Matcha Shortbread

This is the first thing I have baked in a long time. After deciding to revisit this blog with Kimmy I decided that I needed to drag my butt back into the kitchen and bake something. Part of me has become afraid of baking. After deciding to not pursue it as a career anymore, part of me fears that if I start baking again, maybe I will regret my decision to stop professionally. Of course the other part of me says that is ridiculous. Lately I have been itching to create things again and this was a feeling that had completely stopped when I was baking as a career.

Lately my life has been all spreadsheets and Netflix so creating these Matcha Shortbread cookies was a much needed escape. I love Matcha. Its earthiness pairs well with sweet treats. And I love how it makes everything green!

Brown Butter, Sesame Seed Banana Bread

Sometimes, I feel homeless. Not in the sense that I do not have a home--I do--but because I do not have a space that is all mine. Is that selfish? To have a comfortable home surrounded by people you love and yet still feel discontent?

 I don't know.

But the thing is I share everything. My room, my closet, my bed. There isn't a corner that is mine to personalize or a space to escape to.

Once I moved away from home to go to college, and since then came back, home has not felt like home used to. I have been told that once you move away coming back is not the same and I do believe that. Eventually I will be able to afford my own place, or at least space, but until then I will have to quiet myself with knowing that all things have their time.

There are certain smells whose essence conjures the nostalgia of home. Fresh baked banana bread is one of those. It smells of warm, ripe bananas, cinnamon and clove. This is a one bowl, no mess bake that requires some old bananas and no patience. Just mix with a spoon, bake, cool, eat. I like baking like this: simple, no frills.

This recipe is a combination of here, here, and here. This recipe is my go to banana bread at all times. We used to make it all the time at the restaurant. I wanted to add a little something extra to it this time though, and since I love brown butter and sesame seeds, I decided to combine everything into one bread. If you don't have sesame seeds, don't worry, its not essential. However, I will admit that their nuttiness adds something extra to this bread. Ripe bananas are a must, so buy some extra bananas next time you are at the grocery store and give them a few days on the counter.


Brown Butter, Sesame Seed Banana Bread

In one bowl combine

3-4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup browned butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
pinch of clove
1 1/2 cup of A.P flour
1/4 mixed sesame seeds

Bake at 350 for 40-50 min until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Brownies

I think everyone has an opinion on brownies. It's just one of those things. Similar to politics (sort of).

 Some people like their brownies fudgy. Some don't. Some like nuts in theirs. Other people find that gross.

I'm a brownie purest. Don't put anything in my brownies. And if they have the texture of cake, I'll eat them, but only out of principle. Biting into a brownie and realizing its cakey is like biting into a oatmeal raisin cookie thinking its chocolate chip. It's a day ruiner.

I also prefer brownies made with cocoa powder. It lets me control the sugar/fat content of my brownies and adjust depending on what I want. Plus, it usually results in a deeper chocolate flavor. The result is a brownie with a barely flaky crust and moist fudgy interior.

Brownies are a one pot project that are extremely easy to make and don't require much time. There really is no excuse not to make brownies. I mean, can you think of one?

I realized that I hadn't done a recipe on here with chocolate, which is not like me at all considering I am a chocoholic. Like exercise, eating chocolate gives me endorphins. Or so I tell myself.

Anyway, make these brownies (or don't). But I promise that if you make them, they will brighten your day just a little. Unless you burn them. Then, I can't help you there.


Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from here

Some pointers:
-I doubled this batch. I recommend that you go ahead and do the same.
-The original recipe calls for using a double boiler. Pft, who has time for that?
-The whole "stir for 40 strokes": you are doing this to form gluten. These brownies have very little flour, so you need to encourage extra gluten development. You don't have to count your stirs, just keep this concept in mind.

In a pot over low-medium heat combine:
  10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  3/4 cup sugar
  1/2 light brown sugar
  3/4 cup cocoa powder
   pinch of salt
  1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt these ingredients until smooth and and slightly hot to touch.

Take off heat and add in one at a time:
2 eggs

Last, add in:
1/2 cup A.P flour

Once the flour is incorporated, stir for an additional 40 stirs with a wooden spoon. Poor batter into your sprayed and lined pan. Bake at 325 for 20-25 mins. For a double batch it took over 30. You want a toothpick when inserted in the middle to barely have batter on it and the batter should be set.

Sugar Cookies

I had the day off today. Well, technically, I just took it. Sometimes, taking time for yourself is the best medicine.

Although I bake for a living, I almost never bake at home. I used to love it. I was the person who had an extra fridge just to keep my extra 50lb bags of flour and sugar. I got excited in kitchen stores and bookmarked every top ten food blog. It was an exploration in creativity, a new means of expressing myself.

Now, not so much. I bake at work and that's it. I still find myself fantasizing about what recipe I want to try next, or new ways to make an old favorite better, but when it comes to actually getting in the kitchen and baking, I turn the other way. I think it has to do with the monotony of doing it everyday. I didn't want baking to be the only thing I did, the only thing that defined who I was.

Part of the reason I decided to start this blog is to try and revive that old love. No matter how old I am, or what I do, baking will always be a form of expression. And so, to keep it simple, I give you sugar cookies.

I believe that everyone should have a few basic recipes that are reliable. Sure, crazy cookie recipes are fun, but the basics are what you fall back to when you need to impress a boyfriend, create a good first impression, or what you bring to a family dinner. Why? Because its what everyone loves. Besides chocolate chip, sugar cookies live in the realm of classic. A good sugar cookie is just barely baked, melts in your mouth, and provides just the right amount of sweetness without being overbearing.

These cookies fall into all of those categories. Within an hour, you can have all of them baked, cooling on your counter, and ready to be enjoyed.

Sugar Cookies

Cream together: 
2 1/2 sticks of butter
1 cup sugar

Add in:
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Combine together then add to butter mixture:
2 1/2 cups of A.P flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes depending on size.
I rolled mine by hand and dipped in sprinkles. But if you wanted to roll out into a shape, let the batter cool in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.