Cookie Base #1

I love finding and creating base recipes.  Maybe it's a bit of laziness, but I do partly think of it as my sneaky little secret...to make one big batch of cookie dough and see how many different cookies I can make out of it without anyone realizing.  "Wow, Paige...you made ALL THESE in just a few hours?!"  Work smarter, not harder right? 

Years ago I came across this recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  Award Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies  As you can see from the reviews, it's a fantastic recipe.  However, I always have had a difficult time keeping the cookies from sticking together when plated or trayed. They really are great cookies, but just too soft.  I've tweaked it many times, and finally today I think I might of perfected it.  The best part of this recipe...it's an AMAZING base.  There are so many ways you can change this recipe up, from simply changing out the chips to something else (like I did today) to using different pudding mix combinations.  I've even left the chips out altogether and made them into sugar cookies (and sugar cookie bars with frosting.)

Cookie Base #1

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla. (If butter doesn't look like it's fully mixing together with the sugar, don't worry...it will be fine once the flour is added.) Blend in both flours and baking soda until mixed together. ** Add eggs until completely incorporated. At this time, stir in your "extras " (chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, etc etc.) 

**Note:  Normally eggs ARE added before flour.  In this case, however, I'm adding them at the end to give the dough time to cool down in case the melted butter was pretty hot.  (Most people don't like scrambled eggs in their cookies!!  ;) ) 

Your yield is really going to depend on how much you add of your "extras" and what size scoop you use. You can see from my picture of the raw dough balls that I used a pretty big scoop.  With this batch, I ended up with about 16 of those large size cookies. 

I didn't have any chocolate chips, so I raided the cupboards and found an unopened bag of mini peanut butter cups that I had hidden away.  After my cookie base was together, I mixed in about 3/4 of the bag of the peanut butter cups (with the mixer) so that some had been chopped up and blended into the dough.

 

 

   I thought they looked awfully plain, so I dipped them in some melted milk chocolate and chopped up the remaining peanut butter cups to sprinkle on. I tend to like to stripe cookies, so I finished them off with a dark chocolate drizzle.

 

 

 

 

  I think Thing #1 approves...

Happy Birthday To Me....

Today is my 34th birthday.  Or the 5th anniversary of my 29th birthday, as I prefer to say.  On the way home from lunch out today, Adam, the girls and I got on the subject of past birthdays and started reminiscing.  My 30th birthday party came up in the conversation, and all the sudden it hit me at how much has happened in just 4 short years.  On one hand it seems like time has flown by, yet on the other it's truly unreal at how much changed.  How much my girls have grown.  How much I've grown and changed as a person. Four years ago I don't think I would of guessed that we'd no longer be living in NY.  I asked the girls where they thought we'd be in four more years, and surprisingly neither of them thought we'd still be in NC.  Maybe they do have my gypsy spirit after all. 

The past two weeks alone have been a time of true reflection.  The last time I posted was two years ago.  Lord, where has that two years alone gone??  Frosting, Inc so far has not progressed to a store front.  I did, however, go the creative route...I rented a one bedroom apartment just for business use, and had it inspected as a commercial bakery.  At the end of my lease, I had a great customer base, but still not enough to financially be able to get my store front.  And then the apartment complex raised my rent, and I was forced to close up shop.  About that same time an opportunity for a full time corporate position came along, so I shelved baking and went back to banking.  Until two weeks ago.  Have you ever had one of those moments when something just snaps in your brain and it's just an automatic "I'm done."  I couldn't do it anymore.  A year of being miserable.  A year of having to put my kids second.  A year of "you will go where we schedule you, when we schedule you."  I was done.  And then came the "Ahhh, crap.  Now what?!"  Still no money to open my store front.  Definitely can't go back to a corporate mentality.  And like I said, it's my birthday...as they say, I "ain't" getting "no" younger!

So, I'm blogging.  Who knows, maybe I can turn it into a little paying side gig.  Can't hurt to try?  Someone must be reading because I have to say, I can't believe how many views I've had on this cake. 

Kit Kat and M&M Cake

It's kind of funny actually, because I felt so bad making it for Adam; it's probably the easiest cake I've made. I guess it must look pretty cool because I see it all over Pinterest. I don't know who came up with the original idea (I found it on Cake Central.) I will say though, that the recipe I gave back in the original link, I haven't used that in years. Look in some upcoming posts for a new white cake recipe that is REALLY good. 

Earlier this week I was looking back through old pictures and came across cakes that I had made when I first started decorating.  It really was kind of a wow moment, to see how far I've come because I've kept at it.  It really was a little bit of inspiration for me in a time where I feel a little lost...keep at it even when it stinks, eventually you're going to get somewhere!

These two cakes are from very early in my career... 

Yikes!

And two of my most favorite cakes...

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing what this year has in store for me, Paige's Pantry, and Frosting, Inc.  Stay tuned!

Treasure Chest Cake!!!

