mixture so my pinch was not so generous. You can still taste a bit of a snap while eating them. The time it's really noticed is a few minutes afterwards - I got a bit of a burning in the back of my throat. Nothing major, just enough to make me want to eat another one!
The recipe called for coarse sugar to be put on the cookie before baking and all I had on hand was a pink sugar from my daughter's 6th birthday cake - so I used it. It was great. My 2 year old helped with that part.
I do have pictures of all this and I think I've figured out how to post them. Will work on it tomorrow when I've had some sleep.
Oh - tomorrow's cookie - I think I want to take a break from chocolate. I'm making Orange Blossoms. It's an orange butter type cookie with an orange cream frosting. Yum!
Peace Out,
Natalie
The recipe actually called for 1 pinch of black pepper and 1 pinch of cayenne pepper. I was a bit nervous adding this to a cookie mixture so my pinch was not so generous. You can still taste a bit of a snap while eating them. The time it's really noticed is a few minutes afterwards - I got a bit of a burning in the back of my throat. Nothing major, just enough to make me want to eat another one!
The recipe called for coarse sugar to be put on the cookie before baking and all I had on hand was a pink sugar from my daughter's 6th birthday cake - so I used it. It was great. My 2 year old helped with that part.
I do have pictures of all this and I think I've figured out how to post them. Will work on it tomorrow when I've had some sleep.
Oh - tomorrow's cookie - I think I want to take a break from chocolate. I'm making Orange Blossoms. It's an orange butter type cookie with an orange cream frosting. Yum!
Peace Out,
Natalie
Chocolate Chip Cookies
My first experiment was quite interesting. Everyone who had already eaten my chocolate chip cookies before actually prefered the "everyday" ingredients. The ingredients that are picked up at any grocery store. Nothing fancy. Nothing different.
However, people who hadn't tasted my cookies before prefered the "special" ingredients. They said that the cookies were more "robust" in flavor.
So now the question begs to be asked - did the first batch of votes just vote out of a memory of previous cookies? Did they just prefer them, because that's what they are used to?
I don't know...the more I think about it, the more I think I should have done the whole experiment with a cookie that didn't involve chocolate. I really think the chocolate masked some of the other flavors. The butter and vanilla mainly.
However....I did walk away with the knowledge my family isn't hard to please. The ranted and raved about cookie "b" (the everyday one) - I'm sure full well thinking it HAD to be the more expensive ingredients one.
The differences came in the form of butter: one was regular Costco butter, and the other was "European butter", vanilla: one was Schilling Vanilla Extract, and the other was Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, chocolate shavings: one was Hershey, and the other Lindt, chocolate chips: one was Nestle Toll House, and the other was Guittard, oatmeal: one was Quaker Oats, the other Snoqualmie Falls, flour: one was Pillsbury All-Purpose Flour and the other King Arthur All-Purpose Flour and finally the sugar: one was regular granulated sugar and the other was vanilla bean infused bakers sugar.
My neighbors liked the texture of the everyday cookie because it was more crispy. They said someone who likes their cookie more chewy would have preferred the other. I actually think that came down to the different types of sugar used. I think the Bakers Sugar, with it's very small granuals, mixes more evenly and melts more thoroughly. We'll see with the other cookies it the days to come.
So - the winner - hands downs - "Everyday, nothing special ingredient, cookie" - Yipee!!!
Peace Out,
Natalie
However, people who hadn't tasted my cookies before prefered the "special" ingredients. They said that the cookies were more "robust" in flavor.
So now the question begs to be asked - did the first batch of votes just vote out of a memory of previous cookies? Did they just prefer them, because that's what they are used to?
I don't know...the more I think about it, the more I think I should have done the whole experiment with a cookie that didn't involve chocolate. I really think the chocolate masked some of the other flavors. The butter and vanilla mainly.
However....I did walk away with the knowledge my family isn't hard to please. The ranted and raved about cookie "b" (the everyday one) - I'm sure full well thinking it HAD to be the more expensive ingredients one.
The differences came in the form of butter: one was regular Costco butter, and the other was "European butter", vanilla: one was Schilling Vanilla Extract, and the other was Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, chocolate shavings: one was Hershey, and the other Lindt, chocolate chips: one was Nestle Toll House, and the other was Guittard, oatmeal: one was Quaker Oats, the other Snoqualmie Falls, flour: one was Pillsbury All-Purpose Flour and the other King Arthur All-Purpose Flour and finally the sugar: one was regular granulated sugar and the other was vanilla bean infused bakers sugar.
