baked good – Page 2

A scrumptious union – Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

Do you love shortbread cookies? Do you love red velvet? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then you are probably my soulmate. Shortbread cookies are always my favorite Christmastime treat and so I knew sooner or later I would need to bake my own version! When I was looking for baking inspiration online I found a Buzzfeed post about red velvet and finally educated myself as to what a red velvet baked good actually entails. (Basically it’s just vague chocolatey flavoring and some red food dye). That’s when the idea for these cookies was born: Red velvet shortbread cookies! Doesn’t that combination just sound like a match made in heaven?

Making these cookies was a little more complicated than I anticipated. I used the electric mixer (which is a life saving tool) but the dough took a long time to form and I ended up having to knead it with my hands a lot. This led to my hands looking bloody and scary for the next day because of all the food coloring that was in the dough!

nobody died in the making of these cookies… I promise. — nobody died in the making of these cookies… I promise!

Regardless, the cookies did eventually come out! I had mixed reviews of this recipe, some people LOVED it and chowed down a few in a row (myself included) while some people let me know that they were, “good… but not your best ever”. I think it all comes down to a personal preference for cookie types so I wasn’t too offended by the objectors. Personally, I think they were delicious!

The real fun part of this recipe came when I decided to “drizzle” white chocolate on top of the cookies once they cooled. This is where my inexperience in the kitchen definitely revealed itself. I melted white chocolate in the microwave and made several valiant efforts to “drizzle” it on the cookies, but the chocolate just would not cooperate! No matter how much I willed it to be melty and yummy looking with gentle coaxing, the chocolate did not want to come off the spoon and instead stayed solid like a stubborn child. In the end I decided to just put a little button of white chocolate in the center of each cookie, it kind of looked artsy so I pretended that it was my plan all along… (shhhh don’t tell!)

RED VELVET SHORTBREAD COOKIES

The Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
Red liquid food coloring
1/4 cup white chocolate

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In an electric mixer combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt
3. Cut in butter and add in food coloring (until desired redness is reached), it will start to have a crumb-like texture
4. Knead with hands until the dough forms into a round ball
5. Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut out cookies with a cookie cutter (or the top of a glass if you lack supplies like me)
6. With the scraps continue to roll out the dough until you have used all of it
7. Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes
8. Once cooled, melt your white chocolate and attempt a pretty “drizzle” (good luck!)

It’s a love affair – Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes I think that I might have an obsession with oatmeal. Okay, okay I know that I definitely have an obsession with oatmeal. So whenever someone asks me what my favorite kind of cookies are, there is no contest – oatmeal wins every time. While I was growing up my parents always made the cookie recipe from the one printed on top of the oatmeal box. Throughout the years I had slowly forgotten about that classic recipe. However, the other morning as I was making my morning oatmeal I caught a glimpse of the recipe from my past and knew immediately what my next baking adventure was going to be!

Making oatmeal cookies sounded like a lot of fun, but the recipe called for raisins and I am not a big fan of those. I am, however, a big fan of chocolate… so that’s what I decided to mix in instead! I went to the store to pick up some chocolate chips and was shocked at all the different types of baking chips that I could choose from! I picked up a bag of dark chocolate chips and some shredded coconut and decided to mix all of my favorite things together for some dark chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies!

This recipe was super fun to make, and it allowed me to use the hand beater for the very first time to mix up the dough. There is definitely a learning curve with that particular machine…

They might as well call this the “get dough absolutely everywhere but in the bowl” beater

Regardless of my struggle with the hand beater, the cookies came out AMAZING! The recipe made almost 5 dozen bite sized cookies and the whole batch lasted less than 12 hours! (AKA, this was yet another massive baking success)

DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES

The Ingredients:

14 tablespoons of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup coconut

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In one bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
3. In a separate large bowl beat butter and sugars with hand beater until creamy
4. Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mix and continue beating
5. Beat dry mix into wet mix
6. Add oats, chocolate chips, and coconut and mix together
7. Drop small balls of dough onto cookie sheet
8. Bake for 9 minutes one sheet at a time

Baking frenzy! – Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Well, I’ve come a long way with this site in the past few days. I now own my own domain name and I’m beginning to understand how this whole blog thing works a little bit better. Also, (and more importantly) I have been in baking mode for the past week! I’ve experimented with tons of new recipes and kitchen tools, which is fantastic because now I have a lot of new recipes to roll out for the site!

