Sneeze Page

Today we're going to take a step back and look at the past. I have been posting for a little while now and this post is meant to help all the new readers get an idea of what my posts are about.

My very first post was an About Me post. I give some information in there about how I originally began baking and a little bit about my background in the area. So if you want to get to know me a little better visit this blog post.

My second post was called Cooking vs Baking: Estimation Doesn't Work. In this post I talked about the importance of exact measurements. I also discuss how baking is a science and you must follow precise steps to get the outcome you want. To read this post go here.

In another post called The Dos and Dough-nts of Mixing I talked about the importance of proper mixing. I discus why following the time on the recipe for mixing is important and why certain baked goods won't come out right if they're not mixed properly. Read this here.

One of my favorite posts is called 5 Easy (No) Baking Recipes. In this post I give the recipes for my 5 favorite deserts that require absolutely no baking. Get those here.

Another post of mine was called Frightening Dessert Ideas for Halloween. I love Halloween and since it is October I highly recommend you check out this post.

 The last post I want to talk a little about is called 3 More (No) Baking Recipes. This post was a followup post to the first 5 no bake recipes I gave. This post, however, talks about using the microwave to bake things. It's really neat concept and if you want to read about it go here.

And remember, you can always check out my website at http://bakeeasyco2.webs.com/

The BakeEasy Company Website

Today I will be talking about my own website and sharing some inside information about it with all of you.

The name of my company is The BakeEasy Company. It was designed to help amateur bakers reach their full potential when it comes to baking, much like this blog does.

Content wise I talk all about baking. Many of the subjects I cover on my website are things I have talked about briefly on here, but on the website they are more in depth. An example of this is my article about measurement. I used part of that article in my blog post and I expanded on it on the website. I only have three articles currently on my website so there are still a lot of baking topics to be covered. I write my articles in a half formal/ half informal way. By this I mean that I refer to different examples from my personal life, but I don't really write in a conversational fashion, like what I do on here. My posts are geared toward amateur bakers, just like my blog is.

As far as reader engagement goes, I try to post articles that the reader will find interesting and learn something from. I haven't received any feedback yet, but if/when I do I will be sure to cover more of the types of topics they want to learn about.

The design of my website is meant to be fun. I used bright colors, again like my blog, because baking should be a fun and light-hearted topic. I think I have expressed the fun aspect well, but I could add some more color to the pages.

Check out my website at http://bakeeasyco2.webs.com/

3 More (No) Baking Recipes: A Followup To My Bakers

After writing my blog about 5 no bake recipes, I became re-inspired to attempt some more no bake recipes. (Part of this inspiration could also have come from the fact that my oven was broken.) But through my journey of no bake recipes, I discovered the magic of the microwave. No longer is the microwave strictly for reheating pizza from the night before, it can actually be used for baking believe it or not.

So here are my top 3 microwave recipes:

1. Apple Cinnamon Cake in a Mug

 Ingredients:

3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons plain or vanilla greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
generous dashes of cinnamon
1 egg
drizzle of vanilla
roughly 2 tablespoons diced apple

Instructions:

1.  Grease the inside of the mug and then chop half of an apple into very small pieces.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in your mug and mix them up.
3. Add the egg and stir until egg is completely mixed.
4. Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla and stir well.
5. Add the apple pieces and stir extremely well, making sure they are completely distributed throughout the batter.
6.  Put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Check it; if it seems like it needs a bit more time, then try it in intervals of 15 seconds. Mine needed about 2 minutes and 30 seconds total, but your microwave may vary.

When it's done it will look like this.

 

2. Chocolate Mug Brownie

  Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dash salt
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Instructions:

         1. In a 12 oz coffee mug, add water, butter, vanilla and dash of salt. Whisk well.

         2. Add cocoa powder, whisk well. Add sugar, whisk well. Add flour, whisk well.
         3. Microwave for 60-90 seconds. Center should be slightly molten. Careful not to overcook.

This is what your brownie will look like.

3.Chocolate Chip Mug Cookie

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch salt
1 egg yolk
3 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

          1. Melt butter in microwave. 

          2. Add sugars, vanilla, salt, egg yolk and stir. 

          3. Add flour, mix well until fully combined. 

          4. Stir in chocolate chips. 

          5. Microwave for 30-50 seconds.

Here is what your cookie will look like.

