Eggshells Kitchen Co: Ann Potter Baking Cookie Class

Last Thursday, one of my good friends from high school Sara and I went to a cookie decorating class at Eggshells Kitchen Co in Little Rock. Sarah Eaton DeClerk, the mastermind of Ann Potter Baking hosted this fun class and shared so many tips and tricks on how to bake and decorate sugar cookies - the fancy ones. 

We had no idea what the class would be like. We didn't know if we would get to be hands on or just watch, but it was the best of both worlds. Sarah showed us how to make a chocolate sugar cookie with icing, then we got to practice decorating. 

It wasn't just a class where we had to sit and watch, we were able to get up and really see the techniques that she uses to outline and 'flood' a cookie with icing. For instance, she showed us that it's easier to outline a cookie when you raise your hand up and the icing is a little higher. It's true! I was much easier to control the cookie outline icing when you give yourself more room to control it. 

This was my first cookie that I practiced decorating. 

Then somehow I turned it into a weird looking cookie eye. 

Sara was doing a REALLY good job outlining her cookie and I was getting really jealous. 

A photo posted by Maegan Clark (@maeganclark) on Jul 23, 2015 at 6:56pm PDT

We had to capture the moment and share it on Instagram - otherwise, it didn't happen, right?  

These are how my cookies turned out in the end. Not the best... but I don't think that they're terrible! The class at Eggshells was SO much fun! I feel liked I learned a new skill but now I need to get some cute cookie cutters and start to practice on my own. 

Here are a few tips that were shared with us tonight: 
- If you want your cookies to be shiny, then place a fan around your cookies when they are drying. 
- The outline icing needs to be the consistency of toothpaste. 
- Flood icing needs to be the consistency of shampoo. 

And, my FAVORITE tip is how to make cleaning up pipe bags a breeze - I thought it would be hard to explain so I found a YouTube video from Lindsey Ann Bakes to explain: 

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Happy National Chocolate Day!

In celebration of this day, I thought I'd share all of my favorite chocolate goodies.

First, let's start off with cookies.

1. My FAVORITE chocolate cookies are the White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies.

These are so good. The picture might be awful (This was circa iPhone 2011) but these cookies are amazing.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2. The ULTIMATE Get-A-Man Brownies 

These brownies got me a date. And then a second date. And then a guy who wanted to call me his girlfriend (2010) and I stopped making them. (Not the right guy...) HOWEVER, now that I do have the right guy, maybe it's time I start making them again. 

Man-Gettin' Brownies

3. Dove Almond Milk Chocolate 

If you aren't in the mood to bake, because it's Tuesday and there's life, then I suggest this. My favorite 'candy' - Dove Almond Milk Chocolate. Tis so smooth! 

If you think chocolate is bad for you & fattening. It's really not. Read this... 

Happy National Chocolate Day!

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Southern Apple Dumplings

Here are some words for you ... melted butter ... sugar ... cinnamon ... crescent rolls ... ice cream. How does that sound? It should sound like heaven if your mouth because it is. After I went apple picking and bought my apples I realized that now I had to do something with all these apples. Don't get me wrong, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute, then screw the fruit!

I kid. Sort of.

Anyways, a while back in the Twitter world someone mentioned that I should make Apple Dumplings. At the time I had no idea they would be so delicious, but boy do I wish I had made these sooner.

This might be the easiest recipe you will make besides a boxed brownie mix.

Here are the main ingredients for this delicious apple recipe. 

I did leave one out by accident, but we will add that in a little bit. 

Betsy, my kitchen cow snuck into the picture. Silly little cow.

Take two apples.

Captain obvious with this picture, huh? 

And remove their out-beings. 

They're naked! 

Now, really get personal with your apple and remove its core. 

This should make 8 wedges. The exact number you need from one apple.

So if you do the math, and you have two apples and need eight wedges from each apple, then you will end up with 16 wedges! 

Now it's time to make friends with your butter. 

