Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients: 

• 3 1⁄2 cups AP flour, plus more for surface  (15.75 oz)
• 1/3 c. + 1 T. granulated sugar SEPARATED  (2.36 oz)
• 4 t. baking powder
• 1 t. fine sea salt
• 1 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces  (6 oz)
• 1 large orange zested and juiced 
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing  (8.4 oz)
• 1⁄2 cup whole milk  (4 oz) 
• 2 T. turbinado sugar
• 2 pints strawberries hulled and quartered lengthwise
• 2 1⁄2 c. whipped cream

DAY ONE

1. In a heavy-duty mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix on. Low speed to combine.

2. Add butter and zest, and mix on low until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 2 minutes.  Add cream and milk and increase speed to medium; mix until the dough comes together.

3. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface, lightly knead a few times, and shape into a rectangle about 3⁄4” thick.  Cut out dough circles using a 3” round cutter and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  

DAY TWO

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

5. Lightly brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  

6. Bake until shortcakes are golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days)

7. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine strawberries, orange juice, and remaining 1 T. granulated sugar.  Gently stir together. Set aside.

8. To serve, halve shortcakes horizontally with serrated knife.  Place bottom halves on individual serving plates and top each with a dollop of whipped cream, some berries, then another dollop of whipped cream.  Top with remaining shortcake halves.

FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

• Yield 4 cups
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 t. vanilla (optional)

METHOD

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine heavy cream and sugar.  With either a hand or stand mixer, beat the mixture together on a lower level.  After a minute, increase the speed and continue to beat mixture until very soft peaks form.

2. If you are using whipped cream as frosting, beat it for an additional 30-­60 seconds or until soft peaks form.

3. If you are using vanilla, stir in by hand with a whisk at this point.

4. Best if used immediately.  Can be stored for up to 24 the hours in a refrigerator.

Preparation:

This baking adventure was a challenge because I did not have the proper equipment to make the baking product. I did not have a heavy duty mixer. I replaced the heavy duty mixer with my hands. I was able to get the right measuring tools. I had a measuring cup and measuring spoons. These measuring tools were able to help me measure the right amount of dry ingredients needed. The mixing method I used was the Biscuit method. The goal is to create a product that will be tender. I cut(mixed) the butter into about half of the flour. Half of my flour granules would be coated with fat to prevent the formation of gluten while the other half will be able to combine with water to develop gluten. The goal is to create a product that will be tender. I added too much butter. The butter was not mixing well with the flour so I decided to add more butter to ensure that my baked product will not develop a substantial amount of gluten. I did this because butter is a fat. Fats make pastry products tender and that's the goal of the biscuit method. At this point, I was mixing the butter into the flour with my hands. After the butter was mixed into the flour, my mom poured water into the flour in small increments while I continued working the dough. flour granules that were formed are not able to bond with water. Granules did not form on the other half of the flour so that was able to bond with water and bring the dough together to allow me to knead the dough and also roll it out. This part was tough but my mom was able to help me a lot because she had past experiences using her hands to work with dough. So I relied on some tips she gave me in order to make sure that the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. The dough would occasionally become very sticky. In this situation, I remembered Mrs. Wilson helping my group out when we accidentally made our dough really sticky during our Strawberry Shortcake lab. This problem was fixed when a lot of flour was sprinkled on the dough and knead. I decided to do that and it worked. The next problem I ran into is that I did not have a round cutter. I improvised and used a plastic cup we had. The plastic cup was a good size and it worked well. This Strawberry Shortcake is the only one that turned out well. The other ones were burned. The temperature of the oven was set to the recommended temperature by the recipe. The required baking time for the shortcakes are 20 minutes but my shortcakes were in the oven for much longer. I was carefully monitoring the Shortcakes but then I had to take care of my niece. I had to attend to the need of my niece and when I went to go and check on the Shortcakes, they were burnt. Seems like something bad happens every time I try to make something new. Making the fresh whip cream was the hardest part. Again I do not have a heavy duty mixer so I used a wooden spoon to whip the cream. It took me half an hour. It only took us about 15 minutes in class. I was glad that I was able to get the structure of the soft peak after a while. At Cub Foods, I couldn’t find fresh strawberries, so I bought frozen ones instead. Making these Strawberry Shortcakes was a challenge well accomplished.

