Thank you, Baking Bites!

if you are looking for the perfect cookie to dip in milk, you've found it.

So for the past couple of weeks, I have been avidly searching for the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe.
And, I believe I have found it, and have also discovered the secret to amazing chocolate chip cookies.

I began my search about 3 weeks ago one night, when one of my dearest friends came over quite distressed. I decided to bake some cookies with her (chocolate chip by request), for it was one of those I-need-some-milk-and-cookies moments. I looked up some of my bookmarked recipes on blogspot, and the one that stood out was the one from Bakingsheet. (AKA, Baking Bites)
So, my friend and I whipped up these babies, cheering up in the process, and were very, VERY satisfied. Especially with the whole organic milk we ate them with and dipped them in. THEY WERE SO YUMMY.


(thanks, flickr)

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(thanks to the Best Recipe)
2 cups plus 2 tbsp ap flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter (12 tbsp), melted and cooled until just warm
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (you can actually use as much as you want, and I recommend a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chunks/chips)

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, followed by chocolate chips.

Drop by (scant) 1/4 cups onto the baking sheet and pat lightly so the cookie is an even thickness, not a ball shape. Cookies will spread as they bake and this ensures a more even spread. I actually just went ahead and spread my dough into perfectly rounded cookies, they were so buttery and melty a bit, so were easy to mold. They held their shape too!

Bake at 325F for 15-17 minutes, until just turning light brown all over.
The edges should only be very slightly more brown, if at all, from the rest of the cookie. Allow cookies to cool before removing them from the baking sheet.
Makes 18-24 large cookies

Mine cooked for 14 minutes I believe, but one of the cookies was a little bit undercooked. But otherwise, very, very moist and scrumptious!



THE SECRET TO AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES.
I'm pretty sure the secret, is lots and lots of butter. (sorry for those of you looking for "light" recipes...)
All of the butter (about a stick and a half) give the cookie a shortbread-like flavor, and incredibly fantastic texture. The buttery, shortbread-like flavor works perfectly with milk chocolate chips, and complements the cookie as a whole, making them EXTREMELY satisfying and amazing.

I definately, DEFINATELY recommend these cookies as a makes-you-feel-better type recipe, and are best when just, JUST browned, so extra moist, and just out of the oven.
PERFECT WITH MILK AS WELL.

Amish Friendship Bread, Pt 2

This, is a picture of the finished product.


I borrowed it from flickr, because my digital camera is currently not working. I'll upload my own pictures probably tomorrow.
That picture up there is from someone who made the bread in the loaf pan.

MY REVELATIONS ABOUT THE "CAKE".

A. Last night, for my dessert, I had quite the slice of this bread, with some of Breyers' all-natural vanilla ice cream, and some very, very ripe strawberry slices.
It was amazing! It was beyond amazing! It made me realize that, that dessert is the more perfect form of a sort of strawberry shortcake, and that strawberries and cream work wonderfully amazing together. I know, DUH on the last part, right?

Well, I had never really been a fan of strawberries and creme, but strawberries and ice cream? Or strawberries and freshly whipped cream? Fantastic.

So, B. Tonight, just a little while ago, I found a Dove milk chocolate Solid bunny from easter and cracked that baby open. While I was munching on his cute little nose, I looked in front of me at the table, dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a spoon, and shoved a big hunk of that Amish friendship bread into my mouth along with the chocolate.

Best. Thing. EVER.
It was so amazing, dove chocolate is so silky and yummy, and the cinnamon flavor of the moist cake? Perfecto. It was like every person's dream of the perfect chocolate chip muffin, of some sort.
Yeah. A cinnamon sweet bread, with milk chocolate. It never really occured to me that that would be delicious, but it was so much more than that.


so the next thing I will be baking will be, yup you guessed it, Cinnamon Muffins with Milk Chocolate Chips.
I plan on maknig them tomorrow night.

Amish Friendship Bread.

So, about two weeks ago, a friend of mine gave me an Amish Friendship Bread recipe and starter. Upon looking at the recipe, I discovered much to my dismay, that the delicious-sounding recipe would not have immediate satisfaction. I had been craving something freshly baked for a few days, but my cravings would have to hold out for another, *gulp*, TEN DAYS.

The Amish Friendship Bread. It is a "cake" as I like to call it that is typically cinnamon flavored. It is a ten-day recipe, but well worth the waiting, and super simple to make. I'm pretty sure it is called the "friendship" bread because when you are through with the recipe, you have to give out three of bread recipes to friends.
The recipe starts with an Amish "starter"; simply yeast, sugar, milk, flour, eggs, and vanilla. I'm not sure about the exact recipe, it being an "Amish secret" and all, but here is the recipe for the rest of the bread.



AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD.
(Amish friendship cinnamon bundt cake)



DO NOT REFRIGERATE. When there is air in the bag, open it and let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.

Day 1: Do nothing with the batter.
Day 2: Mush the bag. Simply mush around the contents of the bag by lightly pressing down on it with the palm of your hand. Let the air out of the bag, and reseal it.
Day 3: Mush the bag. Do the same as day 2.
Day 4: Do the same thing.
Day 5: Do the same thing.

Day 6: Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of flour, and 1 cup of milk to the bag. Seal it, and mush it.

Day 7: Mush the bag, let out air.
Day 8: Mush the bag, do the same thing.
Day 9: Mush the bag, do the same thing.

Day 10: Follow the instructions--

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a NON-metal bowl and add:
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 cup milk

Measure out four separate batters of 1 cup each into four one gallon ziplock bags. Keep one bag of starter for yourself and give the other three to friends along with these instructions. If you keep one bag for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days.
NOTE: My recipe, which I have made twice now, only came out to THREE cups, so I dont know whats up with this recipe.

The bread is very good and makes a great gift. "only the Amish" know how to create the starter (though im sure you could find it online), so if you give all the bags away, you will have to wait until someone gives you a starter!

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 large loaf pans or you may use a bundt pan. I used a bundt pan both times and it came out fantastic!

Sift dry ingredients. Woops, i just reread this, and I forgot to do this BOTH times I made the bread, but mine still came out amazing.

To the remaining batter in the bowl, add:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanillla
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 large box vanilla pudding (the first time I used instant, which was WONDERFUL, and the second time i used the 'cook and serve' which still came out great, but I prefer the instant for this bread)

Split the batter equally between the two pans, or evenly into the bundt pan. Mix an additional 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of each loaf. ( I only used about 1/3 cup of the mix, and the top came out nice and crispy)

BAKE FOR ONE HOUR.
Cool until bread loosens from the pan evenly. Enjoy!


I loved this cake because of the crispy top and soft, moist, delicious middle. It tastes amazing!

Okay,

So, first off, I have created this blog to share my discoveries of mixing flavors, recipes, etc. in the kitchen.
Within the past few months, I have been increasingly looking on bloggers' websites for tasty new recipes and experiments to try. I have come to realize that I LOVE to bake, and it is a very interesting, seemingly endless world of possibilities of concoctions of fantastic flavors.

SO. I give to you my insight on different recipes I have tried, will try, and would love to try.
I will expand on this post more later.
:D