Wow, I kind of forgot all about this blog! At first it was because I didn’t have time to bake, and then I just didn’t have time to cook period! I’m trying to make an effort to cook for myself more this semester, so perhaps I’ll brush this blog off and make it more about just my cooking adventures in general.
I Now Declare It Summer!
I’m currently going to school in New Mexico, but I’m originally from Colorado. Now, while Colorado isn’t really all that much of a colder climate then New Mexico for most of the year, there’s this weird thing where seasons don’t seem to match up quite right. New Mexico tends to just skip spring and winter, and is either in perpetual chilliness like autumn, or intense heat like summer. On top of this, summer weather starts really early down here – it’s only half-way through April, and yet it was 80 degrees F today.
To my Coloradan sensibilities, this is just silly! But it is very good for one thing – you can start enjoying frozen treats much earlier in the year! So, to herald in what really feels like summer, even though it’s technically spring, I give to you a homemade popsicle recipe! It’s not really baking, but it is very tasty and easy to make!
The Recipe: Berry and Chocolate Cup Popsicles
Shopping list:
Vanilla Ice Cream
Assorted Berries (I used blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries)
Chocolate Candy Melts or Shell Chocolate Syrup
Paper Cups
Popsicle Sticks
Other Materials
A Spoon
A Freezer
Two Small Mixing Bowls*
A Microwave*
*If you are using Shell Chocolate Syrup, you will only need one bowl and you will not need the microwave
While these are very easy to make, they are a little on the expensive side. All together the materials cost me about $28. The berries can run a bit pricey if they’re out of season and depending on where you live. Likewise, the ice cream can be a bit expensive depending on the brand and how much you buy. I bought two pints of Blue Bunny brand ice cream for about $8, because I was buying it at my school’s convenience store and that was the only brand they had. A store-brand might cost a bit less, though you may want less or more ice cream depending on how many popsicles you want to make (I made 4 with a little over 1 pint).
Instructions:
Remove ice cream from the freezer and let thaw for however much time is needed for the ice cream to soften.
Place as many berries as desired in the bottom of a paper cup. Some paper cups come heavily waxed on the inside, but if the kind you are using are not waxed, you may want to line them with wax paper to keep the popsicles from sticking to the inside of the cups.
Pour Shell Chocolate Syrup or melted Candy Melts into the bottom of the cup, covering the berries. Gently tap the bottom of the cup on a flat surface to help the chocolate fill in the cracks between the berries. Spread more Syrup or Candy Melts along the sides of the cup. This will create a chocolatey shell around the outside of your ice cream.
Scoop ice cream into a mixing bowl. Toss in a handful of berries and thoroughly mix. If the ice cream melts to the point of liquefying, that is okay – it will make the next step a bit easier.
Pour the ice cream and berries into the paper cups, on top of the chocolate. Fill to within an inch to half an inch of the top of the cup. Pat down ice cream with the back of a spoon or gently tap the bottom of the cup on a flat surface to flatten the top of the ice cream.
Place in a freezer, checking frequently until the ice cream has begun to harden but has not yet frozen. At that point, gently push a popsicle stick into the ice cream.
Let freeze for at least an hour, or however long it takes for the ice cream to completely freeze again.
Remove cups from the freezer. Working over a sink, bowl, or trash can, use a pair of scissors to cut a small slit in the top of the cup. Using your hands, tear along the cut, pulling the cup away from the popsicle like you would peel an orange.
Serve and enjoy!
OPTIONAL EXTRA STUFF:
I don’t have any extra tips in particular, other then to suggest trying other things in the ice cream. I personally think it would be really tasty to pour the chocolate in first, then a layer of peanut butter, then the ice cream. I haven’t tried it myself, but it could be really tasty! Experiment with the recipe and have fun with it!
easy-peasy chocolate-cheesy
Okay, that title makes this sound kind of gross. But it isn’t, I promise!
These delicious little morsels are the easiest thing I’ve ever made while in college. Which is all do to the fact that most of it was pre-made. Kind of like what Sandra Lee does, but not nearly as silly. Or maybe it is as silly. I dunno.
What I DO know is that these are awesome and easy and totally perfect for a college student that wants to make a dessert for a party or something like that, but doesn’t have much time or an oven. These take such little effort, but are totally awesome.
The Recipe: Chocolate Cheesecake Balls
Shopping list:
A Pre-made Plain Cheesecake (these can be found in the bakery of most grocery stores)
Chocolate Candy Melts
Toothpicks or some other kind of small skewer
Other Materials:
A Medium-sized Mixing Bowl
A Spoon
A Microwave
Wax Paper
The cost will probably change depending on where you buy your cheesecake and the size. I bought one that was about 10 inches in diameter and an inch and a half thick. Also, one bag of candy melts was just barely enough to cover all of that cake. If you’re getting a bigger cake, you should probably buy more melts. All together, my shopping list cost about $10.
Instructions:
If you can, chill the cheesecake before working on this, since it will keep it a bit firmer. If you don’t have a fridge, that’s okay!