Critique: The other Shortcakes had a dark brown color because they were burnt. But this Shortcake had a golden brown color. The butter allowed the insides to have good gluten development because they were soft but not too soft. The even mix of flour granules coated with fat allowed the inside of my shortcakes to be soft and the outside to be tender even though they were burned. The butter protected the outside of my shortcakes from burning but the bottom of my shortcakes received the most amount of heat because it was very well burned. The top of my shortcakes were able to break apart but the bottom of my shortcake was really stiff and hard to break. It stuck together no matter what I did to try and break crumble it. AP Flour has 10-12 percent of protein content. This determines the level of structure and how tough your dough or your baked product will be. The higher the protein content, the more gluten will develop when the dough is worked. The Shortcake was soft but it also had some crunch to it. It also had a nice buttery taste to it. Since this Shortcake did not burn, it had a nice buttery and crisp smell.

Assessment:  Overall I would say that this lab was a success. I was able to make the shortcakes from scratch without the use of a heavy duty mixer. Although most of them were burnt, I was able to make a couple shortcakes the proper way. I learned that things can still be accomplished without the use of equipment, but it’s just twice as hard. I would not try this lab again because I do not have a heavy duty mixer and I do not like Strawberry Shortcakes.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFM_6ELryDc

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup of AP flower

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• ¼ teaspoons of salt

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Liquid Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• Glass of Buttermilk

Other Ingredients:

• Bowl of chocolate chips

Directions:

(before starting this,heat your buttermilk and have your griddle, skillet preheated to the appropriate temperature)

1. Pour all of the dry ingredients into a bowl
2. Make a little well in the middle by pushing the ingredients to the edges of the bowl, making a circle
3. Beat up your egg
4. Pour the egg into the buttermilk
5. Stir the buttermilk
6. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients
7. Begin stirring the liquid with the dry ingredients. Do not stir rapidly
8. Pancakes are ready to be cooked when they are slightly lumpy
9. Cook the pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until it has a golden brown color. Sprinkle the chocolate chips in good portions on your pancakes while they’re cooking
10. Flip the pancakes and let it cook for 2-3 minutes
11. Remove the pancakes

Preparation method:

The mistakes were made when preparing the pancakes. The first of my two mistakes was that I did not have the proper measuring tools. The second mistake was that the pancakes kept sticking to the skillet. I applied good amounts of nonstick spray to the skillet but the pancakes continued to stick to the skillet. The method I used to make these pancakes was the Muffin Method. The Muffin Method all dry ingredients to be made and mixed together before all liquid ingredients are added.  

I changed this recipe up quite a bit. I used AP flour and baking powder like the recipe suggested. I added salt and sugar to the ingredients. But, I did not add eggs and buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Instead, I only added milk-two percent milk to the dry ingredients. Lastly, I added the chocolate chips to the pancakes as I was mixing it.  Despite all of my mistakes and changes, the pancakes tasted good. The second mistake affected the structure of my pancakes by a lot because my pancakes were deformed. It could’ve been due to the fact that my stove was turned up high or the kind of skillet I used. I’ve now only made pancakes twice in my life. The first time I tried making pancakes I also made two mistakes or potentially three, I’m not really sure but it was a lot of mistakes. My first mistake is that I did not use the muffin method. I kind of just threw everything together and hoped it would end up as a pancake. So after I threw a bunch of stuff together, I ended up overmixing. In my attempt to fix it, I added a lot of pancake mix to it and then I added too much water. It was a disaster and it did not taste good. With my past experience of making pancakes, I made sure I wouldn’t overmix the pancakes since that was the main problem in my first ever attempt. Overmixing while using the Muffin Method causes gluten to develop, making your pancakes chewy instead of fluffy. Pancakes that have not been overmixed, are coarse and slightly thick when mixing. The existence of gluten for structure and resistance is not good when using the Muffin Method. We learned in class that overmixing baked goods is the most common problem when using the Muffin Method I carefully mixed the pancakes using the same technique the chef was using. When the pancakes were on the skillet, an even number of bubbles were created all around the bubbles. That’s how I know my pancakes were a success despite my structure problem.

Critique:  The pancakes had a buttery taste but they were also pretty sugary. The sugary taste comes from the chocolate chips. The pancakes itself tasted buttery and a little bit salty. I have no idea how the salty taste came about because only a small amount of salt was added to the pancake mix. The pancakes had a buttery and chocolatey smell. The pancakes were very soft like how pancakes are suppose to be. They didn’t have a tough feel and they also weren’t crunchy despite the fact that they kept sticking to skillet.

Assessment: Overall this lab was a success. The whole preparation went well but the execution failed. I learned how to make pancakes the proper way and that’s what’s important. I would try this lab again because the pancakes were delicious and I need to start eating in the morning before school.

