Product Review: Grazia Silicone Baking Cups

   I was given some Grazia® 24 Pack Reusable Silicone Baking Cupsto try for free.

   To use them is simple. Wash them with hot water and soap before your first use. Next, put them in your pan. I lightly sprayed them with some non stick cooking spray.

   Fill them up as you normally would. These don't hold as much as the paper wrappers because they don't stretch out as you fill them.

   Bake them like you normally would. These cups can be used in an oven up to 440*F.

   Lastly, slide the muffins out of the baking cup. You now have delicious moist muffins.

   I was very impressed with these cups. The muffins slid right out without any problems. It came out clean and didn't stick at all. I highly recommend these if you enjoy baking. They would work great for all kinds of food. Muffins, cupcakes, we even like making little muffin pizzas. I can't wait to use these over and over again!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

   I have found the best chocolate chocolate chip recipe. It has become my go to cookie recipe when I need to make cookies for just about anything. My boys love them so much that they request them for their birthday treat to share with the class.

   First, I sift together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 a cup of cocoa powder, and a teaspoon of baking soda. If you don't have a sifter, I have used a spoon to help break up the chunks.

   Cocoa powder is rather chunky. Once everything else has been sifted through, I gently break up the chunks.

   You now have your dry ingredients ready to go.

   In a separate bowl, mix a cup of softened butter, 3/4 cup of white sugar, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

   Once that is all mixed up, it will look like this.

   Mix in the dry ingredients. Once they are well blended, stir in 2 cups of chocolate chips.

   While you are stirring in the chocolate chips, feel free to let your kids help clean up.

   Bake at 350*F for 9 to 12 minutes. Be careful not to over bake. They will be soft in the middle but the edges will be slightly firm to the touch. Let cool.

   Now it's time to enjoy the ooey gooey goodness of freshly baked chocolate chocolate chip cookies!

Snicker Doodle Bars

   I love to eat cookies, a LOT. I also enjoy baking when it's not too hot. Usually, when I want some cookies, I will be all ready and motivated for some fresh out of the oven goodness. I will whip up a batch of cookie dough and then, sometimes, I will sit there and look at it. I think about how many cookies I now have to make because I usually double it. Then my feet start to hurt just thinking about how long I will be standing there making little balls of dough, cooking them, switching out pans, waiting for them to cool but not waiting so long they end up over cooked or stuck to the pan all while trying to be at a stopping place when the timer goes off.

   Now, when I want cookies, sometimes if I have stuff going or if I want to eat them but don't necessarily want to make them, I make cookie bars. I have a stone pan that I got for a birthday or Christmas at some point. I love my stone pan! It makes the BEST cookie bars. They are cooked evenly and don't collapse in the middle like I've had them do in glass pans. If you use a smaller glass pan, it seems to still work fine though.

   One day, I decided to try and make snicker doodle bars. My hubby loves snicker doodles and I don't really like making them. You have to put the dough in the fridge (especially in the summer) and you have to roll them and then roll them in the sugar and cinnamon. It's a lot of extra work. So I found a recipe to try. It was rather simple so I gave it a go.

First, whisk together:

2 3/4 cups of flour

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tsp baking powder

   In a large bowl, add:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/12 cups of granulated white sugar

   Beat for a minute or two until smooth

   Add two eggs, beating after adding each one. When you add your second egg, also add in a teaspoon of vanilla. I scrape the bowl and then give it another quick mix at the end.

      Add your dry ingredients and mix well

   Scrape the sides and give it another quick mix.

   Next, take your pan

    I spray mine with cooking spray. Mix together 1/3 cup granulated white sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Then sprinkle some of your cinnamon and sugar mixture on the bottom of the pan.

   You can give the pan a quick shake to help spread out the cinnamon and sugar

   I put piles of cookie dough on different areas of the pan to minimize the amount of spreading.

   Spread the dough evenly into your pan. It's not that easy to spread it. It will pull up and mix some of your mixture into your dough. This will sometimes take longer than making the actual dough so make sure you packed your patience. Just remember, it is totally worth it in the end!

   Once your dough is spread, sprinkle more of the cinnamon and sugar mixture on the top. I put my pan in a cold oven and then set it to 400*.

   20 minutes later, they were done! I check mine by feel. I know if they are a little firm to the touch they are done. You could probably do the tooth pick thing and check it that way. Also don't forget that they will still cook a little once they are out since the pan stays hot.

   Wait for them to cool for a bit, cut them into bars and enjoy! These are a favorite for game nights or when having company over. You can cut them as big or as small as you'd like. Enjoy!

