Blueberry Muffins

I grew up knowing about Jiffy mix, but I had never actually tried it before. It wasn't until I read this article that I was reminded of it, and I decided to try it out. A company that has been around since the Great Depression and provides mixes for a much lower price than its competitors is a company that I want to support.

Classic, instantly recognizable packaging.

One of the most frequent complaints in the article's comments were that Jiffy mix came out a bit dry. I searched online until I found this simple way to spruce them up, and I got to baking. 

The instructions on the Jiffy packaging list one egg and one-fourth cup of milk as all you need. With the fancier instructions, I added water, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Because I ran out of baking tins, I filled them a little bit more than halfway full and baked then for about 15 minutes. I was worried that I made them a little too full, but they actually turned out fine.

Filled over halfway full, but they came out just fine.

These are a delight when fresh! White Dress thought they were quite buttery, was surprised to hear that I didn't add butter. They were still delicious when cool, but fresh muffins truly taste amazing. I will definitely be making these again, and I will try more Jiffy products. One thing I would do differently, though, is more evenly distribute the blueberries among the muffins. It wasn't a major problem, but I would have liked it for aesthetic reasons. 

Fresh muffin and a glass of milk, mmm! 

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Sweet Bread + Raspberry Syrup

JK is still baking bread. This time, we made a sweet bread and a raspberry dipping syrup to go with it.

JK got the recipe from a friend, so I unfortunately don't have a source for it (see end of this post for a copy of it). We didn't follow the recipe exactly; it says to form rolls, and we left it as more of a loaf and baked it in a bread pan. About two thirds through baking it, we pulled it out, spread some butter on the top, and popped it back in - it created this lovely crisp top.

While the bread was rising, we got to work on making the raspberry syrup. We put three pints of fresh raspberries in a pot with half a cup of sugar to start (we would eventually add in two cups of sugar in total to try to thicken it). After the raspberries released their juice, we passed the hot mixture through a strainer and threw out the seeds. We continued to cook the juice, adding in the remaining sugar in the hopes of thickening it into a syrup.

Boiling raspberry juice has the most delicious smell.

Results? The bread was a little dry, but that went very well with the raspberry syrup. The syrup was not very thick or viscous, but it served its purpose and the flavor was just fine. White Dress thought it was delicious, so I still consider this a success.

Great bread to soak up sweet raspberry syrup.

Sweet Bread

Ingredients:
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup canned milk
3/4 cup milk
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
2 Tsb butter
1 tsp salt
3-1/2 cups flour
1 egg

Dissolve yeast.
Combine milk, sugar, butter, salt. Cool to lukewarm
Add 1 cup flour. Beat 5 minutes
Beat in softened yeast and egg. Gradually add remaining flour. Cover and let rise. [We did for an hour]
Form rolls and place on greased pan. [We left it as a loaf] Let rise and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cheddar Cilantro Bread

Hello! We're back after a short hiatus, and we have baking stories to share.

For a reason that he himself can't explain, JK had been baking bread. He had baked every day last week, and on Friday, he asked me to bake cheddar cilantro bread with him. I've never tackled bread before, but I figured that it would be fun to learn.

For the most part, he was very faithful to this recipe. He was extremely excited about the first step: adding yeast to sugar and warm milk. "We're going to make some yeast very happy," he said cheerfully (he's a biologist - it figures this would be his favorite step). We set that aside and started making the other half of the dough: flour, salt, butter, and milk. When the yeast was done frothing up, we added that into the flour mixture.

Yeast mixture meets flour mixture.

Once that was evenly mixed, we kneaded the dough on a floured countertop. This is the part I was a little nervous about. JK mentioned how his bread had been coming out fluffy, and I didn't want to spoil that by overkneading and making the bread tough. JK also said that the best description he read about when to stop kneading dough is when it reaches the thickness of an earlobe. Once I was about that point, I had him approve of my work. We put it into an oiled bowl and let it rest for about an hour. 

As it turns out, there is a lot of waiting in breadmaking.

