Tiny Gingerbread Houses

While browsing the net, i found this wonderful idea. it how to make tiny gingerbread houses that can be placed on the edge of a mug. Ymo*

They look so adorable attached to the mug, plus it makes the mug less boring and more interesting,





Click here for the PDF file of patterns
Click here for the website

enjoy,

A piece of heaven cookies

This recipe is an ultimate family favorite, kids and adults enjoy it A LOT(not to mention that oatmeal is an extremely healthy ingredient). the main 2 ingredients are peanut butter and oatmeal. i never liked oatmeal but in these cookies hell ya i love oatmeal !!

ingredients:
3/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup good quality peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2cup brown sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1 1/4cups all purpose flour
2cups oatmeal (Quaker)
1cup chocolate pieces (optional)

Directions:
1. mix butter and peanut butter in an electric mixer for about half a minute.
2.add brown and granulated sugar, baking powder,baking soda to the butter mix.
3.scrape the bowl with a spatula.
4.beat in eggs and vanilla and pour it in the electric mixer.
5.add the flour a tablespoon at a time.
6. throw in the chocolate pieces if desired.
7.drop the cookie dough with 2 teaspoons and bake them 2 inches apart(they will expand while cooking, so its OK to put only little quantity on the baking sheet)
8. bake them for 10 minutes heat upside only in 200C preheated oven.

Enjoy,

Red Valvet Cup cake

have you ever ate something and felt that it worth the calories it contain ?



well i always do, desserts have the power of making me smile out of indulgence, i was in jumeria and i passed by my favorite cupcake shop KITSCH, their cupcake are amazing but the prices are quite high anyway who cares,



and guess what ? I GOT YOU THEIR BEST SELLING RECIPE !



you ll need:


2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup food coloring
2 cups shifted all purpose flower
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp salt


for the frosting you ll need :

1 cup milk
3 tbs flour
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla



Directions:

1.stir coloring and cocoa powder, set aside
2.in an electric mixer mix shortening, sugar, vanilla and beat until combined
3.add eggs on at a time
4. beat in the cocoa mix the alternately add flour and yogurt
5.stir in baking powder, vinegar and salt
6.pour the batter in the cupcake tins
7.bake in 170C for 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in comes out clean, if not keep the cake few minutes more.
8. cool the cup cakes on a cooling rack and prepare the frosting
9.in a sauce pan whisk milk and flour until thick and creamy about 4 minutes on medium low heat, cover and set aside
10.in an electric mixer beat butter,sugar,vanilla until light and fluffy, add the milk mixture to the butter mixture when cooled and mix until smooth.



enjoy,

Classic Cheescake recipie

Here is my favorite cheesecake recipe, initially i got it from Williams-sonoma's website and then i did few adjustments to it.


For the crust:

1 3/4 cups of crushed digestive biscuit
1 stick of unsalted butter (melted)


For the filling:

3 300g Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy or double cream
1tsp vanilla extract
1tbs water
1tsp unflavored gelatin


Topping:

use any ready made topping you like, or put strawberries in the blender and then transfer them to a sauce pan, heat the strawberry and add 1tbs of cornstarch, allow it to cool and add it to the cake before serving it.


Directions:

1-preheat the oven 170-180C.

2- crush the biscuits and add the melted butter, use your hands to mix them well.

3-evenly and firmly over the bottom of 2 inches up the side of a 9-by-2 1/2-inch spring form pan.

4-Bake the crust 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature, about 25 minutes.

5-in an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until well blended

6-add to the cream cheese mix half of the heavy cream and mix.

7-in a small sauce pan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatin over it, put the sauce pan over a low heat and stir until dissolved.

8-add the remaining heavy cream to the gelatin mix and stir.

9-Add the gelatin mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

10- Spoon the filling into the cooled crust. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.

11-To serve, run a knife around the pan sides to loosen the cake. Release the pan sides and place the cake on a plate.



Tips:

- use a potato masher to crush the biscuit, it just makes life easier =p ..

- 1 cup is equivalent to 250ml.

-gelatin comes in powder form and it helps in firming up the cheesecake.



enjoy,

Welcome to my blog,

Hey all, cook myself happy is a blog for people who are interesting as u may figured out COOKING !. as they say you either be a cook or a baker, if i said I'm both then I'm a liar. well I'm a baker. Ive been baking for the last year and a half no one taught me a thing at the beginning i didn't even know how to cut a lemon in half ! well now i do =p . i just started by teaching myself, not that i didn't wish my mom to teach me but simply shes not into cooking anymore!

Finally i can bake verity of foods from cakes to cookies and even more, in this blog ill try to hand out my successful recipes for you to try them out. i would even try to give you some advice and teach you some of the techinques i follow.

enjoy,