In the Kitchen

Making Pinterest Come to Life!

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In the interest of trying something new (and being the crafty person that I am), I started a Pinterest board to come up with ideas for my daughter’s 5th birthday party. She is at the perfect age where we can work on fun projects together, and while it would have been just as sweet to serve our delicious cookies for dessert, I found a particular “Pin” that would work as a great treat for the kids…The Butterfly Snack.

You can find this craft on our “Party Ideas” Board here: https://www.pinterest.com/pacificcookie/party-ideas/

What you need:

  • Zip-lock bags
  • Clothespins
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Markers
  • Grapes
  • Goldfishes

First, we decorated the clothespins with various patterns – polka dots, rainbows and happy faces. We used markers but I think glitter would have a nice, sparkly touch! Then we loaded the grapes and goldfishes in and divided them (these will be the wings) to leave room for the “body” of the butterfly (we may or may not have snacked on goldfishes during this step).

To keep the grapes and goldfishes divided, we used the pipe cleaners as a cinch, then wrapped the ends around a pencil to create their squiggly antennas. You can make all sorts of shapes and sizes for the antennas! To finish the look, we attached the clothespins and voila!

You may also use all types of snacks! Cheerios and raspberries sound like a yummy combo! It was so much fun making this project come to life! Make sure to follow our Pinterest and we’ll be sure to save fun and easy ideas that you’re going to love!

Turning Cookies Into Pie

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Pi Day has arrived and we know the usual way to celebrate is with, well, pie obviously… While we do love some good ol’ fashioned pie we’re just a little jealous of all the attention it gets on this day.

Then we found it. The perfect recipe for saving our tumultuous relationship with that other circular dessert: Snickerdoodle Chess Pie.

Oh, yes.

This is not another one of those day-old-snickerdoodle-pie-crust recipes, either. This one actually turns Snickerdoodles into pie filling! Head on over to somethingswanky.com for the recipe and even more lovely photos of this perfect pie creation. You’ll need about a dozen cookies for the recipe, but don’t forget to pick up some extra Snickerdoodles so you have enough to snack on while baking 😉

Baking Tips and Substitutions

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We’ve rounded up 15 great tips to help you become a better baker and make the best baked goods!

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  1. That brown sugar in the pantry feeling a little rock hard? Microwave it with a wet paper towel for 20-30 seconds to soften it up!
  2. Always use fresh baking soda! Old baking soda can cause flat cookies.
  3. ALWAYS use room temperature eggs and butter unless the recipe calls for melted butter. An old vintage tip is heating the sugar to make hard butter cream better. Room temperature ingredients combine so much easier into batter creating even texture.
  4. If you don’t have time to wait around for your butter to soften and don’t want to heat up your sugar, use a heating pad.
  5. Do not overmix your cookie dough, unless you like tough cookies, than mix to your heart’s desire!
  6. This is a pretty good one. If you are using sticky ingredients such as honey or molasses, spray whatever measuring tool you are using with cooking spray first and your ingredients will slide right off.
  7. Using all white sugar will give you hard, crunchy cookies. All brown sugar will give you tender, chewy cookies.
  8. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop and make perfectly even dough drops.
  9. Do not grease your baking pan, it will make cookies spread. Using parchment a latex cookie baking sheet can make the heat spread more evenly.
  10. We know it’s extremely tempting, but leave the oven door shut the entire baking period. Inconsistencies in baking temperatures can affect how your cookies cook and rise.
  11. If your baked goods in the back of the oven are browning faster than those in the front, your oven is hotter in the back than the front. Turn the baking sheet around half way during baking.
  12. Burned the bottom of your cookies? No problem! Use a zester to shave off the burnt bottom.
  13. Store cookies in an airtight container or bag and they will last up to 6 months. Just pop one in the microwave for 45 seconds and voila!
  14. Having a hard time whipping your whipped cream? Add a few drops of lemon juice!
  15. Having trouble slicing through that cake? Warm up a knife with warm water, or if it’s fresh from the dishwasher, that works too. Slice on through without any clumps or cake falling apart.

 

I thought this Healthy Baking Substitutes guide from Picklee was also super helpful, especially if you have dietary restrictions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also check out this sweet Frozen Food Storage Chart! Total saver!