Next came JK's second favorite part. "You literally just punch the dough," he told me. The purpose is to get rid of any air, but it was still fun - how often do you get to punch something soft and squishy like that?

Once we were done punching it, we rolled it out and spread a thin layer of melted butter on top (unfortunately, we didn't have a brush). JK spread the cheddar over the bread, which he previously mixed with oregano, garlic salt, and a liberal amount of cilantro. Then, he folded the bread in on itself and kneaded it a little to mix the cheddar throughout; he pshawed the cutting and stacking in the recipe. 

He coated the exterior with more of the cheesy herb mix, and after it had rested again, we popped it into the oven for about forty minutes.

The lovely, cheesy result.

It turned out great! It was especially lovely warm, with the cheesy interior still gooey and warm. I would definitely love to make this bread again, and I hope JK will invite me to join him on more breadmaking adventures.

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substituted Edition

My dorm's kitchen can be very convenient. It stocks a lot of baking essentials - such as flour, eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, rice, butter, cream cheese, chocolate chips - as well as baking sheets, bowls, and measuring cups. Theoretically, I can walk in there and make some thing simple from scratch without buying anything myself.

Alas, that doesn't always happen.

As a stress reliever, I wanted to make the gooey chocolate chip cookies that I made JK. As I was gathering ingredients, I realized that the kitchen was out of eggs.

The kitchen is out of eggs?!

I pondered what to do. White Dress' opinion was that it was not worth it to run out and buy eggs, and I agreed. But I had other options, right? After searching online, I found this egg substitution: 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1.5 water, and 2 teaspoons baking powder for one egg. So far, so good - that is, until I went to add the white sugar and found out that the kitchen didn't have this either.

Seriously?!

Again, after searching online, I figured I could replace the white sugar with brown sugar, even though the recipe already called for brown sugar. I knew I was going to loose some of the great aeration that white sugar gives cookies, but I didn't have much of a choice.

I got stung by the kitchen's lack of supplies when they didn't have salt, and finally when it was time to add chocolate chips. While the kitchen usually has a large bag of chocolate chips that they keep regularly stocked, it wasn't there that night. Sigh. At this point, could I really be surprised? Luckily, I had a cup of semi-sweet chips and a cup of milk chocolate chips left over from making the boyfriend cookies a few weeks earlier.

An interesting property I noticed was that this time, it took a few minutes longer for these cookies to get brown around the edges. Also, due to the brown sugar substitution, they cracked pretty severely.

This is what cookies look like when you have to substitute practically everything in them.

The result? They were passable, but I definitely prefer the original recipe without substitutions. They were a little tough and chewy, and would probably taste best with milk, tea or coffee. The one positive is that these cookies held their shape much better than the previous ones I made for JK, although that may be because I baked them for a longer period of time. 

Spring break is coming up, and I am looking forward to baking with my mother. We usually make a small treat for me the day I leave so that I can bring fresh sweets with me back to university. My mother is a wonderful cook and baker, and I am excited to spend time with her. I just have to get through finals week first!

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had a dinner to go to Friday night and I wanted to bring a dessert, but I didn't have enough time to bake something from scratch. Fortunately, I had a cookie mix that would be really quick and easy to do.

Once again, Betty Crocker comes to the rescue.

I have really taken a liking to these Betty Crocker cookie mixes - so far, I've made peanut butter, pumpkin spice, and snickerdoodle, and they've come out quite well. With St. Patrick's Day not too far away, I thought this would be the most appropriate.

I just followed the directions on the back of the package, and they also have helpful substitution suggestions, so when I didn't want to use butter, I easily swapped that out for vegetable oil. Everything mixed together nicely, although I wouldn't suggest an electric mixer with this one due to the chocolate chips already being in the mix.

This is one batter you definitely want to hand mix.

In order to get more cookies, I made them on the smaller side and carefully watched them in the oven. It turns out that I got chewy cookies right around the eight minute mark rather than the ten minute mark suggested on the package. It just goes to show that you should always watch your cooking and take the baking time as a suggestion! 

