Puerto Rico Pictures

These don't really apply to the Look Up category of Lemonade Soul, so I'm just posting them here.  These are ancient (and modded) photos, like, from way back when in 2009, so you can totally tell that I haven't baked anything good this week. XD  Still, I like the pictures, and they'd make purty (and free! ;D) backgrounds.

Enjoy!

Blah, blah, blah, copyright moi, mention the blog, all that jazz. XD
-JJ

My Apologies... Sorta

Sorry for all the lame picture posts that I've been doing.  I've been focused on food for a rather long stretch and I thought I'd mix it up a little, be a rebel and all that.

Well, that's my excuse.

The real reason is, between writing a term paper and an essay simultaneously, I've become addicted to a video game called Skyrim.

It.  Is.  Amazing.

So, some of my posts may be Skyrim-oriented in the future, but do not despair!  I'll continue posting recipes and hopefully nice-looking photos!  I refuse to totally succumb to the great graphics and the fact that it's the first "gamer" game I've ever played... :/

So, yeah.  If you're interested because of the delicious picture, check out the official website here. :3

-JJ

Look Up Update #2

Two new Look Up pictures to check out for ya!
Also, be sure to check out the Sunrise Montage and the rest of the Picture Collection if you haven't already. :)

-JJ

Sunrise Montage

I've been taking pictures every morning, around 7:00 A.M., of the sunrise that I see in the car.  I'll update as I take more pictures, and, if you like them, remember that this is a great way to Look Up!

-JJ

Modified Triplet Chiplet Cookies

Remember those Mega Chocolate Cookies?  These - from Joanne Fluke's Cream Puff Murder - are those, with only three kinds of chips and no nuts - although originally, the recipe called for cashews.  Some of my friends are picky eaters, however, and do not enjoy the taste of nuts, unlike sane people. :P  So I changed it.  And halved it, since the original recipe makes 10-11 dozen cookies. :O  That's a lot.                        
Here's the modified recipe:

Modified Triplet Chiplet Cookies
Ingredients
   2 sticks softened butter*
   1 1/2 cups white sugar
   3/4 cups brown sugar
   2 teaspoons vanilla
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   2 beaten eggs (whip them up in a glass with a fork)
   2 1/2 cups flour
   1/2 cup white chocolate chips
   1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
   1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips**
Directions
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
   Cream butter with sugars.  Add the vanilla, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well, then add eggs.
   Add 1 cup of flour and stir well.  Then add the chips.  Mix thoroughly, and add the remaining flour.
   Drop by rounded teaspoons onto greased or nonstick cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet.  If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it for an hour and try again.
   Bake for 11 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for two minutes and then remove to a wire rack.
   Yield: 5-6 dozen.

* The original recipe calls for melted butter, but from personal experience I know that THIS IS A BAD IDEA.  Melty butter = flat cookies.

** The original recipe also calls for a cup of salted cashews.  See explanation above recipe for why I didn't use cashews.  Instead, stupid me thought, oh, I can add more chips, riiight?  Well, I added a third-cup more of each chocolate chip type, and my butter was a bit too soft, and this is what I got:

Very flat.  I tried chilling the dough, but the cookies were just as flat.
So, I stirred in four heaping teaspoonfuls of flour and the cookies became, well, less pancake-like and more cookie-like.
I recommend following the actual recipe.  Except for the melted butter, of course.  Just visit Joanne Fluke's website, murdershebaked.com.

This time baking, I was responsible and took photos of nearly every step!  So, just follow along as you're baking...

Cream butter and sugars...

Stir in vanilla, baking soda, and salt...

Add eggs...

Mix in 1 cup of flour...

Add chocolate chips...

Mix in the rest of the flour...

Drop onto cookie sheet...

Bake for 11 minutes and they should come out like this!

Lots of chocolate = lots of noms. <3
-JJ

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being the late lemming that I am, I hadn't made the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies until, oh, mid-October.  And being the lazy blogger that I am, I'm posting it now.  In January.  Oops! XD

So.  These are supposed to be the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet - and I gotta say, they come pretty close, considering they're not made out of chocolate chips at all.  Instead, they use discs of chocolate and loads of wacky ingredients, like cake flour.

I had all the ingredients, somehow, except for perhaps the most important part - the chocolate discs.  60% cacao.  If you're like me, and you shy away from any chocolate that could possibly be considered bittersweet or extra-dark, you will, no doubt, pick up a bag of Hershey's Drops and say, "Oh, this'll do."

It won't.

Not kidding.

Of course these cookies were ah-mazing, but they were overly sweet, and, never having had Hershey's Drops before, I found the chocolate... disgusting, actually.  And yet, the cookies were still fantastic.  That's how good the dough is.  Really.

So, NEVER make these cookies with Hershey's Drops.  They don't melt and they are way too sweet.  (And that's saying something, coming from the major chocoholic who thinks "sweet" is a food group.)  Instead, you could actually try following the recipe, or, like I plan to do the next time I bake these, experiment with semisweet chocolate chunks.  Obviously, it won't be the same as the original recipe - which I should also try - but maybe I'll get lucky! :)

The recipe can be found here.

lotsa noms
-JJ

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Out of all my baking adventures, this is the one dish that I make the most.  I've served it to family, friends - even used it in a how-to presentation!  This is a recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Best Berry Cobbler, found here or in the August 2009 Martha Stewart Living magazine.  It's only a slight variation - from blackberries to raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.  But this is an amazing cobbler and you should absolutely try it!! ;)

Mixed Berry Cobbler

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 tablespoons cornstarch
6 cups berries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter in with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add heavy cream in a slow, steady stream, mixing with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together. Divide dough into 9 pieces, and loosely form each into a ball.
3. Whisk together cinnamon, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Add berries; toss gently to coat. Transfer mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish. 
4. Top berries with dough balls, 3 by 3. Brush dough with heavy cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until berries are bubbling in center and biscuits are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack, and let cool for 30 minutes.

Let's break it down:

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt...

Add butter and mix until it resembles coarse meal...

Then add cream and mix until the mixture just comes together.

Whisk cinnamon, sugar, and cornstarch...

Add berries and toss to coat.

Transfer to a square baking dish...

Form dough into 9 balls and top berry mixture...

Brush with cream...

And sprinkle with sugar...

...and bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool for half an hour, and then enjoy! :)

-JJ