My neighbors liked the texture of the everyday cookie because it was more crispy. They said someone who likes their cookie more chewy would have preferred the other. I actually think that came down to the different types of sugar used. I think the Bakers Sugar, with it's very small granuals, mixes more evenly and melts more thoroughly. We'll see with the other cookies it the days to come.
So - the winner - hands downs - "Everyday, nothing special ingredient, cookie" - Yipee!!!
Peace Out,
Natalie
Skip to My Lou
I hope you will join Skip to My Lou all month long for tutorials on handmade gift ideas. She did this last year and soon all those ideas along with new ideas will be organized neatly for you in the Skip to my Lou Handmade Gift Guide. Just click on the link below.
I'm doing it - join me.
Peace Out,
Natalie
I'm doing it - join me.
Peace Out,
Natalie
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Vanilla Sugar
I made vanilla sugar tonight with my daughter. The recipe calls for one vanilla bean to two cups of sugar but since my budget doesn't really allow for that much vanilla bean to that little sugar, I actually doubled the amount of sugar used. I don't know the average length of a vanilla bean, but mine was pretty long, so I got all the seeds out AND I chopped up the bean itself and mixed in all in the sugar. I did take pictures so I will get those up as soon as I learn how.
I am starting with chocolate chip cookies tomorrow. I have a recipe that my family loves that I actually got almost 20 years ago. It supposed to be the "Mrs. Fields" recipe - but it's not. What I'm going to be doing tomorrow is this.....I'm going to make this recipe twice. The first time with the more expensive of the ingredients that I've purchased (i.e. bakers sugar, madagascar vanilla, european butter, etc.) then I'm going to make the second batch with normal, run of the mill, at every store, every day type items. We'll see if family can tell the difference and/or which recipe they actually prefer.
Exciting stuff - I know I told you I would post the recipe ahead of time - but I can't get to it tonight, so I will post it tomorrow and be sure to save the recipe. Regardless of what ingredients used, it will be delish!
Peace Out,
Natalie
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
I'm Gobsmacked!
I did it! I made a cute little Halloween page. This is AWESOME! I just went to a website called http://www.myonecuteblog.com/ and followed her directions. I don't know how to link it from here but I will figure that out. I promise!
Don't you love the witch? THE WITCH IS IN!!
Peace Out,
Natalie
Don't you love the witch? THE WITCH IS IN!!
Peace Out,
Natalie
Researching...
I am really taking this cookie business seriously. I've been researching techniques, ingredients, and recipes. I'm learning so much and remembering things that I have forgotten.
I put oh, about 50 books on hold at the library who's titles include the word COOKIE! I know that the internet is a fantastic resource for information but as far as I'm concerned, nothing beats picking up a book, holding it in your hands and turning the pages. I love the feel of a book.
I have also been researching blogs - how to make them visually more appealing and I have a project today and that is to learn how to get pictures up and going. I think my camera will be becoming my new best friend. I am a visual person and I learn the best by seeing something done, so I would like to be able to document the cookie making process with pictures.
Also, I decided that I would try to post the weeks worth of recipes/ingredients so that incase any of you would like to follow along, you have the information.
I said yesterday that I would only be using top of the line ingredients - and while I will not budge on certain things, I think I will have to be a little less strict about that. In today's economy I'm sure people aren't willing to run out and buy the $17.00 bottle of vanilla. I'm not willing to do that. No fortunately for me, I have priviledges at our 2 local commissaries. That is an honor I have because my husband serves in our Armed Forces. I can get most everything I want/need there at a very good price. So cost effectively speaking, I will save money by buying the "normal" ingredients for cookies - i.e. eggs (I'm not going organic on the eggs), sugar (I'm still going to be using the super-fine because I get a good price for it), baking soda, baking powder, etc. And our commissaries have "ethnic" sections so I will be able to get dark chocolate from Britain or vanilla from Mexico etc. I will be sure to list the specific type of ingredient I used and the alternative if wanted.
I'll be back later....
I put oh, about 50 books on hold at the library who's titles include the word COOKIE! I know that the internet is a fantastic resource for information but as far as I'm concerned, nothing beats picking up a book, holding it in your hands and turning the pages. I love the feel of a book.
I have also been researching blogs - how to make them visually more appealing and I have a project today and that is to learn how to get pictures up and going. I think my camera will be becoming my new best friend. I am a visual person and I learn the best by seeing something done, so I would like to be able to document the cookie making process with pictures.
