Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of butter (softened at room temperature)
3 oz of cream cheese (also softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
HOW TO PREPARE
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.) Using mixer blend together butter and cream cheese until creamy
3.) Add sugar and mix well until light and fluffy
4.) Mix in egg yolk, vanilla and almond extract
5.) Slowly add your flour and salt, mix well
6.) If you want to add food coloring, you can take a small part of the dough or all the dough and add food coloring for desired color.
7.) Shape dough into a small log and add it to your cookie press.
8.) Press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet (sometimes if you freeze your cookie sheets first the cookies will stick better)
9.) I recommend adding sprinkles before you bake – otherwise you’ll need to frost them to get the sprinkles to stick.
10.) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they start turning a light brown around the edges.

Preparation Method:This recipe used the creaming method because it called for creaming the butter/cream cheese mixture with sugar before adding other ingredients. This process was similar to the spritz cookie lab we did in class. In class I learned that the butter should change color while being creamed with the sugar, this helped me determine when it was done because the recipe didn't specify how long to cream the butter and sugar. This preparation method affected the final product because there was no leavening agent in the recipe so air had to be added to the butter by creaming it with the sugar so that the cookies wouldn't turn out flat. The creaming method also requires the butter to be in a somewhat solid form, if the butter was completely melted the cookies would spread a lot more but since the butter was in solid form the cookies hardly spread.

Critique: The cookies appeared puffy and soft, most of them had subtle browning on the edges but some had more browning than others. While baking the cookies smelled like sugary vanilla which is what most cookies tend to smell like. The cookies were fairly soft but slightly crunchy around the edges however, I'm not sure if the cookies will become more crunchy by tomorrow. Finally, the cookies were very sweet tasting and I could definitely taste the almond extract which is probably because it was brand new so it was still very strong.

Experience: I would make these cookies again because they were easy and didn't take very long to make or bake. What I learned from this experience is to use less of an extract if it is new because its flavor could overpower the rest of the flavors in the final product.

Katie S. Hour 4 

Martha Stewart Snowman Cupcakes

Martha Stewart Snowman Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields about 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients-

• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ sour cream

Icing Ingredients-

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pound (3 2/3 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)

Cupcake topping ingredients:

• Cheezits (enough to cut out 12 triangular noses)
• Nestle Mini chocolate chips (2 for the eyes and 4 for the mouth)

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Directions:

Directions for cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
3. Divide batter among cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Directions for white Icing and decorating:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth.
2. Gradually add confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. If too thick to spread, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.
3. Spread a thin layer of icing on top of cupcakes
4. Dip the iced cupcakes into a small bowl of sugar. The sugar should stick to the cupcakes and look similar to snow.
5. Place one small carrot nose (cheezit) and 6 mini chocolate chips  over the icing
6. ENJOY!

 

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Preparation: 

I used the creaming method to prepare the Martha Stewart snowman cupcakes. I beat a fat (unsalted butter) with a sugar (granulated sugar) until it appeared light and fluffy. Then I slowly added one egg in at a time. Finally I gradually folded in the dry ingredients and mixed for about 45-90 seconds. Once the batter looked uniform, I poured the mixture into the cupcake pan lined with greased cupcake liners. I filled each cupcake liner about ¾ full and placed it in the 350℉ oven for about 23 minutes. While the cupcakes baked in the oven, I decided to prepare the icing. I also used the creaming method to make the white icing. I again took a fat (unsalted butter) and combined it with a sugar (confectioner’s/ powdered sugar)  until it looked smooth. I then added in about 2 tablespoons of milk to achieve a frosting texture.

As I was preparing this recipe, I noticed how similar it was to the butter cookies I made in class in the beginning of the year. The butter cookies also required mixing a fat with a sugar and then added in eggs and the flour mixture. From making that recipe, I remember learning that when butter is properly creamed, it significantly increases the volume of fat and sugar acts as an abrasive in the creaming process.  Because I had the opportunity to practice this technique in class, I was able create volume and tiny bubbles in the batter at home with no problems.

If I did not have background knowledge on the creaming method, I do not think the chocolate cupcakes or the white icing would have turned out as well as they did. I was nervous attempting this method at home, but I am glad I did it. The cupcakes were so smooth and the icing was fresh and sweet. It was a perfect treat for the holidays!

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Final Product: 

The Martha Stewart snowman cupcakes exceeded my expectations in terms of taste, texture and appearance. I was not expected them to turn out as cute and delicious as they did. When I took a bite out of one, I could immediately taste the rich chocolate flavor bursting in my mouth. It did not taste grainy or dry; It reminded me of a professional cupcake from a bakery. I wish the cupcakes would have rose a bit higher, but they still were filling! I was happy to see that the cupcakes were not crumbly; they were firm on the outside and  extremely moist on the inside. I could taste a little bit of the white icing, but I felt I should have added more to get a better defined flavor. As for appearance, the cupcakes almost looked too cute to eat! The sugar coating over the icing looked identical to snow,  and the cheezit nose and chocolate chips made the snowman face come to life.

