the baking project continues.

After making chocolate chip cookies yesterday, I knew I just had to make some oatmeal raisin cookies, too. Yes, I am that determined. Hahaha.

Unlike yesterday, I was able to get a full 7-hour sleep except for the fact that my neck's too painful. I dunno if that's cos of stiff neck or muscle pain. All I know is that it just freakin' hurts every time I move.

But pain didn't stop me from making some oatmeal cookies. Here's the proof:

I can't say they were perfect - there's always room for improvement and I know that soon enough, I'll find myself tweaking the recipe to fit my liking. It's a bit biscuit-y, I want them to be chewy. They were delish, of course, just like any other oatmeal cookie. I still have batter left in my fridge and I'll prolly do something later. :)

I got the recipe from Yummy Magazine's Bake, Give, Sell! cookbook which features 55 different recipes that you can well, bake, give, and sell. :)

Here's the recipe:

1 1/3c whole-wheat flour*
2/3c old-fashioned oatmeal
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon powder
1/2tsp salt
1/2c butter
1/2c white sugar**
1/2c brown sugar**
1 egg
1tsp vanilla extract
2/3c raisins

*   I didn't have whole wheat flour, so I substituted it with all-purpose flour.
** As always, I didn't have white sugar, so I used a total of 2/3c brown sugar -- I tend to lessen the sugar in any recipe, just trying to be healthy. :)

In a bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, and salt. Set aside. 

Beat butter with white and brown sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla extract.

Stir in flour mixture. When combined, fold in raisins. 

Shape cookies and place on a greased baking sheet, leaving enough space in between each cookie.
The cookie dough isn't as fluid and consistent as that of the chocolate chip cookie because of the oats. I used an ice cream scoop to shape and drop the cookies, and flattened them using a spatula.

Bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool completely on a wire rack.


There you have it. Very easy oatmeal raisin (or chocolate chip) cookies. :)

on more kitchen discoveries and chocolate chip cookies.

After [almost] perfecting the art of making cupcakes, I wanted to perfect the art of making chocolate crinkles since I failed the last time I tried.

But wait, before I get to that, let me share some of the tricks I've discovered. All because of wanting to bake perfectly, if there's such a thing.

I don't have a mixer... yet. But I will get one when I'm already a little more adept in baking. And because a lot of recipes need to have butter and sugar creamed, I consulted Mr. Google on how to cream without a mixer. The result? Click here. I tried this technique earlier, and what can I say, I was able to come up with creamed butter and sugar. It's not as perfect as the "mechanical" one, but it's better than just melting the butter and adding the sugar.

Next is practicing the art of beating using a wooden spatula. It's hard, but hell, it's worth it. Plus, it's an instant arm exercise! Haha.

My new found best friend is the ice cream scoop - makes life easier when baking cookies, cupcakes, etc.

And lastly, since I'm using a convection oven, aside from adjusting the temperature, I learned that it's very important to cover baking pans with aluminum foil to prevent getting a burnt cookie/cupcake/brownie/cake top -- since heat comes directly from above. The cooking time may take longer, but it's definitely better than tasting bitter burns.

On to my next kitchen experiment - chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to try my "foil discovery" with baking cookies. It worked when I baked the second batch of cupcakes and butterscotch brownies, but I didn't know if it will be the same with cookies. So, let's see.

I originally wanted to give chocolate crinkles a second try, but when I checked the recipes I noticed that the ingredients for the crinkles and cookies are kind of similar. So I decided to make chocolate chip cookies instead.

I got the recipe from Rachael Ray's A Cookie a Day.  Easier than making chocolate crinkles! :)

Here's the recipe:

2c all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1c butter, softened
1c brown sugar (the original recipe called for 1c brown and 1/2c white, I didn't have white and I don't like it to be too sweet)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2c chocolate chips (I also added 1/4c cocoa powder)


Pre-heat the oven to 375°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (The original recipe suggests two cookie sheets, I didn't have one so I used the normal baking pan. And I didn't bake the whole batter, I just tried a few. Hehe.)


Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla in mixing bowl until creamy and light in color. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the flour mixture and stir in the chocolate chips.


Drop by rounded tablespoons (12 per pan, evenly spaced) and bake for 12 minutes, switching and turning the pans around halfway through the cooking time. DO NOT OVERBAKE – the cookies continue to cook after they come out of the oven. Cool on the sheets for 1-2 minutes, then move the cookies to a rack to finish cooling. Store tightly sealed with a slice of bread to keep them soft.

I also topped the cookies with more chocolate chips and dusted them with sifted confectioner's sugar before popping them in the oven.

success!

There you have it, very easy but definitely delicious and chewy chocolate chip cookies.

what's cooking, uh, baking?

I am on an adrenaline high..

Since I'm from the night shift I sleep in the morning until around 7pm.

Today was different, though. I slept at around 11am and was already awake by 2pm. I was supposed to sleep again but I thought of baking the choco-banana cupcake batter that's been sitting in my fridge for 24hrs.

Okay, let me backtrack a bit.

I thought of baking choco-banana cupcakes the other day, after getting my daily dose of Miss Connie's site. Hehe. I have been scouring the internet for baking supply stores lately, and while I have checked out Ingrid's Sweet Haven last Saturday, I wasn't very satisfied with what I've seen. Hehe.

Since I'm just using a convection oven, the usual size of the different kinds of bakeware available in the market don't fit my oven - it's just around 12in in diameter. Anyway, since I'm just starting out, I really don't have all the tools I need, and I can't afford splurging on baking tools just yet.

But I've been itching to bake some cupcakes and I don't want to wait til I get myself a decent muffin pan.. Guess what I did? I bought those aluminum mamon molds and decided to use them as muffin pans instead. It's not entirely different, right?

So yeah, I decided to bake some cupcakes. My first batch didn't turn out perfect, the tops broke and it looked a bit toasted. But it tasted good. Yes, self-preservation is the key. :)

Going back to what happened today... I really intended to leave some cupcake batter, just in case my first try was a fail.

Before baking, I added a little milk to the batter and folded the mixture. I prepped my makeshift muffin pans and lined them with muffin paper which I just bought from The Cocoa Pantry.

Without further ado, here's the recipe. (Dami kasing daldal!)

I adapted Miss Connie's Choco-Banana Cupcake recipe and Joy of Baking's Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe. Hehe. I don't care if it's cupcake or muffin, if it tastes good, eat it! :)


1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs (the original recipe called for 2 large eggs, but the eggs I used looked pretty small)
1c milk or cream (I used 1 cup evaporated milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2c all-purpose flour
2/3c brown sugar (should be white, but I never got the hang of buying white sugar, so...)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed (it should've been more, but again, I didn't have enough)
1c semisweet chocolate chips


I mostly followed the Joy of Baking's procedure...


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups.


In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. 


In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips and mashed bananas. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 


Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. In a small bowl combine the topping ingredients and then sprinkle a little topping on each muffin. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

The second batch of cupcakes-slash-muffins turned out good. Yummy. :)

almost perfect choco-banana cupcakes.

Now that I think about it, if I'll do this recipe again, I think I'd use half cup of milk and half cup of cream and cream the butter with the sugar instead of melting it. I'd probably mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together and alternately mix the flour mixture with the eggs . And I'd add the chocolate chips and bananas last. Just like how Miss Connie did it.

That's a note to myself and I better remember it next time. We'll see. :)

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Up next: Chocolate Chip Cookies!