Also, I decided that I would try to post the weeks worth of recipes/ingredients so that incase any of you would like to follow along, you have the information.
I said yesterday that I would only be using top of the line ingredients - and while I will not budge on certain things, I think I will have to be a little less strict about that. In today's economy I'm sure people aren't willing to run out and buy the $17.00 bottle of vanilla. I'm not willing to do that. No fortunately for me, I have priviledges at our 2 local commissaries. That is an honor I have because my husband serves in our Armed Forces. I can get most everything I want/need there at a very good price. So cost effectively speaking, I will save money by buying the "normal" ingredients for cookies - i.e. eggs (I'm not going organic on the eggs), sugar (I'm still going to be using the super-fine because I get a good price for it), baking soda, baking powder, etc. And our commissaries have "ethnic" sections so I will be able to get dark chocolate from Britain or vanilla from Mexico etc. I will be sure to list the specific type of ingredient I used and the alternative if wanted.
I'll be back later....
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thinking....
Obviously I've been looking at cookie recipes and gathering the needed supplies to get started but I've also been thinking about the "other" thirty daze's I'm going to be having and what could I do that would be fun and interesting to you. While I do have ideas rolling around, I am open to suggestions.
I've thought about what Thirty Daze REALLY means. There is most always thirty days in a month (most of the time) - what will I do on the months that have 31 days? How about February when it has 28 or 29? These are the questions my kids are throwing at me today. I DON'T KNOW!!! That is my answer. And more off, I DON'T CARE!! I think most everyone gets the jist of what it is I'm doing. I know it takes 21 days to make or break a habit - but 21days was already taken as a blog name. So, that left me with choosing something else. I had the idea to make cookies everyday for the month of November and November has 30 days so that's where it came from.
I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences, pictures, and opinions with all of you.
I stopped by Trader Joes today to see their baking supplies. They used to carry this awesome product called Vanilla Paste. It was a vanilla extract in the form a thicker type paste product. I really enjoyed using it because I like using extra vanilla in most everything I bake and it allowed me to do that without add extra liquid. I will be looking online tonight to see if they carry it at a different store. I discovered there some pecans that have already been toasted. I'm very excited to try them. I know that toasting the nuts for a recipe brings out more of the nut flavor, but frankly - I'm too lazy to do that step. I just usually dump them right out of the bag - still frozen (you should keep your nuts in the freezer to keep the natural oils from going rancid so quickly). Along the lines of vanilla. I had the idea today to make vanilla sugar. While I think it's as simple as adding a split vanilla bean or two or three to X amount of sugar and letting it sit, thus allowing the essence of the vanilla infuse the sugar. That's another way I can my lovely vanilla flavor without adding the unneeded liquid from the extract. I'll always be sure to let you know if I used my vanilla sugar or just plain sugar. Either way, I'm confident at this point that I will splurge the extra cost fact and be using ultra-fine baking sugar in my recipes. I've recently started using it and I think it has made a big difference in the quality of cookie that I bake. I think the sugar crystals are finer than your standard sugar and they blend more easily during the "creaming" step of cookie making.
I must let you know that I do plan on using top of the line baking ingredients as much as is feasible. Oh no short cutting around here. I will splurge and buy the madagascar vanilla bean (the paste hopefully) - superfine sugar - turbinado sugar, ghiradelli dark chocolate - whatever...I have opinions about ingredients that I will share along the way. Obviously, I don't want to be like Martha Stewart and include ingredients that are not easily accessed. I will try to have NORMAL, EVERYDAY, EVERY STORE ingredients.
So, I sign off tonight with cookies on the brain. This will be a scientific discovery for us all as we watch them cream, mix, blend, fold, puff, bake, possibly burn, and cool down just enough to gobble them up without burning our mouths.
Happy Cookies everyone,
Natalie
I've thought about what Thirty Daze REALLY means. There is most always thirty days in a month (most of the time) - what will I do on the months that have 31 days? How about February when it has 28 or 29? These are the questions my kids are throwing at me today. I DON'T KNOW!!! That is my answer. And more off, I DON'T CARE!! I think most everyone gets the jist of what it is I'm doing. I know it takes 21 days to make or break a habit - but 21days was already taken as a blog name. So, that left me with choosing something else. I had the idea to make cookies everyday for the month of November and November has 30 days so that's where it came from.
I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences, pictures, and opinions with all of you.
