Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!!

Hello my sweets, well it's almost the end of 2016 and it has been awesome creating this blog and putting it out for the world to read. This is not going to be a regular recipe blog but more of a Brianna update blog lol. This might be my last blog for the year or not depending on if I decide to bake with my family or friends, for this blog I would typically bake by myself.

So the reason I created this blog was for a college course of mine called Multimedia Storytelling, we were given the option to choose whatever we wanted to write about and I wanted this blog to be about something that interests me and makes me happy even when sometimes I get stressed throughout the process lol...baking can be fun and stressful, folks!

I never thought I would have my own blog, I always thought it was for people with more interesting lives haha I'm just roasting myself here. But I would like to thank my professor for getting this whole thing started. Now that I think about it, I might just make one more blog for New Year's Eve since that is the last day of 2016. Might as well go out with a bang!!

I hope you all enjoyed this recipe... Sorry!! Old habits die hard lol but I do hope you all enjoyed this update and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Santa's Cookies

Happy Holidays my sweets! I don't know about you all but this week is finals week for me and let's just say I've been stress eating...mostly sweets lol. So with the help of the almighty Pinterest app, I found this cute and yummy recipe for Christmas cookies, which I heard was someone's favorite cookie. The big guy in red, Santa Claus! I just love this time of year with Christmas decorations and gingerbread cookies and just that feeling of togetherness with those you love. For those of you who have kids or are a child at heart like I am, we all know the tradition of leaving a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa because he works hard on Christmas Eve and needs the love and support of those who believe. Now let's get to baking, as I always say, "I can make that!"

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of Christmas m&m's (red and green)
• 1/3 cup of red and green sprinkles

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, cream together your butter and brown & white sugar until it looks nice and fluffy.

Step 3: Add the vanilla extract and the egg, mix together until the mixture is smooth.

Step 4: Combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) and mix it in with the wet ingredients. If you are using an electric mixer or stand mixer, be sure to mix all the ingredients with a spoon/spatula first, and then continue to mix with your stand or electric mixer. (This avoids a big dust cloud from the flour.)

Step 5: Add the red and green sprinkles and m&ms to your cookie dough and fold until completely mixed.

I had already mixed in the sprinkles and m&m's but forgot to take a picture lol oopsies...

Step 6: Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Let them cool for an additional 10 minutes.

Before...

After!!

As someone who loves cookies, m&m's, and basically anything sweet lol I can guarantee Santa will love these cookies. Maybe even the cookie monster lol he was my favorite character from Sesame Street, I think I said this in one of my older blogs...(be quiet Brianna.) Anyways, make sure you share your creations with your friends and family and Santa. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes!!

Hello my sweets, so last night I had the crazy idea to bake at 10 o'clock at night!! I guess I was bored and decided to do something I liked lol. And I'm back again with another pumpkin recipe, one from Ms. Rosanna Pansino aka creator of Nerdy Nummies aka my baking idol. If you're reading this, hi Ro!! So I'm going to share with you all her pumpkin cupcake recipe and I thought of making them as mini cupcakes so there's plenty to share. I found this to be a quick recipe because you add most of the ingredients at the same time rather than in different portions. Now let's get to baking, as I always say, "I can make that!"

The red and green sphere is not part of the ingredients lol my house is now a Christmas wonderland!!

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 1 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tub of cream cheese frosting

* I wanted to use a mini cupcake tray but everyone is different so use whatever size cupcake tray your heart desires!

Step 1: Preheat oven at 350 degrees and line your cupcake tray with paper or silicone cupcake liners.

Step 2: In a medium size bowl, or stand mixer, combine all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice).

Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine all your wet ingredients (oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract) and the brown and white sugar.

Step 4: Fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until they are completely mixed together. Incase some of you haven't heard of "folding", it's where you take a spoon or spatula and scoop from the bottom of the bowl and fold the mixture over onto itself. Think of it as: scoop, up, and over. Repeat this step for a few minutes, but make sure not to over fold. Once it's mixed, STOP!

Step 5: Scoop a spoonful or two of your batter into your cupcake liners.

Step 6: Bake for 20-22 minutes, and let the cupcakes cool for an additional 10 minutes.

Before...

Halfway done...

After!!

While you let the cupcakes cool, now's the time to prepare your frosting however way you want. I wanted to add an extra dose of cinnamon goodness so I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon into the frosting and mixed it around. Now you have another sweet treat for the holidays, and don't forget to share your creations with your friends and family. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

Hello my sweets, I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I don't know about you guys, but I had 3 different Thanksgiving meals that day. I was one stuffed turkey! So today I will be sharing with you a sweet new recipe I thought was perfect for the fall holidays, pumpkin sugar cookies! I've always thought that once October started, it was officially pumpkin season until the New Year lol. Before I started baking, I was determined to find a few fall-shaped cookie cutters, which I did for only 74 cents EACH, what a deal! Now let's get to baking, as I always say, "I can make that!"

