Hawaiian-style Flannel Pillows

Bit of a baking break. I've been crafting up a storm, so here we are!

So I found this great tutorial (click title to see) for these pillows. I thought they were lovely, so I bought a bunch of fabric (with some very patient friends), and sewed 'em up... all by hand, ugh. Someone needs to get me lessons so I can actually use my sewing machine.

Recipe #16: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night I had that killer craving for chocolate that couldn't be denied. Now, I could have gone down the street and picked up some M&M's or something, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. So instead I scanned the internet for recipes, but alas, my kitchen is lacking in ingredients at the moment. I then scanned my chocolate cookbook (yes, I have a chocolate cookbook), and was still left with nothing quite right. Rummaging in my baking cupboard, I found chocolate chips and the recipe for their usual chocolate chip cookies on the back. Finally, inspiration had struck! I changed the recipe around, halved it, and came out with these chewy, chocolate cookies. These would probably great if you added some nuts (1/3 cup)!

Ingredients

*1/2 cup butter, melted

*1/2 cup brown cup

*1/4 cup white sugar

*1 egg

*1 teaspoon vanilla

*1 teaspoon milk

*1 cup flour

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1/4 cup cocoa powder

*1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Blend butter, brown and white sugar together. Cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

4. Beat in egg, vanilla and milk until smooth.

5. Combine the flour. baking soda and cocoa powder, and gradually blend it into the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips (and optional nuts).

6. Drop dough by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Makes 16 cookies.

Recipe #15: Lemon & Orange Syrup Cupcakes

Mmm... Lemon to me is the taste of summer. It is absolutely the epitome of sun and breeze. So I tried out these great mini-cupcakes. Makes about 36.

Ingredients

*Just over 1/2 cup butter, chilled and chopped

*1 cup sugar

*2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

*2 tsp finely grated orange zest

*3 eggs

*1/2 milk

*1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

Lemon Syrup

*1 cup superfine sugar

*zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line mini-muffin holes with paper cases

2. Place the butter, sugar, lemon and orange zests ina saucepan and stir over low heat under the sugar has dissolved. Transfer into a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, and flour, and beat until just combined.

3. Divide the mixture evenly among the cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

4. To make the syrup, place 200ml of water and the sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon and orange zests, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden and syrupy (approx. 10 minutes).

5. Strain the syrup, reserving the zest. Decorate each cake with some strips of zest and pour a little syrup on top.

Maplesyrupworld.com

I just wanted to mention that my Banana Sour Cream Cupcakes are now a featured recipe over with the good folks at http://www.maplesyrupworld.com! Go check them out. I think I'll have to try out the Apple Tart with Maple Whipped Cream!

Recipe #14: Currant Scones

Scones! I hadn't made scones in years, so I decided for a ladies tea party I was holding that I would try them out again. I found them at allrecipes.com, and they were easy and sososo good. I fussed with them a little, but you can see my version here, and the websites version above. Serve them warm with butter or devonshire cream, and some jam. Mmm...

Next time I try scones, it's going to be these raspberry ones a friend sent me. They look amazing.

Ingredients

*2 cups all-purpose

*1/3 cup sugar

*1 teaspoon baking powder

*1/4 teaspoon baking soda

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1 teaspoon lemon zest

*1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen

*1/2 cup dried currants

*1/2 cup sour cream

*1 large egg

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat over to 400 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater. Use your fingers to work in butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal, then stir in currants.

3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.

4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough together against the bowl into a ball. It might be sticky in places, but keeping working it and it will come together.

5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a circle that's about 3/4 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into triangles (recipe called for 8, but mine was more like 12). Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.

Recipe #13: Sour Cherry Crumble Patty Cakes

The previous recipe I said was one of the best recipes I had ever tried, but this one comes pretty close.

The original recipe called for canned plums, but I couldn't find any, so I picked up some sour cherries. They were so good. I just chopped them up a bit and put about 2-3 pieces in each.

Lastly, these are supposed to be patty cakes, but I used mini-cupcake holes instead. It made about 40 mini-cakes instead of the 24 that the recipe suggested.

Ingredients

Batter:

*4/5 cup butter, softened (or 185 grams)

*3/4 cup sugar

*1 teaspoon vanilla

*3 eggs

*1 cup self-raising flour

*1/4 cup all-purpose flour

*1/2 cup cherry juice

*1-2 cherries/cake, thinly sliced

Crumble topping:

*1/2 cup sugar

*1 cup all-purpose flour

*1/2 cup butter (or a little less), chilled and diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Line many many many mini-cupcake holes.

2. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla with beaters until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flours together and fold in alternately with the cherry juice. Divide the mixture evenly among the cases and cover each with slices of cherry.

3. To make the crumble topping, place the sugar, flour and butter in a bowl. Mix together with fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the crumble over each cake, covering all of the cherries.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

Recipe #12: Banana Sour Cream Cupcakes

After a ridiculously long delay, I'm back. I was finishing up my last semester of University, and it was a doozy. But now I'm in job hunting, baking and crafting mode, so new stuff is coming.

I got this great cupcake book at Christmas, and in May I decided that I had to try a bunch of the recipes.

These cupcakes are one of the best recipes I have ever tried. They are amazing. Moist and almost creamy in their decadence. Beware, these are addictive!

Ingredients

Batter:

*4/5 cup butter, softened (or 185 grams)

*1 cup superfine sugar (I used regular)

*3 eggs

*2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

*1/2 teaspoon baking soda

*3/4 cup sour cream (I used half sour cream, half milk)

*2 tablespoons maple syrup

*3 very ripe bananas, mashed

Icing:

*2 3/4 oz light cream cheese, softened

*1/5 cup butter, softened (or 50 grams)

*1 1/2 tablespoons honey (I used corn syrup)

*2 cups icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees F. Line 24 standard muffin holes with paper cases.

2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl using electric beaters for 5-6 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Add the sour cream and maple syrup to the mashed banana and mix well. Fold the flour mixture alternately with the banana mixture in the butter mixture until well combined.

4. Divide the mixture evenly among the cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

5. To make icing, place the cream cheese and butter in a small bowl and beat until smooth. Add the honey/corn syrup and icing sugar and beat until smooth and well combined. Decorate each cake generously with icing.