Unfortunately, the chocolate chips got buried in the rest of the dough.

The result? Everyone who tried them at the dinner really seemed to like them, although I had to admit that they weren't made from scratch. Still, this is just another cookie mix from Betty Crocker that has worked out great for me - quick, easy, and enjoyable? When you're pressed for time, I would definitely suggest these.

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I usually spend my Thursday nights doing my math problem set, but my instructor pushed the due date back, leaving me with a free Thursday! Since JK was having a terrible week, I decided to bake him cookies to cheer him up.

I used this recipe and decided to make up my own mind if they really are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted. This recipe was a breeze to make, except that I ran into a major snag with the brown sugar. The bag was almost empty, and the only brown sugar left in there was in enormous clumps - I spent half an hour breaking up the clumps! According to a quick Google search, microwaving it for 30 second intervals would have also loosened it up. Oh well. I'll keep that in mind for next time. 

My dorm's kitchen, frustratingly enough, also didn't have vanilla. The last time I was in there, we had quite a large bottle of vanilla, but now it was nowhere to be found. Sigh. This is one reason why I dislike sharing a kitchen - when people don't put things back in their place, it creates an absolute mess. Thankfully, this was a nonessential ingredient - if I could't find the baking soda or flour, then I would be quite angry.

Adding in the chocolate chips this time was not nearly as bad as when making the boyfriend cookies. This recipe called for two cups of semisweet chocolate, and I was still able to mix it just fine. The recipe also called for I cup of chopped walnuts, but I decided to just stick with chocolate. 

Bursting with chocolate chips and waiting to go in the oven.

I popped them in the oven for about ten minutes, which was just enough time to bake them but still keep them chewy. In retrospect, I could have left them in there for a minute or so longer, because they were falling apart in the middle when I tried to get them off the cookie sheet.

Delicious, gooey chocolate chip cookies.

The result? The website doesn't lie - these really are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten. They were soft, gooey, and just the right amount of chocolate. JK really liked them, even though they fell apart quite easily; thankfully, they toughened up by the next day and were just right. I will definitely be making these again, and I am so happy I found this recipe!

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Nutella Cookies

When I found myself with an unusual batch of free time tonight, did I use it to study for my upcoming exams or get ahead in my work? Don't be silly. Unexpected free time is clearly baking time!

At White Dress' suggestion, I looked around for a quick recipe using Nutella, and I finally came upon a very simple, straightforward cookie recipe. However, disaster struck at the very first step: I only had a half cup of Nutella, but the recipe called for one cup. My quick fix was to change it to a half cup of Nutella and a half cup of peanut butter, thinking that the two flavors would complement each other. (Unfortunately, this move means that JK won't be tasting these cookies, since he doesn't like peanut butter.)

The resulting dough was easy enough to work with, and after my last encounter with the chocolate chip stuffed boyfriend cookies, I was extremely grateful at how little elbow grease I needed to get all the ingredients mixed together. These last few baking experiences have made me realize what I missed in my baking supply shopping spree: a wooden spoon (for easier mixing; it would also come in handy while making buttercream frosting without a mixer) and nested measuring cups (I have been using the nested measuring cups in my dorm's kitchen, but I will eventually need my own).

These baked for a little under seven minutes, and when I was done, I had eighteen cookies:

The Nutella + peanut butter hybrid cookies.

The result? Perhaps I'm not the best person to comment on that, actually. I'm not a big fan of peanut butter cookies, and the peanut butter flavor definitely overwhelmed the Nutella flavor - a little disappointing, but now I know which taste comes out on top after head-to-head combat. Apart from the taste, I don't have many complaints - they were soft and chewy, although I did destroy one trying to get it off of the cookie sheet. Hopefully, the next time I tackle these, they will be solely Nutella flavored - perhaps even Nutella stuffed cookies?