With a spoon or your hands, scoop out cake and roll into balls a little smaller then a shooter marble. Try not to get the crust in with the cake, because it makes it harder for the balls to hold their shape. Set on a sheet of wax paper and continue until you’ve finished up the entire cake.
Poor some of your candy melts into the mixing bowl, and melt according to the instructions. It’s best not to melt them all at once, in case they start to harden.
Gently drop the cake balls into the chocolate, and roll them around with a spoon. Remove with the spoon, tapping off excess chocolate if you can. Set the balls back on the wax paper and press a toothpick or skewer into the top before the chocolate cools. (This is easiest if you’ve got a friend to help you.)
After the chocolate has hardened, move to a container or serving dish (TIP: I used the top clear part of container the cake came in, as you can see in the above photo. Remove any labels and it makes a great serving tray). If you can, chill for a little while. Then, serve!
Like cupcakes, but not at all
My goal for this blog for now is one post a month, at least until I have time to do more baking then that. But I’m going to go ahead and make an extra post this month, since I’m at my parent’s house for spring break and got to do some baking. Today I’m doing something a little different and featuring a savory recipe. It’s something my family’s made for ages, and I absolutely love it.
These are tasty and super easy to make. And perfect for the winter months when you’re craving something Barbecue-y but can’t use the grill yet and don’t want to go to a restaurant. (At least… I think so.)
The Recipe: Barbecue Biscuit Cups
Shopping List:
1/2 lb Ground Beef
1 Small Onion
Cheddar Cheese (Block or Pre-shredded)
Barbecue Sauce
1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
Other Materials:
Muffin Cups or Ramekins
Cooking Spray
Small Skillet
An Oven
Didn’t keep track of how much this cost, since I didn’t do the shopping for this. I will note, however, that you should buy the normal grands biscuits if you can, instead of the flaky kind. Also, grands come 8 to a can, and this recipe is only for 4 servings. If you want to use all 8 biscuits, you can just double the meat.
Instructions:
Grease four muffin tins or ramekins. Open your biscuits and gently flatten them down so that they fit the muffin tins or ramekins. Set them in the tins and gently pull the sides up if they don’t stay or are too short. Be careful not to tear them. If using muffin tins, use the outer cups since the biscuits will expand and stick to one another if you place them close together.
Chop the whole onion. Combine in a small skillet with the ground beef and brown. Add about 1/3 a cup of barbecue sauce, or to taste. Spoon meat evenly into each biscuit cup.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. When oven is heated, cook biscuit cups for about 15-20 minutes if using muffin tins, about 18-25 minutes if using ramekins or until golden-brown. While cups are cooking, shred about 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese (or use pre-shredded if you don’t have a grater).
As soon as the cups come out of the oven, sprinkle them with cheese. Let stand a couple of minutes before removing from tins and serve.
OPTIONAL EXTRA STUFF:
If you don’t have BBQ sauce, you can mix 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon of mustard, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Feel free to add some extra stuff to this recipe. A bit of chopped celery adds a nice crunch to the meat, and I’ve been thinking about adding a bit of crumbled bacon (though I never have… it just sounds tasty!)
[Insert witty Leprechaun-related title]
Oh, what’s this?
Oh my.
Looking for something cool, creamy, sweet, and green(ish) for St. Patrick’s Day? And that takes very little work? What do you think about Mint Oreo Truffles? Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?
My roommates have decided that once a month we’ll do some sort of baking project. This month, we decided to go for a holiday theme, and what holiday is more perfect for college students then St Patrick’s Day? Sadly, the holiday is during our spring break… so we celebrated a week early! These are so ridiculously easy to make that I most certainly recommend it for college students.
The Recipe: Mint Oreo Truffles
Shopping List:
1 Package Double Stuff Mint Oreos
1 8oz Package Cream Cheese
Dark Chocolate Candy melts
Other Materials:
Large Ziploc Bags
Wax Paper
Rolling Pin (or just something heavy)
Mixing Bowl
A Microwave
A Freezer
This cost me a grand total of $10. It is seriously cheap, especially if you already have ziploc bags and wax paper in your pantry. The only problem you might run into is a freezer – if you have a mini fridge with some sort of freezer, that is perfect, but if you don’t, this gets a bit tricky. You can also use any kind of candy melts, it doesn’t have to be dark chocolate – I just chose to use them because they aren’t as sweet. It’s pretty great, though, since it makes them taste kind of like a super creamy thin mint cookie!
Instructions:
Open up your oreos and divide into thirds. An average pack should have 30 cookies in it, so three groups of ten. With one third, scrap out the stuffing and discard (or, y’know, eat). Place cookies in a large ziploc bag and place flat on a counter. Use a rolling pin (or other heavy object – I used a skillet) to smash the cookies until they are very finely crushed. Poor into a large mixing bowl, and make sure to scrape all the bits off the inside of the bag.
Into the bowl, drop one 8oz package of room-temperature cream cheese. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands in there to mix it all in – don’t be afraid of getting dirty, because seriously, a spoon does not work for this. Make sure your hands are clean, though! Thoroughly mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs together.