Lemon Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of All Purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Frosting:
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Instructions:
1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, egg, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
2. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Beat on low speed.
5. Chill for an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
7. In a small bowl combine ingredients for frosting until smooth

For this recipe I followed the instructions exactly. However, when it came to the frosting it got a little messy. I used the creaming method when making these spritz cookies. Now these were spritz cookies because I used a spritz gun.

The appearance of the cookies were lightly browned. The taste of the cookies were sweet with a little bit of sourness to it due to the lemon. The texture of the cookies were crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The aroma of the cookies were very sweet.

I would make these cookies again. They were very delicious in my opinion and tasted a little bit like the lemon cookies that the Girl Scouts hand out. From this experience though I learned how to improvise because the spritz maker wasn't working for us, so I had to make the cookie size on my own.

Caramel Bars

Jarad Newcomb
Hr 2

Ingredients:
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup melted margarine
1/3 cup evaporated milk
50 caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
6 oz pkg of chocolate chips

Directions:
Combine cake mix, margarine and 1/3 cup evaporated milk.
Put 3/4 of mix in 9 x 13 pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 9 minutes
Melt caramels and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk
Spread caramels over cake mix when hot
Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel mixture
Top with remaining cake batter.  Break chunks of cake mixture and place on top.
Bake for 12 more minutes

Preparation method:
When there is about 5 minutes left of the cake mixture baking for the first time start melting the caramels.  You can melt them in the microwave.  I put them in for 2 minutes and then stir and put in again for another minute, stir again.  If not completely melted put in again for about 30 sec to a minute. Don't overcook the caramels because they will become hard.  Stop microwaving them when there are still little chunks of caramel.  Keep stirring until they are melted.  The heat of the caramel and you stirring will help melt them.
We don't measure out the chocolate chips because we like more then it lists.  We sprinkle the chips so there is a layer of chips on the caramel.

Critique:
These bars are one of my favorite bars.  They are very easy and quick to make.  You can't stop yourself from sampling the caramels before you microwave them.  They are melt in your mouth good.  They are really good when they are still warm.  You have to be very careful when eating them warm because the caramel will be really hot.  I think the caramel and the chocolate complement each other to make it very delicious.  

Assessment:
This is most like the muffin method since you mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.  This recipe uses only one ingredient for the dry ingredient.  You barely need to mix the ingredients together.  If you mix them too much then it will be overworked and it will not bake correctly.  It will be flatter than it should be.  There won't be as many air bubbles as there should be.

Apple Lattice Pie- Han Do

Apple Lattice Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

• 606g AP flour
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 114g vegetable shortening
• 226g cold unsalted butter
• 128-142g ice water

Filling

• 6 apples (peeled, cored, & sliced)
• 2.63 oz. sugar
• 1 oz. apple cider
• 1/2 oz. cornstarch
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/8 t. nutmeg
• 1/8 t. allspice

Directions:

DAY 1

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
2. Cut in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.
3. Dice the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and cut into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail.
4. Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water in to the dough.
5. When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a piece of wax or parchment paper. It's ok if there are dry spots in the pile. Use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz these places; that way you'll add just enough water to bring the dough together without creating a wet spot.
6. Fold the dough over on itself three or four times to bring it together; then divide it in tow pieces and pat it into 3/4 inch think discs.
7. Roll the disk on it's edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
8. For the filling: In a large bowl, stir together the filling ingredients, mixing until well combined. Store in fridge.

DAY 2

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Roll out your individual pie crust about 1/2" larger than your pan, and lay it gently into the pan.
3. Spoon in the filling.
4. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to a little bit bigger than your pie pan.
5. Cut into 1/2" wide strips (12)
6. Arrange 6 strips across pie. Form lattice by arranging 6 strips diagonally across first strips.
7. Gently press ends into curst edges.
8. Brush lattice with milk. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.
9. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until top is brown and filling is bubbly.

Preparation Method:
For this recipe, I used the biscuit method. The biscuit method requires you to cut in the fat to create "raincoats." When the shortening is cut in , it is important to cut it into the size of peas to create a flaky crust. If you cut it into the size of cornmeal, it will be tender but more crumbly. The temperature of the water is also very important, it has to be very cold so the butter does not melt. You also cannot handle the dough too much because it will toughen the dough (that's what happened to me). Compared to what I made in class, this time, it was much more difficult because I was doing this all by myself compared to working with a group in class. In class, we had a shorter amount of time so while we had to work fast, but when I was doing it alone, I took a really long time so the butter had probably melted a bit. Also, on the second day, I took out the crust from the fridge and it was extremely dry! That means I did not add enough water to combine the ingredients together. I was about to give up on it but then I decided to continue working with what I had because I didn't want to disappoint my parents. Plus it would have been a waste! So I had to work with what I had. It was very difficult to roll out the dough because it kept cracking.

