Recipe 6: Marshmallow Fondant

Fondant can be very expensive to buy pre-made, especially if you find yourself needing it as often as I do!  You can make it yourself for less than half the price, and it tastes far better than the bought fondant does, even if you don't add flavoring.

Here is a picture of a cake that I used home made fondant on.  I colored it with bright yellow food coloring, and added lemon extract to give it more flavor :) I used the white chocolate modeling fondant (earlier recipe!) to make the fondant for the white "topper" and the roses, as well as the bow.

Ingredients

• 16 oz. of miniature marshmallows
• 2 lb bag of confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• about 1/2 a cup of Crisco or shortening
• any coloring or flavoring, optional

Directions

1. You need to either prepare a surface by greasing it with Crisco, or make sure that you have an extremely large bowl.  Remove all jewelry, this is going to get messy!
2. In a large bowl, empty the 16 oz marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until all of the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth and consistant
4. Put about 3/4 or a little more of the 2 lb bag of confectioners sugar in to the bowl on top of the melted marshmallows. 
5. GREASE YOUR HANDS! This sounds gross, but trust me, you need to get all of your hands covered; its going to get pretty sticky!
6. Either over-turn the mixture on to the greased surface, or if you have plenty of room in the bowl you can work up the mixture in that.  Start to knead the mixture like you would bread, incorporating as much of the powdered sugar as you can.
7. The fondant will begin to become more handle-able, and far less sticky.  It should make a relatively stiff dough that you can easily handle.
8. If the dough remains too sticky, you can add more of the remaining sugar.
9. If the dough seems to dry out, just add a small amount of water
10. Add in coloring and flavoring once the fondant is at the correct consistency
11. This dough is better left to sit overnight; make sure you store it wrapped up and as air tight as you can to prevent drying
12. When you roll out the fondant, use plenty of powdered sugar on the surface and rolling pin to prevent sticking
13. It can be rolled even thinner than normal fondant, just be sure to brush just a little bit of water on the surface if it dries out at all, to prevent the fondant from looking like "elephant skin" when you put it on the cake

Recipe 5: Pudding and Cake-mix Cookies

For those of you who thought that cupcakes were the ultimate portion-controlled cake, try these! They are great with or without icing, and there can be so many variations.

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix (I used yellow)
• 1 box instant pudding mix (I used chocolate)
• 1 stick of butter, very soft or melted and cooled
• 3 large eggs
• Any mix-ins, or toppers! (optional; I used chocolate chunks to place on top)
• Icing (optional; I didn't ice them)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the softened or cooled melted butter with the three large eggs. An electric hand-held mixer works best for air-incorporation, which will make these cookies even softer and lighter.  (See the picture below for how light this batter will look!)
3. Add the pudding mix in to the whisked butter and eggs until consistent
4. If you are adding in mix-ins, now is the time to add them.
5. Add the cake mix in to the mix. The batter will become quite thick
6. On a greased cookie sheet, drop batter by large spoon full, leaving plenty of room for the cookie to expand. It will expand about 2.5-3x the size of the batter as it bakes.
7. This is when I pressed chocolate chunks in to the top, but any toppers can be added now 

Tips and Suggestions

1. Any flavor of cake mix can be used! Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, red velvet
2. Using a different flavor of pudding mix can make interesting combination of flavors.
3. Here are some:
   White chocolate pudding and devils food cake mix
   Chocolate pudding and strawberry cake mix
   Lemon pudding and vanilla cake mix
   There are so many combinations
4. Add even more variety by lightly icing these cookies!
5. This is the perfect cookie for a mix in. Try German Chocolate by using chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding, and mix in shredded coconut.
   
   
   
   

Recipe 4: Ice-cream cone cupcakes

Another great recipe for kids and adults alike, these cupcakes are super fun to decorate.   It’s a recipe that will be met with a great reaction, for very little work!

