hausfrau

[corvidophiliac]

Hallo personal journal on the internet, which I rarely make posts in let alone actually type any real personal information in. Which is maybe a little odd or contradictory in itself, since I mainly use it to keep up with the personal lives (or art) of others, who I don't necessarily talk to often/at all, but whom I am still curious about (really, I'm just a nosey fucker).
TALKING ABOUT PERSONAL STUFF JUST AIN'T MY STYLE, YO. YA DIG, HOLMES?

Anyway.
THIS ENTRY IS ABOUT BAKING.
Because I like baking, but mostly because I'm going to be doing a lot of it very soon.
(I should learn to cook, soon, too).

I know some/several of you like to cook/bake so I guess this is mostly for you guys, haiii.
I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE JUST NOSEY, TOO. YEAH, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
I'm doing/going to be doing a lot of the Christmas/wintertide baking this year, since mum doesn't have a lot of time for it and I'm home being a slackass shut-in sinking further and further into debt.
I have SIX (uh, well, seven) (at least) recipes that I want to try before Christmas (plus another four that I already know, which you'll see below). SO I'M GONNA POST 'EM HERE AS I MAKE 'EM, YAY LJ CUTS.

None of these are like. SUPR SECRIT FAMLY RESIPYS or anything. So don't be surprised if you've seen/had/made them before, with the same recipe.

Banana Bread
I use this one a lot. Like... every chance I get. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, and it always comes out really rad.

Oven Preheat: 325°F

Ingredients
½ c.....margarine (melted)
1 c.../..sugar
2-3../..bananas† (mashed)
2...../..eggs
2 c.../..flour
½ tsp...salt
1 tsp../.baking soda
¾ c......hot water

Blend margarine, sugar, bananas and eggs until smooth. If preferred, beat eggs lightly before adding them to the mixture; bananas may be mashed when added if already over-ripe.

Stir together flour, salt and baking soda in a seperate bowl. Add to the banana mixture in approximate thirds, alternating with the hot water, mixing as you go. Continue until the mixture is consistent and all clumps of the dry ingredients are broken up. Pour into loaf pan.

Bake Time: approx. 70 minutes‡

† The more ripe your bananas are, the more moist/wet your loaf will be when it's finished. I prefer to use newly-ripened bananas as opposed to over-ripened ones.
‡ When the loaf is finished baking, you'll see that its sides have pulled away from the pan.

Extra Tips: You can, of course, substitute something else for the bananas. While I've been meaning to try carrots and a variety of fruits, I haven't really gotten around to it yet. However, I have substituted with apples. You may be able to figure out a better way of going about this, but this is how I did it (mostly with direction from Adrian!) :
Using 2 - 4 apples (depending on the size), boil them in a large pot. This makes the skin very easy to peel off by hand without losing too much of the flavour or juice out of the flesh. It also softens the flesh a great deal. After taking the skins off, it's just a matter of removing the core, and mashing the flesh -- which is fairly easy to do at this point.

Chew-Chews‡
No actual baking is required for these, BUT you do need to use the stove. Though they're not difficult to make, they are a bit time-consuming. I always find boiling things to be kind-of a hassle, personally. But they're pretty awesome, nonetheless.

Ingredients
3 c...//oats
1½ c...coconut
5 tbsp..cocoa
1 tsp../vanilla
½ c.....margarine (melted)
½ c.....milk (usually canned, but not required to be)
2 c.../..sugar

In a large bowl (the bigger the better) mix the oats, coconut, cocoa and vanilla.

Mix the margarine, milk and sugar in a saucepan, on a low setting. Stir it frequently and bring it to a boil for two minutes. Pour it into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Using a large spoon†, scoop the chew-chew mixture into small mounds, placing them on wax paper. Let the chew-chews cool for ten to twenty minutes.

† An ice-cream scoop, or similarly domed/spherical spoon works best for this. It's also much easier if you keep a small bowl of cold water on hand and dip your spoon into it before each scoop.
‡ Because they aren't as common as I thought they were, maybe, and because there's a couple of different cookies that fall under these names, this is what chew chews look like: [link opens in new tab].

The next two, for peanut butter cookies and rice krispie squares, are totally stolen right from the peanut butter container and rice krispies box. No shame.

Peanut Butter Cookies
So. I was looking at peanut butter cookie recipes, and ones in cookbooks have a lot of ingredients. You know, like. Flour and stuff? Aforementioned slackassery in mind, I opted for Kraft's much, much easier recipe. I think they taste better, anyway. Makes about 16 cookies per batch.

Oven Preheat: 325°F

Ingredients
1 c.../..peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
½ c.....sugar (up to ¾ c; personal preference)
1.../....egg

Combine ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Roll into small balls (1" - 1½") and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down gently with a fork.

Bake Time: 8 - 12 minutes

Extra Tips: Sometimes, I find the "dough" to be rather sticky and difficult to roll -- most often when I don't double the batch. If you find yourself having a similar problem, leaving it to sit for a little while usually helps it solidify a bit more, making for easier rolling. You should be able to roll out relatively smooth balls.

Rice Krispie Squares
Another no-bake recipe. I actually panic every time I make these. They're easy, but you have to be quick when transfering the rice krispie goo into the pan and flattening it down, or else it'll harden into a globular mass D: More fun than moonsand!

Other Preperation
Make sure you grease the dish you'll be using to hold your finished sqaures first -- a large rectangular brownie pan or casserole dish works best.

Ingredients
½ c......margarine (melted)
5 c....../mini marshmallows
½ tsp...vanilla
6 c.......rice krispies

Pour rice krispies into a large bowl (the bigger the better), and set aside for later.

Using a large mixing bowl or large mixing cup, melt your margarine in the microwave (about 15 - 30 seconds). Dump the marshmallows into the melted margarine, and toss until evenly coated. Heat the buttered marshmallows for about 45 seconds. Stir briefly, then heat for approximately 60 seconds.

Quickly add the molten marshmallow mixture cereal. Add the vanilla, and then mix all ingredients briskly. Scrape mixture into previously greased pan, and let sit for five to ten minutes to harden.