My cookie cutters are in the shapes of a leaf, turkey, acorn, and pumpkin. What's a pumpkin sugar cookie if it's not in the shape of a pumpkin!?

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 1 1/2 cups of white sugar
• 3/4 cup of butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups of flour

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Step 2: Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth, then beat in the egg until smooth.

Step 3: Separate your wet ingredients (vanilla and pumpkin), your dry ingredients (cinnamon, salt, and powder), and your flour into 3 different bowls to make the mixing easier. When adding the flour to the dough, mix it in with a spoon FIRST, then continue to mix with a stand mixer.

Green bowl: pumpkin and vanilla, Orange bowl: flour, and Purple bowl: cinnamon, salt, and powder

Step 4: Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for about an hour. Here you have the option of rolling the cookie dough into balls or rolling out the dough flat to use cookie cutters. And I really wanted to use my seasonal cookie cutters!

Step 5: Before you use the cookie cutters, sprinkle some flour on a clean, flat surface and cut out as many cookies as you can.

* To add additional flavor, sprinkle a cinnamon/sugar mixture onto your cut out cookies OR roll the cookie balls in the same mixture.

Step 6: Bake the cookies for about 6-8 minutes. Let them cool for an additional 10 minutes.

Before...

After!!

After looking at my "before" photo, I realized I forgot to mention I also used a Texas-shaped cookie cutter lol. Make sure you share your creations with your friends and family. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Happy Halloween!!

Hello my sweets, and Happy Halloween!! (insert pumpkin emojis here) First off, I know this post is a little bit late lol!! And second, to make these Halloween themed treats, I had help from my little cousin and my boyfriend. Together we created chocolate cauldron cake pops and assorted spooky vanilla cake pops. My inspiration for the cauldron cake pops came from my favorite online baker, Rosanna Pansino; she is the creator of Nerdy Nummies on youtube and the author of the Nerdy Nummies cookbook. As for the vanilla cake pops, my boyfriend started getting creative and made mummies and skeletons and bats, OH MY!! These treats are perfect for Halloween and super delicious. Now let's get baking, as I always say, "I can make that!"

There are endless spooky ideas you can create using your decorations!!

* To save some time, I found it best to make and bake both cakes at the same time.

For the chocolate cake, the ingredients you'll need are:
- 2 cups of white sugar
- 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tube of chocolate frosting

For the vanilla cake, the ingredients you'll need are:
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 tube of vanilla frosting

* All steps can apply to both cakes, but make sure to use separate bowls!!

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two different cake pans.

Step 2: Mix together your dry ingredients (flour, powders, baking soda and salt) in a medium size bowl.

Step 3: Add the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and water) to the dry and continue to mix ingredients at a medium speed for about 2 minutes. Pour batter evenly into the two pans.

Step 4: Bake for about 30-35 minutes. To check if the cakes are done, poke the middle of both pans with a toothpick. Set aside to cool completely for 10 minutes.

Step 5: Cut both cakes into halves or fourths, and crumb the pieces together. Empty out the cans of frosting into each bowl of cake crumbs and mix them together with either a large spoon or your hands.

Step 6: Roll the cake mixture into balls, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze the cake balls for 30 minutes. Melt a small amount of the candy melts. Dip the ends of the lollipop sticks into the melted candy and push halfway into the cake balls.

Step 7: Place the pops back in the fridge for another 30 minutes to chill.

*This is the time to gather up the things you'll need for decorations:

We bought the white candy melts and some candy eyes last minute lol

- 1 bag (10 oz.) of black and white candy melts
- 1 bag or box of Nerds candies
- a packet of lollipop sticks (the more you have the better)
- decorating icings: red, orange, and black; the pink and purple are optional, depending on what color of Nerds you are using.
- some decorating tips, depends on the number of icings you have
- a large square or circle foam block

* For the cauldron cake pops
Step 1: Melt the bag of candy melts (pour half the bag, heat it up, and then the other half and heat it up). Dip the cake pops into the melted candy and let the excess candy drip off.

Step 2: Immediately place them on a lined baking sheet. This gives them that flat surface, which will be the rim of the cauldrons.

Step 3: Pipe the red and orange icing onto the bottom of each cake pop to look like flames.

Step 4: Flip the pops upright and stick them onto the foam block. With the black icing, pipe two circles on opposite sides of the cauldrons to create handles.

Step 5: Pipe on the pink, or purple, or whichever color you decide to use on top of the cake pops.

Step 6: Place a few of the Nerds candies on top of the matching icing.

Before...

After!!

* For the vanilla cake pops
Step 1: Same as step 1 for the cauldron cake pops.