Roll your mixture into small balls, about the size of a shooter marble. Set them on a plate. Once you have rolled all the mixture, you’ll want to pop these in a freezer for about ten minutes to firm up. If you go straight to the next step, they probably won’t hold together and will just leave you with a big mess.
Wash out your mixing bowl for the next step – no real use in getting another one dirty. Melt a bag of dark cocoa chocolate melts according to instructions. Drop oreo balls into the chocolate a few at a time, and gently roll around with a spoon until evenly coated. Spoon the balls out, tapping off excess chocolate. Set on a large sheet of wax paper and let dry. Then go ahead and eat!
I made about 48 truffles, and I’m sure it would be possible to get 50 if I had rolled them a little smaller. Also, one 14oz bag of candy melts were just barely enough to coat all of these truffles, so watch out for that.
OPTIONAL EXTRA STUFF:
This last bit is totally optional, and was done only be cause I could. But it makes your truffles look super nice and kind of professional.
So, I had about a quarter bag of milk chocolate melts left from a previous project (coming soonish, probably) that I needed to get rid of. So I had the idea of, hey, why not pipe it onto the truffles?
All you need for this is a small ziploc bag and candy melts of a different color/flavor – I’d suggest some green ones, if you’re doing this for St Patrick’s day.
Melt the candy melts in a bowl in the microwave per instructions. Let cool for a few seconds, because otherwise you’ll be handling very hot chocolate through a thin bag and that HURTS. Spoon the chocolate into a small ziploc bag, and using scissors or a knife cut of just the very tip of one of the corners of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate onto the truffles.
You’ll want to work quickly, because the chocolate in the bag solidifies quickly and is pretty useless once it has. If you made a large batch of truffles, you may want to use multiple bags.
The Rolls Responsible
Back in mid December of 2010, my roommates decided to throw a little impromptu dinner party since it was the end of the semester. My roommate was going to make a stir-fry, and one of her friends was coming over to make a Japanese curry. So we had a main course (stir-fry) and a side-dish (curry), but we didn’t have any sort of dessert – so I decided to take a stab at it. I wanted to do something quick and easy, that didn’t need much prep time. My family has been making these tiny cinnamon rolls since forever, I know them like the back of my own hand, and so I figured these would be perfect. And they were!
The Recipe: Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Shopping List:
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Butter
Cinnamon
Sugar
Raisins or Dried Currants (if desired)
Milk
Powdered Sugar
Other Materials:
Oven-safe baking dish, or disposable foil baking pan
A butter knife
A sharp knife
In all, this cost me about $15. It helps if you already have some of these things in your “pantry” (mine is really a plastic box under my roommate’s bed) such as cinnamon, sugar, and powdered sugar. If you don’t have them, that’s fine – these are bulk items that you pay for once and then last for months.
As for baking dishes, I know not all college students have them. Heck, I don’t have one. What you can do instead is buy one of those disposable foil baking pans at a grocery store, but don’t throw it away after you use it. If you wash it out, it’s good for a couple more uses. Some schools also don’t allow large knives for cooking, but that’s okay. A 3-inch blade pocket knife works just fine if you’ve kept it sharp.
Instructions:
Open your crescents and unroll the dough, and try to avoid tearing it. The dough should be perforated into four rectangles, then two triangles in each rectangle. Separate along the rectangles, then smoosh the diagonal perforations together on each piece so that they don’t tear apart. Flip over the dough and do the same to the other side.
Soften, but do not melt, about 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter. Brush liberally onto each rectangle of dough. In a small bowl, mix about 6 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons cinnamon. Sprinkle equally over each rectangle of dough. If desired, sprinkle raisins onto each rectangle. (I prefer dried currents, because they are smaller – the size of raisins makes it harder to roll the dough and they tend to fall out.) Roll each rectangle up length-wise. Pinch the edge of the roll together so that the roll holds together.
Cut each roll into 5 equally spaced pieces, about an inch thick. Place in an oven safe dish, leaving a bit of room in-between rolls, since they will expand. If you crowd them all right next to each other, the dough won’t have space to rise, and therefore won’t bake properly. They’ll also all stick together and you’ll have to cut them apart and the presentation just goes to hell. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
While the rolls are cooking, mix milk and powdered sugar together in a bowl. I have no real measurements for this – just add a bit more of each until you get the desired consistency, which should be thick enough to set on the rolls, but not too thick as to be difficult to drizzle, and not too thin as to be watery. When the rolls come out of the oven, drizzle the icing on top, and let set for a minute or two. You’ll want to serve them while they’re still warm.
This only takes a little under 30 minutes to make, and may take even less time if you have multiple people putting the rolls together. These are definitely something you should make for a group of people – grab two or three friends and have them help you out with it. These are a great crowd-pleaser, and perfect for a dessert or a breakfast. This recipe makes 20 rolls, so if you’re baking for a really large group, you may want to make a few batches so everyone gets at least 3 rolls – trust me, there will be fighting over the last one.
I'm So Baked 