Cupcakes

For my final project, I decided to make cupcakes, since I decided why not. This was one of the hardest things I have baked in my entire life, but it ended up being so good, I think the mess was worth it. In this recipe, not only do we make the cupcakes, but also the icing to go along with them. The ingredients for these include:

Cupcakes

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, but into 1/2 inch cubes, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1 recipe buttercream frosting (following)

Buttercream frosting 

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 6 to 7 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Liquid gel food coloring (optional)
  

The first step in making the cupcakes is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. In a large measuring cup or just a bowl, mix together the milk and vanilla, set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine both flours, the sugar, baking powder, and salt mixing on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly combined (Day). Next probably the hardest part of the whole recipe, "With the mixer on low speed, add the cubed butter a few pieces at a time, mixing for about 2 minutes, until the mixture resembles coarse sand" (Day). This took so long for me to do, and it got everywhere. The butter did not want to mix together, but I stuck it through, and it actually worked in the end, no one was more surprised than me. 

Add the eggs in, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then turn the speed down and gradually add the milk and vanilla, the mix for another 1 to 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, incorporate any ingredients hiding at the bottom of the bowl, make sure the batter is completely mixed (Day). 

With a large ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake cups filling it two-thirds full. I would recommend a little less than two-thirds, since the cupcakes overflowed in the oven and were gigantic. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester (or a toothpick) inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, add frosting and enjoy!

Making the frosting is very easy compared to the cupcakes, and actually tastes pretty good. In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar to start, the milk, and vanilla on low speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually add up to 3 more cups of sugar, until frosting reaches light and fluffy consistency. With 4 cups of powdered sugar, this was already really sweet, but it was incredibly liquid and runny. My advice would be to add one more cups of powdered sugar, and the refrigerate. This makes the frosting a lot easier to work with, and taste better. If you would like to add food coloring in, do that in the mixing process. I still have these cupcakes sitting on my kitchen counter, since it made so many. My family and I really love them, so I highly recommend this recipe.

Is there a difference between icing and frosting? Do you prefer cupcakes or just a cake?

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 

     2012. Print.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Home-made chocolate chip cookies. In my opinion, the best five words to ever be strung together. I knew for my baking project that I had to make my favorite cookies one time, and this is that time. These classic cookies were not that difficult to make, and they had a short list of ingredients. Ingredients include:

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks 
• Fleur de sel for sprinkling (optional)
  

First, you must place a rack on the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Also, line 2 (or in my case 3) cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Next sift together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside (Day). I had never heard what sifting together meant, so I just mixed it with a fork, worked just as well.

Next in a bowl, either a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or just a large bowl and hand mixer, cream the butter, vanilla, and both sugars together until light and fluffy, for 3-5 minutes. Next Day says, "Add the eggs and mix for no more than 1 minute; the eggs will not be fully incorporated" (Day). It was really weird for me to hear not the fully incorporate the eggs in, and it looked really weird, but I went with it, since Day is a professional and I am not. 

Next turn the speed down (or off if you are using a hand held mixer, from experience) and add the dry ingredients in thirds until just incorporated. Next add the chocolate chunks beating until combined. I added a little more than 2 cups, because I really like my cookies with a lot of chocolate chips. This mixture itself was incredibly hard to mix together, since there are virtually no wet ingredients in it. I had to ask my Dad for help in the mixing process, and our hand mixer was hot to the touch when we finished. Even though this process was a but difficult, it was worth it in the end. 

Lastly using a ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup, form the cookies and place them on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. These cookies were HUGE in the end, I would recommend making them a bit smaller, and just making more. I followed these instructions and most of my cookies stuck together. Not that it's a huge problem, but if you don't want that to happen to you, I would recommend smaller cookies, more spaced out. 

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for about 15 to 18 minutes, and you will know they are done when they are golden brown around the edges and light in the middle. I left them in a bit longer, because I like my cookies crunchy. Let them cool and place them in an airtight container, makes about 24 cookies more or less. Hope you Enjoy!

At the bottom of the page it is highly recommended to eat these with milk, and if you can, drink the milk from the glass container. The tip is to pour your milk into a glass container and chill, because that is the best way to enjoy it (Day). 

What is your favorite type of cookie? Do you enjoy your cookies with milk, or water, or no beverage at all?

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 

     2012. Print. 

Sunny Lemon Bars

For a really long time, I was craving lemon bars, and since I knew that for this project my subject was baking, I decided to make lemon bars. The best part of this recipe is that it does not have a lot of ingredients and overall its a pretty straightforward recipe, so lets get started. The ingredients you need will be both for the crust and the filling, they include:
Crust:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice 

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next in the book, they say, "grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan, and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite edges of the pan" (Day). But instead of doing this, I just lined my pan with parchment paper, and I think it did just fine without having to grease it. 

To make the crust, in a bowl, stir butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt until blended and add all the flour in at once, until just incorporated. Press the mixture evenly at the bottom of the pan. Personally this was a little bit difficult and took some time, but if you stuck through it, it would be worth it. Next bake it for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden, (Day). 

To make the filling: I recommend doing this while the crust is baking. In the bowl, mix the flour and sugar together until thoroughly combined. Add eggs and lemon juice until well combined. I would highly recommend fresh lemon juice since it made the bars taste fresh, and my kitchen smell lemon-y. 

