burnt cupcakes..

Well.. the title says it all. I made vanilla Magnolia cupcakes, with Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate frosting. It tasted.. the cupcakes were good (not great) and the frosting did not taste rich. It tasted like cocoa powder. Well, maybe it tasted like cocoa powder because it was made of cocoa powder but I just expected more from Hershey! I got the cupcake recipe from Food Network and the frosting from Hersheys.

First mix in 1/3 of flour mixture into egg and butter/sugar cream thing.

Then half of milk/vanilla. Then flour, then milk, then flour!

Couldn't find my ice cream scooper so I had to use a spoon ._.

All ready for the oven!

BURNT :(

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes; makes 24

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Since I burnt them, I used chocolate frosting!

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting; makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

hmm..

The cupcake was greasy and crunchy (probably because it was burnt). It tasted.. "eh". But it did not taste flourly (tasting only of thick flour) which was good. Gotta say, I was kind of dissapointed. And the frosting, like I said before, was tasted powdery and not rich.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cupcake:3

frosting:2

*shock* first post is of cookies and not cupcakes?

This cookie dough was made the day before yesterday, but I created this blog today and so I felt I should have a post. It was too late to make cupcakes and so I thawed the dough and put it in the oven. So, the day before yesterday, I was craving chocolate chip cookies so I made some. The day before yesterday, I read the New York Times quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie (yes, I know, I'm reaaally late) and I found a promising recipe at allrecipes.com here it is (after the pictures!)

before... (looks yummier than the after! haha)

after! (i know, they look so dry..)

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie; makes 18

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

hmm..

I found that the recipe had too much vanilla in it. While it was baking, you could smell the vanilla. They were kind of dry too. They were chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges. But they tasted like the cookies you buy that Ralph's. (a.k.a. not good). After they had cooled, they melted in your mouth and it was definately too sweet. These weren't the best I've had, but they were good.

Out of a 1-5 rating

cookie: 3 1/2