Video Tutorial

My friend Briana and I recently made brownies and we filmed a video tutorial about it. The video is about 7 minutes long and has step-by-step instructions. The brownies came out delicious and we had a lot of fun making them! Baking is a fun activity that all ages enjoy, and you are able to have dessert after you bake! I hope you all enjoy this video!

Valentine's Day!

As many of you, Valentin's Day is coming up in just about a month, and many of you may be looking for a way to add some love into your life, myself included. While I was searching Google looking for recipes, I found one that was Valentine's Day themed which looked delicious! The recipe is by Betty Crocker, which means it can be trusted to taste great. Prep time is about 25 minutes, and cooking is about 5-7 minutes, and the cookies should cool for about 30 minutes before eating. This whole process ends up being an hour long, and it is a fun activity to do with friends or family! The ingredients you will need are:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 drops red food color

	Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, beat 1 cup powdered sugar, the butter and vinegar with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients except food color. Divide dough in half. Mix food color into one half. (If dough is too dry, stir in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.)
	On lightly floured cloth-covered surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into heart shapes with various sizes of cookie cutters. Place smaller hearts on larger hearts of different color dough if desired. On ungreased cookie sheet, place shapes about 2 inches apart.
	Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool 1 to 2 minutes; carefully remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

If you want to have frosting on your cookies, a recipe for that is:

2	cups powdered sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla
2	tablespoons milk or half-and-half

In medium bowl, mix all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Spread frosting on cookies.

I hope you enjoy this Valentine's recipe!

Double Chocolate Brownies!

Over the weekend, my friend Briana and I made delicious double chocolate brownies, which were made with Ghirardelli chocolate. However, while we were baking, we filmed a video tutorial with a step-by-step guide instructing you how to make them. In one of my later blog posts I will include a link to this video.
The recipe is very easy to follow, and prep time is only about five minutes. The brownies take about forty minutes to cook and should cool for about an hour before enjoying! The recipe is so easy because it is from a box recipe, and only has three other ingrediants, water, vegetable oil, and an egg. The brownies came out deliciosly chocolatety and rich, which made them an excellent recipe for any party or family event. If you want the complete instructions about this recipe, you will have to wait to watch the video!

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip

The first recipe that I will be trying is a recipe from Toll House. It is a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe that is easy to follow. Prep time is about 15 minutes, it takes approximately 9 minutes to cook, and the cookies should cool for about 15 minutes before enjoying! That brings the total amount of time needed to create his delicious homemade cookies to about 39 minutes, but the timing can vary. The ingrediants needed are:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

The directions for baking are:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Finally, enjoy your homemade cookies with friends and family!

Introduction to Blog!

Hello! My name is Catherine and I will be starting a blog about the baking I do. Over the next few weeks I will be trying out new recipes and the results. I will include the ones I liked, the ones that I did not like, which ones were maybe too complicated and which ones that are simple and quick. In a later post, I will be making a video tutorial which will guide you step-by-step on a certain recipe that I love. I hope you all enjoy!