Earl Grey Cookies

Note: This post is meant to be read with good posture and a thick fake English accent.

Ello! Today we are going to make Earl Grey cookies. They are delicious. Right. Let's get started.

You will need:

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp earl grey (6bags)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp water (or earl grey tea)

1 cup unsalted butter

some thicker sugar, sugar

1 (or more) oven preheated to 375 degrees F

1/4 tsp of sense of pride and prejudice (it is imperative you dont skip this ingredient)

Any kind of earl grey tea works. Here is a dotted list of places i source my tea from:

• Hotels i've stayed at (complimentary continental self serve breakfast area)
• Hotels i've attended weddings at (self-serve coffee and tea area)
• Hotels i've walked into and followed the signs to parties/conventions i wasn't invited to but they have their self serve coffee/tea in the hallway
• The store
• Friends who have earl grey
• I havent tried this but i bet addict meetings would be a good place too

Beat the butter and sugar and water and vanilla together until fluffy. Meanwhile, mix the flour and tea leaves and salt together. It should look pretty like this:

Knead the flour mixture with butter mixture. Roll into logs. 2 Inches is pretty good.

Roll logs onto the thicker sugar. I used a demerrara sugar. 

Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least an hour. After that cut into half inch slices. Or a third of an inch. I'd be more accurate if i had a ruler on me right now. You can figure it out.

Bake on ungreased sheet for about 12 minutes at 375degreesF. Jolly good. Let it cool.

How cute is that?? These go well with hot water and lemon. Or Grey Goose. See? Cuz you can merge the two? Earl Grey Goose? Yeah? >_<

Playlist: 

Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by The Animals

No Milk Today by Herman's Hermits (the singer looks like young Dexter)

How to make your chocolate chip cookies chewy. FINALLY!

There are two kinds of people in this world. The ones that like their cookies hard and brittle, and the ones that like their cookies soft and chewy. I am of the latter gang. Please don't tell me you misread the word 'cookies'.

I've been making mistakes in the kitchen ever since i was a youngest of 4 daughters loner kid with a mother who wouldn't let me hang out with friends. I'd be the only one awake early on the weekends or during school break. I'd watch Martha Stewart on TV and wait for her to say "It's a good thing." In our house we never really had a fully stocked pantry, so sometimes i'd have to improvise the ingredients. This usually ended in disaster considering how scientific baking can get. I'll never forget the taste of too much baking powder. Or the gingerbread house i tried to make using a sugar cookies recipe and no decorations.

You'd think that by that many years of fucking up, i'd have learnt from all my mistakes, and been a baking goddess by now. Well the the thing is, i like to cut corners, and never fully appreciated (or wrote down) the instructions portion of a recipe. Turns out it makes a huge difference. Like how perfectly shaped eyebrows can make a huge difference. HUGE.

So if your'e like me, and you want your cookies delectably chewy, then listen up! Beat that butter up with the sugar till its fluffy!

I got this recipe from a book from Winners/Homesense. I LOVE that store. The book seems very old and english, like the ones i used to borrow from the library when i was a kid. That's how i knew these recipes would be clutch in getting it right. None of that gluten trans fat free bullschnitzel.

Here it is in pencil crayon and black pen form:

1. Using an electric mixer (a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you dont have one of these, why are you baking? Do you realize how much time and effort you are wasting? Cuz i do. I've been there.) cream the butter and white n brown sugar until the mixture is nicely assimilated into one fluffy sweet race.

2. Mix together the egg and vanilla in a separate bowl. I usually don't cuz im lazy and i value time. Gradually add the mixture into the butter mixture and beat it. Just beat it.

3. Sift the flour, soda, and salt and stir to blend.

4. Add chocolate chips or whatever and mix.

5. Place heaping teaspoons of dough on greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes at 350degressF

6. Transfer to a wire rack using a metal spatula and let it cool.

Presidents choice came out with these mini peanut butter cups. These things are mini. They rule.

now do you believe me?

So the chocolate chips or whatever can be these things. I made them with these and some skor bits i had laying around. I also made some with mini M&Ms and GREEN TEA but not enough green tea. I dont have any pictures of the actual cookies cuz i ate them all. Playlist: B-Dash!

from Daiso!

SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGER EDITION: Home-made Chocolate Bars and Chocolate Animals.

Hi guys!

My name is Greggors Thompson.  I am a male homemaker, a food buff, and a friend of Bella's.  I have a GREAT recipe to show you today.  These are home-made chocolate bars and mini chocolate animals for the kids, and adults who are kids inside, LIKE ME!

Here's what you're gonna need:


1.) Chocolate (I used Baker's chocolate, I would suggest another kind though.  You can figure it out.)
2.) Apricots
3.) Nuts
4.) Vanilla
5.) Brown sugar
6.) 6-pack of beer
7.) An inter-racial couple that will give you a chocolate making kit as a present.

This is what the kit looks like.

Ok, first things first: drink three of the beers in order to get into the mood to cook.

Chop up the apricots and nuts.

They'll look like this if you chop them up.

Next, heat a pot of bowling water and put a metal bowl overtop with the chocolate in it and melt it.  It takes a bit of time so drink another one of the beers while you stir.

Pour in a bit of the vanilla.  Just a blurp.

Add some brown sugar because if you're like me, NOTHING is ever sweet enough.  Drink one more beer and pour the last beer into two cups, one big and one large.

Drink the large beer and pour a bit from the small beer into the chocolate.  Drink the remainder of the small beer.

Pour the chocolate into the mold.  I started with the chocolate bar mold so you should too.

It will look like this if you don't do it wrong.

Next, I poured the chocolate into the animal molds and put the nuts and apricot in.  It should look messy and rushed.

Your work station should also look messy and rushed.

Put the molds into the fridge and after an hour or two, take them out and remove the chocolates from the mold.

I like to leave the edges rough and unattractive.  If I were you I would change the recipe though.  It actually doesn't work very well and doesn't taste good.

PLAYLIST:
"Young Turks" by Rod Stewart.
"Whatta man" by Salt n Peppa.
That song about buying shoes by Nelly.

DIY Sushi Candy

This candy is so much fun! I didn't make the photos as nice and thorough as i'd like because i was soo into it. I found it at Candyland in Crystal Mall. When i checked the Candyland at Aberdeen, they were sold out. 

making sushi 'rice'

got so excited i ended up spilling the red all over lol!

These were my favourite part! They look like the real thing and taste delicious.

This was a lot of fun. It all tasted pretty inoffensive. Like muscat. Actually the flavor reminded me of Aloe Vera juice. The rice part had a funny texture.

Good stuff, and most importantly FUN!

Playlist:
FYI (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence) by Utada Hikaru

Lychee Pocky Review

They were alright.