I had to try out this recipe since my cookies never come out right. I have to say...Amazing cookies!
Just AMAZING! Only thing is the cookies didn't wield 40. I guess its all in the person who makes them correct?

I got 36 cookies out of this recipe. Also, you really need to dunk these in milk. Its the perfect happy ending.

Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies:

YIELD: About 40 cookies

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) lightly salted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Whisk the flour, soda and salt together in a bowl. In another large bowl, mix the butter with a wooden spoon to lighten it a bit and then mix in the sugars. Add the water, vanilla and eggs to the butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined and then fold in the chocolate chips. Using two soup spoons, drop the cookies 2" apart onto two nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Bake for eight minutes, rotating the sheets after four minutes. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool, and repeat the process with the rest of the batter.

So recently I've had some life changing experiences. In that I've found myself and what I am capable of in stressful times. Now that I'm situated and mentally stable again (sheeah...right!) I'm going to start baking again. I felt that I had to take a break from my blogs in order to get everything back and have a fresh start in life. All I can say is that I'm glad to be back where I can start baking again. Tonight I will bake something for my coworkers and get back to doing the Daring Bakers Challenge and Tuesdays with Dorie.

Thank you everyone for having patience with me.

So I was dying for some blueberry muffins a week or two ago and I just couldn't drop it out of my head. I kept seeing them everywhere and I didn't want to just buy ones that were already made by some factory who didn't put love into it. I was glad I made these. Everyone in the office enjoyed them and so did my husband. I enjoyed them quite a few times :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 cups fresh blueberries, (may use frozen)
4 tablespoons sugar, for topping

Makes 24 muffins, You can split the ingredients to make half the batch.

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well; stir in milk slowly. Combine all your dry ingredients and add to the sugar butter batter; stir to combine. Next, Add the blueberries and gently fold them in blueberries.

Fill the greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Then, sprinkle the tops of the batter with a little sugar. It looks pretty that way. Go ahead and put the muffin pans in a preheated oven which has reached 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Simple as that and very easy!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything lately, my job has kept me from baking due to late nights at the office. Although this week I'm going to resume posting on here again. Ive been baking, but not posting. I know Bad Donna, Bad! I'm trying though. I'm going to post some muffins I baked the other day as soon as I figure out how to rip out these photos from my iPhone.

Man oh man, What a difficult cake to make. I don't think Ill be making specialty cakes for a while.
Although this is my second specialty cake and Ive never had training on how to use the fondant. I pretty much learn as I go. I used a chocolate cake with Banana buttercream.

Chocolate Cake Recipe can be found here

Banana Buttercream Recipe:

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons whipping cream
1/2 package of banana pudding mix

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency. Add pudding mix.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe:
Recipe from CakeJournal

1 bag of white marshmallows (8 oz)
Water (2 tbsp)
Confectioners, sifted (1 to 2 pounds)
Crisco
Food colors or cocoa powder
Flavoring optional

Note: you can of course use your kitchen mixer when mixing in the icing sugar. Just remember to grease the bowl and paddle attachment well with Crisco.

Follow the instructions on her blog to achieve a great fondant. The only thing I forgot to do was add the coloring so I had to kneed it in. Ouch.


My boss and the crew.

Here are the pictures of my Cowboy hat cake.

I know I'm not usually into posting the foods I cook and I always post baking related things but this had to be on here.

So I went over to a friends home to try out her hand at chili. She made the most delightful Texas- styled Chili. It had ground pork and brisket in it. This would be my first time trying this kind of chili. It had no beans! I had read about chili with no beans and yet couldn't imagine any chili without them. Its like one of the main ingredients.

So after trying her chili I was convinced that you don't REALLY need beans in chili. It was so yummy. So the next day I was craving more chili. I wish I would have taken some of my friends homemade chili...home! So I decided to make chili. This recipe was handed down to me from my mother, who got it from her mother.

I tweaked it a bit for myself though. I added bacon this time. Although my chili has another ingredient I wont disclose. :) It came out completely marvelous! So yummy and perfect! The entire stock pot was emptied that night. I made Cuban styled Tamales to go with it and Francie made Enchiladas to go with them as well in case no one liked the Tamales. A pot of rice was also made in case no one wanted either of the two. I made dinner rolls to dip into the chili and man, that was yummy in it self.