Ingredients

1. 1 box cake mix, any preferential flavor
2. Ingredients needed to make regular cake batter according to the back of the box of mix; this varies, but is usually some amount of vegetable oil, water, and a few eggs
3. 1 tub of icing (1 tub will cover all cupcakes, HOWEVER, see tips #1 and #2)
4. 1 box of 24 normal sized flat bottomed ice-cream cones
5. Sprinkles, nonpareils, and any other decorations! (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Mix cake mix, according to directions on the back of the box
3. Fill all 24 ice-cream cones about ¾ of the way (if you used JOY ice-cream cups, you can see the picture for reference)
4. Carefully place cones on a baking sheet, and again carefully place in the over (balance is key!)
5. There will be extra batter after the 24 cones.  I used mine to make mini cupcakes; waste not, want not!
6. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, checking for the top to be lightly brown and to bounce back when pressed.
7. Allow to cool completely
8. Using either of the two icing methods*, ice the cupcakes with the flavors or colors you’ve chosen.
9. Now the fun part; decorate!  I used nonpareils

 

*Icing Methods

While regular butter-knife icing works just as well, using an icing pipe with a 6 point tip (star shaped) will make the icing look like soft serve!

 
Suggestions and Tips

To mimic soft serve, you can use chocolate, vanilla, or even strawberry icing!  As shown in my pictures, you can even get tricky and combine two flavors.  I had one tub of vanilla and one tub of chocolate

Rather than using two flavors, food coloring could be used to make any color from vanilla icing!

Don’t worry if the cupcakes overflow and start to drip!  It happens, and did happen when I made them too. You’ll be able to cover up the mishap with more icing; you can’t lose!

Add cinnamon balls to look like cherries, or use a very fine tip to add chocolate “syrup” to any white iced cupcakes. 

With hindsight being 20/20, I’d suggest putting a little dab of icing on the bottom of the cone one you’re done with icing the top, and before you need to transport them.  While the flat bottom should make them stable, that isn’t the case.   Unless you have an icecream cone carrier (they exist!), there’s a pretty good chance you’ll experience at least one “cupcake down!!!”

Recipe 3: Chocolate modeling clay

Another simple recipe, modeling chocolate is extremely easy to make, and yet the possibilities of using it is endless.

For those with little kids, it can make a fun and tasty (though sticky!) edible clay.

I've found it's most valuable use to be for cake decoration (see White Chocolate Roses and White Chocolate Bows).

While any type of chocolate will work for this recipe, white chocolate allows you to add color, which is what I did to make blue and pink decorations.

Ingredients

• One 12-oz bag of chocolate chips, or 10 ounces baking chocolate bar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• Plenty of powdered sugar for dusting and to make handling less sticky

Supplies/Utensils

• Double boiler set up (small pot and glass bowl)
• Plastic wrap
• (For examples of decorations):
• Rolling pin
• Knife
• Toothpicks
• Scissors

 Directions

1. Set up a double boiler to melt the chocolate. This is important, because melting chocolate through direct heat will cause chocolate to burn and become clumpy.  To set up, put enough water in a small pot so that it just barely touches the bottom of a glass bowl, which will be put on top. The hot water will be what gently melts the chocolate, but make sure that none of the water gets in to the chocolate! This causes chocolate "curdling".
   
   
   
2. Add the chocolate chips to the glass bowl of the double-boiler once the water starts to steam.
3. Make sure the water doesn't bubble up too much, while gently stirring the chocolate until it is melter consistently smooth.
4. Being careful not to touch the hot glass bowl, using a towl or oven mit, remove the bowl from heat
5. Add the 1/3 cup light corn syrup to the mixture (If you're coloring white chocolate: Prior to adding the corn syrup, add a small amount of food coloring to the syrup.  Add color slowly; a little does a whole lot!)
6. Stir quickly so it is completely blended, then transfer the warm mixture to another bowl with a plastic wrap covering (this will make dough easier to remove when ready for use)
7. Allow the clay to harden overnight, or for at least 4 hours

