Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Lovin' From the Oven: Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lovin' From the Oven: Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 package Oreo cookies
- Cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry mix to the wet mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Refrigerate the dough for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop a ball of cookie dough on top of the Oreo and another below, sandwiching the Oreo in between. Flatten the cookie dough and seal the sides, completely covering the Oreo.
- Place the cookies at least two inches apart on a baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
10 Quirky Science Tricks for Kids/Parties
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/5827447/10-quirky-science-tricks-for-parties
Condensed Milk Fudge
Cooking For Engineers
Recipe File
Condensed Milk Fudge
Fudge is a soft, finely grained (almost gritty) candy made from sugar syrup, cream, and butter. Making sure the sugar forms small fine crystals is essential to producing the right texture. Most traditional fudge recipes require patience, timing, and quick action to produce the right sized crystals. This recipe produces a confection that looks like fudge and tastes like fudge, but without the effort of making fudge from a sugar syrup.
The only ingredients you need for this recipe are one pound of chocolate chips (both semi-sweet and dark work well), 4 Tbs. butter, and a 14 ounce (net weight) can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk). The chocolate chips can be replaced or blended with peanut butter chips for to make peanut butter fudge or chocolate-peanut fudge. (If you like peanut butter swirls, you'll need to melt the peanut butter chips separately and swirl them in later.) Note that one pound of chocolate chips is the same as three cups of chocolate chips - not two.
This recipe is so easy, you can even do it in the microwave oven. Use a microwave oven safe bowl and microwave until the chocolate is glistening and begins to melt (be careful not to overheat in the microwave or the chocolate will burn). For the purposes of this article, I'll be using a bain-marie. Heating chocolate indirectly over the gentle heat of steam will make it more difficult to overheat.
Throw the butter and chocolate chips into a medium metal bowl or double boiler. Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top.
Fill a small pot with about an inch of water and bring it to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat so the water is barely simmering.
Place the metal bowl on top of the pot to make a bain-marie. (If you have a double boiler, by all means, use it instead.) Make sure the bottom of the bowl is suspended above the water level itself (it's best to check this when you first start bringing the water to a boil since working with cool water and an empty bowl is easier than steaming water and a boil filled with two pounds of fudge ingredients.) Make sure the water is gently releasing steam - accidentally allowing too much moisture to settle on your chocolate could cause it to seize resulting in clumping. In my experience, this particular recipe is fairly forgiving, so don't worry too much.
While the ingredients are gently heating, butter an 8 in. square baking dish. I should mention a couple of tips here that may help with unmolding the fudge after it has set. Once the pan is buttered, lay two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper down onto the buttered surface. The sheets should be longer than the container (a little more than twelve inches should be fine) and should be laid down perpendicular to each other. The butter will help keep the plastic wrap in place while you pour the fudge and after the fudge is set, you can use the ends that overflow the container to lift out the fudge. In the following pictures, I just buttered the baking pan and had to work at it a little to unmold the fudge one section at a time.
After a few minutes over the heat, start mixing the melting chocolate together with the melting butter. Keep alternating between mixing and heating until all the ingredients are blended together (use your spatula to scape down the sides of the bowl at least once). At this point, if you want to add fancy components (like chopped walnuts, peanut butter for swirling, etc.) do so.
Pour the fudge into the baking dish. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl clean.
Level the fudge with your spatula.
I don't like putting hot items into my refrigerator, so I like to use an aluminum half sheet pan as a heat sink. Pour a little cold water into the pan and place the fudge in the middle of the pan. A few ice cubes will help keep the aluminum cool as it takes on heat from the bottom of the baking pan. After about ten minutes, slip the fudge into the refrigerator for chilling and setting.
Once the fudge has set, about two hours, cut into squares.
This is a fun recipe to play with. Additional ingredients can be melted in or mixed in before pouring. Two different fudges (like chocolate and peanut butter or dark chocolate and white chocolate) can be made and poured on top of each other to produce different effects (try pouring on a top layer before the bottom layer fully sets).
Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
Absurdly Easy Peanut Butter Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
The only ingredients you need for this recipe are one pound of chocolate chips (both semi-sweet and dark work well), 4 Tbs. butter, and a 14 ounce (net weight) can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk). The chocolate chips can be replaced or blended with peanut butter chips for to make peanut butter fudge or chocolate-peanut fudge. (If you like peanut butter swirls, you'll need to melt the peanut butter chips separately and swirl them in later.) Note that one pound of chocolate chips is the same as three cups of chocolate chips - not two.This recipe is so easy, you can even do it in the microwave oven. Use a microwave oven safe bowl and microwave until the chocolate is glistening and begins to melt (be careful not to overheat in the microwave or the chocolate will burn). For the purposes of this article, I'll be using a bain-marie. Heating chocolate indirectly over the gentle heat of steam will make it more difficult to overheat.
Throw the butter and chocolate chips into a medium metal bowl or double boiler. Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top.Fill a small pot with about an inch of water and bring it to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat so the water is barely simmering.
Place the metal bowl on top of the pot to make a bain-marie. (If you have a double boiler, by all means, use it instead.) Make sure the bottom of the bowl is suspended above the water level itself (it's best to check this when you first start bringing the water to a boil since working with cool water and an empty bowl is easier than steaming water and a boil filled with two pounds of fudge ingredients.) Make sure the water is gently releasing steam - accidentally allowing too much moisture to settle on your chocolate could cause it to seize resulting in clumping. In my experience, this particular recipe is fairly forgiving, so don't worry too much.
While the ingredients are gently heating, butter an 8 in. square baking dish. I should mention a couple of tips here that may help with unmolding the fudge after it has set. Once the pan is buttered, lay two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper down onto the buttered surface. The sheets should be longer than the container (a little more than twelve inches should be fine) and should be laid down perpendicular to each other. The butter will help keep the plastic wrap in place while you pour the fudge and after the fudge is set, you can use the ends that overflow the container to lift out the fudge. In the following pictures, I just buttered the baking pan and had to work at it a little to unmold the fudge one section at a time.
After a few minutes over the heat, start mixing the melting chocolate together with the melting butter. Keep alternating between mixing and heating until all the ingredients are blended together (use your spatula to scape down the sides of the bowl at least once). At this point, if you want to add fancy components (like chopped walnuts, peanut butter for swirling, etc.) do so.
Pour the fudge into the baking dish. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl clean.
Level the fudge with your spatula.
I don't like putting hot items into my refrigerator, so I like to use an aluminum half sheet pan as a heat sink. Pour a little cold water into the pan and place the fudge in the middle of the pan. A few ice cubes will help keep the aluminum cool as it takes on heat from the bottom of the baking pan. After about ten minutes, slip the fudge into the refrigerator for chilling and setting.
Once the fudge has set, about two hours, cut into squares.This is a fun recipe to play with. Additional ingredients can be melted in or mixed in before pouring. Two different fudges (like chocolate and peanut butter or dark chocolate and white chocolate) can be made and poured on top of each other to produce different effects (try pouring on a top layer before the bottom layer fully sets).
Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
| 16 oz. (450 g) chocolate chips | combine | melt | mix | pour into mold | chill to set |
| 4 Tbs. (57 g) butter | |||||
| 14 oz. (396 g) can sweetened condensed milk |
Absurdly Easy Peanut Butter Fudge (makes 16 2-in. squares)
| 16 oz. (450 g) peanut butter chips | combine | melt | mix | pour into mold | chill to set |
| 4 Tbs. (57 g) butter | |||||
| 14 oz. (396 g) can sweetened condensed milk |
Monday, May 9, 2011
Lace Manicure DIY
LOVE THIS IDEA!!!