When the crust is done, carefully remove it and pour in the lemon filling. Turn down the temperature to 300 degrees, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You will know it is done when the filling looks puffy on top and the center no longer jiggles, (Day). Let cool and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Lastly, cut into bars, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

My opinion on these is that they were really delicious, and my family and I really enjoyed them. They were really hard when they came out of the fridge, so I would say let them sit at room temp. before you cut them. If you try these, tell me how they are and I hope you enjoy. 

What would happen if you did not use pure vanilla extract? What if you served these warm? 

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 

     2012. Print. 

Sugar Cookie Tarts

For my second project, I decided to do something more dessert related, and the book I have, The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook has categories of things you could try to bake, and I went to chapter 6, which is cookies. Now this recipe has a lot of steps you must follow, but it does not have a huge list of ingredients. The ingredients include

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup homemade jam (or just one you prefer

Once I got all of the ingredients together, I mixed to flour and baking power, then set aside, (Day). Next I mixed together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, which by the way, took a very long time to do if the butter was not at room temperature. Afterwards, I added the flour mixture and mixed until combined, making sure I did not over mix the dough, (Day).

Next, the book said to get all the dough together, then divide into halves ad shape into balls. You had to wrap them in plastic wrap, and flatten them into disks using the palm of your hand. Now the book says, "Place the disks in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 weeks,"(Day). But since I started doing this later at night, I just put them in the fridge until the next morning. After doing this, the dough was very tough in the morning and felt like a solid block of dough, so it was very hard to manipulate. To shape the cookies, they said to wait till the dough was at room temperature before I did anything. While waiting, you should line two cookies sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Once at room temperature, place the dough on a lightly floured surface. With the first disk I made the mistake of not following the books directions, so you must "place a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on top and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4 in. thick,"(Day). I made the mistake of not putting the paper on top of the dough, and it was extremely hard to roll out. Next use a 3-4 in. cookie cutter to cut the cookies into your shape, I just used circles, then cut a 1 1/2 in. hole in half of the cookies so jam can peak out.

I had to use a teaspoon measuring spoon, because I did not have anything that was 1 1/2 in. in diameter that was easier to use. Once you cut holes in half of the cookies, place the cookies without holes on the cookie sheets, then place 1 teaspoon of jam in the center and top with the cookies with the holes. 

I may have done it in slightly the wrong order, but it worked out anyway, so either way would work. Next you must place the cookies in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill, and repeat to the remaining dough. Once chilled, bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through so that your cookies are completely done. They should be lightly golden on the edges and the jam should be bubbling when the cookies are done. Let cool for 20 minutes, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

Overall, these cookies were not that difficult to make, they just took time, and they were really good. My only thing is that they were kind of dry, because I think they are supposed to be tea cookies, so I would just say eat these with something to drink nearby. Either way they were pretty good if you got a bite of the jam with the cookies on every bite. I used blackberry jam, but feel free to use any kind you want. I would totally recommend that anyone who likes cookies, should try these out. 

Is it a better idea to put the dough in the fridge for the least amount of time (30 min.) or overnight?

Is 1 teaspoon of jam too much or too little?

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 

     2012. Print. 

Making Blueberry Muffins

I've always had a pretty big sweet tooth and I really enjoy baking, even though I am not very good at it. I've made things in the past, like those store bought cakes you make from a box, but never anything from scratch. So when this project came around, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try and "perfect" my baking skills. I went and bought The Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl and Griffith Day. This book has a bunch of different recipes for sweet treats all from a little bakery in the heart of the south. After a while, I decided to go with baking blueberry muffins, since I have always liked them. The ingredients included:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder, preferably aluminum free
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamon
• 1/4 cup ground canola oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup cardamon sugar or coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

To begin I got all of these ingredients together, preheated the oven to 350 degrees and lined the muffin tray with paper muffin cups. I then got a big bowl and mixed all the dry ingredients together, which included the flour, sugar salt baking power, etc. and in another bowl I mixed together the wet ingredients, which included the milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, and canola oil. I mixed these all together separately was careful not to over-mix, (Day, 19). After mixing these all together, I did just as the author said, "Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid ingredients, and mix just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries, using as few strokes as possible; be careful not to over-mix," (Day, 19).

I found that folding the blueberries into the mixture was a lot better than just mixing it in, since this way all the blueberries were still intact. After everything was mixed together, I used an ice cream scoop and slowly put all of the batter into the paper muffin cups. I put them in the oven and baked for 25 to 30 minutes and let them cool. Once they were cool, I shared them with my family and most everyone liked them.

A lot of people liked these muffins, but one thing I found out is, I do not like cardamon. It should have been a indicator to me that since the smell was not that good, the taste probably was not going to be good either. Overall, I think these muffins were pretty good, but if I were to do this again, I would not use cardamon at all. It made the muffins taste a little weird, but otherwise it was really good. I would definitely recommend this as a must try for first time bakers!

Do you think that if  someone used fresh instead of frozen blueberries, this would taste different? Is there any way to tell if an ingredient used in the recipe is good or bad for the recipe?

Day, Cheryl, and Griffith Day. The Back in the Day Cookbook. New York: Artisan, 2012. Print.