Quick Notice

So, yes, I have been faithfully sticking to my challenges for the last five weeks. It's just... Life happens. I've been really busy, and haven't been able to upload all the pictures (and yes, this is harder than it sounds, since I have a sister moving out who is constantly taking it with her to her house).

Anywho, just wanted to note this isn't forgotten~

Week 8

No dessert last week, as it was my grandmother's birthday and, quite frankly, I didn't feel like making anything (I had to study for an SAT)


(yeeah, didn't feel like putting up a fancy picture xP)

This Week: Grown Up S'mores

With, you guessed it: alcohol.

Well, a little big anyway. It called for two tablespoons of Kahlua, two tablespoons of white creme de cacao, and two tablespoons of brandy. Instead, I did two and a half tablespoons of Kahlua, the full cacao, and one and a half tablespoons to make up for the liquid of the brandy.

I also got a little thrifty since this recipe called for a creme brulee torch... Instead I put it right underneath the broiler for a couple of seconds. The result? Fantastic. Very rich and creamy and cookie, but my personal favorite was the graham cracker crust. The alcohol in the chocolate was a little two strong for me after a while, so the rating dropped to about a 3 1/2 for me. The rest of the family loved it, though.

Family Rating:4.3

Week 7... AKA Two Friggin' Weeks Ago

This Week: Grilled Pound Cake Chocolate Sandwiches (With Ice Cream)
Ack, it's way late! Sorry, I was super busy these last two weeks/completely forgot xP. Anywho, not much to say about this dessert. It was... Meh. The pound cake itself (the same recipe as when I made the cinnamon croutons with the chocolate soup) was awesome, but I think the author asked for the slices to be too thick (an inch each). When it was being grilled, the heat wasn't reaching the chocolate. Later, we finally figured to just melt the chocolate in the microwave and spread it on the grilled pieces of cake. Again, good... but not noteworthy.

Family Rating: 3

P.S. As for a personal note likewoah! I've just readThe Secret Life of Bees (fantastic book by the way.... And movie), and I'm currently experimenting with honey as a facial and tonight as a means to lose weight. They say that a spoonful of honey an hour before bed helps keep off fat... As for the facial, I've been doing it a week and have seen so-so results. Perhaps it takes longer? Would like to read up on all of this....

Another Late Post... Week 6

Sorry about that. Just haven't gotten around to making this one :( So, FYI this is from LAST week.

This Week: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes with Caramel Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting



I know what you're thinking, especially as a fellow mayonnaise hater: "Mayo in a cupcake? Eww.". And yes, the recipe required not a tablespoon, not a fourth of a cup, not even a half a cup, but a full, loaded cup. However... It turned out really good. Couldn't even taste it, but I think what it did do was add moisture to it.... Yum.

As for the frosting... Meh. I had higher hopes. It didn't turn out the right texture, which I think is because I used a whisk to beat it in (seriously, I hate that there's a difference between a whisk and a beater). Moreover, I think I was a little grossed out because it used a LOT of butter (I guess hence the name "buttercream"). It all turned out okay, and I kind of want to make it again to see if it would turn out different; but as it was, the recipe was WAY too detailed and long. And strange. Very strange. As in put-a-bowl-of-egg-and-sugar-into-a-boiling-pan-of-water-strange. Yeah.

Family Rating:3.25

See you next week! (Or... tomorrow!) ;)

Week 6... Woot?

So, this week was Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecakes with Sweetened Whip Cream and Shortbread Spoons... *large intake of breath* AKA the very items on the cover! ^3^



Yeah, the spoon (along with the others) didn't turn out as perfectly shaped as O'Conner's; but hey, she cheated! She has these special spoon cookie cutters. These were made by hand, baby, and I think they turned out pretty darn swell D:< (... Plus yummy xP)

All in all, I say I must approve of this creamy deliciousness being on the cover- and this is saying something, because I don't even likecheesecake. I confess, it was a rather... odd recipe, since before putting the ramekins into the oven you had to pour boiling water into the dish and cover with aluminum foil, THEN bake it. Other than that... the whole thing was pretty easy- just a lot of pouring and re-pouring due to some little mistakes =_='.