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Boyfriend Cookies

I'm beginning to suspect that I have an unhealthy relationship with Pinterest. One of my favorite quick study breaks is to scroll through the Food and Drink board and see if there are any baking ideas to repin; pretty soon, I have several tabs open with possible ideas to pin. One of the recipes that caught my eye was for boyfriend cookies. I still don't understand why they are called boyfriend cookies - apparently, there're for the person who wants to snag a boyfriend, get over a boyfriend, or surprise their boyfriend with a sweet treat. Regardless of the name, they looked like fun to make and a great way to use my new baking toys, so I asked JA if he wanted to help me bake and we got to it.

The one questionable thing about these cookies is the amount of chocolate and candy that the recipe calls for. I only ended up using a cup of milk chocolate chips, a cup of semisweet chocolate chips, and half a cup of plain M&Ms. Since I also wanted JK to enjoy these cookies, I didn't add in the Reese' Pieces or peanut butter chips since he isn't a fan of peanut butter. I'm also not partial to white chocolate either, so I left those out too. I left out a cup and a half worth of chocolate and candy, but the batter was already very difficult to mix - I honestly think it's fine with the two and a half cups of goodness already in there.

I also goofed while getting ready to pop these in the oven. I greased a few baking sheets before I read the recipe more closely and saw that it called for an ungreased baking sheet. Oh well, I thought. Greasing the sheet will only make the cookies come off easier. This won't have too much of an impact. Wrong! JA and I pulled the first batch out of the oven because we were convinced that we burned them - the bottoms turned a dark brown while the rest of the cookie was still turning golden brown - but it turns out that they weren't burnt at all. Having so much butter in the cookie and then having them bake in butter must have cooked the bottoms faster than the tops, so while ours didn't get burned, the first batch didn't look uniform at all. We fixed this by flattening out the rest of the cookies instead of putting little round balls of dough in the oven, but lesson learned - when it says don't grease the baking sheet, don't grease the baking sheet.

The gooey, finished product.

JA and I shared the cookies with several of our friends, and they were a big hit. They didn't hold together very well, although that could have been because they were fresh out of the oven. Several hours later, it was difficult to pick one up without it completely falling apart and unable to hold its own weight. Overall, this is a recipe I would make again. After all, I have yet to try these with peanut butter - JK may hate it, but I absolutely love it.

Until next time!
~Pink Heels

New Toys + Update

I've complained before about the state of my dorm's kitchen, but it is definitely something worth complaining about. Like any communal space shared by close to two hundred university students, it is in less than ideal state. While it does offer some communal supplies, it is annoying having to scrub everything before using it - if you can find what you need in the first place. Since I want to bake on a regular basis, I decided it was fairly reasonable for me to invest in my own baking tools. After all, I do plan on moving out of the dorms within the next year or two, so I would eventually buy these supplies. Why not get them early?

My new toys came in a few days ago, but I have been tied up and haven't been able to pick up the packages until today. Here they are!

Shiny new toys (plus my striped comforter).

Kuhn Rikon French wire whisk, 10 inches: I wanted to go for something universal that I could use in multiple situations, so I went with a French whisk. It's not very big and the handle has a smaller diameter, which is perfect for my size. 

Winco single fine mesh strainer, 8 inch diameter: I was not planning on getting a strainer as well, but after finding a recipe for raspberry cheesecake with real raspberries, I decided to add it to my purchases. I am quite happy I did! It is much larger than I expected, and I can strain pasta in it too. Success!

Pyrex two cup measuring cup: As a chemistry major, I have a lot of affection for Pyrex since they also make laboratory glassware. I know I'm getting quality with this. 

Wilton rubber scrapers: You can never have enough of these! I can't think of a more useful kitchen tool, especially since I will be working with a lot of batters. Plus, the color is really great.

RSVP mixing bowl, 4 quarts: I have to admit, I'm glad White Dress convinced me to get the bigger mixing bowl, because this size is just about right for my needs. I won't be working with a lot of batter at once, but I could see how someone would want more room if they were baking several batches at once. It's just right for me, though, and fits nicely on my shelf.

Now that I have my own tools, I hope to be baking more often - I have quite a few recipes I want to try out.