I stopped by Trader Joes today to see their baking supplies. They used to carry this awesome product called Vanilla Paste. It was a vanilla extract in the form a thicker type paste product. I really enjoyed using it because I like using extra vanilla in most everything I bake and it allowed me to do that without add extra liquid. I will be looking online tonight to see if they carry it at a different store. I discovered there some pecans that have already been toasted. I'm very excited to try them. I know that toasting the nuts for a recipe brings out more of the nut flavor, but frankly - I'm too lazy to do that step. I just usually dump them right out of the bag - still frozen (you should keep your nuts in the freezer to keep the natural oils from going rancid so quickly). Along the lines of vanilla. I had the idea today to make vanilla sugar. While I think it's as simple as adding a split vanilla bean or two or three to X amount of sugar and letting it sit, thus allowing the essence of the vanilla infuse the sugar. That's another way I can my lovely vanilla flavor without adding the unneeded liquid from the extract. I'll always be sure to let you know if I used my vanilla sugar or just plain sugar. Either way, I'm confident at this point that I will splurge the extra cost fact and be using ultra-fine baking sugar in my recipes. I've recently started using it and I think it has made a big difference in the quality of cookie that I bake. I think the sugar crystals are finer than your standard sugar and they blend more easily during the "creaming" step of cookie making.
I must let you know that I do plan on using top of the line baking ingredients as much as is feasible. Oh no short cutting around here. I will splurge and buy the madagascar vanilla bean (the paste hopefully) - superfine sugar - turbinado sugar, ghiradelli dark chocolate - whatever...I have opinions about ingredients that I will share along the way. Obviously, I don't want to be like Martha Stewart and include ingredients that are not easily accessed. I will try to have NORMAL, EVERYDAY, EVERY STORE ingredients.
So, I sign off tonight with cookies on the brain. This will be a scientific discovery for us all as we watch them cream, mix, blend, fold, puff, bake, possibly burn, and cool down just enough to gobble them up without burning our mouths.
Happy Cookies everyone,
Natalie
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thirty Daze
Wow! I can't believe I've set up my own B-L-O-G. I'm guaranteed 5 faithful readers, that I'm confident of! I was bouncing ideas off two of my daughters about the name of this blog and we came up with Thirty Daze. See, I had this grand idea the other day to make a batch of cookies every day for thirty days starting on the first of November. Oh, I plan on making the standards, chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin etc. But.....I also plan on making some that we've never tried. Perhaps double chocolate biscotti, cranberry almond crescents, something with lemon and dark chocolate? My daughter figures that by the end of 30 days, I will probably be in a "daze" - hence the name.
I had already decided that I needed to document this process. My first thought was to just take pictures of all of the cookies each day, then that turned into making a little cookbook, then that turned into journaling, then that turned into "HEY - I read blogs every day - I need to be writing my own blog - everyday!" So, one great idea morphed into another great idea which then morphed again into yet another great idea and here I am. In blogland. It's sort of scary because I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I don't personally KNOW anybody who had their own blog. I've never done anything like this. BUT...fear not. I know it can be done. Like I've already said, I read about 20 blogs every day. I love them. They inspire me. They make me laugh. They make me think. I miss certain people when they don't add to their blog every day.
I hope to offer blogland another inspiring, uplifting, and fun blog for readers to enjoy. I will be embarking on a new project every 30 days. I will be doing said project for 30 continuous days (a new project each day under the theme of the month). When I say it like that it sounds sort of boring - but I promise, I will do my best to make it entertaining, educational, and energetic.
I had already decided that I needed to document this process. My first thought was to just take pictures of all of the cookies each day, then that turned into making a little cookbook, then that turned into journaling, then that turned into "HEY - I read blogs every day - I need to be writing my own blog - everyday!" So, one great idea morphed into another great idea which then morphed again into yet another great idea and here I am. In blogland. It's sort of scary because I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I don't personally KNOW anybody who had their own blog. I've never done anything like this. BUT...fear not. I know it can be done. Like I've already said, I read about 20 blogs every day. I love them. They inspire me. They make me laugh. They make me think. I miss certain people when they don't add to their blog every day.
I hope to offer blogland another inspiring, uplifting, and fun blog for readers to enjoy. I will be embarking on a new project every 30 days. I will be doing said project for 30 continuous days (a new project each day under the theme of the month). When I say it like that it sounds sort of boring - but I promise, I will do my best to make it entertaining, educational, and energetic.
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