Here is the link to my post of 5 no bake recipes:  http://bakeeasyco.blogspot.com/2013/10/5-easy-no-baking-recipes.html

Enjoy!!

Frightening Dessert Ideas For Halloween

Well all know Halloween is approaching, and with that comes the mass of Halloween parties. I'll share a few of my favorite Halloween desserts and decorating tips to make your desserts boo-tiful and the talk of the party.

A great Halloween cookie that I love to make are Cobweb cookies. I actually found them on the Betty Crocker website and made them last year at a Halloween party I hosted. The were a big hit among the guests.

I followed the recipe, but I added my own little decoration to them. I used some black decorating gel and made little spiders on the cookies to add an extra Halloween effect.

For the recipe visit http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cobweb-cookies/6bfa619a-4763-4c47-b04f-f5aeee476319

Another dessert I like to make are skeleton cupcakes. These cupcakes are very easy to make and look pretty ghoulish.

All you need:

• Batch of chocolate cupcakes
• White frosting
• 2 toothpicks
• Tube of black decorator's icing

How to make them:

1. Frost the cupcakes.
2. For each cupcake, use the tip of a toothpick to lightly etch the outline of two large eyes in the frosting.
3. Slowly pipe black decorator's icing onto the etched lines and then fill in the inner circles. Use another toothpick to spread and smooth the icing.
4. Pipe on two short lines for a nose. Next, pipe a long line across the bottom of the cupcake for the mouth. For the finishing spooky touch, randomly top the mouth with a bunch of short icing barbs.

A great recipe for chocolate cupcakes can be found on this blog. 
For white frosting use the recipe found on this blog.

Pumpkin is my favorite flavor of the fall and of course, no Halloween party is complete without something pumpkin! My all-time favorite Halloween recipe is Pumpkin Ice-Cream Pie.

For this recipe visit the Spoonful blog at http://spoonful.com/recipes/pumpkin-ice-cream-pie

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

Cake Pops

So when it comes to baking, my favorite dessert would have to be cake. I love making cake for parties, but sometimes it can be a bit of a mess to serve.

So you say why not make cupcakes? Because this happens

 

That's why when I came across the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker  I knew I had to give it a shot. The idea of a mini cake on a popsicle stick just makes everything about serving and eating cake easier. 

The Cake Pop Maker is a really great investment. You can make 12 cake pops in just minutes. The non-stick coating makes baking and clean up fast and easy. You just fill the reservoirs with batter, you flip the handle, and when the pops are done, you put in the sticks and decorate.

The cake pop maker also includes: Batter Bottle, 2 Cake Pop Stands, Fork Tool and 50 Treat Sticks. The manual that comes with it also includes a variety of tips and recipes that will help you get the most out of this product.

The best part about the cake pop maker is that you don't need any baking experience to use it. Just as long as you follow the recipe in the manual, you are almost guaranteed perfect cake with no mess.

Here's the link to the website where you can buy your Babycakes Cake Pop Maker! http://thebabycakesshop.com/products/cake-pop-makers/cp-34r

The Easiest Way To Bake: Not To

Sometimes the easiest way to bake is to not to. It guarantees no burning, no mess, and no clean up. Let's face it, even people who love to bake as much as me sometimes need a break. That's when we turn to bakeries. Today I'm going to share with you a little bit about my favorite bakery, Weber's.

I was introduced to Weber's a few years ago when I was looking to get a birthday cake for my mom. I just walked in there one day, it's relatively close to my house, and saw all the different options. By the looks of the baked items I could tell they were pretty legit.

The inside of Weber's reminds me a lot of a deli set up. You pick a number off a wheel and wait for them to call your number. In that respect it can get a little chaotic, especially when it's full of people. You also want to make sure you get there early in the day because due to popularity they tend to run out of things later in the day. But I promise you the food is worth it.
 
They have pretty much any baked good you could ever imagine from chocolate donuts to raisin hoska, and of course their absolutely delectable cakes.

Here is an example of the amazing creativity that goes into a cake at Weber's Bakery

And this is just the outside. When you bite into the cake, well it impossible to adequately describe how amazing it tastes.  My favorite filling is the fresh strawberries, but you can pick whichever filling you want.

