It's that time again...

DEADLINE TIME!!

I am so very buried with school work right now. I've got two huge final projects due tomorrow!! And I've been sitting in front of my computer for hours and hours for days and days. Oh brother... Procrastination bites my butt every time, but I don't even have any excuses because I know exactly what I've been doing. (Playing, that is!) :P

Anyways. Eyes throbbing, butt hurting, head spinning. I need some sleep.

Now... if I could just get my hands on some warm cookies and milk...

Best Buttermilk (Yogurt) Pancakes

Guess what I had for brunch today? Yes! Blueberry Pancakes. I've borrowed the recipe from Martha Stewart, but I had to make some revisions. First off, I didn't have any buttermilk in my fridge, so I substituted with plain yogurt and in order to make it super fluffy, I separated the egg white from the egg yolk and beat it separately until stiff. Then I folded the egg white at the end, which gave me a really super fluffy and soft pancake while the butter gave it a great crispy and golden top! Also, instead of big pancakes, I like homemade ones small and cute.




A few key things about pancakes.
1. Don't over beat your batter. Make sure you see medium lumps.
2. Make sure the pan temperature isn't TOO piping hot or it will burn it. Electric griddles are AWESOME. If you don't have one, just make sure your skillet or pan isn't too hot.
3. As I mentioned above, if you want super fluffy pancakes, separate the egg whites, while you put the yolk with the buttermilk and butter. Beat the egg whites until you get stiff white peaks. At the very end, fold the egg whites in. This will make it very very fluffy.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes nine 6-inch pancakes
from marthastewart.com

ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

directions

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
2. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
3. Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
4. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.

Blondies have more fun

Do blondes have more fun? It's one of those questions that people like to talk about, but I wouldn't know. Cuz I'm a very black-haired girl. And proud! Hehe. But nonetheless, "blondies" - in their buttery, chewy and delicious sense- are perfectly fun.



Last night, my lovely family of three (Jenn & Kev) were craving some sweets again after dinner so I busted out my spatula once again. I looked online for an easy breezy recipe I could just make out of the stuff I have in my pantry and found a perfect recipe on smitten kitchen. (I lovvee that blog, by the way!) And honest to goodness, it is the easiest thing I have ever baked in my life.



It took not even 15 minutes to prepare, and almost one bowl!! The result was delicious and delightful and hit the spot right away. It's chewy and soft and wonderful.

Blondies

16 medium squares
from Smitten Kitchen

ingredients

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

directions

1. Preheat oven at 350°F. Butter an 8×8 pan.
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. It might seem a little underbaked at first, but when you leave it to cool on the rack for a while, it'll set.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

New Snow and Warm Brownies

It is indeed winter in Canada. We were fortunate enough to push back our snowy days till late November now, but it has come for sure. It has been quietly and quite faithfully snowing all day and night yesterday so this morning there is a white and wintery scene outside my window. There is a warm sun out, though, so the snow is slowly melting again.




Last night was a cold night, and so my sister, her fiance Kevin, and I were all bundled up at home. We all sat around the kitchen after dinner, brought out each of our "homework" to do and sipped on some coffee. The three of us started to crave something sweet and warm and good. That's when I yelled out, "Brownies!", in which the two of them moaned a sweet moan, "mmmmmmmm brownies..."



So I quickly ran upstairs to my computer, found a recipe on Cooks Illustrated and found a "light brownie" recipe (because some of us are concerned about our waistline) and busted out my square pan and spatula. After a quick 30 minutes or so, we had our warm brownies. But to my disappointment, it was just okay. I was worried about it to begin with because, come on, LIGHT brownies? But they liked it just fine. It wasn't too sweet at all, and it still had some what of a chewy consistency. Kevin devoured a lot of them and happily took some home for work tomorrow. :)



In my opinion, the brownie was rather thin and sorta grainy. It was a bit better this morning- I guess the overnight helped it set. Overall, I didn't really like it, and I don't think I will use the recipe again, but last night, it wasn't about that. It was about warm goodness and sitting around together enjoying each others company. And that we did. :)



So about winter nights and winter mornings. I'm not sure if I'm ready for endless shoveling of snow; layers and layers of clothes; frozen nose tips and finger tips; slipping and sliding around ice plates, but one can't help but feel excited and giddy inside when one sees fresh white snow out the window. So boldy and daringly I say, "BRING IT ON, WINTER!!"

