Given the overcast sky and my lack of motivation to do homework and studying, I decided to play homemaker for the day and bake some delicious treats. There's something about baking that makes me think of home. I love the dusting of flour that's always left on the counter from mixing. I love the egg shells lying empty in the sink. I love the measuring cups and the bowls. I love how the apartment is left smelling like grandma's been in town. I love making things from scratch thanks to my wonderful Betty Crocker Cookbook, it literally is "everything you need to know to cook today." Making things at home is much cheaper too I might add which is a definite plus.
So today I decided to make brownies (sadly enough I didn't make these ones from scratch, I'll skip the box-mix next time I promise) and blueberry-chocolate chip muffins. We've been out of dessert items lately and I am guilty of many chocolate cravings in the evenings which is why I made the brownies. I made muffins because I love having something to take on-the-go for breakfast in the morning. My cookbook is so helpful for someone like myself who's done some cooking in my day but am not an expert by any means. There's awesome pictures that help you cook and know when things are done correctly. The muffin pictures show how to tell if they are cooked long enough based on the color, cracks and shape of the tops.
The Wonderful Batter- Before
I like muffin batter much better than brownie batter because it's less tempting to stick your finger in and indulge on the chocolate-y goodness. Ok so yes, I think that technically means I like, even love, brownie batter more and I wouldn't put it past myself to eat half the batter before it's even baked. Jeff usually helps me with this task too ;-)
The Golden Muffins- After
The muffins turned out wonderful. They are just slightly golden and the contrast of the light dough and the deep purple blueberries makes them oh-so pretty. Plus they look great on our new eggplant colored plates from Ikea we bought last weekend! I was a little worried about the blueberry/chocolate chip combination so I had to try one out. I knew I liked the blueberries and chocolate chips separately so I figured the combo would be delicious as well. And I am pleased to say I was right.
The Chewy Brownies- After
The box for the brownies had different recipes depending if you wanted fudge-like brownies or cake-like brownies. I decided to go for the earlier of the two. This meant adding one less egg to the mixture. They turned out a little more sticky/chewy than I anticipated but I'm sure they will still taste great. It just made getting them out of the pan and arranged on the plate a little more difficult. Plus Jeff is much more of a "half-baked brownie fan" as compared to cake-like brownies so I did it for him. :-)
While I have yet to accomplish anything productive for school today, at least I can say I made some yummy treats and made myself happy because of it. It's productive too, just on a different level. Hopefully these treats get eaten quickly so I have a reason to bake again soon.
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