Cinnomon Rolls

   I don't know about you, but I don't think there are many things that are better than some ooey gooey homemade cinnamon rolls. They are very time consuming to make, about 3 hours start to finish, but the end result is well worth the time you put into making them. Especially if part of that end result is your kids jumping up and down with excitement because they get to eat them.

   Take a moment to enjoy the pictures. They were taken by a friend over at Pavement Ends Photography here in Las Vegas. If you're looking for someone, he takes amazing pictures!

   First, gather up your ingredients. For my recipe, you need the following:

  Dough: 1 cup milk, 2 eggs slightly beaten, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup sugar,1/4 cup room temperature butter, 4 cups flour, and 2.5 tsp yeast.

  Filling: 1/3 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 3/4 cups raisins (optional)

  Icing: 3 oz room temperature cream cheese, 3 tbs room temperature butter, 1 cup confectioners sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt.

 

   Next, put all of the ingredients in your bread machine. Do them in the order they are on the list. Once it's been going for a few minutes, I like to check it. If it's too dry and a little more milk. If it's too sticky add a little flour. Make sure you scrape the four if there's any hiding in the corners.

 

   While you are waiting for that to finish, make your filling. Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix.

 

   When your dough is done, roll it out into a large rectangle.

 

   Spread your softened butter on your dough. I have found it's easiest to just use my hands. I smash it up a bit for easier spreading.

 

   Next, spread the filling over the buttered dough

   Roll up your dough starting on a long side.

   Cut into pieces. I find it's easiest to just keep cutting in halves.

   Place them in a a greased baking pan and cover. Let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. If you want them a bigger, let them raise longer. I like doing this as it makes them light and fluffy.

   After they are done rising, put them in a preheated 375* oven for 20-25 minutes. While they are baking, you can make your icing. Put all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix. Mine always ends up slightly lumpy unless I use a hand mixer.

   After they are done baking, let cool slightly then spread the icing on the top. It will melt a little and get some inside which is oh so good!

   Then the best part, enjoy!

 

   What are you waiting for? Go make some, you know you want to!

Homemade Rolls

   I was thinking about writing this first post as a little explanation of what this blog was going to be about. Telling you all about how it was going to be about things we enjoy doing. How I love to bake and crochet and pretend I'm crafty. About how I try to keep my kids entertained and how we love having game nights, both as a family and with friends. But then I realized, that's what the little about section is for on the side of the blog.

   Then I was debating what else it should be about. Then it hit me. Thanksgiving is coming up so maybe I would post about my favorite roll recipe. Its so easy! It came with my bread machine I got when we got married. It has become a family favorite. They have been named "Mamy Rolls" because when my niece was little she called me Mamy and they all loved my rolls.

 

 

   Seriously, what's not to love about that? I leave them out to raise for a couple hours if I have the time. It makes them so light and fluffy. That's my favorite!

 

   Ok, so onto the recipe. Here is a picture. As you can see, its well used. I love that it takes all of 10 minutes of actual work and then you have yummy hot bread fresh out of the oven.

 

 

Since it may be hard to read, here's what it says:

 

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup of butter, room temperature

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp bread machine yeast

 

At the end of the dough program, remove dough from the bread machine. Place on a floured counter. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Cut dough in half, then divide each half into 8 pieces. Place in greased pan. Let rise until almost double in size, 45 minutes. Bake at 375* for 15 to 20 minutes or until done.

 

That's it! Easy peasy!

 

Now for a few tips for baking:

 

   Make sure you add the ingredients in order. In this recipe the most important part is to not add the yeast until after you add the flour. Make a little pile of yeast right on top. It shouldn't mix into the liquid until it's mixing together. If you aren't using a bread machine, the order is a little different.

 

   When measuring flour, hold the measuring cup in one hand and use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Don't shake it or tap it to even it out. Fill it up until you have a nice pile in the middle. Use the flat side of a butter knife and push that extra right back into the four container. This way it keeps the flour from getting packed in and causing your recipe to have too much flour in it and it wont dry it out.

 

   Once the dough has mixed in the machine for a minute or two, check it. If it's dry, add milk (or water depending on the recipe) a little at a time and wait for it to mix in before adding in more. It should form into a ball but it shouldn't be thumping around. If it's too wet and sticking to the sides, add a little bit of flour at a time and wait for it to mix in. It should be in a ball but not sounding sticky and wet while it's mixing in. It should be in a nice ball shape and be rolling around the edges while it's getting mixed.

 

I hope you enjoy your rolls. I know I sure do!