This Is Where I am At

I wish I could say I enjoyed blogging. The truth is, I just am not that into it. On one side, I tolerate it because my theme is about my favorite topic, food. I really love sharing recipes and posting ideas that I think people would like to try on their own. I’ve come to accept if I want to be taken seriously in a baking-blog world, I need to put my hesitations aside and just go for it.

The reasons I dislike blogging are as followed. I really don’t like to sound preachy. I don’t like to write posts and make people think I am an expert, because I’m not! I am still learning what the heck I am doing and I am trying my best at it. I really hate dislike talking about myself, I think it’s really vain. But I understand that element of a blog makes the site more approachable. Thirdly, I am still educating myself. I don’t know how to successfully use this fancy camera I purchased, and I’m in the process of building a light tent. The moral of this story is I am still learning what to do.

So, I ask this simple tasks:

1. Give me feedback. Tell me what you like and don’t like about the site, the photos, etc. This site host is simply a hybrid of what I hope to launch as the future site. This site will not be the last of the Gilly’s page. This page is helping me develop necessary skills which will eventually transfer over to something more professional. Eventually, I would like to move the blog to an easier interface, aka WordPress. But while that is still receiving its face-lift, this is it! 
2. Two, if you have any recipes you want to try, send them. Send recipes, order some treats. 
3. And three stick with me. I love the support, I love hearing ways I can improve. Basically, I love feedback, just don’t be overtly rude.

So, this is where I am at with Gilly’s right now. This is a new chapter in the “Gilly does Blogging” experience and I hope you come on this journey with me!

--Gilly 

The Skillet

There have been three attempts to write this post. Three. The first one, I accidentally didn’t save and was too tried at the time to rewrite. The second, I just simply did not like. The third was just bad and lazy writing. So this is now my fourth attempt to write about something I truly deeply love.

Think about your favorite love song. Hum the melody in your head. Now imagine that song playing over and over as you bake something. Imagine taking out the pan in the oven and hearing the angels from above, or whatever, singing, harmonizing. This is how I feel about this recipe.

I have a separate bookmark page for all my recipes, and a separate “Favorites” folder. This recipe is the top of the list. This is my go-to, pick-me-up when I’m feeling down, fills every emotion with happiness, recipe. It is my ideal.

Now I know you’re thinking, holy shit calm down Gilly, it’s a recipe. But it’s not just any recipe, it is a deep dish chocolate chip cookie recipe aka Skillet Cookie.

I have made, and re-made, over-baked, under-cooked, eaten the entire dough from this recipe. I make it so often that when people come to my apartment there’s an 85% chance it’s made. I simply love it that much.

I stumbled upon this recipe YEARS ago. At the time I did not have a skillet and I only dreamed about it in my head. Then, like some miracle, I got a skillet! So, it seemed only natural that I finally try this recipe out. I clearly made the right choice.

First though let me sell what makes a skillet so great. Here, I’m talking about a cast-iron skillet. I was given mine by my old roommate Emily (thanks Emily!!), but since then have thought about investing in different sizes of them. Cast-iron skillets, in my opinion, are perfect for everything. I’ve made deep dish cookies, brownies, pies and fried dough in this thing. Along with, beer battered pork tenderloin, bacon bits chicken, roast beef, you name it! The skillet is the perfect addition to your pan cabinet. Now some do not like the cast-iron skillet. If you do not prefer it, I suggest you stop reading, because this recipe is all about the cast-iron!

So, the skillet cookie. The recipe I found was on Tasty Kitchen, who I believe adapted it from Jamie at sophistimom.com. Either way, this recipe is so great! One area to consider, is the size of your skillet. If it’s super big, you may want to double the recipe (anything past 10-inches would do better doubled). In the recipe, it calls for an 8-inch skillet, I make mine in a 10-inch, sometimes I double, sometimes I do not it depends.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then set that bad boy skillet on a burner over medium-low heat. First you melt the butter on the pan. I usually use a rubber spatula to guide the butter and to make sure it gets every crack of the pan. Once the butter is melted, dump both the sugars into the butter, along with the vanilla and mix together. Remove the skillet from the heat. Let the pan rest. This is crucial so that when you crack the egg, it won’t turn into a scrambled egg, sugar, butter mess. Trust me on the cooling.