I would definitely make this recipe again. It was super easy and fun for the holidays! My family is always craving chocolate, and this was a good recipe to fulfill those cravings! From making this recipe I learned that I need to fill the cupcake liners with more batter. These cupcakes do not expand that much, so adding more batter would not hurt. Also I learned that I need to add a thicker layer of icing on the cupcakes. Adding more icing will give it a more satisfying taste and it will also help balance out the chocolate cake.

Checkered Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, confectioners' sugar and baking powder.
2. Cut in the butter until the mixture has a mealy texture.
3. Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla until dough forms.
4. Divide dough into halves. Then, Knead the cocoa into one half.
5. Roll out each half of the dough into a rectangle, 8x10 inches. Slice each rectangle lengthwise into 8-1x10 inch strips.
6. Place two more on top of those, placing opposing colors on top of each other. Repeat until the checkerboard is four strips high.
7. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least fifteen minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
9. Unwrap dough and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Preparation Method:

For my second home study I did it with Jenn, we did  checkered cookies. We used the creaming method. The checkered cookies was similar to the gingerbread cookies we did at school because we needed to mix all the dry and the dough was not really sticky so I needed to used my hand to mix all the ingredients together. It was hard to mix it because there was too many dry ingredients. The plain dough sticked together really well, but the chocolate dough was dry because we still put the cocoa it was hard to mix it because of the dryness. After 15 minutes of putting it in the fridge the moisture for the plain dough spread really good, while the chocolate dough was sort of breaking apart. All in all, we were able to cut it and made it to looked closer to checkered as we can.

Final Product:

Appearance: It was not checkered it turned out to be strips cookies. White dough was not over cooked, it has a light color like an eggshell color. While the chocolate part looked liked a normal chocolate cookies.

Taste: In the chocolate one you can taste the cocoa and both was not that sweet

Texture:It was dry and it was sort of crunchy after we were done baking it, but after 24 hours it was chewy.

Aroma: We were able to smell the flavor of cocoa powder

Experience:

After reading all the steps, procedure, and what you need to have to do this cookies. Make sure to watch a video of how to do it so you know what will the final product looked liked. We didn't watch the video the first time we did it and we shaped the dough wrong. We make it too flat and the original procedure it said put it in the fridge for an hour, but from the video it just said 15 minutes. I would say I would make this again because now I know what we did wrong. And I will make sure it shaped like checkered not strips.



Stephanie Esplana
Hour 5

Grandma's Banana Bread

Sydney Poshusta
Baking & Pastry (November Dessert)

Grandma’s Banana Bread

Yields: about 12  (1inch pieces)

Ingredients:

3 mashed bananas

⅓ cup melted butter

¾ cup granulated white sugar

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups flour

1 small pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon for the top of the batter (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉
2. Mix butter, sugar and bananas together until creamy
3. Add one egg and vanilla into the mixture
4. Sprinkle baking soda and salt
5. Gradually add flour into the mixture
6. Stir until all combine (about 30 seconds)
7. Pour batter into a 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray
8. Bake at 350℉ for 40 minutes.

For grandma’s banana bread I used the creaming method. I combined a fat (butter) with  two sugary products (banana and granulated sugar) until it was smooth. Then I added an egg and vanilla to give it more flavor. I sprinkled in my baking soda and salt in the liquid batter, and then I finally  added in the flour to thicken up the bread. I mixed all the ingredients together for about 45 seconds and then I transferred the batter into a greased loaf pan. I topped it off with cinnamon and let it bake at 350℉ for about 40 minutes.

As I was making this delicious treat, the steps I used in this recipe reminded me of the cookies my group made in class. I was able to implement the skills I learned in class to successfully make this banana bread. For example, I remembered to melt my butter. By melting the butter, I was able to released moisture from the product. I also recognized I mixed my butter and my sugars together like my group did with the cookies. I was able to create more volume and add additional flavor to the bread. Lastly I did not over or under mix the batter. I stayed within the 45-90 second limit.

Overall, the skills that I learned in class did help my product turnout amazing. The banana bread was so moist and it had a beautiful golden brown color to it. I was scared that the batter would overflow in the oven, but it ended up rising nice and evenly. I do not think this recipe could have turned out any better!

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I thought my final product was incredible! The banana bread was so moist that it melted right into my mouth. The rich butter and overripe banana gave the bread a nice balance of sweetness without making me feel sick. I do wish I could have tasted more banana, but it still was enjoyable. I loved how the inside and outside both had different textures. The firm outside had a crispness to it and the inside was much more delicate. Both textures contrasted each other really well. This is a “light enough” dessert that would be perfect for anytime of the day.