Very cool Harry Potter drawings
http://lucylou.livejournal.com/593585.html
First four books in easy to look at cartoon
First four books in easy to look at cartoon
Did you know in the English Language
- Did you know no words in the English language rhyme with the words angel, angst, breadth, bulb, depth, eighth, month, ninth, orange, purple, scalp or twelfth
- Did you know the most commonly used letter in the alphabet is E
- Did you know the least used letter in the alphabet is Q
- Did you know 'I am.' is the shortest complete sentence
- Did you know skiing is the only word with double i
- Did you know dreamt is the only word that ends in mt
- Did you know the first letters of the months July through to November spell JASON
- Did you know there are only 4 words in the English language which end in 'dous' (they are: hazardous, horrendous, stupendous and tremendous)
- Did you know the oldest word in the English language is 'town'
- Did you know 'Bookkeeper' and 'bookkeeping' are the only 2 words in the English language with three consecutive double letters
- Did you know the word 'Strengths' is the longest word in the English language with just one vowel
- Did you know the dot on top of the letter 'i' is called a tittle
- Did you know the past tense for the English word 'dare' is 'durst'
- Did you know the word 'testify' derived from a time when men were required to swear on their testicles
- Did you know The first English dictionary was written in 1755
- Did you know the word old English word 'juke' meaning dancing lends its name to the juke box
- Did you know 1 out of every 8 letters written is an e
- Did you know the longest one syllable word in the English language is 'screeched'
- Did you know all pilots on international flights identify themselves in English regardless of their country of origin
- Did you know the expression to 'knuckle down' originated from playing marbles (players used to put their knuckles to the ground for their best shots)
- Did you know the word 'almost' is the longest in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order
- Did you know the most commonly used word in English conversation is 'I'
More can be found at http://www.did-you-knows.com/... from dates to animals. Hheheh Amazingly fun site!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
cute frog cake
This frog cake was made with a single cake mix. I used a 9in circle cake pan, and an 8in square and 2 cupcakes without liners.
I cut 2 L shapes out of the square for legs and curved the tops and feet of them. I left the circle cake rounded without leveling it and used toothpicks to attach the cupcake eyes and L shaped legs. |
Frosting for the frog cake was homemade buttercream. I frosted the eyes white smooth and added smooth blue. Then with a lighter shade of green, randomly added spots with a star tip. Then I filled in the rest with a darker green all the way down the sides, added a black line for a mouth and also cut a strip of fruit roll-ups for the tongue. I made extra cupcakes that looked like lily pads and with the black icing added little flies.
From http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/frog-cake.html#frog06
Very cute Bat cake... real easy.
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/10/bat-cake-how-to-and-other-fun-cake-ideas.html
Friday, May 6, 2011
Cheeky Mouthful - Home
Cheeky Mouthful - Home
OH MY GOD!!!! Had the most yummiest cupcakes from here (Mrs Higgens on Lambton Quay) for ages. This is what i recon cupcakes should taste like. If only you could get it out of welly =(
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sophie, Kelly's Ex Flatmate
170g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white chocolate melts
1/2 cup dark chocolate melts
1.Preheat oven to 170c or 338f.
2.Cream butter and sugar.
3. Mix in the remaining ingredients - eggs, flour, essence, baking soda, chocolate melts.
4. On a lined baking tray, spoon about a tablespoon (plus a little more) into a ball and press down. Leave atleast a 1cm between as they spread a little.
5. Bake for 10min, until to is slightly brown and cooked in top but still soft to the touch. If you leave too long, the whole cookie will become very hard. This cookie should be just cooked on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.
6. Place on a rack (they will be soft and feel uncooked but hard up on the outside to leave a nice soft inside)
Note: I found this on another baking site and thought it was a cool idea. If you forgot to let your butter soften... grate it :D
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
oreo stuffer chocolate chip cookies
d.i.y. oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookie
March 24, 2011 by
Image via Picky Palate
While browsing around some of my favorite cooking blogs a couple of weeks ago, I came across the most outstanding image: an Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookie. Could it be possible? My 2 favorite cookies sandwiched together to make 1 glorious confection? It is possible indeed. I know this because I tried it myself last Sunday. (And yes, they taste just as delicious as they look.) I used Picky Palate’s simple recipe and was finished with the entire process within an hour. Note: These are serious cookies! I like to refer to them as the “1-and-done” cookies because 1 is about all you can eat at a time. If you love cookies just as much as I do, then follow along below to create your own Cookie-Monster treat.
Materials:
2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 package of Oreo cookies (*I used Double Stuff Oreos. No skimping on my cookies.)
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugars and butter with a mixer until well mixed.