Next, once the pan is cool. Crack the egg in the center and using a fork or mini-whisk, add into the sugar/butter mixture. Place the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) in the pan and stir into the mixture. I have found this works best with a rubber spatula. Then add 3/4^th of the chocolate chips.

Next, I usually roll the mixture into a giant ball in the center of the skillet for the next step. Using the spatula, press the dough to cover the entire bottom of the pan. I press just enough to make sure the cookie it going up on the sides to make a defined crust. If you double the recipe, this will be easier. If you did not, work with the dough, do it however you’d like! Top the skillet with the remaining chips and pop into the oven for 15-25 minutes. I like mine gooey, so usually 18 minutes it perfection.

You can serve the skillet with ice cream, or cut it like pizza slices and just go at it. Either way, it’s so delicious. I highly recommend playing with this recipe. I recently added Nutella into the cookie, which I will post about…it was a great idea. Add some nuts if you like nuts, add some different chocolate. As you can see, I added some white chocolate which was an equalizer of the flavors. You can never go wrong with the skillet cookie.

Take a look at the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

 recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 whole Egg
• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.
2. Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 15-25 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but still soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Mocha Silk Pie

I bake a lot. Like a crazy inhuman, no college student should have the time for, lot. Some people do yoga, or CrossFit…I bake 72 cookies. It relaxes me. It is the equalizer in my life. It is the reason I do not crack under pressure. Baking is my solace.

In the mound of recipes I have filed and printed and saved, I often bake one thing and forget about it. This recipe fell victim to that cycle.

Flashback a few weeks. It was the SuperBowl and a snowstorm in Chicago. I was extremely extremely angry that my Dominos was never delivered and I was on edge. Major edge. Then classes for Monday got cancelled! Woohoo! Still wanted Dominos, but classes being cancelled was enough. So Monday came and I was productive, which was shocking in itself. Who takes a snow day to get work done and not watch Netflix for 15 straight hours? I was at a coffee shop a stop away from my apartment and I started thinking about this pie.

This pie, to be exact. First off, can we take a minute to appreciate the contrast in the two photos?

Holy Gilly, you have improved vastly. This pie is noted as a Mocha Silk Pie with a Walnut Crust. When I was at the coffee shop, sipping on a latte, I thought about this pie.

One thing all my friends are aware of is that I have a deeply rooted addiction to two things: sugar and coffee. I am a coffee addict. I love every being of coffee. And I happen to love mocha flavored things! When I started thinking about this pie, I was thinking about its soft, smooth texture. It’s crunchy crust that made my taste buds happy. I thought about the whipped cream I topped with it. And then I remembered I was in a coffee shop and had to stop crying from thinking about it.

So, I rushed home to make this pie, with a few modifications.

The recipe hails from the ever-so-great Pioneer Woman. One thing she does note on her site and I will on mine, this recipe does contain raw eggs. Personally, I could care less, as I eat raw egg quite often with dough. If it bothers you, skip this one, no biggie. Another note, this recipe works best with a KitchenAid stand mixture. I honestly have not tested it with a hand-mixer.

If it doesn’t, here it is. First you start with the crust. In my recipe, I added and changed a few measurements, which are included below. If you want to follow the Pioneer Woman’s to a T, the link is attached. The crust is so simple it should be illegal. Chop 1 cup of pecans. If you have a food processor, pulse the pecans on a low setting. Grate 2 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate. I usually buy those pound plus bars from Trader Joes and grate three of them. It’s plenty. In a medium bowl, begin to add the pecans, the chocolate, brown sugar and salt. I also added ¼ cup of graham cracker crust, because I love it. Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork and then drizzle with Kahlua to make a crust adhesive. If you don’t want to use Kahlua, brew some coffee and use that instead.

Press the mixture into a pie pan, making sure to get it up on the sides…and that’s it. No baking, no fussing, just pop it into the fridge and leave it there.

Now, for the filling. First start by melting 3 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate in a small bowl, either in the microwave or using a double boiler. Once melted, set aside to cool. This recipe calls for softened salted butter, which I recommend using. Using the whisk attachment on your KitchenAid stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, instant coffee and Kahlua (or brewed coffee) on a medium-high speed, until it’s nice and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn the speed to a medium and drizzle in the melted chocolate. Once mixed, add the vanilla. Beat thoroughly.

