Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts

baking post: oreo cookie brownie bars!

Posted by Unknown on Monday, December 19, 2011

Hi everyone! I decided to do a baking post for you today in case anyone is looking for some totally sinful treats to make for the holidays!
I will most likely be making some more goodies over the next couple of days and I will show you those as well at some point.

(Disclaimer: I am not responsible for the 10 pounds you might gain if you make the following recipe.)

I didn't actually make these for the holidays, it was back in October - myself and my bestie Emma found this recipe online (simultaneously) and knew we had to make it.
Here is the link to the original. You might want to think twice about clicking it because they even involve ice cream and hot fudge in this fiasco and the pictures should be illegal.

Now I will show you my process and results!


This is the concoction Emma and I made. Yes, this is made of chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and brownies. All in the one bar. It is delightful! (And calorie-laden.)

Let me show you how you make them. Continue at own risk.


Make an entire batch of cookie dough and spread it into a glass baking dish that you have lined with parchment paper. Make sure it covers the bottom. Resist eating dough.

Emma the hand model is wearing For Audrey I believe. And look at that stamping! She is my protege. I taught her everything I know!


Line the dish with an entire box of Double Stuff Oreos. Yes, the whole box. Resist eating Oreos because you need them all.
(Emma and I thought we would have Oreos to munch on while the monster was in the oven - as if we needed to eat anything in preparation for that sucker - but then they all fit into the dish. )


Mix up an entire batch of brownies and pour it over the top.
We used a Godiva brownie mix which was freaking delicious. But I think a cheaper mix might be better because it would likely be less dense and would be easier to bake.


Resist urge to just pick up an Oreo and eat it like chips and dip.
(Actually that might be a good future idea.)

 

Now it's time to put your calorie loaf into the oven.


The recipe says 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes but we had issues with that.
We took it out at 55 minutes, thinking it was done. We let it cool for 10 minutes or so and when we checked on it, we realized that the brownies were still liquid under the surface.


We had to put it back in the oven and bake it for another half an hour or more. This is why I think you should use a different brownie mix - it might be less rich and dense and therefore bake quicker.


Having to bake it twice really made the edges hard so it didn't turn out as wonderful as it should have.
However!
I learned a baking tip from a friend on facebook - if your cookies or any other baked goods end up too hard, seal them in a container with a slice or two of bread. The moisture from the bread will transfer into the cookies. And it seriously worked! They ended up soft and chewy, even the edges.
(Thanks for the tip, Anissa!)


You use the parchment paper to lift it out of the pan, peel away the paper, cut into chunks, and eat.
(But believe you me, it is not easy to eat much at once. Soooooo decadent.)


I also want to mention that I think these are much better once they have cooled completely. It's easier to taste all the different components that way!


Nom nom nom.
Do you want to make these now? Don't say I didn't warn you!

I still have half of this batch in my freezer. Every now and then I take out a piece and thaw it! It's better that way because you don't end up eating 5 pieces in a day. (Unless you thaw that many at once but you have more willpower than that. I believe in you.)

Let me know if you make these!
More aboutbaking post: oreo cookie brownie bars!

Zoya - Neeka (and cookie-stuffed cookies?!)

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, August 28, 2011

Hi guys! Today I have a polish/baking post for you once again! I know it's been a while and quite a few of you have mentioned wanting to see more baking adventures in my posts, so today you're getting one!

Polish first, cookies after.







This is Zoya - Neeka from the Mirrors collection and it is just pure gorgeous. I wasn't planning on buying any of these colors (because not only did they not impress me, I didn't expect to find them in Toronto.)

But then at Trade Secret in the Eaton Center, I saw this pretty bottle and she came home with me. (But I paid too much for her! $9.99+tax!)







Excuse the tipwear in the photos, I put this on at work yesterday and then I was a bit too rough with them before they were fully dried, I guess.



The formula of this polish is fantastic. Almost perfect in one coat, but you need 2 to even it out. Easy to control and I didn't even need to clean up because application was that easy.



What is up with all these "exotic" names Zoya is using? Just make a polish called Rebecca, already!







Neeka is a deep purple-toned gray with gold flake-like shimmer, as well as pretty purple shimmer!







I'm not big on really dark colors, but this one is absolutely stunning!

Stupid Zoya, winning me over with pretty polishes despite their bad international customer service!



Bonus picture:







iPhone captures Neeka nicely! Plus a pretty OPI accent nail of Parlez-Vous OPI? and Yule Love This Silver!





Now the yummy part...

I found this recipe a long time ago and was dying to try it. An Oreo baked inside a chocolate chip cookie? Are you kidding me? Eating more than one of these babies could probably put you in a diabetic coma, but that is besides the point.



Obviously, there was no way I was making these alone because of the aforementioned potential diabetic coma... Along comes my friend Vicki! (Hi, Vicki!)