I learned from this experience that I need to add more water to the crust next time. I also learned that it's important to work fast so the butter does not melt and not to overwork the dough because it will get tough. But the filling turned out delicious! (the only thing that turned out right was the filling)

Critique:
Taste- The crust tasted doughy, buttery, and a bit salty. It most likely tasted doughy because it was overworked and I added a little bit more flour. The filling tasted autumn-like, fruity, lemony, sweet, and spiced. The filling really smelled like fall and seasonal.

Aroma- The pie smelled buttery, sweet, and spiced. It smelled very delicious but the crust did not taste delicious.

Appearance- The pie did not look appetizing at all. The layering of the lattice was uneven, the edges were all cracked. It look very dry and tough. The edges were also more brown compared to the lattice, which was a lighter brown.

Texture- The texture of the crust was tough and dry. It was not what I wanted it to turn out like. The filling was soft and slightly crisp from the apples.

Assessment:

I probably will not make this recipe again, because it was really difficult. But I need to reclaim my pride and make it better next time! So I will but not until a while later. My parents said the liked the filling but not the crust. Which is what I had expected. They said it was too tough and hard. This recipe was a total failure for me. It did not even look appetizing. The edges were all messed up. It was my second time making this but the first time was a success, the second was a failure! I learned from this experience that I should never overwork a dough, because it will just make it tough. I would recommend this recipe to someone I know because it is a good recipe but I just made it really bad. But in my opinion, I would rather go buy a pie than make one because ones already made taste better than my homemade one. But it's fun to make it by yourself even if it did not taste good!

Angel Food Cake- Han Do

ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cake flour
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 c. egg whites at room temp
• 1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 t. 2 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. lemon extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, sift cake flour and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
4. Gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture in four additions. Fold until four mixture is completely incorporated into egg mixture.
5. Pour batter evenly into ungreased 10-cup tub pan.
6. Bake cake on bottom rack for 30-35 minutes; or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
7. Remove cake from oven; invert pan until cake is completely cool.

Preparation Method:

The method I used in this recipe was the egg-foam method. The idea of the egg foam method is to create millions of tiny bubbles to make the final product airy. The key is to not burst the bubbles. Also, you do not use egg yolk, only whites! The reason is, egg whites have much more fat and it does make the final product fluff up. Also, we have to use cake flour other than all purpose flour because cake flour is much finer than all purpose. In class, we have not created anything using the egg foam method. But I did see my teacher make this Angel Food Cake recipe. Her egg mixture and my egg mixture took a very long time to form soft peaks. Also, I learned that an acid is needed to help stabilize the batter.

I changed up the recipe a little bit because I did not have access to one of the ingredients, LEMON EXTRACT! Instead, I added a little more vanilla. Also, I forgot that the recipe said to use room temperature egg whites but I used cold eggs (I don't know why I should have used room temp, it was fine with cold egg whites). And while I was cracking and separating the eggs, I accidently got a little egg yolk into the egg whites! It was a pain to get it out. Another thing that was hard was I had to use a hand mixer so it was more tiring on my arms. At that time, I wished really bad that I had a stand mixer.

But otherwise, the preparation went well! I didn't have much difficulty besides the egg yolk problem.

Critique:

Taste- The Angel Food Cake tasted very sweet, sugary, vanilla-like, and like marshmallows. Because of the sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla, it combined to create a very well mixture of flavor.

Aroma- The Angel Food Cake smelled sugary, sweet, the vanilla made it very fragrant. It also smelled fresh-baked.

Appearance- The Angel Food Cake was pure white on the inside, but the outside was a medium-dark brown. It was evenly porous. It looked very soft, and delicate. It also seemed very light. Even though it had many holes on the inside, the outside did as well! The air bubbles did the cake some good.

Texture- The Angel Food Cake was cushiony when I cut it, the inside was soft when I was chewing it, the cake was light when lifted, and the overall texture was smooth.

