BakeRae

The adventures of my baking addiction :)

[bakerae-blog]

Easy Peasy Chocolate Chip Cookies - no mixer :)

Soooo, I have officially killed a second hand mixer in maybe 4 months?  someday I will get my Kitchenaid, but until then....lol.  Anyways, since it's the weekend, and no weekend at home is complete without at least baking two different yummies, I decided to try a new-ish chocolate chip cookie recipe, which didn't require me to use an electric mixer for creaming butter, since as I mentioned, I am sans mixer at the moment.  Anyways!  I decided to go with the following recipe, and they turned out fabulously fluffy, soft, and delicious.  And I REALLY love dark brown sugar in my cookies.  I'm just saying.  So, here goes!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl (or pyrex liquid measuring cup, that's what I used).  allow it to cool slightly.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl, and set aside.

(I had a little helper today :)  HOW CUTE IS SHE??  I'm just sayin')

In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until combined.

Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mix until there are no flour streaks.

Give the child the spoon so she(or he) can lick it and quit whining already. ;)

(seriously, she's soooo cute!  sorry.  I'm done.)

Fold in the chocolate chips.  I always guesstimate how much I use, some people like 'em super chocolatey, and some don't.  So just add till you're satisfied :)

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper (or you can use baking spray).  Drop dough by spoonful onto baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until they are starting to turn golden.

Move cookies to wire rack to cool.

Eat 'em up!  And what you don't eat, store in an airtight container :)

See?  Easy Peasy, and no mixer needed!  :)

[bakerae-blog]

Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting - O.M.G.

Okay, so last weekend I stumbled across this recipe, and knew immediately it was what I was going to make this weekend.  Salted Caramel?  Yes please!  Anyways….Here is the recipe.  Note: the frosting does take a while to make, but honestly, it’s so worth it.  I started it after i got the cake in the oven, and by the time i was done with it, the cake was cool enough to frost.  So it kinda worked out ;)

Ingredients (for the cake):

3 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1 c. softened butter (2 sticks)

2 c. sugar

4 eggs, room temp

1 c. buttermilk, room temp

2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions (for the cake):

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter.  Add the sugar, and mix until fluffy.

      3. Add eggs, one at a time, creaming together after each.

      4. Add a little of the flour mixture, and mix until blended.  Then add a           little of the buttermilk and mix until blended.  Continue until both               are gone.

      5. Add vanilla.  Mix on high speed to incorporate some air into the               batter.

     6.  Prepare three 9 in cake pans.  spray with baking spray, or butter             the pans.

     7.  Divide the batter between the pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-           30 minutes.

Okay, that was the easy part.  ;)  Onto the frosting!!

Ingredients:

First Stage:

1 c. buttermilk

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. crisco vegetable shortening

1/2 c. butter

1 tsp. baking soda

Second Stage:

1/2 c. butter

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 c. confectioner’s sugar

Instructions:

Using a 3-4 quart pot, add all ingredients from the first stage.  Stirring with a wooden spoon, cook over medium-low heat.

        2.  Cook to softball stage.  This is 235-245 degrees using a candy                thermometer.  Also use the cold water test.

      3.  pour into large mixing bowl and, using a mixer, whip the caramel              up until it is cool enough that you can touch it lightly.

      4. Add the butter and salt from the second stage, and whip with the             mixer.

      5.  Add confectioner’s sugar 1/2 c. at a time.  scrape sides of the                  bowl as you go.  add just enough sugar that the frosting will hold              it’s shape.  (I ended up using 1 and a half cups).

      6.  Frost your cake!  Voila!  Deliciousness!

Serious, deliciousness.  The kitchen smelled SO GOOD while i was making the caramel.  yummmmmmm.  

A couple notes: when making the caramel, make sure you are stirring it a LOT, especially when it starts turning more caramel-y color.  it burns pretty quick if you let it sit.  Hence the reason I do not have more pictures for that part of the process.  ;)

also, i discovered this when I was shopping at walmart one day, and I flipping love it.  Because honestly, who keeps buttermilk in the house?  Just use milk, a few tablespoons of this stuff, and you’re good to go :)

[bakerae-blog]

Blueberry Orange Scones Recipe

Ingredients:

2 c. All-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 c. Heavy cream, plus 2-4 Tbsp, divided

1/4 tsp orange extract

1 c. Blueberries

For the Orange Glaze:

1 c. Powdered sugar

4-5 Tbsp heavy cream

1/2 tsp orange extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Quickly cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 c. Heavy cream and the orange extract and mix with a spatula just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. (They may get a little mashed, that’s okay :) )

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and have about a cup of flour on hand. Knead the dough until it forms a ball, adding flour as needed to ensure the dough isn’t too sticky.

Form the scones by patting the dough into a circle about 3/4 in. thick. Cut into slices (I do 8). Place slices on the prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the scones with the 2-4 Tbsp heavy cream.

Bake 15-19 minutes, or until the scones are turning golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

While scones are cooling, mix together the glaze ingredients. It should be thin enough to drizzle over the scones. If it’s too thick, add more heavy cream, if it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Once the scones have cooled, drizzle with the glaze and voila! You have delicious scones! If they don’t get eaten immediately, you can store them in an airtight container.

Enjoy!!

[bakerae-blog]

Quick Note

I promise I will do more photos of the various stages of my creations, and post the recipes along with them. Since I just started this thing, I am not prepared with pictures of the scones, D'oh! Also, if you try one of the recipes please let me know if you like it, or if you have questions :)

[bakerae-blog]

My latest creation, based off of a recipe I found for raspberry almond scones. These are blueberry orange scones with an orange glaze, and they are moist(I hate dry scones) and delicious!

[bakerae-blog]

Introductions

Hi! My name is Teraesa, and I'm addicted to baking. Seriously. With the crazy amount of posts I've been making to Facebook and Instagram about the things I've baked, I decided it's about time I started a blog devoted entirely to that! I love trying out new recipes, and tweaking them until I get them just right! Aside from baking, I have a 3 year old daughter named Sienna (Enna for short) and she loves to help me bake! We even have matching aprons. It's super adorable. I am engaged to a wonderful man who loves to try everything I bake, and we've been together for almost 7 years. I work full time at a credit union, and I have 3 part time semesters left until I have my associates degree in web and software development. I also love music, reading and naps. So there you have it! My little blurb about me. Now, onto the good stuff! :)