the urge.. to bake.
I'm bashful to think that i like to do it so often. me. the sugar. the eggs, the chocolate. The sound the spatula makes as you take off a warm cookie from the pan to dry. my mouth waters just thinking about it. I love baking. Not only do I love sugar though, I really just love the process of baking. its calming for me. there are instructions, ingredients, directions really - and about 98% of the time you will always produce a delectable treat, amaze your friends, and delight all audiences. its amazing!
So for the cookies I made tonight, I got the recipe online, at the cake-blog thingy. It was so cool. i loved the article. and I thought to myself...why not write...a blog? I could document all of the things I bake, improve my writing skills and have a creative outlet. I have recently grown so dull due to too much memorization in my head and suppression of any real fun. baking allows me to escape from the books and just be with me, the good, and some funky tunes, mixing away.
This blog won't have too much format, but at minimum it will go like this: When I bake (or want to bake) I will post the recipient, pictures of the product and reflect on how it went (and anything else I feel like talking about). The trial run of this format will happen here. right now. in just a few sentences. or lines. or seconds. (however you like to think about these things).
Friday night, 4/9/10. Another night on duty.
But this night, i knew from the beginning, was going to be special. I have been exploring the cutest blog recently - its called cakespy - check it out: http://www.cakespy.com/. its the cutest sugar coated blog I've ever seen! (but i haven't seen that many....) anyways I wanted to bake some cookies, and found this interesting recipe that looked as though it could empty my supplies a bit (I need to use all of my baking supplies up before summer!). The recipe is called "Cowboy Cookies" and apparently its by martha (a good sign for impending excellence).
The cookies consist of a your basic chocolate chip cookies along with its new good friends oatmeal, coconut and any sort of nuts you have (I used pecans and walnuts). They were fairly easy and fun to use. My favorite part was using my new spatula (AMAZING) and some organic wheat flour that was on sale (yay!). Oh - that and wielding this giant cutting knife my dear friend and fellow RA Abby lent me - this was used to create the chocolate chips. the source? a 14 oz. solid dark chocolate easter bunny. mmmmmmm.....
the cookies are beautiful. they are chunky and hearty with just the right fluffiness and CRUNCH! if you are interested the recipe is below. I had a realization while baking though. I need better equipment. Yeah, yeah, im a cheap college student but when your cheap target measuring cup has the labels rubbed off and is cracked all over the place, its not the best situation. first thing on my list - a glass Pyrex measuring cup. i can see the beautiful image in my mind. someday....
the cookies and the sister of the bunny used....
Just the cookies alone....
I promise I'll get better at taking pictures of food. practice...just gotta practice....
Recipe:
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup)
- 3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves
- 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool. (Cookies can be stored up to 3 days.)
playlist: the magnetic fields
verdict: DELICIOUS!
until the next lonely night.....
they pyranose producer