Finally, the long-awaited update: I finally got word about my dorm's cupcake bake off, and while they didn't technically tell me that I won, they did tell me that my prize was anything off of Amazon.com under $30, not including shipping. If that isn't first prize, then this was a ludicrous bake off! JA doesn't have his eye on anything, although I do have something in mind. Hmm...

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Key Lime Pie: Take One

I'm a major fan of no-bake desserts, partially because I have a fear of being burned (which is really ironic considering how much I love to bake), and partially because my dorm's ovens are notoriously unreliable. However, ever since I mentioned that I made key lime pie a few times last year, JK has told me that he would love to try it. A request for my dessert? How can I resist?

The problem was that my dorm's kitchen was being used for an event this Friday, so I would have to make it at JK's dorm. The kind of supplies his dorm's kitchen was stocked with would determine which recipe I would make. At home, my mother has a recipe that includes cream cheese, powdered gelatin and vanilla pudding for the filling. It sets very well and is a great recipe. Since coming to university, I've been using this recipe, which includes cream cheese and powdered gelatin but no vanilla pudding. It still sets quite well, although it turns into Mission: Impossible once the powdered gelatin is added in. Wow, does that set fast.

To cut down on the number of things I would need to bring over to JK's dorm, I decided to try out this recipe, even though it made be a bit weary. It was convenient, but it only included cream cheese and Cool Whip as anything with standing power for the filling. It didn't surprise me that it needed three hours in the fridge to set - this filling wasn't kept together by much.

Only one way to find out if the recipe was any good, right?

When working with cream cheese, I prefer to use a fork over an electric mixer (except when making cream cheese frosting, because lumps are absolutely inexcusable in that). The cream cheese gets completely glued to the mixing blades, and it's extremely annoying to constantly have to stop and scrape them off. For this recipe, though, an electric mixer wouldn't have been a bad idea. Once I added the sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice, the mixture turned very runny. I was horrified - this was supposed to eventually set? I didn't see how. I was a little more reassured once I added in the Cool Whip and folded the liquid into it; the Cool Whip could hold its own. I prefer my key lime pie to more firm than Cool Whip is, but to each his own.

I bought the larger of the two Graham cracker crusts at the store, and the amount of filling that this recipe made was almost too much for it. Looks like I have two options from now on: have two smaller pies that are shallowly filled, or one larger pie that is almost overflowing with filling.

The overflowing pie, right before being popped in the refrigerator.

After waiting three hours, it was finally ready for a taste test. The Cool Whip made it very light and fluffy, which worked well with the crust. Also, the recipe doesn't call for sugar, and I was perfectly fine with it. The pie was sweet enough without it, which was perhaps a bit disappointing since I like my key lime pie a little more tart. 

The verdict? Definitely not my favorite recipe. It's easier to make, but I prefer my filling to be a little more custard-like. JK enjoyed it, although I think I will have to call my mother and ask for her key lime pie recipe. You'll be sure to hear all about it if I do end up making it!

Until next time!

~Pink Heels

Hi

Hey everyone, this is White Dress, the second writer for this blog. Yeah, I'm probably way more of a slacker than Pink Heels, but that's okay, she'll provide you with more interesting things anyways. :) Anyways, let's do some introductions (Pink Heels is sitting here with me, anyways).

By the way, Pink Heels just tried to beat box, but I had no idea what she was doing. I thought she was just making weird pug noises. 

So introduction - hi, I'm White Dress, and I'm a university student! I can't beatbox either. 

Hello, I am Pink Heels, writing in blue. I am also a university student, and I like cardigans. (White Dress just nodded. That's a pretty good way to describe myself.) I am a chemistry major and a generally science-oriented person. 

Pink Heels just told me that my weird talent was math, but I'm pretty sure that's not a weird talent. Pink Heels' talent is clearly not beat boxing. I think she just mimicked a trumpet as part of her "beat boxing." She says she was trying to imitate Super Junior, but I didn't really see it (Sorry). (She just made a really bad pun. I don't even.)