Lighter Brownies

12 medium squares
from CooksIllustrated.com

ingredients

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (2 1/2 ounces)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/8 tsp instant espresso powder
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz semisweet chocolate , chopped fine
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1/8 tsp table salt
1 large egg , lightly beaten

directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper, or foil lightly coated with vegetable oil spray.
2. Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa, water, vanilla, and espresso powder together; set aside. Microwave the butter and chocolate together in a medium microwave-safe bowl on 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute; whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the sugar and salt until completely incorporated. Whisk in the cocoa mixture, then whisk in the egg. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not overbake). Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour, lift the brownies out of the pan by grasping onto the parchment paper, and cut into 12 brownies.

Quick Italian Dinner!

It's so easy to make delicious dinner if you just have the right ingredients in your kitchen. Lately, I've decided to eat and cook mostly at home instead of eating out all the time. I've had some more time at home I guess, but mostly just got so tired of eating out. Cooking at home is great: it's saves money, it tastes fresh, it's fun, and it's so much healthier than fast food, that's for sure.



I've been eating a lot of pasta lately, just because I have so much that I've bought and it's about time I got rid of it. Pasta really isn't just tomato sauce out of a jar. Cook it with some olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and fresh grated parmesan-- mmmm! At the same time, the truth is that it doesn't always taste restaurant quality. It could be a bit bland or dry and not as impressive sometimes, but honestly, I think it's worth it! I've been improving as I practice more, and it's fun being your own cook.



Staring with appetizer, this is the easiest and quite "Italian" appetizer ever. Sweet and soft cantaloupe wrapped in salty and savory prosciutto. I had this in Rome and now you can have it at home. You can get the prosciutto from any deli or supermarket. The combination is heavenly, and it looks quite posh. ;)



For pasta, I made something I saw out of a cookbook while I was roaming around Chapters. It was simple enough for me to remember so here I made it. I had to alter it quite a bit, though, since I didn't have the exact ingredients. But that's fine too! Here is my quick and dirty recipe. I'm sorry I don't have the ingredient list, because I'm not quite sure of the measurements. I just grabbed stuff as much as I thought I needed.

Simple Spaghettini with Soft-Boiled Egg

directions

1. Boil Water. Add pinch of salt. Cook pasta al dante. I also put my egg in the boiling water so that I save time. But make sure you don't overcook the egg like I did. You want the egg to be soft-boiled, not hard-boiled. :(
2. While cooking pasta, wrap whole clove of garlic in foil and bake it in the oven for 7-10 minutes, or until it is roasted and fragrant.
3. Drain pasta, but save pasta water.
4. In a large pan, heat milk and pasta water. Add bit of salt. Add the garlic (out of its wrapping and smashed with the knife). Stir and cook over medium heat. Add diced tomato or for extra flavour, sundried tomatoes. Generously sprinkle olive oil.
5. Stir in the cooked pasta. Add baby spinach. Grate lots of parmesan cheese. Sprinkle bit of parsley.
6.Place onto plate. Top with soft-boiled egg and sliced pecorino cheese. Some freshly ground pepper.

VOILA.



Anyways. It was delicious. Clap clap clap. And now, what to do with the stack of dishes in my sink....

Get the Sensation!

i am a huge fan of peppermint patties.
i am a huge fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
and i am a huge fan of mint chocolate cupcakes!



yes yes. i have baked again. and i think it was a success! :)
i went to my close girl friend's birthday party and i brought over some fresh baked cupcakes (which actually became quite a tradition. i brought her cupcakes for two years now). so anywho. i wanted to do something different. i always do either vanilla or red velvet (which is a popular flavor) but she's a little more sophisticated. heehee.



anywho. the cool green mint buttercream was a fantastic compliment to the light chocolate cake. i like this cake because it's very easy to make. the other chocolate cake recipes i have usually involves double boiling bittersweet chocolate and then mixing it with some coffee or espresso (which i would have to brew) and then some more stuff. this one is an old fashion chocolate cake and just involves good cocoa and some milk. how easy!



so the reason i call this a success is because not only did i get some delightful rants about it, i got some business! one of her friends are getting married and is looking to order! :) heehee. that ALWAYS feels nice. im so very thankful and humbled when someone takes interest in my goodies. i just love baking them, so thanks for eating them, you know?

alritey. i think that's about it for today. here is the recipe.