Assessment:

In my free time, I would totally make this recipe again! My whole family and I really loved eating this cake. My aunt asked my mom why she bought this cake and that it's bad, my mom said that I made it and it was not bad. So when my aunt tried it, she agreed! But next time I make this, I will put in less sugar because my family doesn't really like sweet pastries. Even though it was my first time making this, it turned out much better than I had expected. I learned from this experience that I should get a stand mixer! But that forming many air bubbles is very important in this recipe. Without these air bubbles, the final product would be saggy instead of fluffy. All in all, I would absolutely recommend this recipe to a family member or friend. It satisfied me that it came out well!

Hershey's Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms- Jasmine Terry

Hershey's Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:
1 bag of Hershey Kisses

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Granulated sugar

Directions:
1.) Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove wrappers from chocolate

2.) Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cups granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture

3.) Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on untreated cookie sheet

4.) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will cracked around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely

Preparation Method:
For this recipe I looked on the back of a bag of Hershey Kisses. Every year we make these cookies for Christmas and this year I was the one who made them. I followed the recipe exactly except I replaced the shortening with butter because we were out of shortening. In the end, though, it didn't effect the cookies. The type of cookie this I made is the drop cookie because it was soft dough that is dropped from a spoon on to the cookie sheet. I used the creaming method as a mixing method for this recipe. In the creaming method you have to mix the fats first then add sugar and that's what I did. Also I had to mix all the dry ingredients together separate from the other ingredients; then add it in later, slowly, with the fat mixture. The purpose of the creaming method is aeration and increase volume of fat by adding sugar, which acts as an abrasive. This causes cutting tiny holes into the fat, which then seals over, creating tiny bubbles that will help with the texture of the cookie. A good tips for baking cookies is to take the cookies out when they are golden brown on the edge because cookies carry-over bake. Carry-over baking contiunes to bakes the cookies when they are outside of the oven so you don't want to over bake cookies or they can become burnt even outside of the oven. In the end I had one batch of cookies a little darker than the the other batch but they still all tasted good.

Critique:
My cookies were thirt-quenching cracked light chewy cookies. The sugar on top of it just glistened in the light calling for you to eat it. The smell of peanut butter filled the air as I pulled them out of the oven. And the texture was just so soft. The cookies were so moist and chewy as I ate the sugary sweetness. The hint of peanut butter and chocolate made the cookie even more perfect. My family and I couldn't control ourselves around these thick fluffy cookies.

Assessment:
I would definitely make this recipe agian in my free time. The cookies turned out really good and I would like for that result again. I learned that if your going to replace an ingredient with a different ingredient you will have to make sure it won't ruin the final product. Overall, my cookies turned out good and I am excited to make them again.

Banana Bread-Jasmine Terry

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2.) In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

3.)Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Preparation Method:
For this recipe I did exactly what the recipe told me to do. The finished product turned out perfect, just how I wanted it to turn out. The mixing method I used for this recipe was the muffin method. I had to combine all the dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients. Then I had to combine those together but make sure I didn't mix until smooth or I would change the breads texture. If I would have over mixed, the bread would be less airy and become dense. Also over mixing it causes more gluten to form with more gluten the tougher the bread will be. It wouldn't taste as good and wouldn't be fluffy. I really made sure that I followed the recipe and read it carefully so I didn't mess up the banana bread. The texture inside the finished product turned out excellent because I didn't over mix.

Critique:
My banana bread turned out light and airy. The light brown of the bread and the cracks on the top just made you want to dig right into it. The inside was just so perfectly holy it was the perfect texture. Smelling the sweetness just made your mouth water. The texture was so moist and fluffy I couldn't get enough. Every bit of the squishy bread just tasted so sweet and you could taste the banana in it. I kept going back for more of the crumbly, chewy and luscious banana bread.

Assessment:
In my free time I would make this again because it was fun and easy to bake. I was very proud of my outcome and would like to succeed making this again. I learned that you really need to make sure you read your recipe correctly and carefully to make sure you don't over mix or mess something else up. Therefore, I would like to make this recipe again and have another good outcome.

Holiday Cake By: Jack Bruckner

~ Holiday Cake ~    

Recipe

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 C margarine or butter
1 1\2 C sugar
1 1\2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3\4 C drained maraschino cherries
2 TBS milk
1 1\2 tsp baking powder
2 1\4 C flour
1\2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla. Egg eggs, one at a time. Once mixed, add drained cherries and milk and mix again. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed ingredients. Add chopped nuts if you choose to use them. Mix. Grease bread tins. Divide evenly into 2 bread loaf pans. Bake @ 325 degrees for 60 Minutes. Check if done by inserting a knife in center. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on cooling racks. Makes 2 loaves.