Mmhmm.

2 sticks of butter into a saucepan.

Melt those butter sticks down until it looks like a pool of richness.

Once the butter is melted, add your sugar. 

Then if you have a sugar, go give him/her some sugar.

In my case, I turned the music up louder and did a dance around the kitchen.

While you are keeping a CAREFUL eye on your butter/sugar, you can get to roll up your apples in your crescent rolls. Remember to place the apple on the smallest part of the triangle and then roll to the largest side. (Yes, there are words for these things, but what fun is that?)

Somehow in my hurry, I forgot to take a picture of the crescent rolls - but I'm sure you know what they look like. Long triangles. I've always loved opening up the crescent roll container. I like the pop it makes when it opens. 

Back to the recipe. 

Look! It's a dumplin'! 

That's what you have when you roll small to big.

A sweet, raw apple dumplin'.

Now, because you've continued to stir your butter/sugar mixture without burning it, it's time to add the cinnamon. This is when your kitchen will smell like a delicious treat. 

Then, after you stir in your cinnamon, you add another ingredient.

(Sadly, I forgot to take a picture.)

Vanilla!

Once you remove the butter/sugar mixture and mix in your cinnamon, then you will add some vanilla and mix it well.

After you spray your baking dish with cooking spray, or butter, you will place your 16 dumplings in the 9x16 baking pan. 

Your mixture is all ready to go.

Then you just pour the sugar/butter/cinnamon/vanilla mixture all over the apple dumplings.

Pop that Mountain Dew and also pour it all over the dumplings. 

This feels weird to do, but it's right. So, so right.

Into a pre-heated 350 degrees oven they go for about 35-40 minutes. 

I baked mine for exactly 35 min and then removed the pan from the oven and they were still 'cooking' in their juices. 

Then you get an apple dumpling (or two) on a plate with some ice cream on the side. What more does anyone need in life? I know! The recipe.

Southern Apple Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• 2 (8 each) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough 
• 2 sticks of butter 
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract 
• 1 can of Mountain Dew 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F 
2. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or butter. 
3. Peal and core 2 apples into 8 wedges. 
4. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. 
5. Begin by rolling each apple piece in the crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end towards the largest end. 
6. Pinch the sides of the crescent roll to seal in a dumpling shape and place in the dish. 
7. Melt two sticks of butter in a small saucepan. 
8. Stir in the sugar until dissolved then add the cinnamon. Once combined, add the vanilla extract. 
9. Pour the sweet mixture over the apple dumplings. 
10. Next, open the Mountain Dew and pour over the dumplings. 
11. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the top has browned. 
12.  Serve with ice cream and enjoy! 

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When Things Go Totally Wrong

So, baking is enjoyable to me. It's relaxing. It's fun. It's a hobby.

On Tuesday, it was a nightmare.

(The after, after.)

I decided at 5 p.m. on Tuesday that I'd bake some cupcakes for work on Wednesday. These were going to be homemade red velvet cupcakes so I went home to make a list of things I would need. I had sugar, but no cake flour. I had crisco, but no powdered sugar for the frosting.

After the list had been created, I headed off to the grocery store. Gathered all the items. Checked out. Came home and started the baking. I had done everything when the recipe said to 'add food coloring to the cocoa powder.' Um... I hadn't bought red food coloring. The food coloring I had wasn't enough, and I didn't want to serve pink cupcakes. Or blue ones. Or green.

Why don't they sell larger bottles of red food coloring??

So, I turned off the pre-heated oven. Threw the mix in the fridge and made a trip back to the grocery store. Grabbed the red food coloring and then headed back home to continue the baking. The batter tasted well enough, so into the oven the cupcakes went. After spilling some of the red food coloring on my white counters. While the cupcakes were baking, I made the homemade cream cheese icing.

Butter. Cream cheese. Powdered sugar.

Luckily the recipe called for a pound and a half of powdered sugar and I had bought a two pound bag.

