Baking has always been a cathartic experience for me. When I am having a bad day or need time to think there is nothing I would rather do than mix a bunch of ingredients together in a big mixing bowl while listening to Rascal Flatts. And of course licking the wooden spoon after everything is in the oven makes all my problems better. Baking is not for everyone but if one day you find yourself having a bad day then grab the largest mixing bowl you can find and try one of my three favorite recipes!
Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies:
My earliest memories of baked goods always involve my mom's chocolate chip cookies. They were always a big hit at the Torrey Pines Elementary School Bake Sales and even at class parties at La Jolla High School. When I was little I used to always sneak a chunk of the cookie dough from the freezer and eat it. I always thought I was being pretty discreet but I think my mom knew what I was up to. To this day I still have friends who request that my mom bake her cookies and of course she still does. This is one of my favorite recipes to bake and trust me even the dough tastes amazing!!
Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened (typically 2 sticks)
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (a pinch more for a little extra flavor)
2 1/4 cup of flour
1 package (12 ounces) of semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
Directions:
1. Soften butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2. Mix butter, both sugars, and eggs in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and flour. Stir in the flour a bit at a time, do not attempt to stir it in all at once. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Freeze dough 2-3 hours so the cookies will stay together better.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F.
5. Roll dough into balls about the same size of a half dollar. Put balls about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown (the centers will be slightly soft still). Remove cookies from cookie sheet and set them on wax paper to cool. Enjoy!!
Banana Bread:
I have absolutely no idea when I started baking banana bread but before I knew it, it became my signature dish. I gave Deane half a loaf of my banana bread after our first date and I am pretty sure that is the reason he fell in love with me. One time when I was a on a mass banana bread baking spree I forgot to put eggs in 2 of the loaves. Thankfully they still came out okay and tasted just fine! Banana bread makes the perfect gift if you are short on cash. Wrap it up in some tin foil and stick a big bow on it and voila instant gift!!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of flour
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Mix bananas, sugar, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Grease a loaf pan, either 9x5x3 or 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2, with vegetable oil or PAM cookie spray.
4. Pour mix into pan.
5. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes our clean, around 60 minutes.
6. Let cool for 30 minutes and then remove loaf from pan.
Paula's Cake Balls:
My mom sent me this Paula Deen recipe a few months ago while I was still in Manhattan. We made them for the first time last weekend and they were delicious!! So far we have tried two different combinations: red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting dipped in milk chocolate or dark chocolate and strawberry cake with strawberry frosting dipped in milk chocolate. Next time we are planning on trying lemon cake and lemon frosting dipped in yellow candy melts. These bite size treats are perfect when you have a sweet tooth but do not want to consume an insane amount of calories.
Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container of prepared cake frosting
6 ounces of chocolate flavored confectioners coating disks or bar (milk, dark, or white chocolate)*
*Confectioners coating disks can be found at Michaels' stores and are called Candy Melts
Directions:
1. Bake cake according to the directions on the box. When the cake is finished baking let it cool for 30 minutes.
2. Crumble the cake into a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add frosting and mix until well combined. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
3. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Use a melon baller as a scooper to form balls with the cake mixture. You will want to use your hands as well to form the balls. Place balls on wax paper. Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for at least 1 hour (the longer the better).
4. Melt the chocolate in a glass cup in the microwave, stirring every 5-10 seconds until smooth. If you're using white chocolate you can add food coloring.
5. Remove the balls from the freezer. Put each one on a candy stick and dip them into the chocolate one at a time.
6. Once you have covered all the balls in chocolate coating remove the sticks (if you want) and place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate coating is set. At this point you can drizzle other chocolate on the balls for decoration.
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