Preparation Method

For my third and last baking blog project I decided to make a Holiday cake that is a recipe from my grandma. It really isn't a cake, but a sweet bread. Kind of like a fruit cake but much better.  This recipe used the creaming method. I had to cream the cream cheese, butter and sugar. The Creaming Method causes aeration or creating tiny seed bubbles into the fat.  According to my notes from class, butter, when properly creamed, significantly lightens in color because of billions and billions of tiny air bubbles change the way light reflects from the mass. Most of the time this is done with sugar, which acts as an abrasive cutting tiny holes into the fat, which then seal over, creating tiny bubbles. The creaming method helps baked goods have a fine texture. This creaming method reminds me of how we made cookies in class. We made oatmeal raisin, gingerbread and spritz cookies. With all three, we used the creaming method. I especially liked the spritz cookies. 

Critique

The cake was pink in color due to the maraschino cherries with some slight browning on the sides and bottom. Some cracks on top. When sliced, I could see the cherries as well as some small spots of white. I guess the white spots must have been some cream cheese that didn't get mixed in all the way. I didn't add any nuts to my cake because I don't like nuts in baked things. I used Pam cooking spray to grease my pans. It was done in exactly 1 hour. When I turned them over on the cooling racks, the cakes didn't come out of the pans right away. I let them cool a bit them used a spatula to lift the side out and then they came right out. The cakes smelled like a regular cake was baking. Like something sweet. The texture of the cake was smooth with small chunks of cherries. It was also a bit dense, not light. The cake had a light cherry flavor. It was very moist probably because of all the butter and cream cheese. I would make this Holiday Cake again. It seemed more like a snack bread than a regular dessert cake, so you could eat it any time of the day, not just for dessert. I wasn't sure what maraschino cherries were so I learned what they were and that I like them.

~ Jack  Hr. 2

Baking and Pastry Pizza Critique 2015 Jack Bruckner

Homemade white crust pizza-
This  type of pizza was the most flavorful and buttery pizza out of all of them.
The texture of this pizza was  very soft and fluffy.
The taste of this pizza was very fresh and Delicious.
The color of this pizza was orange.
The Aroma of this pizza was  very acceptable.
The overall appearance of this pizza was yeast in the crust was  very crunchy.
The overall acceptability of this pizza was the best.











Pre-made crust -

This was the second best pizza.
The texture of this pizza was slightly hard.
The taste of this pizza was smoky.
The color of this pizza was red.
The aroma of this pizza was moderately acceptable.
The overall appearance of this pizza was burn`t.
The overall acceptability of this pizza was right in the middle between the other two pizzas.






Frozen Pizza-
This was the worst pizza.
The texture of this pizza was very hard.
The taste of this pizza was bitter.
The color of this pizza was both white and black.
The aroma  of this pizza was not acceptable.
The overall appearance of this pizza was tarnished.
The overall acceptability of this was horrible.

Brittney Bragg > Confetti Cake Cookies

                                                                 

Ingredients:

Dough:

• Cake mix of choice                                                                                                                       (Yellow cake mix)                                                 
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of oil

Add ins (optional):

• M&Ms
• Rainbow sprinkles (2-3 tbsp)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl add cake mix, eggs, and oil 
3. On medium speed mix until a dough has formed. (dough, NOT BATTER)
4. Mix in sprinkles into the dough with a wooden spoon (not the mix, you don't want the sprinkles to break apart)
5. On a non-greased cookie sheet scoop 1 Tbsp balls of dough 2 in apart 
6. Flour the bottom of a glass and gently press onto the cookies to flatten them
7. Gently press a few M&Ms in the cookies
8. Place in the oven for 8 minutes (depending on the oven) 
9. Let cool, then serve

                                                            Making the cookies

                                 
                For my final home study I decided to make cake batter cookies. I decided I wanted to make confetti cookies because I love sprinkles and thought it would be fun to try them out. Before making the cookies I got out all the ingredients and set up my kitchen aid mixer. Once the mixer was set up, I added the cake mix, 2 eggs, and the oil. When making these cookies it is important to make sure you are not following the directions on the box of cake mix because you want to form a dough not a batter. After mixing the dough completely I turned off the mixer, removed the bowl, and added 3 tbsp of rainbow sprinkles and mixed the sprinkles in by hand with a wooden spoon. These cookies are fun to make because you can add whatever you want to the dough and how much of it you put in it is your choice too. After mixing in the sprinkles I took my 1 tbsp cookie scoop and scooped the cookies onto the cookie sheet and floured the glass. Taking the floured glass I slightly pressed the cookies down then placed three M&Ms in each cookie and placed them in the oven for 8 minutes. For these cookies since this is a cake mix you have to press the dough balls down into the cookie shape because they will not do this in the oven.