The other half of a pound also ended up on the counter. On the floor. And on me.

Perfect. Now my counters look like I've murdered someone with red food coloring then decorated myself in powdered sugar.

The icing was done, the cupcakes were ready to be taken out of the oven, and the kitchen was a mess. When you use a butter, cream cheese icing, then you have to make sure your cupcakes are completely cool before icing. (This might be the only thing I did right all night.)

Once the cupcakes had cooled, I broke the smallest one in half to make sure it was red and see how it tasted. That's when I started to panic. It didn't taste right. It tasted chalky. Too much flour? Too much vinegar? Did I measure wrong? Did waiting on the food coloring mess it up? What had I done??

There was no way that those cupcakes were going to see the inside of my office. No way. After a 20 minute freak out moment to which I called my mom, cousin, friend and texted everyone about what I should do, I came to a conclusion. Toss 'em.

Luckily, there was a box mix in my pantry that I could make quickly and make all of this go away. Though it wasn't red velvet, it was chocolate. It would do. It would have to do. It was 10 at night and I wasn't making a third trip back to the store for more red food coloring. Who's going to complain about someone bringing cupcakes to work? (That's what I told myself anyway.)

Baked the cupcakes. Frosted them Wednesday morning. Took them to work.

When things started to go terribly wrong with the cupcakes, food coloring and my freak-out moment, the only thing I thought was, "Oh good, I have a blog story."

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Sweet Potato Muffins

Well, I'm thinking that it's fall. Even though it's been chilly, I've been wearing boots and jackets and It looks like fall, you never really know in Arkansas. It could be 80 degrees tomorrow or it could be snowing.  But as of today ... It's fall. 

In celebration of fall and all things fall and things that smell like fall and look like fall and feel like fall, I thought I would bake some muffins. 

For fall. 

Whew. I'm tired and it's just fall. 

My mom gave me this recipe and it's really good. I think it's better when she makes it but I think everything is better when she makes it. Luckily though, she passed it along to me and now I'm sharing. I'm a sharer.  

The main ingredients. 

Anything with allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon is going to say... yep. Fall.

So, what is the logical thing to do first? Well you need to cook your sweet potato. 

I decided to microwave it for five min. Felt it up a little.

Sorry, sweet potato. 

And, microwaved it once more. 

Perfecto.

While your potato is microwaving (unless you want to bake it), 

you can work together on the dry ingredients. 

Add flour.

Some sugar.

Little bit of baking soda.

(I swear these pictures are all different.)

Then the fun stuff! 

Cinnamon.

Nutmeg.

Can you smell this?

Allspice. 

Mmmm

Ground gloves.

Add ya some salt.

It's on top. See it?

Then mix all the dry together. 

Since you have the dry ingredients mixed together, it's time to gather the other ingredients. 

I just had to use one sweet potato. It was about the size of of two tennis balls. 

Which equals a cup and a half.

After you have your sweet potato mashed, then add the orange juice.

(Side note: I don't like orange juice. I think it's because my mom use

to make me drink it. For some reason tonight, I had a glass of orange juice

while making these. I also had a glass of wine. It is fall.)

Add ya oil.

And mix.

Again. 

This is when I throw it in the mixer. I don't have a hand mixer.

I burned it out last summer. It smoked. And sparked.

Add some of the dry to the wet.

Mix!

Action shot!

Again! 

Mix in ya nuts. 

If you like em.

Look at that.

I put the muffins in cupcake holder things because they are cuter that way. 

And that's the only reason I need. 

Ta dah!

Sweet potato muffins. 

Enjoy. 

Eat up. Share. Give.

Sweet Potato Muffins

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cloves

Mix above ingredients together.

2 eggs
1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes
½ cup vegetable oil
6 tablespoons orange juice

Add to above ingredients.

½ cup chopped pecans
Fold pecans into above mixture.
　
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place muffin mixture into muffin tins (I use cupcake holders)

Bake for 25-30 minutes. 

　

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