My little daughter turned 7 last week, and this year she requested a pirate party. I don't know why...such an odd theme for her to choose, but who am I to judge?! I'm just really glad she didn't ask for a pirate ship cake!! This one was fairly easy to make, except that I didn't think through the lid support very well. When I first placed it on, I didn't have the dowels in the right spot, and since the weight of the lid was all in the back, it smooooshed a little. Sometimes I have to laugh...I let my kids choose whatever cake they want, regardless of difficulty just so I can figure these little things out. The cakes always turn out pretty good, but they are definitely guinea pigs!

Ohhhh the CHANGES!

I feel like the past six months have been a whirlwind...changes, changes, changes. Every New Years I look back with amazement at the events that happened over the past year, and this year was no exception. A year ago I was secure in my bank job, happy for the moment to leave pastry on the back burner, and feeling like the banking world was where I would continue my career. Then all the sudden, it was taken away when the company downsized (previous post,) and I was left feeling pretty lost. In October, my husband surprised us with a "Hey, do you want to move to North Carolina in three weeks??" After moving here, I realized that there are NO bakeries (other than supermarkets!) and I'm now on track to open my own dessert cafe/bakery. Currently I have everything ready to go, just trying to get working capital together to open my doors. Here are a few things I've been working on, plus the business logo! To see some more, check out my facebook page.... www.facebook.com/frostinginc .








New business logo!!!





















































And on deck for this week is a treasure chest cake for Cam's 7th birthday party. Should be a pretty fun cake to do.

A few decorating projects...

The last few years have been pretty tough for me, and I sincerely apologize to all who joined my blog and have not seen any new posts. Like many, the job market has not been kind to me; I had set aside my pastry ways for a little while and exchanged "baker hours" for "banker hours," becoming a teller at a local bank for almost a year. However at the beginning of the summer I found myself jobless again, with a company wide downsizing. I had been so busy with my bank job that I had turned down all baking requests, and I didn't realize just how much I had missed baking and decorating. It never ceases to amaze me how many twists and turns life has, and how what's around the next corner is something I never dreamed could happen. Here's hoping that whatever is coming to me is super amazing...I sure need it!

Here's a few pics of some projects I did this summer...















These cupcakes were great; I used the Moosewood chocolate cake recipe, then decorated some with vanilla buttercream and chocolate shavings, some with chocolate buttercream and milk chocolate drizzle, and some with peanut butter frosting decorated with peanut butter cups and milk chocolate drizzle. I sent some into work with Adam, and I guess everyone liked them!


I absolutely LOVE how this cake turned out!!!! A good friend of mine asked me to make a golf theme cake for her husband's 40th birthday, and this is what I came up with (based on a cake on Cake Central.) He loves chocolate, so all tiers are chocolate cake with whipped dark chocolate ganache filling, and chocolate buttercream under the fondant. The golf ball on top is styrofoam covered with fondant (which I had to laugh, I was discussing with another friend what pans I was going to use to make the golf ball, and how I was worried it wasn't going to end up being round; her response was to use a styrofoam ball....duh, Paige!!!)



My daughter requested a volcano cake for her 9th birthday, and I think my husband was more excited about me making this cake than I was because it meant one thing...HE GOT TO PLAY WITH DRY ICE!!! It was definately a fun cake, and turned out really nice.

Soft Pretzel Awesomeness

These pretzels rooooocked!!!! I cannot even tell you how many times I made them! I originally had found a recipe for soft beer pretzels and they intrigued me, and while they were pretty good, they didn't quite hit the spot. I found this recipe from Allrecipes, and let me tell you, they were fantastic. One tip though, don't skip dipping the shaped pretzel dough in the baking soda/water mixture...I tried some without, and they don't get that nice shiny top...just definitely missing something without.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The first time I had chocolate chip pancakes was at a diner that was down the street from the first house my husband and I shared together. Mmmm, the were so yummy...it's been a long, long time since I've had them at that diner, but Saturday and Sundays at our house often include big breakfasts with homemade chocolate chip pancakes. For a long time, my husband made them using a box mix, but a few months ago I found this recipe from Allrecipes and decided to try them out. I think my kids are spoiled now with my version that includes chocolate syrup and whipped cream!

Fluffy Pancakes (Adapted from Allrecipes)

3/4 c. milk
2 tbs vinegar
1 c. flour
2 tbs sugar (I sometimes use brown sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tbs butter, melted
chocolate chips
a glug or two of vanilla
a sprinkling of cinnamon

Combine milk and vinegar and set aside for about 5 minutes to sour. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk egg, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon into the soured milk and then add to flour mixture. Whisk until lumps are gone. Add chocolate chips...more or less as you desire!

Heat up a skillet and spray with cooking spray. Depending on how big you want to make your pancakes (I use a cookie scoop that is on the larger side) pour batter onto the skillet. When batter starts to bubble, flip and cook until browned on the other side.

Like I said, I serve mine all yummy like with chocolate syrup and whipped cream (and maple syrup too, of course!) Super good, and great for a sit down family breakfast!!!