As far as the spoons and whipped cream goes, they were really easy... And yes, I used an actual whisk for the cream this time :)

Family Rating: 4.25 because my dad didn't like it too much (craziness!)

New Update:... I've decided for it to be a surprise for each "next week's" recipe :D See ya!

Week Five (February 7th)

I know, I know, once again I was a little late in posting, yada yada... However, this is the first official post of my blog that I'll be posting less than a week after I make my dessert! *clap clap clap*. Anywho... On with ze show!

This week's recipe: Best One Bowl Chocolate Chunk Cookies

... AKA Jill O Connor's take on chocolate chip cookies.



They turned out pretty darn tasty. If you're looking for an easy recipe in the book, hands down this will be the winner (indeed, just as the name has it, it only uses "one bowl"); however, if you're looking for that unique, "wow factor" SCMG dessert... This is probably one of the last. Most might think it a little annoying that the author chose to put such a cliche recipe in her book, but frankly... I kind of think EVERY good dessert book needs that classic cookie, that little piece of baked goodness that anyone, anywhere, anytime will be drawn to.... Y/N?

Then again, maybe it's the fact that I still deem O Connor as one of the great baking goddesses after those brownies that makes my opinion a teensy bit biased.

ANYWAYS. The recipe did have it's own little twists to it: the pecans were toasted (actually, this was my first time having a cookie with pecans... I recommend it), the measures for the dough drops were a 1/4 CUP measuring tin (I have never seen such big mounds of cookie dough look so lovely).



Overall, it was good... Just not anything different.

Family Rating: 3.5

On a note not related to baking.... I JUST FOUND OUT I WAS GOING TO JAPAN! (yay!) I'm really excited =0)
And another note... I got my license! :D :D :D :D So, if you're on the road, don't worry, I'm not too bad of a driver.... Unless you're a pedestrian. Then you should be a little afraid.

Next time: Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake Pots.

Week 4 (January 31st)

The Triple Layer Chocolate Silk Martini (say that five times fast)


(I'm actually kind of pleased with how this picture turned out :D)

...So, this recipe hit a few little snags, but other than that, it was both really good and (relatively) easy. The mixture of each of the chocolate had very little alcohol, so you could barely taste it (the fact of which my family loved). One of the problems that happened first was finding the alcohols to use. See, my family has an extremely small collection of booze, and even that is only used when guests come. So, we had one of the vodkas needed-rasberry flavored, for the dark chocolate mix)- but were missing the vanilla- and chocolate (Godiva)- liqeuor. We went to Winco in search of small, cheap bottles considering we only needed two tablespoons of each. We found neither. They only had regular-size bottles, and they each cost $20. Not willing to pay the price (and I don't blame her), my mom got the idea of using Kahlua instead of the vanilla liqeuor and mixing chocolate coffee creamer with vodka in place of the Godiva. So, that's what I did (although I made the cream/vodka mixture more creamer)- and it turned out totally fine. Who says you need the right kind of booze to make something delicious?

The second little mishap came with the milk chocolate and white chocolate mixtures. Each layer had to be creamed until thick, and the first- the dark chocolate- came out exactly as it should. When I tried the milk chocolate, however, it didn't thicken as easily. Seeing it not going anywhere, I thought perhaps that was the consistency it was supposed to have, poured it into the glasses along with the first layer, and moved on. The white chocolate, however, did the exact same thing. The layers are supposed to be just that: layered. But when I poured the third in, well.... It sank into the second. This ruined one of my final plans, which was to make the desserts look pretty with three chocolate chips (white, milk, and dark; these sank like quick sand D:>). The problem, I realized later, was that I didn't use a whisk, just a normal beater. Anywho, as I said before, it turned out really good anyway. My dad even said it was his favorite so far- and he's the one that hates alcohol the most. In conclusion, yes, it was good enough to make again :)

Family Rating: 4.25


Next Week: Best One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies Bye! <3