THE Crinkles Recipe You Have To Try

I'm on a (cookie) roll!!!

After posting my favorite chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe last month, I am posting another cookie recipe I tried and which I absolutely loved!

I've already blogged about a Crinkles recipe (Crinkles are chocolate cookies that are soft and chewy, it's like a brownie cookie) before (you may read about it here).  They turned out okay, I thought they can be better.  

Since I will be bringing some cookies for the Princess' Promotion night this Friday, I thought of baking these sweet treats.

And so my quest to find a better Crinkles recipe began.

By the way, do you know how I choose recipes to try (in general)?  I google for images!    

The food photo which looked best (and yummm!) wins!  Haha!

I saw one and I knew I had to try it!

Why?

Two words.

DOUBLE. CHOCOLATE. (Now, let's say that again)

Thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction, we got to enjoy these . . .

chocolatey, chewy and moist Crinkles!

(Did I say Double Chocolate?)

So I'm happy to say that the search is OVER!

(Cue Survivor's "The Search is Over" song here, haha)

I highly recommend this recipe if you are a Crinkle (or Chocolate!) lover like me!

My little big boy loved them so much, I had to stop him, haha!

Here are my notes for this recipe (based on my experience):

1. Putting the cookie dough overnight (or more) in the ref is recommended.

2. I found the crinkles a little bit sweet so for the next batch, I will just use half a cup of semi-sweet choco chips (original recipe calls for 1 cup). 

3. Baking time that worked for me was 10-11 minutes.  I suggest you make a small batch for different baking times to see which would suit your taste more.

For the full recipe, I suggest you hop over to Sally's blog as she has a detailed explanation for it.

Please click here.

Happy Baking!

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I tried baking chocolate chip cookies once . . . and I failed!  They came out looking underbaked and got hard when they cooled down.  I don't know how we were able to finish that batch (or probably I threw them out?!  Haha!)  I know cookies are one of the easiest treats to bake but I was more successful with my muffins. . . . which were all that I baked since then, haha! 

I wanted to try baking cookies again but just like when your heart gets broken, you're scared of trying the second time because you're afraid that things won't work out (again).  But then a better person come along and gives you that happiness you've been looking for.  (Yes, I'm still talking about the cookies, haha!)

In this case, the better lover came from Sally's blog (www.sallysbakingaddiction.com).  Since I have tried a couple of Sally's recipes, I thought I should try her Chocolate Chip cookie recipe!  And just like finding the right person,  everything felt right! =)

Love is sweeter the second time around . . . 

M&Ms for the Princess and Dark Choco chunks for me!

I was so, so happy with the recipe!  The only thing I will change when I bake the next batch is to use Semi-Sweet Choco Chips (I used milk chocolate).  There was one tip I got from Sally, you get a better flavor for your cookie when you chill the dough longer.

Oh and the good thing about this recipe. . . you don't need a mixer!

If you want to try this recipe, I suggest you head over to Sally's page for the recipe because she has a detailed post about the recipe that is worth reading.

If you like a chewy chocolate chip cookie, this recipe is for you!

Happy Baking!!!

Love at first bite =)

Another Well-Loved Banana Recipe

I am a Leo and we are known to be fiercely loyal!   

qI've been loyal to my favorite banana cupcake recipe since I tried it for the first time.  (If you haven't read the post, please click here.) Since then, it has been my go-to (one and only) recipe and it has never failed me.  Just when I thought I found the One, here comes another recipe which I absolutely loved too!  You know, besides being loyal, Leos are also big-hearted!   I have so much love to give which means there is room for another recipe in my heart, haha!

Since I loved the Blueberry Muffin recipe of Sally's Baking Addiction (which I blogged about here), I thought of trying another recipe of hers. . . Banana Choco Chip Muffin with Cinnamon Streusel! Sounds yummy right?  Well, they are!  They are also moist (the yogurt does make a difference) and the crumble on top (made of choco chip, walnut and cinnamon sugar) just makes the muffin so good! 

Bananas, Choco chips, Cinnamon and Walnut are just perfect together!

It was another successful baking recipe!  I am actually getting convinced that any recipe which has ripe bananas is good!  Haha!  If you don't eat bananas as a fruit, you may want to try eating banana muffins =).

Hope you like them too!  Happy Baking!

This recipe is from the website of Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

MUFFINS

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 and 1/2 cup mashed bananas, very ripe (about 3 large ripe bananas)
• 3 Tablespoons yogurt (I used vanilla greek yogurt)

STREUSEL

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line muffin tin with baking cups or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Make the streusel first by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

For the muffins: In a medium bowl, gently toss together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Using an electric stand or hand mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and egg in a large bowl until fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. On low speed, beat in the mashed bananas and yogurt. By hand, stir in the dry ingredients mixing until everything is *just* combined. Do not overmix.

Layer one scant Tablespoon of batter into the muffin cup. Sprinkle with streusel. Layer another spoonful on top and layer with more streusel. Continue to layer batter and streusel into each muffin tin.

Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 425F degrees. Lower temperature dial down to 350F degrees and continue to bake for about 14 more minutes until the muffins are set and lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tins and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

BERRY Beautiful Summer!

We are lucky to have enjoyed two Summers this year!  When we left Philippines, Summer was about to end and when we arrived LA, Summer was just about to start in this side of the world!

One thing I like about Summer in the US is the abundance of fresh produce.  All of the fruits I've had were sweet and juicy (seedless watermelon is my favorite) and I had some really sweet yellow corn!

In a trip to COSTCO (a happy place of mine), I saw these beautiful strawberries and got one tub (while they are in season!).  How do you eat your strawberries? I just eat them fresh, as they are.  Sometimes, if they are not that sweet, I dip them in sugar.  Hubby on the other hand likes to pour condensed milk over them.

In another trip, I saw fresh blueberries that were so cheap that I had to get some, haha!  I haven't tried eating fresh blueberries but I knew what I wanted to do with them.  I thought of baking blueberry muffins!

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The muffins turned out well but they can be better. =)

Since last week, I have been craving for anything that has blueberry in it! (Not pregnant!)

So I googled for other blueberry muffin recipes that are easy to make.  I found one from Sally's Baking Addiction and tried her Buttery Blueberry Streusel Muffins.  While the recipe calls for fresh blueberries (which I don't have), I just used canned blueberry which also worked well. (I just rinsed them gently with water).  There was one ingredient which this recipe has which I didn't use in the first recipe I tried----yogurt! Sally says Yogurt makes the muffin more moist. =)  

They also look prettier than the first batch I baked, heehee =)

I am so happy how this recipe turned out!  The muffins were berry good and moist (though Hubby likes a to add a little bit more of sweetness to them).  

I finally found the One, my favorite Blueberry Muffin recipe, definitely a keeper! =)

Happy Baking!