When the dough has set, it will at first pretty firm.  With a little bit of handling, it becomes pliable, and eventually even gooey.  Using plenty of powdered sugar helps to make sure it won't stick.  Placing the dough back in the fridge lets it harden back up in 5 minutes

Decoration Suggestion 1: Chocolate Roses

 

(Throughout this recipe, if the dough becomes sticky, use powdered sugar, or put dough back in the fridge for a couple of minutes.  You might have to do this in the middle of making a rose, because the dough softens with handling)

1. Using powdered sugar, dust a sheet of plastic wrap (makes a quick clean up!) roll a golf-ball sized amount of the chocolate clay with a sugar dusted rolling pin, until quite thin.  
2. You can improvise, but use a small circular object to cut pieces of the rolled out clay in to circles about the size of a nickel (I used the cap of a water bottle).  Use it like a cookie cutter; if the dough becomes stuck, you can use toothpick to scoop out the dough.  You don't need a perfect circle because you're going more for a consistent amount, not perfect shape.
3. Once you have about 15 circles, you can start on your first rose! 
4. Take one circle, and pinch it to flatten in slightly, making the top edge thinner than the bottom.
5. Wrap around the top of a tooth pick
6. Using the same method, wrap the first petal around the center, and sort of press in the bottom of the petal to seal it to the center.
7. Continue, until the rose is the size you want it!
8. Use scissors to cut off the rose from the excess dough at the bottom, being sure not to accidentally cut off part of the toothpick
9. Set bottom flat on a plate, and let harden in the fridge
10. Keep using dough to roll flat, cut circles, and assemble for as many roses as you'd like
11. Use to decorate a cake (icing can act like glue!), or give a dozen as a sweet box of candy :)

 Decoration Suggestion 2: Chocolate Bows

1. Roll a small a golf ball sized amount of dough in to a log on a powdered sugar dusted sheet of plastic wrap
2. With a sugar dusted rolling pin, flatten the log so that it is pretty thin, but thick enough that it can be peeled up easily
3. Next, cut the dough in to about 12-14 equal sized strips 
4. Fold each strip in to a loop
5. Press a little ball of dough on to a plate, and start arranging 6-7 loops around in a circle by pressing the pinched ends in to the dough on the plate
6. Once the first layer is laid down, take 4-5 loops and stagger them as the second layer of the bow
7. For the last layer, stip one loop pinched side down
8. Refrigerate and use to decorate!

If you roll enough dough, you can cut strips to make "ribbon" and decorate a cake like a present  

 

Recipe 2: Peanut Butter and Banana Pancake Flip-Overs

This an extremely easy recipe.  It almost goes without instructions, although I've included them.  This recipe is more about providing pictures that might make your mouth water. 
I like the sugar in the recipe; it makes the pancakes caramelize a little bit on the outside
Note: the filling recipe and the instructions are for a one person/two pancake breakfast, but there will be plenty of batter left. It can be stored in the fridge for 3 days, or used with more filling ingredients for more people.

 Ingredients

Pancake Batter

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional, could add just one more tablespoon white sugar)
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• Extra butter for greasing pan

Filling

• 1 whole banana
• Peanut butter (any amount you prefer)
• Honey (optional)

Directions 

• Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar until consistent
• Add in milk, eggs, and butter. While a whisk will do the job, an electric hand-held mixer will get rid of any clumps in the batter
• Add a small bit of butter to a skiller that has been heated on medium-high
• Pour 1/4 cup of batter on to the skillet 
• Wait until after bubbles have formed, and the center is no longer shiny
• Flip over pancake for 1-2 minutes, until brown
• Spread peanut butter on 1/2 of the pancake
• Finely cut a banana into slices
• Add 1/2 of them to the pancake, then fold over
• Repeat the above steps
• Drizzle over honey

• EAT

 

Recipe 1: White Chocolate and Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