(Context: White Dress is just doing the choreography from the Suju mv.) It's not a weird talent, but we both took a few dance classes last year. I'm not sure if one of them actually counted as dancing. 

I had a dream last night, and I was diffusing a bomb. If only I were that intense in real life. I also rescued my friends by identifying the correct batteries. I think I have a very strong desire to save the world, except for that I really don't, since being a university student is seriously a full time job. 

I also really like cupcakes. Pink Heels' cupcakes were delicious - you should try the recipe. I used to bake a lot more, except for then classes really caught up to me. I really enjoy painting my nails - it's one of the greater pleasures in life. :) 

Anyways, this is kind of a failure of an introduction post, but here, have an Adipose to make up for everything ㅋㅋ:

Sour Octopus Cupcakes

Hello hello =)

Inspired by my dorm's cupcake baking contest, I headed to Pinterest to dig up a creative cupcake idea (in retrospect, this was not the best idea, since it reignited my mild Pinterest addiction). After a little searching, I found something promising: Sour Patch Kid cupcakes. Vanilla cupcakes with jam filling topped with frosting mixed with citric acid (the sour sugar used in the gummies) and a Sour Patch Kid candy.

Now that I had the base, it was time to make it my own.

I went shopping for ingredients, borrowed a few baking supplies (my dorm's kitchen, while it does supply basic baking equipment, can get absolutely disgusting), grabbed my friend JA, and got to baking.

The base: Betty Crocker white cake mix. I doubt that my dorm would supply quality flour, and let's face it, I'm lazy. I followed the directions on the box, except that I added three whole eggs instead of three egg yolks. After talking to a friend, I decided not to add the jam filling; he thought the flavor would be terrible against the sour topping.

The topping: Betty Crocker while frosting with Jello gelatin powder to add color and flavor (this was something I found on Pinterest). I used Mango and Berry Blue to get orange and blue, although the Mango definitely came out lighter than expected (I probably should have gone with Orange to get a darker color). This idea can definitely still use some work, because while it did color the frosting, too much Jello powder made it granular. This was a problem with the Mango - do I go with the darker color, or with the better texture? Also, the Jello did make the frosting taste a bit artificial. Since there weren't any plastic bags to use, JA and I scooped the colored frosting onto a sheet of plastic wrap, created a cone, and cut a small hole in the bottom to frost the cupcakes.

Instead of going with Sour Patch Kids, I decided to use sour octopi, the lesser-known cousins to sour gummy worms. The reason was mostly aesthetic - they would just sit better on top of the cupcake. This plan did backfire in two ways: not only did I not buy enough sour gummies (only eight or nine gummies in a pack?!), but there was a third color combination that I didn't consider: purple/pink (the frosting colors were meant to coordinate with the yellow/orange and green/blue octopi). I ended up topping the remaining cupcakes with sour gummy worms instead. To my disappointment, my local grocery store doesn't carry citric acid, so I had to make do with sprinkling the cupcakes with the leftover sour sugar in the candy packages.

The result of attempt #1.

The day of the cupcake bake-off arrived, and with experience under our belts, JA and I began our second attempt. This time, we made three different frosting colors: I bought Raspberry Jello to make pink, and WOW did it pigment the frosting! A pinch went a long, long way - we added more white frosting in order to tone down the hue so it would match the pastel blue and orange. 

The physical act of frosting them, though, didn't go white as well as last time. For some reason, the neither of us were getting the results we wanted using the same plastic wrap technique - perhaps, but dividing one can of frosting into three colors, we didn't leave ourselves enough to properly frost with? In any case, I ended up fixing the frosting mishaps by hand. They most definitely didn't look as good as the swirls in attempt #1, but it was the best I could do.

The result of attempt #2.

JA and I submitted our three best cupcakes to the bake-off and donated the above tray of cupcakes to the study break. And...we still don't know the results of this bake-off! It's been five days already, and I doubt many people entered - how long does it take to judge cupcakes? The world may never know.

Until next time!
~Pink heels