when it comes to the kitchen, i'm no chef. practising legit cooking and baking has only come with marriage, and it's been quite the journey. i've discovered that i actually quite enjoy experimental baking and have had great feedback with it, but it might be awhile before i feel that way with meals.
regardless, i'm always trying new things, so although i'll never be at the level of publishing my own creations, i'm definitely in the position to review. check out some of my latest favourites (and maybe one or two i didn't like)!
keep in mind
*i like it simple *i like using ingredients i already have at home *i like it quick
and really, who can argue with that?
DESSERTS
pumpkin brownies: it may almost be xmas, but pumpkin is still in right? tried out these pumpkin brownies for our going away party, but used my family recipe for the brownies instead. no, it did not turn out nearly as pretty (no pix sorry). yes, people quite enjoyed it. personally i wouldn't make it again. it was easy enough but it would pretty hard to make it look as cute as my ladies @ beautiful mess did.
http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2015/10/marble-pumpkin-brownies.html
cotton candy cupcakes: did this for my lil sis's bachelorette party. whenever i see cotton candy i think of her; she's got a crazy sweet tooth (like yours truly) and loves her cotton candy. i stressed and stressed over this one. i actually went between both these recipes to make mine, and was heartbroken when i felt like the end result wasn't cotton candy-ish enough. HOWEVER the feedback was amazing (i'm a little hard on myself). everyone at the party and my family were obsessed. definitely gotta make these again.
the cupcakes themselves were the least cotton candy flavoured though i put in over a cup's worth. i would suggest to even double that, but don't expect the flavour to stand out.
the icing was what was really loved. i melted the cotton candy into milk, again using probably double what suggested. then after it was all mixed, i added a ton more cotton candy chunks into it.
don't overmix either parts! or else the cotton candy totally disappears.
http://browniesandbows.blogspot.ca/2011/02/cotton-candy-buttercream-frosting.html
http://bakingdom.com/2011/07/honeydukes-candyfloss-cupcakes-and-an-awesome-harry-potter-giveaway.html (didn't use icing recipe from this)
it also made for an adorable display... if only i had better than an awkward birds' eye view.
'paleo' brownies: i know there's a million recipes out there like this right now (flourless! only takes two ingredients!), but honestly half of them taste like dirt, so i'm excited when i find a keeper.
it definitely contained more sugar than i hoped, so i scaled back a couple teaspoons on the maple syrup and about a quarter less of chocolate chips. i only had peanut butter on hand (wompwomp) but luckily the pb had pretty much no sugar in it. i think what also made this recipe better than a lot was that you mix all the ingredients while heating. i kept it on low the whole time, trying to be quick with adding things in, and then quickly spatulaed (that should be a word!) it into a pan greased with olive oil. used my oven on convection, and tried to spread the batter out, so it was done in a little over twenty minutes. take it out while it's slightly still moist (the top should be totally done), and let it cool.
my family was surprised that they all loved it!
http://easypeas-y.blogspot.ca/2012/03/paleo-brownies.html
-teen
