Tuesday, September 24, 2013

(Adapted) Food Network's Butter Cookies


First of all, I have to say that this picture is one of the best ones I've ever taken. I've never taken a single photography lesson even though I'm extremely interested in it. I don't even know how I was able to take this picture. I guess that's what called "taking the picture at the right place and the right moment", which basically means, I got luck! 

I made these cookies a while ago, but I still remarkably remember how good they were. I added a little "twist" to the butter cookies recipe I got. Surprisingly, the cookies turned out to become the perfect balance between crunchy and soft. They are a little bit crunchy outside just like the other butter cookies, but inside is relatively soft (外脆內軟)~ My mom likes these cookies more than those I made before (without the twist) because before they were just crunchy. <-- sorry, i have to apologize that I never know how to write descriptive sentences, but the texture definitely worth giving a try!

Butter Cookies (牛油曲奇餅):
Prep time~20 mins
Inactive time~2.5 hours
Cooking time~10 mins
Serves~50 cookies
Level - easy

Ingredients:
  • 3 1/2 cups All purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (you can omit this if you don't have it)
  • 1 Tbsp half-half


Methods:

  1. Sift the flour into a bowl, then add salt (dry ingredients)
  2. In another large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter until light and creamy. Refer to image above.
  3. While beating, add sugar and add one egg at a time. Then add vanilla extract and cinnamon. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the flour+salt (don't pour all at once!) into the batter. Mix until batter looks smooth. Once the dry ingredients are all in, there should be a dough.
  4. *Twist: once the dough has formed, add the half-half into the large mixing bowl and mix in low speed until they combine together. Make sure the dough is not too soggy. If it appears to be too soggy, don't panic, just add about 1/4 teaspoon flour at a time and see how it goes.
  5. Once the dough return normal (not too soggy, not too dry), take a piece of plastic wrap and place the dough on top of it. Put the dough into the fridge (not freezer) to chill for 2 hrs and 30 mins.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  7. Roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut into pieces. *If you don't have a cookie cutter, roll the dough into strip and cut out into pieces (like cutting a cucumber ^_^)
  8. Place them on a baking sheet and line up each one for about 1" apart.
  9. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom of the cookies. Take cookies out and let them cool.
  10. ENJOY! Serve yourself a cup of milk or hot chocolate or coffee or even milk tea along with the wonderful butter cookies~

Monday, September 16, 2013

The Power of Baking. Magical and Full of Love.

Although I am interested in all kinds of cooking, I am actually interested in baking the most. It always makes me feel happy when I see that I have the power spread the happiness to my surroundings through a simple, yet tasty treat. Imagine you can make beautifully decorated birthday cakes for your family and friends. I think that being able to do that is like a blessing because the cakes are full of love from the baker. It's no longer just a piece of cake. It is a tangible gift that represents a lot of thought and love. This not only applies to cakes, but also includes all kinds of baked goods. Most importantly, it makes everyone feels happy, warmth, love, and motivated. It is the healer for a depressed or tired day because they can feel your care and love. Through giving away treats, I always feel that I can have a positive impact in their lives, and this is why I love baking so much.
"Giving is always better than taking." Sometimes, love can be transferred as simple as this.

Monday, September 9, 2013

My Motivation!

My biggest motivation is from God. I am Christian and I am proud to be it. God has taught me so much and made me into a better person than what I used to be. I certainly love him because he has been loving and taking care of me since the time I was born. I believe that he has given me a dream, and all I need to do is to follow him. No matter how hard, how fearful, and how surprising and unbelievable it is, I won't be afraid. That is because I know that God is holding my hands and walking with me.
I came from a Christian family, but I didn't fully believe God until I, myself, have experienced God's power and how he helped me to go through all the hardships. This is not a religion blog. I do not sell about God or Christianity. I am typing this post because this is my belief and what I want to share. I didn't mean to convince others to have the same belief as I do, but I hope that people can have a chance to hear about him.

My belief and idea about food is mostly inspired by the principles of God. I will have another post talking about my beliefs toward food because this topic deserves its own spot. It's not that simple - food has more meaning behind than simply just to fulfill one's hunger or taste. There's something called love, sweetness, and joy involve in it. <3 ^___^
"For God gave us a Spirit who produces not timidity, but power, love and self-discipline." (2 Ti 1:7)


Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Emoticons In My Blog

Those cute and funny emoticons DO NOT belong to me. They belong to maggiemarket.com by 留馬仔,I do not own anything.

Here's the link to access to her website and her emoticons: http://www.maggiemarket.com/download/msn/msnemotion03.htm

and this is her website's main page:
http://www.maggiemarket.com/

Who Am I? Why does this blog exist?


My name is Promise (yes, actually). I am a 16 years old high school girl in bay area. I am a fan girl of cooking and baking. I am also a novice chef who is discovering and learning about food on her own.

This blog exists because I really want to share my beliefs and thoughts toward cooking, baking, and food. In the 3 years of self-taught cooking experience, I have learned so much about food, and how big of an impact food can make. To me, food is a form of love. You demonstrate your love when you're putting in the effort and time to cook for people. It's not about the taste or the time it takes, it is about the effort and love you put into it. I find myself super excited and creative when it comes down to food. Therefore, I just feel that I need to have a place to record my self-taught journey of cooking and baking. I also need a space to express my beliefs and concerns about food. 

My family and I moved to here from Hong Kong about 3 years ago. I started cooking when I moved to here because the food in here really wasn't so great. I remembered how in the beginning we had to eat take out food everyday since we haven't had the appliances installed. I didn't like the take out food because they are often oily, salty, and unhealthy. Besides that, I have read articles about how most fast food restaurants use extremely low quality ingredients in order to gain more profits. I have been cooking for about three years now, and I found myself falling in love with cooking.

Before I moved to here, I am pretty much a "princess" in HK. All the chores, including meals, were made by the nanny in the house. I can never imagine myself standing in the kitchen preparing fresh and bloody ingredients like pork, beef and shrimp (it's disgusting to peel out the shrimps' veins, I won't lie ). But somehow the power of food magically changed the disgusting, gross feeling I used to have when I was in HK. Surprisingly, I am so excited to go to the market and choose some fresh meat and produces. I always feel like I'm in my playground when I step in the market . I cook Chinese dishes (mostly Cantonese food) for dinner the most. I am also interested in western food such as pasta, salad, sandwiches, and soup because they are generally pretty easy and take very little time to make. Best part is you can always make it super healthy by adding vegetables in. Also, I always look at what I have in the fridge and play around with the ingredients that compliment each other well to generate new dishes/meals. That is one of the reasons why I love cooking. It's like you're the Magician (I chose purple because it represents a mystery, secret feeling :P), and with little time and thought, you can turn some simple ingredients into a delicious meal. I will talk more about this in another post because I feel like I have so much to share xD