You see, Vicki is a trained chef/baker, and I knew she would be down for making these ridiculously-sized cookies. (I offered to paint her nails too, you know, show off my talents as she shows me hers, but she can't wear polish because it is a hazard in the kitchen where she works! Boo!)







In hindsight, we were a little too generous with the cookie-covering...







We only got 6 cookies onto the cookie sheet.

Covering the sides was a bit difficult, and that is what made the cookies giant. After baking we discussed that perhaps you don't need to cover the sides so much, because the blob on the top would probably spread out and melt down the sides during baking.







Massive. And delicious.

See the raised blobs in the middles? Those are the Oreos. That gives you an idea of just how big these are. There was a good inch or more of cookie-barrier around the Oreo. So really this is like eating 3 cookies in one. Truly, 4 cookies including the Oreo I guess...



We didn't use the cookie recipe in the post because there were comments saying it was bland, but the one we did use ended up being a bit too soft, we think. A thicker dough would probably make it easier to cover the cookies without being too generous.







So. Yummy.

We made them last night, and I discovered today that the cookies taste much better once they are cooled and the Oreo has had time to set and harden a bit. When they're hot, the flavors all kinda mix together and it is just overwhelmingly sweet.

But when they're cool, you can totally taste the 2 different cookies, and they're great.

I brought one to work today as my lunch. One cookie for lunch, they're that big.



There you have it. Cookie-stuffed cookies. I wonder what else you could bake inside a cookie...
More aboutZoya - Neeka (and cookie-stuffed cookies?!)

easter goodies! + nail art of a different kind

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, April 24, 2011

Hey guys, I decided to do a second post today just for fun.
Part of this post is non-nails, and then the end is sort of nails. Nail art of a different kind. Read more and see what I mean!


It's been a while since I posted any of my baked goods, and I made cupcakes yesterday!



Two-tone icing!


I learned this technique on some website, you fill 2 piping bags with different colors, and then you put those piping bags side by side in another piping bag. Genius!


Seeing as I'm making a non-nails post, I'll add in pictures of my Easter goodies.
It was a very Hello Kitty Easter for me!


I actually have 2 of those giant ones now - my aunt brought me one too.


Look how cute it all is! The egg apparently has stickers in it!

My favorite Easter present however, was this:


Look at the cute cupcake! Rhinestones too! But it gets better.


A cupcake necklace inside!! :D:D
So adorable.

Okay after all that, I will show you my different kind of nail art.

I was reading an issue of Cosmo at work last month, and I came across an add for the Sally Hansen polish strip things. A full page add. And it was adorable. So I decided I wanted to frame it.


And it is amazing!


I am in love with it. You can find this in a lot of magazines, mine came from the Cosmo issue with Mila Kunis on it.
I think it is a cute addition to my nail polish area! Hah.

Oh yeah, I also decided to order myself the Starry Temptress collection today. Paid a bit more for it than I wanted to, but shipping was free! Happy Easter to me, from me.

I hope you enjoyed my non-nails and semi-nails post :)
More abouteaster goodies! + nail art of a different kind

nails boss/cakeball boss?

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, February 13, 2011

Seems every weekend I'm baking something different!
This week I made cake balls for the first time for my friend and fellow nails enthusiast, Susan.
They came out wicked, if I do say so myself.


If you aren't familliar with cake balls, they are little balls of mushed up cake and icing, dipped in chocolate.
A.K.A. sweetness overload.

As per my last baking post, here are the nails I wore to the party!

(click to enlarge)
This is China Glaze - Frostbite, stamped from Konad m60 with China Glaze - Millennium.
I put a rhinestone on the middle fingers but they were sorta lost in the stamping.

Frostbite is gorgeous, if you like blue, don't hesitate to get this! It is a bit darker blue IRL but every bit as luminous.

I'm off to study all day!
More aboutnails boss/cakeball boss?

nails boss/cake boss, part 2

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, February 5, 2011

2 weeks ago, I missed posting one day because I was too busy making a cake.
Well, the same thing happened yesterday.

This time, it was a giant cupcake!


 This was for my friend's birthday party last night!
I am going to have to make one of these for everyone's birthday I think. Too cute.

Here are the nails I sported for the party!


I love these colors shining through the shatter!


This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Power Pink and Color Club Pucci-licious, and of course, OPI Black Shatter. :)

The nails, and the cake, were a hit!
More aboutnails boss/cake boss, part 2

nails boss/cake boss

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, January 22, 2011

Second post today, with Barbie cake pictures as promised.
First of all I'll show some nails!

(click for bigger)
I love me some leopard!
This is an unnamed pink polish I got at a dollar store, and the purple is Claire's Tahiti Purple.
I used a black nail art pen for the detail.  The nail art pens are perfect for this kind of stuff!

And now for Barbie.
(click for bigger!)
I'm so pleased with it, and I hope it makes a little girl very happy today!
I'm delivering it in a half hour... wish me luck!
More aboutnails boss/cake boss