Old Fashion Chocolate Cupcakes

makes about 30 cupcakes
cake recipe from cupcake bakeshop

ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 20-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Mint Buttercream

ingredients

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp meringue powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp all natural peppermint extract
1/8 tsp green food colour gel (optional)
7 mini peppermint patties or any mint candy for decoration(optional)

directions

1. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.
2. Add 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.
3. Add meringue powder and remaining powdered sugar (cup at a time) as needed to get piping consistency. (Make sure you beat it for a good 5-7 minutes). Add food coloring if wanted. Decorate with candy.

for more photos, check out my flickr

cookie crazy!!

This weekend was a happy weekend because my whole house smelled like delicious warm cookies! For what occasion? A parting gift for a parting friend! His name is Dan and he visited Toronto for a few weeks from Seoul, Korea. He's originally from here, but he's been living in Seoul for quite some time. He's a great guy. Whenever someone from here goes to visit Seoul, Dan takes them out and treats them quite generously. And I was one of them! Last winter, I went by myself for a few weeks, and being alone in Seoul, he took me out for delicious meals, introduced me to his wonderful church, went to go watch a ballet (forced by me, haha).



He never let me pay a single meal, though. I told him that it wouldn't be fair for him and that I would be in-debt to him! But he replied that he's in-dept to many of his older friends that always took care of him when he was young and struggling. :) So he said he's pleased to be able to treat his younger friends when he gets the chance. Kinna like paying it forward you know?



I thought this was wonderful and vowed myself to pay it forward too. :) But this time, I was able to pay him back..with baked goodies!! He knew that I love baking, so he told me that when he visits Toronto, he would like some of the good stuff. So as a parting gift, I baked him a big box of cookies, three kinds, about 3 dozen of them. I brought it to the farewell dinner we had with a whole lotta friends and it was a hit! But mainly, I'm glad we were all able to share and enjoy good times together. And of course, a bit of chocolatey goodness couldn't hurt anyone!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

about 2 dozen
adapted from world's best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie

ingredients

3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. Cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes. Add egg and mix until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
4. Add dry ingredients into creamed batter until incorporated. Mix in oatmeal and stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop dough at least 1.5 inches apart by 2 tablespoons or small ice cream scoop. Ice cream scoops are helpful in keeping the size consistent, as well as easy to use!
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't overbake!

This oatmeal cookie is probably the favorite by all. It has a great chewy texture, and the hint of cinnamon brings some depth to the flavor. I added that myself, by the way, cuz the original recipe only called for vanilla. I know there are many spiced cookies, but I wanted to keep this a little more toffee-like and chocolatey. But really, someone told me with big bright eyes "This has got to the BEST cookie EVER. Honestly, I'm not kidding. It's the BEST cookie I've ever tasted!!" So there you go. :)

Jacque Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

yields 6 5-inch cookies
adapted from jacque torres recipe/

ingredients

8 1/2 oz cake flour
8 1/2oz bread flour (i had to substitute with all purpose)
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
10 oz light brown sugar
8 oz granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4lbs bittersweet chocolate disks/chunks/chips
seat salt

directions

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
(Okay, here, I made a mistake. I do realize that these jacque torres cookies are known for their ginormous size, but I just wanted to make normal size ones. So i did, and instead of 6 whopping cookies out of the dough, I divided into wayy smaller cookies. But I didn't consider the baking time, so my cookies were quite overbaked and stiff. If I were to bake it again I would probably reduce it to like 10-12 minutes).

As I said the cookies turned out a lot stiffer and harder than I think it's supposed to. So I'm probably going to try it again. I have some dough left over in the fridge, so maybe I'll try it later today. :)



This cookie's recipe is in my archive. So just look up double chocolate chunk cookie and you'll find it! It's a deep, rich chocolatey flavor that I would recommend to a chocolate lover! Not for the average cookie eater! :P



beautifully packed and ready to go!