Bears in a Bubble Bath

Ingredients:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup of butter, melted
1 egg
24 Rolo chocolates, unwrapped
2 cups of miniature marshmallows
48 Teddy Grahams
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix, melted butter and egg together. This should be like a soft dough. Take a spoonful of batter and roll into a small ball. Push dough ball into a mini-muffin tin. Take a Rolo and push into the center of the batter. Fill up the muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes. Take the muffin tin out and add 3-4 mini-marshmallows on top of each treat. Push in 2 Teddy Graham bear cookies into each treat. Bake for 2 more minutes to melt the marshmallows a bit. Cool and enjoy!

For my home cooking lab I made a very cute and easy dessert called Bears in a Bubble Bath. At first when I found this on Pinterest, I was like that looks way too difficult, but it ended up having very little ingredients and was very easy to make. This mixing method used to make this recipe was not one we have learned in class yet but in a way it is like the straight dough method because you mix all the ingredients together right away but you don't use a dough hook to mix it. I believe this mixing method is called the one stage mixing method or also known as the one bowl mixing method. This method is when you mix all the ingredients together all at once in one bowl just until it's combined, often with a wooden spoon or could be used with the paddle if using a mixer. I did have some doubts about how this recipe would turn out since it was made with a cake mix and normally when you make cakes you add so much more liquid to it but this only called for 1/2 cup of butter melted and 1 egg, so when I was mixing it, I was a little worried that it would be way too dry and I'd need to add more liquid, but it ended up turning perfect and it was very easy to handle. The recipe said to make it in a mini muffin pan, but I just used a normal one and changed up the number of mini marshmallows, Rolos, and Teddy Grahams so that it would look better with the bigger Bears in a Bubble Bath.
I think my favorite part of making this was placing the marshmallows and bears into the tub, because it was fun to create this and make it look perfect. I brought these to a party, and all of my friends loved it, and so did I. Not only did it look good, it tasted good. The tub part tasted a lot like a cake but definitely had more of a texture of a brownie. It wasn't as moist or fluffy, it was more like a cross between a cake and a cookie kind of texture. The overall taste of the product was absolutely delicious with the blends of chocolate from the cake mix and the Rolo that had caramel and when you added that with marshmallows and Teddy Grahams, it created the perfect taste in your mouth that made your tummy already call for more. Overall, this was definitely such a fun recipe to make and with how easy it was made and how good it turned out and tasted, I will definitely be making it again.

Baking and Pasty 101
Monday, November 11, 2013

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons warm water
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1/4 (3.4 ounce) packageinstant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoonswarm milk
• 3/8 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups bread flour
• 3/8 (.25 ounce) packageactive dry yeast
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• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoonsbrown sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoonchopped pecans
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• 1/4 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoonsconfectioners' sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon milk
  
  
  
  
  
  

Direction:

1. In the pan of your bread machine, combine water, melted butter, vanilla pudding, warm milk, egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast. Set machine to Dough cycle; press Start.
2. When Dough cycle has finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 17x10 inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over dough.                            
3. Roll up dough, beginning with long side. Slice into 16 one inch slices and place in 9x13 buttered pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While rolls bake, stir together cream cheese, softened butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk. Remove rolls from oven and top with frosting.

Critique:

        Cinnamon Roll  is a sweet Cinnamon flavored bread that is highly popular. Its is known for its perfect dough and the filling that is even more perfect and the Icing. I used the straight Dough method to make the Cinnamon Roll. Its primary ingredients are Flour, Sugar, cooking oil or butter and cinnamon, which provide a sweet flavor. It is most commonly eaten as a breakfast food.

      My Cinnamon Roll dough turned out well but i did not have enough filling inside the roll. Because of the filling not being enough the roll was a bit dry. the Roll itself was very soft and well done. The Icing was the perfect finish to the Roll. It gave it a sweet taste to the , not overwhelming but just right.  

       Preparing the dough took longer than any of the other steps. But i still think all that hard work is  worth the delightful Cinnamon Roll. I served the Cinnamon Rolls i had made to my family. Everyone found it to be a delicious Roll and it was all gone in one day. Making Cinnamon Rolls is a time consuming and very messy process but the result will be worth it. 

Posted By: Mahlet Mekonen Hr:5th 

Cherish the Chocolate Chunk Muffins
 

Ingredients:

-¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
-4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-½ teaspoon baking soda
-½ teaspoon salt
-1¼ cups buttermilk
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

2. Melt the butter and half the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from the heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Do not overmix the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Overview:
        This recipe was easy yet complex at the same time. You don't realize what you have until its gone. These chocolate chunk muffins was something sure missed when it was gone. It was chocolate explosion in you mouth that got better with each and every bite. With the perfect blend of sweet and salty, these muffins were something that left you craving them again and again. The outside was crisp with a warm, soft inside that made your mouth water. The aroma was also something that left you in awe. This chocolate delight was nothing to complain about.
      
       The preparation of this recipe was fairly simple. Following the directions was the easy part but applying your knowledge from class to a real life situation was different. After mixing all of the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients separately, it was time to recall the info learned in class. When using the muffin method, the key is to not overmix the batter. You don't want a smooth batter otherwise your muffins will be flat. The batter needs to be somewhat chunky when putting the batter into the pan, therefore you will end up with a airy, round muffin top. This is one situation when a round muffin top is good but watch how many you eat because you don't want to end up with one also! This recipe was fairly simple and easy that I would recommend to many others.

       My muffins turned out great! Better than I expected! I didn't make any substitutions in my recipe and followed everything as instructed. The only thing I had an issue with was with the flour and baking soda/powder. I did not have a sifter in my kitchen therefore I was unable to sift my flour and baking powder/soda. this had little effect on my product though because my product still was moist and airy even without the sifted ingredients. As the muffins were in the oven, I kept checking on them to make sure they were rising correctly and getting proper color. They went as planned and had round tops with a warm soft inside. Anyone who can deny that in the morning is crazy.

      In the future, I would definitely make this recipe again because I had great results with this muffin. I would also recommend this recipe to others who are looking to cherish a chocolate chunk muffin in the morning. Although, follow the recipe as told or else this muffin may end as a flop for you. Other than that, it is a delicious muffin that can cure those chocolate cravings at any point of the day.

-Amanda Gutterman Hour 5