I called these Breakfast Cookies for two reasons; they are not as sugary as most cookies, and they also remind me of blueberry muffins :)  Plus, they're pretty dense, so one or two would make a meal treat. This recipe makes about 3.5-4 dozen cookies, depending on how much you practice “quality assurance” throughout! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 package white chocolate instant pudding mix (vanilla or cheesecake instant pudding works too)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided in to 2cups, ½ cup, and ½ cup
• 8 ounces white chocolate chips (buy the standard 12 oz bag, and the remaining 4 oz can be used in the blueberry syrup, below)

 

Supplies/ Utensils

• Measuring spoons and cups (2 1-tablespoon spoons)
• Large mixing bowl
• Electric hand-held mixer, or else a whisk and a lot of determination
• Large baking sheets
• Greased foil for baking sheets (Crisco, butter, or margarine will work)
• Small pot
• Spatula/mixing spoons

Directions

Blueberry Syrup:  To make first, and add last!

1. Mix the ½ cup of water and the ½ cup white sugar in the small pan, and bring up to a boil
2. Add in the whole package of dried blueberries
3. Allow to boil for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This reduces the mixture in to a sort of thin syrup. 
4. When the syrup is a deep violet color, take off of the heat  
5. While syrup is still hot, add in the 4 oz of white chocolate chips, and stir until well mixed.
6. Allow the syrup to cool (even refrigerate) while you make the dough.  If the syrup is still hot when it is used in the dough, it will melt the white chocolate chips in the dough

Cookie Dough (syrup is added last!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth 
3. Add in the eggs, and again whisk until smooth 
4. In ½ cup increments, add 2 cups of flour.  Whisk until smooth between additions 
5. Using a spatula, stir in 8 oz of white chocolate chips 
6. Add another ½ cup of flour 
7. Check the blueberry syrup that has been cooling.  If a slight skim has formed, then it can be added to the cookie dough.  Make sure to gently stir in, and don’t worry about getting it entirely mixed in; a little bit of a swirling color is fine! 
8. Let the dough set further for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. 
9. Using 2 tablespoon measuring spoons, ball the dough.  Press it gently between your palms to flatten slightly, and then place on prepared and greased baking sheet.  (These cookies do not spread very much, so when placing them, only a separation of about an inch is needed) 
10. Baking time varies!  These cookies do bake very fast (probably no more than 8 minutes), so keep an eye on them. Bake until you can see the edges have browned, then remove from sheet and on to a drying rack for at least 20 minutes. (See Tip #1 for over-baked cookies)

Tips and suggestions:

1. If the cookies come out of the over looking a little bit too brown or slightly over cooked, you can act quickly (while the cookies are still hot!) to save them.  Just get a little bowl of milk and using the back of a spoon, brush a little bit of milk all around the top of the cookie. They'll still be crunchy around the edges, but the center will be soft.
2. For a more gooey and sweeter cookie, replace 1/2 cup of flour with either brown or white sugar, and omit the white chocolate from the blueberry syrup.  Just keep in mind that these will spread out more when baked, and might require a cooking time adjustment. 

The combination of two extreme passions.

I've decided what I want to do with this space that I randomly signed up for out of...well, no reason at all.

I want to combine the two things that are quickly becoming absolute passions and pass-times in my life: cooking, and photography.

Sure, it might be a little bit of a cheesy idea; anyone who's watched Julie and Julia know, it's a little bit of a quirky idea.

But my reasons for starting this are two fold:
1) I need a way to keep track of my own recipes that can't get filed away by accident, or get used as scrap paper
2) Unless you're watching a cooking show, how do you know if you have the recipe right a fraction of the way through?

I'm not saying I'm a culinary master by any means.
I just promise I won't post anything on here that I haven't made myself, or which hasn't already been pre-approved as delicious by me :)

I'd love any feed back, variations, or suggestions.
Heck, if anyone would want to sort of "test" a recipe before they make the food, I'd be more than happy to make and and provide feedback! Just send it my way!

Even if no one else reads this or pays it any attention, it'll be fun for me!