Lovin' From the Oven

Mint Oreo Truffles

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Have I mentioned how much I adore Bakerella? She comes up with the cutest ideas paired with the simplest recipes. They can make anyone seem like a pro baker! This is the second recipe that I’ve made from her website; the first were her cupcake pops that were a huge hit as well!

Now, a little story to the background of this picture. I was driving with my boyfriend to his niece’s bday party (yes, this is finally the last of what I baked for that event & no, I was NOT the one driving.. I wouldn’t encourage taking pictures while driving, that’s dangerous) carrying my long and beloved cupcake carrier filled with goodies. This cupcake carrier is great because it can comfortably hold 24 frosted cupcakes with stability and perfection, or turn into 4 layers of support when you need to stack cookies/brownies/bars. On the way there, I realized that I had taken pictures of every other baked goods to blog about except for my oreo truffles! Total bust! Luckily, I had my point and shoot camera with me (I carry that everywhere I go since it’s so lightweight and you never know when you’re gonna need to take a picture) to save the day!

As my boyfriend is driving, merging on freeways, stopping at lights, and making turns, I manage to line up some of the truffles onto my cupcake carrier and take a picture for my blog. The truffles were sliding all over the place after each shot, but I did somehow get a legitimate picture. Too bad I couldn’t take a picture of how it looked inside, that would’ve made a HUGE mess inside the car. At the end of the five minutes of my truffle photoshoot/chaos, my boyfriend goes, “You’re gonna write about this [how chaotic it was for me to take the pictures] on your blog, huh?” Heck yes, I am.

These truffles were extremely delicious. Moist on the inside, and perfect to bring along. These were, by far, the biggest hit at the party… probably because there were a lot of mint chocolate lovers. I melted Wilton dark chocolate candy melts and Wilton blue candy melts for the coating.

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos – Cool Mint Flavor – (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
chocolate bark or candy coating

  1. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
  2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.
  3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
  4. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.
  5. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
  6. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

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So I finally had time to go to the two story Crate & Barrel that opened by my house, and absolutely fell in love. I walked through the entire store twice just to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. I cannot wait until the day comes that I am able to decorate my own house. I have a secret love for interior decorating and even decorated my friend’s entire house last year! He let me choose everything, including the wall moldings, paint color, flooring, kitchen counters/cabinets, and furniture. I get such a kick from matching patterns and color palettes to see what materials blend the best. One of my guilty pleasures is home improvement magazines. I have a subscription to Better Home & Gardens and have no problem admitting that it’s my favorite magazine. My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy for it, but who will be the one laughing when it’s time to decorate a house/entertain guests/clean/cook and find fun ideas and tips? Not me.

Anyways, back to Crate & Barrel, there are so many useless kitchen gadgets that I want! I managed to hold back with the poor college student budget that I have and just walk out with a pastry dough scraper. It’s always been on my list of things to get (along with a kitchen scale and a pastry blender) and now I finally have it. I’m starting my kitchen gadget collection early, so that when I have my own kitchen, it’ll be well equipped with all my baking needs.

Who doesn’t love snickerdoodles? I think that these are always a definite crowd pleaser, no matter what the audience. Kids, Teens, Grown-ups.. they all love them. I brought these to the birthday party mentioned in my last post and they were the first to disappear. This is the one cookie that I bake when I am absolutely clueless on what to bring to a party or social gathering. I bake this the most out of all my baked goods, and people never get tired of it. As a matter of fact, they just keep asking for it! In my opinion, any snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar is NOT a snickerdoodle! That is what makes the cookie, so don’t omit it! As I’ve figured, it’s a lot cheaper to buy cream of tartar online rather than in the stores. You can always buy it in bulk and store the rest in a air-sealed can/bag for later.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
  3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
  4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.


Chocolate Chip Toffee Walnut Cookies

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I baked a bunch for my boyfriend’s niece’s birthday party on Sunday, and these were one of the treats that I brought. They were delightful and turned out perfect! The adults loved them more than the kids, though (probably because of the walnuts). I think the combination of toffee and anything always turn out good, so you can’t go wrong with this recipe. These cookies are thick, chewy, and sturdy. I imagine that they’d be perfect for shipping across the states to someone, for they stack up well upon one another and can handle a lot of moving without breaking.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee bits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee bits and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
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Now, my boyfriend’s niece had a princess birthday party and absolutely LOVES all the Disney princesses. She was turning 3 this year, and I decided to do something fun and creative for her. I made her her own mini princess purse! At first, I bought a plain mini canvas tote and sketched some of the princesses on it. Hah, whoever knew that a baker was capable of other things than just baking, right?

This is how one side looked like after sketching, all free hand!
And a little bit of paint later…(Yes, I used an eyeliner brush. I find that they make the best paintbrushes and I don’t wear make up, so why not?)

Voila! Finished product of both sides. She loved it! I also got her a huge Disney princess puzzle kit thing.

For the paint, I used a bit of acrylic paint mixed with textile medium, which is really the greatest thing ever invented. That is also the only brand that I use, Ceramcoat. I’ve experimented with a lot of acrylic paints and always come back to that one. Anyways, medium textile turns any acrylic paint into fabric paint. It also saves you money because fabric paint is a lot more expensive to buy than acrylic paint.

If you want to buy a canvas tote bag, you can find one HERE.

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