Step 2: Stick them upright onto the foam block. While the coating is still wet, stick on some googly candy eyes on random ones.

Step 3: For the ones which the coating has set, you can pipe on any Halloween designs that you want. We went with mummies and skeletons and bats, OH MY!!

Before...

After!!

And just like that, you have cauldron cake pops and spooky cake pops!! I'll admit this recipe takes a while when it comes to decorating, so it's best to have a helper or two. Plus you all can make some unique Halloween designs together or individually. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello my sweets, today I will be sharing with you a super delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe! This is my personal favorite type of cookie and I believe that nothing tastes sweeter than a warm cookie fresh out of the oven...*mouth starts drooling*. Really my favorite type of sweet is chocolate anything, I love chocolate, I live on chocolate! Maybe that's why I was always hyper as a kid...too many cookies. ANYWAYS, I baked these cookies for my media class and they absolutely loved them, they were really impressed that I made cookies from scratch. And it adds a personal touch when you bake something yourself. Now let's get to baking, as I always say, "I can make that!"

Baking these cookies was meant to be, since I used the last of my flour! :O Gotta go buy some more now lol

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 bag (12 oz.) of semisweet chocolate chips

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and place a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper on a baking sheet, make sure to cover the whole thing.

Step 2: Cream together the sticks of butter, brown sugar and white sugar until the mixture is nice and smooth.

Step 3: Now add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again; it's important to remember these as your wet ingredients.

Step 4: Once the mixture is creamy and smooth, mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt; refer to these as the dry ingredients.

A helpful tip: mix the dry ingredients with a spoon FIRST, then continue with the stand mixer. You'll avoid a big dust cloud and spilling flour everywhere. Had to learn that the hard way...

Step 5: This is the most important and fun part in baking chocolate chip cookies, adding the chocolate chips in the dough.

Most resist eating raw cookie dough!!

Step 6: Scoop a spoonful of the dough and place evenly on the baking sheet, there should be room for 12 cookies at a time. Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown. Then set aside to cool for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Before...

After!!

The cookie monster himself would go crazy for the cookies you just made! Now you have a yummy cookie recipe for all you sweet-tooths out there. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Na na na na na na na na...BATCAKE!!

Hello my sweets, last weekend I baked a Batman themed birthday cake for my boyfriend and he loved it!! It was his favorite flavor, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, which is also my favorite flavor of anything sweet...or anything really haha. Unfortunately I was pressed for time that day and did not make the cake from scratch, but I will still share with you all a delicious chocolate cake recipe I have made before.

To make the cake look like Batman, I bought two cans of white frosting and used black and yellow food coloring. For his ears and the bat logo, I bought black fondant or edible/moldable dough.

This cake recipe makes one or two layers of cake, and since I made a four layered cake I used two boxes of cake mix. Depending on how many layers you plan on baking, this recipe can double to make four layers of cake. Meaning extra yummy goodness!! Now let's get to baking, as I always say, "I can make that!!"

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of water

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease two (or more) 9-inch cake pans.

Step 2: Mix together your dry ingredients (flour, powders, baking soda and salt) in a medium size bowl.

Step 3: Add the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and water) to the dry and with the help of a stand mixer, continue to mix ingredients at a medium speed for about 2 minutes. Pour batter evenly into the two pans.

Step 4: Bake for about 30-35 minutes. To check if the cakes are done, poke the middle of both pans with a toothpick. Set aside to cool completely for 10 minutes.

Once both cakes are cooled, frost them however you want!! Frosting is a fun and creative bonus of baking cakes. Now you have a delicious cake to enjoy, and remember to share your creations with your friends and family. I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time, hasta la vista bakers!!:)

Since my boyfriend's favorite superhero is Batman, I decided to make the Dark Knight in cake form!!

Hello Bakers!!

Hi everyone, my name is Brianna and this is my first time writing a blog. I wanted to write about something that I enjoy and makes me happy, so I decided to make it about my newest hobby which is baking. Over the past year I have found that it not only makes me happy but also makes my friends and family happy. For me, baking is making the people around you smile with the taste of some of their favorite cakes and cookies, and also some treats they have never tried before.

This post is just my introduction to the blogging world, but I will be posting about my latest creations, some old recipes I have made before and some new ones. Now my first baking project must be a secret for now, it is my boyfriend's birthday this weekend and I am making him a cake. I want to surprise him with what the cake will look like, after that I will post before and after pictures of the treats I make.

I am really looking forward to how this blog turns out and I hope it's good, plus I am open to suggestions of what I can create and I hope I have the skill to bring them to life. I have also thought of maybe making a few catchphrases for myself like how superheroes do, kinda geeky but I like geeky. How about "I can make that" or "Hasta la vista bakers"?? I'll probably use both haha.

So until next time, hasta la vista bakers...I like it, I'm using that!!