I wasn’t quite sure what to make after my muffin craze so I decided to ask my boyfriend what he would be most likely to eat. That’s the thing that I’ve discovered about baking, you need to have people willing to eat the final product or else you may find yourself up to your ears in cookies, cakes, and scones!

dont-keep-calm-it-s-raining-cookies-outside — Although, now that I think of it that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…

Back to my boyfriend, he’s a pretty typical boy – meaning that he can eat A LOT and not seem to have it effect him whatsoever! (lucky young men and their superhuman metabolisms!) So I decided he would be the perfect recipient of whatever I would bake. He did not have any problem with that! He told me he loved anything with chocolate in it, but that banana bread was one of his favorites. With that information in mind I decided to combine the two and create a super chocolatey banana bread that he’d be sure to love.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

The Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 stick butter, melted
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

The method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In one bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
3. In a separate bowl stir the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla
4. Carefully fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined
5. Mix in the chocolate chips
6. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

After having one slice, my boyfriend took three quarters of the loaf home with him. I took the rest in to work and people were upset that I didn’t bring more! It was gone within 30 minutes. I had a slice myself and found it quite delicious, It tastes like a mix of a brownie and banana bread. People who love classic banana bread may not like the twist, but those who have a special place for chocolate in their hearts will be sure to love this!

Let’s jump right in! – Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins

Hey there! My name is Rachel, welcome to my newest adventure! I have decided to really learn to cook and bake like a real live human adult! I have just turned 21 and because I only have one more year of school to go, I decided it would be in my best interest to start figuring out what all of those other contraptions were in that room with the microwave and fridge.

Right now I am home from school for the summer, working at a summer camp in New Hampshire and enjoying what little time I have left in the comfort of my parent’s home with a big kitchen and tons of space for my experiments.

The whole idea for this adventure began the other day when I decided to drag the whole family to a day of blueberry picking. “What fun!” I thought to myself, and it was! That is until we had four quarts of blueberries in our fridge and not enough time to consume them all! I was throwing blueberries in my oatmeal, my salads, mixing it with yogurt, and smoothies, but we simply had too many! So then I decided to make some muffins. From scratch. Which was a big endeavor for me as I’m typically the first person to reach for the box mix recipes when baked goods are needed. I went online and used the first recipe I found and within minutes I had whipped some up!

can't you just smell the delicious desperation? — can’t you just smell the delicious desperation?

To my extreme astonishment, they were a huge hit! I found that I had enjoyed making them so much that I wanted to make more! There was something so gratifying in making delicious treats from scratch and watching as they brought joy to those around me!

That all brings me to where I am now. I decided to start a baking blog in order to keep my new hobby interesting and alive. As for where the name “ladle by ladle” comes from, I literally just walked around the kitchen picking up various utensils and coming up with puns for them until I found one that wasn’t already in use on wordpress. It’s supposed to sound like “little by little” which is appropriate for me and this blog I think since I’m going to be learning slowly!

My first recipe is for a different type of muffin. I made them the day after I made the blueberry ones and they were an even bigger hit! my Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins were denser than your average muffin, but if you like oatmeal in your baked goods (and raspberries of course) then these are the muffins for you! Plus they’re pink and pretty (and pretty is very important!)

RASPBERRY OATMEAL MUFFINS

The ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup raspberries, chopped

The method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, and salt)
3. Mix together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a separate bowl and then add eggs and vanilla
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and once they’re combined, add in the raspberries
5. Put muffin cups into a muffin tin (makes 12 muffins) and fill them each evenly with the batter
6. Bake for 20 minutes!

These muffin were well received by my family, friends, and co-workers. I was concerned that maybe they were just being nice, but I ate three in one sitting so I’m inclined to think that they were actually pretty delicious!

Until next time!

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