Good Old Southern Chili Recipe

Ingredients

28oz of Peel whole tomatoes
6oz of tomato paste
15oz of tomato sauce

15oz of red kidney beans
15oz of great northern white beans
15oz of spicy chili beans

2lbs of ground chuck beef 80/20 or 90/10 preferred
20oz of thick sliced bacon

half of a white onion chopped
3 tbsp of minced garlic
2 chili peppers (im going to use chipotle peppers next time)

fresh paprika to taste
2 tsp of garlic salt
2 tbsp of coarse pepper
1 tsp of sugar
chili powder to taste
*secret ingredient* (haha)
2tsp of oregano

2tbsp of virgin olive oil

Instructions

Go ahead and grab a wide skillet and stick the ground beef in it on medium heat. Add the chili powder, coarse pepper, garlic salt and paprika while you cook it until it browns.



Start chopping up the bacon and once your done put the bacon in a separate skillet on medium heat and let it cook until it looks crispy.



In the meantime while those things are cooking chop up the onion, chop up the peppers and mince that garlic. In a sauce pan add the Virgin Olive oil in with the onions, peppers and garlic. saute them until the onions brown just a tad.



Drain the beef in a colander and then poor the bacon with the bacon grease in the same colander. Mmm bacon!

Once you have finished draining everything all together go ahead and put the bacon, beef and onion mix in a stock pot.



Add the beans in the same stock pot along with all the tomato ingredients.




Add oregano and sugar to the chili and let the chili simmer for 1.5 hours.



Thats all. Add Tamales, Enchiladas, or just plain Jasmine rice! My husband decided to take the same idea he had from my friend and add sour cream and shredded cheese to it!


It was yummy!

So I was late in making these yummy treats, pics after the jump, since I was ill this weekend. Cheap food sometimes isn't a good idea. Like 39 cents chicken wings from Miami Subs.

Other than that Ive had a pretty good weekend and I know the weekend will end quite well too. For starters, there is the birthday cake I'm making for my boss. Its a cowboy hat with a goats head on the face of the hat. He's a Satanist, let's not judge now, and hes a Cowboy. He doesn't sacrifice little babies or animals he just has a lifestyle that's carefree pretty much. I respect his beliefs and I don't judge.

Anyways, he's turning 30 so I thought it would be cool to make him a banging cake!

Then I thought I would also make all my coworkers on my floor little valentines day gifts. It'll be little treat bags with a cupcake brownie glazed over in the shape of a heart with V-Day chocolate kisses as well. I have to make 20 or so of those.

And then on Saturday I have a gun show to go to to get my gun permit so that I can carry my gun around. About 2 weeks ago I was nearly assaulted and my Blue Great Dane puppy, Sophie, was almost taken from me.

The man who was fairly large, I'm only 5'2'', asked how much was I selling the puppy for. I thought it was weird since I didn't carry any thing noting a puppy for sale. So I proceeded to tell the man that how did he get the notion that my dog was for sale.

He then asked the same question again and I got annoyed and told him to get away that he could not afford such a dog. I know, I know, I was asking for it with that response. He then called me a B**ch and told me he was going to take the dog anyways. I told him I had a gun, which I didn't at the time, and to back away or I would shoot. He ran after me. So I picked up Sophie and ran as fast as I could into a crowd.


That's Sophie Bleu

Ever since then I have no choice, but to carry my gun. So there goes money being blown on a permit to carry it around. Id rather spend it on shoes or new baking utensils. Uhg, Miami is so horrible!

Back on topic! Sorry about that, Didnt want anyone to think I was a crazy woman for carrying a gun.

So I have to admit, I LOVE these floating islands. Yummy and fun to make. Mine are still cooling in the fridge seeing as I made them like 3 hours ago. The only difference with My Floating Islands and Dories are that mine are made with Carnations Dry Milk or "magic crystals" as Carnations likes to put it. Saves me a lot of money on milk and tastes just like 2% milk. Much healthier since Im dieting. again.



The Custard




My fav, the Merengue.