vanilla cinnamon circles

I have started using baked goods as a way to bribe people at work into getting things done.  I promised that I would bring in something today if all requirements were met by the end of the day on Friday.  The promise of food seems to kick people into action, and I poked through my cookbooks to find something to bring in.  I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks that had minimal ingredients, most of which I had already.  Vanilla cinnamon circles seemed simple and tasty.  All I needed to buy was unsalted butter.

Sometimes things do not go as planned.  I had a feeling that something would go wrong with these cookies.  The recipe just seemed too simple.  Too easy.  I purchased a 79cent bag of brownie mix as a backup just in case something happened.

I doubled the recipe because the dough only made 25 cookies.  Maybe that was my mistake?  Once I mixed up the dough, I could tell right away that something was going to be wrong about these cookies.  I continued to follow the directions to the best of my abilities, with the dough crumbling apart as I was trying to roll it into a ball.  I shoved it in the oven and hoped for the best.

I ended up not with 25 cookies, but with a cookie sheet sized crunchy mess.  My apartment smelled delicious, though.

And delicious brownies were had by all at work.

Vanilla Cinnamon Circles
adapted from: Indulgence: Cookies

• 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 c superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c flour
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp sugar (extra)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a medium-sized bowl using electric beaters until pale and fluffy, then stir in vanilla.  Sift in the flour and add the milk.  Stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough, gather into a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Press the dough out into a log shape, 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inches thick.  Roll in the paper and twist the ends to seal.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.
4. Cut the log into rounds 1/2 inch thick.  Sift the extra sugar and cinnamon onto a plate and roll each cookie in the sugar mixture, coating well.  Lay well apart on the sheets and bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Let's pretend they looked like this:

betty crocker

I mostly save my cake eating for birthdays.  Occasionally, I will bake cupcakes.  I bought cake tins a few years ago and, like most of my kitchen gadgets, have only been used two or three times.  Mostly for birthdays and once for those Pillsbury cinnamon buns that come in the vacuum-sealed tube.  Like my favorite homemade coffee cake, I seem to only feel comfortable making and eating cake for some sort of holiday or celebration.  Sometimes, however, I just feel like eating a cake.


I am not yet as skilled (read: motivated) as to bake a cake from scratch and Betty Crocker cake mix was on sale at Target for $1.  I bought a gold cake mix and a tub of chocolate frosting (a departure from my usual buttercream/cream cheese frosting fixation).  I made a point not to buy the whipped frosting, as it is the same price for frosting that has been injected and whipped with air.  So far, everything is going smoothly.

Once home, I place the ingredients and all needed out on my butcher block.  I set out my cake pans and poured the cake batter into them.  So far, so good.  I run into a little trouble when I realize both cake tins can't fit completely flat in my miniature oven, but that's okay.  I make do.  My kitchen timer goes off and I take the pans out of the oven to cool.  Everything looks fine.  After a while, I remember that I have cake cooking and try to get them out of the pans.

I was fooled by Wilson's.  Non-stick nonsense.  I run a knife along the edges and assume the cakes will flop out like usual.  Instead, the cake does not budge.  I slide my hands gently under the cakes, prying them away from the bottom of the pans.  The first one crumbles, but I figure I will just stick that one at the bottom and we'll be none the wiser.  We'll just cover that bad boy in frosting.

I take the frosting from the shopping bag and am alarmed at how light the canister is.  I take a look at the label.  Whipped!  How did that happen?!  I angrily throw it in the microwave and smear it cover my broken cake bits.  Now comes the top layer.

 This doesn't go much better.  I think this picture pretty much sums it up:

I try to patch it up by using frosting as an adhesive.  It looks kind of okay at this point.  I go to cut a piece later in the evening and the entire thing crumbles to bits.

Just so this entry isn't so depressing; here's a completely normal looking cake that my sister made for my dad's birthday:

pancakes

I should know better.  All my talk of breakfast foods inspired me to make some pancakes last night.  Now, I grew up in a household where Bisquick was never used and we'd only settle for authentic buttermilk pancakes.  My dad would whip up the batter and my mom would heat up the electric griddle and they'd be thick and fluffy and wonderful.

Again, I am lazy and cheap.  I also don't really like buying buttermilk because I end up throwing most of it away after a few weeks because, sure, I can totally make some more biscuits/pancakes but I can't tell if it's gone bad because it smells so darn awful in the first place.  I originally went to the store to buy Bisquick for a recipe for imitation Red Lobster biscuits (yeah, that's right.) but ended up buying Jiffy mix because it was $2 cheaper and I'm taken in by its vintage-styled packaging and blue gingham tablecloth in the picture.  I love me some gingham.

I was quizzing my coworkers on what to make for dinner when I realized that I could make pancakes with this mix.  I really should know not to trust anything where every recipe on the back includes a few scoops of mix and a few cups of milk.  And that's it.  This same "recipe" could make me pancakes, waffles, biscuits, and the topping for some chicken casserole.  But I gave it a whirl anyway.

I wasn't discouraged when the first pancake turned out to be a disaster.  If I know anything about cooking, it is that the first pancake is always a mess and you end up throwing it away.  So I kept going.  The batter tended to rise up instead of out, so the outsides would burn before the insides even started cooking.  I tried spreading out the batter in the frying pan, but towards the end, the batter had already started to thicken and rise in the bowl.  I ended up with 5 or 6 burnt/raw biscuit-like discs.  All the maple syrup in the world couldn't make this alright.