Intimidating!

Okay, so I have been looking at This awesome baking blog and I decided that instead of making cupcakes this weekend, I am going to do some sugar cookies. However, I am also going to attempt some type of design with the frosting. After looking at some of these blogs, however, I am pretty intimidated. Besides having to make a ton of different frosting with different consistencies, it looks like it is going to take a lot of practice and patience.
Stay tuned for future updates of this possible disaster.

Guinness Cupcakes

For the first few months of having my KitcehnAid, I was unable to make cupcakes due to the fact that my piping stuff was at my mom's house (Ok, I could have made them...but they wouldn't have had piped frosting like I wanted). Luckily after I came back from vacation, I was able to bring those items back with me.
I got back from Maui the day before St. Patty's day so when I came across this recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with vanilla butter cream, I knew I had to try out.

Chocolate + Baileys could never be a bad combination

After a few batches of chocolate chip cookies, I was ready to try something new. So I browsed through some ideas, and I came across chocolate truffles. They seemed pretty simple to make, and candy was something I had never attempted before.

 Chopped up semi sweet baking chocolate

All of the chocolate with the butter

I had to temper the chocolate with a double boiler (which I obviously don't have) so I had to get crafty and and use a pan and a glass bowl. (it actually wasn't crafty, it was a tip in the recipe)

Once it was all nice and smooth, it was time to add the Baileys (I used one of the small "airplane" bottles)

All poured out and ready to get firm in the fridge (1 batch was with Baileys, the other was just chocolate)

I covered the Baileys truffles with a pinch of sea salt instead of rolling them in coco powder, and I topped the regular truffles with a little powdered sugar

I have to say, my first truffle attempt turned out pretty well. I was a bigger fan of the Baileys than the regular chocolate (weird) but both were good. The biggest complaint I have about making these is scooping them into the cupcake liners. The chocolate is pretty messy to work with - my hands were totally covered by the time I was done. Also, I got tired of scooping all that melted chocolate pretty quickly. However, they were easy and pretty tasty. If I would have felt more motivated, I could have coated them in another layer of chocolate to give them that nice hard shell on the outside. Maybe next time :)

Thanks to "My Baking Addiction" for the recipe. 
Click here for the recipe!

Couldn't resist

Ok... my last post for tonight. After a horrible night at work, I came home to these packages waiting for me!

Fondant rolling pin, measuring rings, fondant smoother...and of course a "how to" book.

Have I said how excited I am for my baking class next week!? :)

What is the first thing a girl makes with her very own KitchenAid?

Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course :) I think CCC's are pretty near and dear to every kid's heart. Personally, I remember making them all of the time with my mom, and they were one of the first things I made "all by myself." Plus, it was always fun saving a bowl of dough for my dad to eat later.

As I previously stated, I recently bought my very own KitchenAid. No big deal. Except it was a HUGE deal to me. I told my mom that it was like I was finally a grown up. So of course CCC's had to be the first thing for me to make in my brand new kitchen aid!

Well...here it goes!

Alright, this marks the first entry for my blogging future! I am very new to this, so please bear with me as I learn! I want to use this first entry as a "get to know me" type thing.

Baking is something I have always been passionate about and a career I have always thought about. Out of high school, I enrolled in the baking and pastry program at Le Cordon Bleu in MN. I was there for four months and honestly did not learn a thing. After talking to people in the baking industry, I learned that the particular branch I was at was not highly regarded by professionals. So that was that, and I quit. Sad to say, that school really turned me off to the whole profession for awhile. So I went back to 'regular' school and tried out several majors...changing my mind often.

So here I find myself again...I am a year away from graduating with a geography degree and have rediscovered my passion for baking. The degree will be good to have, but i know for sure that baking is what I want to pursue. I went out one day a few months ago and bought a KitchenAid and knew that was a turning point. Over these last few months I have just been practicing things in my own kitchen. Next week though, I start a baking class at a local craft store and I CANNOT WAIT!

I am going to use this blog to chronicle my progress with things like recipes and just overall struggles/triumphs I guess.

Disclaimer: I am not good at photographing food, so I apologize in advance for the unspectacular pictures. I honestly follow a lot of baking blogs and their pictures are so beautiful...someday I will get there :) 

Also I want to send out a sappy 'thank you' to...
My family for always sticking by me throughout my indecisiveness.
My best friend and editor Tim for suggesting this whole blog idea to me! 

Enjoy and thank you for stopping by!

Me, my brother, sister and my mom (Maui '11)