                                                         Tasting the Cookies

                    After the cookies had cooled it was time to evaluate them. The appearance of the cookies: the cookies had lots of color from the candy and sprinkles but the cookies them self did not get a lot of brown color to it like a normal cookie dough would and it had lots of cracks throughout the top of the cookies. Then there was the aroma: the smell of the cookies was very sweet and cake like with a little bit of chocolate scent from the M&Ms. Next was the texture of the cookies: the texture of the cookies were very soft with lots of cracks and soft parts, but firm around the edges (the perfect cookie texture). Last but not least the taste of the cookies: the cookies tasted very sweet, chocolaty, with a little bit of a bitter flavor. Overall I think these cookies turned out great and I would definitely like to make these cookies again and other variations of these cookies.

Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Abbie Harper

Hour 1

Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamed and smooth - about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat on high until fully combine, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Turn the mixer down to low and add about half of the flour mixture, beating until just barely combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined. If the dough still seems too soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour until it is a better consistency for rolling.
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment to about 1/4″ thickness. Stack the pieces (with paper) onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Chilling is mandatory. If chilling for more than a couple hours, cover the top dough piece with a single piece of parchment paper. Chill up to 2 days (max).
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. The amount of batches will depend on how large/small you cut your cookies. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and using a cookie cutter, cut in shapes. Transfer the cut cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.
Before baking, you can apply sprinkles like I did on the rainbow sprinkle lined cookies shown in this post. If you’re planning to only ice them instead, or you just want to keep them plain - skip the sprinkles.
Bake for 8-11 minutes, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Review:

In this recipe you will use the creaming method where you cream the butter and sugar together first. We did that in class while making the sugar cookies, this was almost the same. I did not have a scale so the portions may have not been perfect, but pretty close. As were all  human we make mistakes, I forgot to add the salt I did not see a huge difference in the final product. I did not modify the recipe at all. You really need to chill these cookies otherwise it will be a sticky mess to cut out.

Critique:

These cookies were a very simple take on sugar cookies, Easy to make and taste pretty good. They were not overly sweet which I enjoyed. I would make these again if I need cut out cookies. You really need to be sure to not over cook these otherwise they will be a hard mess. I would recommend  this recipe for anyone who needs a good cut out cookie.  

PIZZA CRITIQUE

      First, let's talk about the Homemade Pizza Crust White: Looks are great pizza, with a characteristic orange color of pizza, light, relative thickness, the surface can seen a bit sour and oily. Tasted very good, moderate softness there, not too salty nor too sweet. This is a kind of pizza I like.

      As for the Pre. Made Crust, for me it's really not that bad. It's thin, tiny, brownish, with a bit of sour sweet. I think this pretty much taste people love. I also love this pizza.

      The last one: Frozen Pizza. Actually, It's not the pizza I like, from texture to taste. It's thin, dry steam, the color a bit like Pre Made Crust pizza. I feel the smells not good. Can also be customized kind that taste is not the same.
               That's all about my though.

Pumpkin bars

Jarad Newcomb
Hour 2


Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oil
4 eggs
4 cups pumpkin

Directions:
Mix all together
Pour into well greased and floured one 12 x 17 or two 9 x 13 pans 
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Check after 25 minutes.

Wait until cool then frost.

Frosting:
4 1/2 oz of cream cheese
3/4 stick of butter
1 1/2 Tbl milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 to 2 cups of powdered sugar

Direction:
Mix all together and frost bars

Preparation Method:
For the pumpkin bars - We have made this a lot of times and have mostly stuck to the recipe.  The only thing we changed is mix all of the dry ingredients together first and then we mixed the oil, eggs and pumpkin together in a separate bowl.  We then added all of the ingredients together until they were mixed thoroughly without lumps.   

For the frosting  - we found we wanted more frosting so we made 1 1/2 batches instead.  We beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla first.  We then added a little powdered sugar and a little milk gradually and alternated these until it was the thickness we desired.