Step 2: Once your sugars and butter are well mixed, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix your flour, salt and baking soda. Once these are well mixed, slowly add them to the wet ingredients. Mix in your chocolate chips.
Step 4: (Already looks delicious…) Using a cookie scoop, place one scoop of cookie dough on bottom of an Oreo. Take another scoop of cookie dough and place it on top of an Oreo. Press the cookie dough until Oreo is completely enclosed with dough.
Step 5: Place cookies onto a cookie a sheet. Bake cookies in the oven for 9-13 minutes. My cookies took around 12 minutes until they were a golden brown color.
Step 6: Almost finished! Remove them from the oven and let them cool. They are enormous cookies!
Step 7: Voilá! You’re finished. Enjoy them with a glass of milk!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Nutella Brownies Recipe
10Feb2010 Filed under: Recipes Author: yummy
What is it about Nutella that just puts everybody in a craze???
Last week, for all you Nutella fans, we celebrated Nutella Day where the entire blogosphere (or at least that’s what it felt like) joined together and enjoyed cans and cans of Nutella! So many recipes poured in from Nutella Lava Cakes to Nutella Bread. Yours truly decided to make Nutella Brownies. But these brownies were extra special because it was made in honor of ThatsSoYummy’s 1yr Blogiversary.
I had promised you all some step-by-step photos of my Nutella Surprise… well here they are and trust me this one is one you DO NOT wanna miss out on! 
Oh yea make sure you have a TALL glass of cold milk next to you!
Gather all of your ingredients together: Butter, Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Eggs, Flour, Cocoa Powder, Salt, Baking Powder, Nutella, and Chocolate Chips.
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then set the bowl aside.
On low heat, melt the butter sticks in a small pot.
Then add the vanilla and sugar while stirring the mixture until well combined. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool. I poured the butter/sugar mixture into a medium bowl to cool.
Once the butter/sugar mixture is completely cooled add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each time.
Add the cocoa/flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually, until completely mixed together.
Heat a nutella container in the microwave for a bout 40 seconds. You want the nutella to have a runny consistency which will allow the nutella to pour easily. Add the nutella to the batter and mix well.
Lastly add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.
Pour your batter into a buttered square pan… I like to add parchment paper to my pan before pouring my brownie batter inside. This makes it easier to take the brownies out after they bake and cool. Bake for 30 minutes.
Now at this time you can give your little ones the bowl and let them have a field day… trust me they will love you!
Remove from oven and cool completely. I placed my brownies in the fridge after they cooled to make sure that they came together and was not runny. Due to its chocolate amounts the brownie may be sticky and fudgey inside, which to me is the best way to eat them but to make sure they were not falling apart. I left mine in there for a few hours, but you could always leave them in there overnight and decorate the following day.
Enjoy!
Nutella Brownie Surprise
Brownie Batter
1 cup butter, unsalted
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Topping
Nutella
White chcolate chips
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then set the bowl aside.
On low heat, melt the butter sticks in a small pot. Then add the vanilla and sugar while stirring the mixture until well combined. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool. I poured the butter/sugar mixture into a medium bowl to cool.
Once the butter/sugar mixture is completely cooled add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each time.
Add the cocoa/flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually, until completely mixed together.
Heat a nutella container in the microwave for a bout 40 seconds. You want the nutella to have a runny consistency which will allow the nutella to pour easily. Add the nutella to the batter and mix well. Lastly add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.
Pour your batter into a buttered square pan… I like to parchment paper to my pan before pouring my brownie batter inside. This makes it easier to take your brownies out after they bake and cool. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely. I placed my brownies in the fridge after they cooled to make sure that they came together and was not runny. Due to its chocolate amounts the brownie may be sticky and fudgey inside, which to me is the best way to eat them but to make sure they were not falling apart. I left mine in there for a few hours, but you could always leave them in there overnight and decorate the following day.
Take the completely cooled brownies out of the fridge and cut in squares. Then pour a tablespoon of nutella on each brownie square. Then sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips on top. I did not have white chocolate chips but had a white chocolate bar that I just chopped up in small pieces. Either way it works.
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