Check out more of their products on their website: http://www.webersbakery.com/

Sally's Baking Addiction

When it comes to baking, one person does not have all the answers. That's why I like to read other bakers' baking blogs. Today we're going to take a look at a blog that I often read called Sally's Baking Addiction: A Sprinkle of Fun and Adventure.

Sally likes to write about different recipes she has created. She takes readers through her creating process. She talks about the failures that she underwent during the baking process and she also talks about the successes.

The topics being covered, like I mentioned above are all recipes that Sally has created. This is the only short of topic being discussed, so all other baking topics are not ever talked about. The style is very informal. Sally uses a personal voice so it seems as though she is having a casual conversation with a friend. She posts almost everyday. Her posts are meant for intermediate bakers who have prior knowledge about baking.

The time relevant posts seem to generate the most conversation between readers. For example, one of Sally's latest posts was about pumpkin cookies. This post generated a lot of conversation because, well obviously, pumpkin is a favorite flavor of the fall. Readers tend to ask questions that have to do with following out the recipe, such as, "Why did you choose to add this ingredient instead of this one?". Sally uses many other forums on her blog. She is connected to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

The design of the blog is very well thought out. She uses a lot of color and sprinkles on her pages, to represent the title of her blog. She also has all her information organized in a way that makes it easy to find.

Overall, Sally's blog is very good. I love reading it for new baking ideas and all of her recipes I have tried have come out great. Here's a link to her blog, I recommend you give it a read. http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/ 

5 Easy (No) Baking Recipes

As I’m sure all of you have heard before, “Practice makes perfect”. This applies in many aspects in life including the baking one. Practice is always needed to perfect your skills. If you’re new to baking, sometimes it’s better to practice while also eliminating the risk of setting your kitchen on fire.

Here are my top 5 no-bake recipes that guarantee great taste and no burnt smell: 

1. Nutella No Bake Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 3 cup quick oats

 Instructions

Over medium heat, cook sugar, cocoa, milk and margarine. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, salt, peanut butter, Nutella and oats. Stir until combined. Drop by teaspoon on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate. Eat.

2. No bake Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

•      1 chocolate graham cracker pie crust (store-bought)
•          8 oz. cream cheese
•          1 cup peanut butter
•          ½ cup granulated sugar
•          1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•          8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
•          * Whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and grated chocolate; optional garnishes

Instructions

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Blend in peanut butter and vanilla.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spoon mixture into prepared pie crust.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, with a sprinkling of grated chocolate.  Keep refrigerated

    

     3. No Bake Cherry Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

•          8 oz. cream cheese, softened
•          1/3 cup sugar
•          8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
•          1 graham cracker pie crust (store bought)
•          1 can cherry pie filling

Instructions

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into pie crust and spread to the edge of crust. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with pie filling just before serving.

     4.  Easy Cake Batter Truffles

Ingredients

•          1 ½ cup flour
•          1 cup yellow cake mix
•          ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
•          ½ cup white sugar
•          1 teaspoon vanilla
•          1/8 teaspoon salt
•          3-4 Tablespoons milk
•          2 Tablespoons sprinkles

Truffle Coating:

•          16 oz (8 squares) almond bark (or white candy melts)
•          4 Tablespoons yellow cake mix
•          Sprinkles

Instructions

Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until combined. Add cake mix, flour, salt, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add 3 Tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Mix in sprinkles by hand. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up.

While dough balls are chilling, melt almond bark in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals. Once melted, quickly stir in cake mix until incorporated completely. Using a fork, dip truffles into almond bark and shake of excess bark by tapping the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl. Place truffle back on the cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls until finished.

Chill cake batter truffles in the refrigerator until serving. Makes around 24-30 truffles.

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     5.      No Bake Chocolate Éclair Dessert

Ingredients

•          2 (3 oz.) packages instant vanilla pudding mix 
•          3 cups milk
•          1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 
•          1 (16 oz.) package chocolate graham crackers 
•          1/4 cup milk
•          1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
•          1 cup white sugar 
•          2 tablespoons butter
•          1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and 3 cups milk; mix well. Fold in whipped topping and beat with mixer for 2 minutes. In a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of the dish. Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over crackers, then top with graham crackers. Spread remaining pudding over crackers; top second pudding layer with another layer of crackers. To make topping: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1/4 cup milk, cocoa and sugar and allow to boil for 1 minute; remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Mix well and cool. Pour sauce over graham cracker layer and refrigerate until set; serve.

For more recipes and tips visit