Critique:
I really like these bars and we make them a lot because my family and friends really like them.  In my opinion these bars are in my top 3 favorite bars. They are very easy and quick to make.  It has a nice pumpkin and cinnamon aroma while it is baking and makes the house smell great.  You can't wait for it to cool so you can frost it and then eat it.  They are so moist and delicious.  The cream cheese frosting has a melt in your mouth texture.   These bars do not last a long time at our house.

Assessment:
The pumpkin bars is most like the muffin method because you mix all of the dry ingredients together and then in a separate bowl mix the liquid ingredients together.  Both the dry and the liquid ingredients are then mixed together.  The frosting is most like the creaming method.  You need to mix the fat and sugar together to produce small air bubbles so the frosting is more fluffy.

Home Study #2

Jessica Fagan
Hour 1
Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake

For this project I decided to make strawberry shortcake and the method I used to make this was the biscuit method. While preparing this dish I came across some difficulties, like at first the dough was very sticky and would get off my fingers so I added a little more flour to help it from sticking to everything. Other than that, the preparation of this dish went well. There was nothing that I really wanted to change in this recipe because I think it came out really good, and I liked how everything came together. I think the preparation of this product affected the final product was when I was making the dough and it became sticky and it really didn't come off as a dough so in the end the dough came out pretty flat, and I wish it came out thicker. 

The taste of the final product was really good, it was nice and sweet and had a nice orange taste to it also. The biscuits came out a nice golden brown, and were light and fluffy, the strawberries had a nice sweet juicy taste to them and the whipped cream complemented the strawberries really well. The smell of the final product was sweet, and the texture was nice and soft with a little crunch to it. Overall I think this product came out really well and I would make it again, and I would defiantly advise anyone to make this because its really good. What I learned from this experience was how to make, homemade whipped cream, because I never knew how to make it before. 

Snicker Doodle Cookies

1 C Butter

1 1/2 C Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 3/4 C Flour

2 t Cream of Tartar

1 t Baking Soda

1/4 t Salt 

3 T Sugar

3 t Cinnamon

Preparation 

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees then I got a electric mixer out. Then I put the butter, 1 1/2 C sugar, and eggs in the mixer bowl and mixed until fluffy. Then in a separate bowl I combined flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Then I combined dry ingredients into butter mixture. After that I chilled the dough and a ungreased pan for 10-15 min in fridge. While that was being chilled I mixed the 3 T of sugar and the 3 t of cinnamon in a bowl. Then I got the dough and rolled it in the cinnamon and sugar. The place on pan and bake for 9 min and let it cool on pan for 1 min.

Critique
These cookies were soft and fluffy. They were easy to make. This recipe can make a lot of cookies if your in need of something easy and quick to make for birthday parties, family gatherings, or just for the heck of it.

Assessment
I would make this again these were so delicious and i have plenty to give to family members and have some extra for a different day. I recommend this recipe to any body how likes cookies and a lot of them.

Home Study #1

Jessica Fagan
Hour 1
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

For this project I made homemade chocolate chip cookies and for this project I used the muffin method to prepare this product. This method was similar to one we have used in class because first what you have to do is mix all the dry goods together, and then mix all the liquid goods together, then you combine the dry and the wet goods together. In class we used this method when we were making the scones. This was similar because we had to mix the dry goods and wet goods together separate first then you combine them together. During my preparation, I added to much salt and in the end making the final product tasting really salty. Other than the salt my preparation of the product turned out well, i followed the directions and did everything it told me to do. If I could change something to this recipe I would have to say, that I would add less salt, and more chocolate chips. I would add less salt because in my final product it was really salty and it overpowered some of the other ingredients. I would add more chocolate chips because I felt like it had very little in the final product and I would like a more chocolaty taste in my cookies. 

The final product turned out pretty good actually, besides having to much salt other than that it was really good. The texture of the cookies was a perfect soft cookie, it was almost as good as Martha's cookies. The appearance of the cookies were a nice golden brown and they were cooked at just the right time and temperature. The aroma of the cookies were chocolaty. The taste of the cookies were sweet, but also rich, with a salty taste to it. Overall, I think the cookies turned out really good, and even the next day when I ate them they were still very soft and chewy, so they were baked at the right time to make them nice and soft. I would defiantly make these cookies again because they were so good, and I would recommend this recipe to anyone who loves chocolate chip cookies. What I learned from this experience was how to make really soft and chewy cookies because I was never able to make them that nice and chewy before, I always ended up making them hard. 

HOT PIZZA!!!!

     
      We tried three different kinds of pizzas. The kinds we tried were homemade,pre-made, and frozen.  The three pizzas we tasted were different. down below I will explain the differences of the pizzas.