My family ate a whole loaf in one day, so I am definitely going to be making this again! I have a couple things I am going to change for next time though. I am going to get ripe bananas. The bananas I used in this recipe were not as ripe as they should have been. I believe this is why it lacked “banana” flavor. All in all I learned how to incorporate the skills I have learned in class at home. I now know why certain items need to be blended together and why it is important to mix batters for only a particular amount of time. I had a lot of fun making grandma’s banana bread and I can not wait to improve the recipe for next time!

Pumpkin Cake Home Study Assignment

Pumpkin Cake
2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups pumpkin puree or cooked mashed pumpkin

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound confectioners' sugar, about 3 3/4 cups before sifting

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions for pumpkin cake
Combine sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl; mix well. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl; stir into oil mixture, beating well. Stir in pumpkin puree.
Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch round layer cake pans. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn out onto racks to cool. Frost pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (directions below) and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl.
Beat the 1/4 cup of butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Add the sifted confectioners' sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla; beat until smooth.  Makes enough for 2-layer pumpkin cake.

I made pumpkin cake as part of our Thanksgiving dinner. I did not change the recipe at all and I kept it the way it was. For this desert I used the creaming method. The creaming method is when you mix the batter until smooth and fine. This progress is similar to when we made different types of cookies in class. For example the drop cookies, cookies and cakes are a bit different but they are the same by how they need that really fine texture of batter usually containing a lot of fat and sugars. In class when we made the drop cookies it was similar to when I made the pumpkin cake because we shift the dry ingredients first then we added the wet liquids into there which added moisture to cold the cookie mixture together. For the cake I had more amounts of liquid so the batter was more liquefied so it can be easily be poured into the pan. I used this method because I knew it would give me the best results at the end if I used the biscuit method and used butter for my cake instead of vegetable oil for the fatty ingredient in my cake I would get bad results because it would be lumpy and not a smooth and moist cake to enjoy. The preparation method does matter on the type of pastry that you are making because you would get totally different  results.
 The pumpkin cake  turned out amazing as suspected from the aroma in the batter of the cake. The inside of the cake was really moist and soft. The aroma was breath taking it smelled of different varies of cookies and sweet pastry with a mixture of Halloween  pumpkins and the cream cheese and fresh pecans. The appearance was a 2 layered cake spread with cream cheese sprinkled with chopped pecans. Taste was very moist and soft that melted into your mouth with every bite. The warm cream cheese melted along your tongue with slight crunch from the pecans. I would do this again because it turned out amazing and everyone in my family enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups (300ml) warm water (lukewarm, no need to take temperature)
• 1 packet Red Star Platinum instant yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon (8g) light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon (15g) unsalted butter, previously melted and not scorching hot
• 3.75 - 4.25 cups (470- 530g) all-purpose flour + more for the counter surface to knead
• 1 large egg, beaten
• coarse sea salt for sprinkling
• Kicked-Up Cheddar Cheese Sauce for serving

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir with a spoon until fairly mixed, about 1 minute. Some clusters of yeast may remain. Add salt, sugar, and melted butter; stir until fairly combined. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attached to stand mixer) until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more. Poke the dough with your finger - if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes and shape into a ball. Place in a large mixing bowl that has been lightly coated with nonstick spray. Cover and let the dough rest in a warm area for about 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
4. With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 6 sections. Roll the dough into six 20-inch long ropes. Cut the rope into 1.5 inch pieces to make bites.
5. Boil 9 cups of water with 1/2 cup of baking soda. Drop 8-10 pretzel bites into water and let sit for 20 seconds. Remove with a spatula and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the bites aren't touching.
6. Brush beaten egg over each pretzel bite. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake batches for 15 minutes each, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and serve with cheese sauce or honey mustard. Pretzel bites remain fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container, though they will lose some softness. Pretzel bites freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven at 300F degrees until warm.

I did my home study on pretzel bites. We made then in class one time and I really loved them. So I went home and made some for my own. I found this online and its not to different from what we did in class. It took a little longer then I thought I would. I made the dough like we did in class. It was hard to get the dough not to stick to everything that it touched. The dough was very sticky. I new from class that to make not stick so much that you have to put flour on it. I put flour on the counter and start to work the dough with my hands. 
It started to get less stinky and more dry in my hands. it say to knead the dough for 3 mins. That 3 mins felt really long. My hand stared to crap up from kneading that dough. So a little tip for next time is to have someone to help you when you do this. after all the kneading was done I got to rest my hands for 10 mins tell the dough sat. This way hard doing by yourself because you don't have your teacher or classmates helping you. Also I really had to apply what I learned in class and remembered that for this recipe. 

 taste- soft, warm, creamy, salty 
color- brown
texture- hard, smooth