Next, scrape down the bowl, and add one egg. Do not add the eggs at the same time. Add one egg and allow it to beat in the mixture for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs…this process should take 20 minutes. Trust me, this goes by quickly. You’ll be fascinated how your mixture is becoming fluffy and soft with every minute passing. I suggest scraping the bowl after the second egg is thoroughly mixed.

Once the filling is properly mixed, pour into the pie crust. Smooth the filling with your rubber spatula and pop it into the fridge for at least 2 hours, more is preferred. It’s worth the wait.

Once set, grate some chocolate and serve with whipped cream.

Don’t take my word for it, bake it yourself!

Mocha Silk Pie

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Crust

• 1 cup Pecans, Finely Chopped
• 1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup graham crackers, chopped
• 2 ounces, weight Semi-Sweet Chocolate Grated
• 2 Tablespoons Kahlua or brewed coffee
• Dash of Salt

 Filling

• 2 sticks Butter (salted)
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Instant Coffee Granules
• 1 teaspoon Kahlua or brewed coffee
• 3 ounces, weight Semi-sweet (or Bittersweet) Chocolate
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 whole Large Eggs

Instructions

1. To make the crust, combine chopped pecans, brown sugar, graham crackers, grated chocolate, and salt. Stir with a fork to combine, then drizzle in Kahlua, stirring until combined. Press mixture into a pie pan, bringing it up the sides a bit. *Do not bake* Set aside or refrigerate until needed.
2. In small microwave safe bowl, melt 3 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter, sugar, 2 teaspoons instant coffee, and 1 teaspoon Kahlua until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it into the butter/sugar mixture as it beats on medium speed; use a rubber spatula to get it all out. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined, scraping the sides if necessary.
4. On medium speed, add the four eggs, one at a time, over a period of 20 minutes; leave about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Scrape sides of bowl halfway through this process. Pour filling into the pie crust. You might have a little filling leftover. If you do, I'll trust you to do the right thing.
5. Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).
6. Serve with whipped cream and more grated chocolate.

Lemon Bars

I am a relatively simple girl when it comes to desserts. I like recipes that are quick, easy and taste delicious. The poor souls that have to listen to me when I start talking baking know, I kind of loathe frills. I did not jump on the cupcake or cake pop decorating train. Personally, I think taste is more important than looks. With that being said, I have recipes that are just so easy, and look so good.

These lemon bars are a part of that club.

First off, I love lemon. Lemon water, lemon soaps and fragrances, the physical lemon shape, I love it. I think it’s the freshest scent on the planet and lemons bring good energy. So, one day I was having this craving for a nice classic lemon bar.

Reasons why I love lemon bars; they’re easy, fresh and delicious! This recipe hails from Joy the Baker from her cookbook Homemade Decadence. I’ve posted about this cookbook before, but it’s slowly creeping to be one of the most used cookbooks ever.

Here’s why I LOVE this recipe by Joy. There are no frills, nothing too complicated. Just a simple lemon bar that even you can make!

So, you start with the crust. Cream the butter and sugar for 4 minutes. Scrape that bowl down and slowly add your butter and salt, beat the dough until it’s all mixed nicely. Once it’s together, add into your pan and bake for 16 minutes. Simple enough.

Then the bars. Personally, I waited until the crust was out of the oven and cooling to begin. I have had bad experience with things that are simply too hot, are given a layer of sugar or frosting and it just melts away. So, in a medium bowl, hand-whisk your eggs and sugar. It will be thick. Add the flour, fresh lemon juice and zest and continue to whisk. That’s it. Simple enough.

Once the crust is warm, not hot, pour the filling in. I like to grate a little more lemon on the top just for a kick. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and unjiggly. Allow this mixture to cool. Allow this mixture to cool. I can’t emphasize that enough. Don’t attempt to shower it in sugar until its cool. The sugar will disappear like a magic act.

When it’s cool, have the sugar shower. Take a sifter with powdered sugar and cover the pan. Cut into the lemon bars, you should get 9 bars, or more if you make them smaller. Store these in some Tupperware.

That’s it! Go bake!

Classic Lemon Bars

recipe from Joy the Baker

makes 9 bars

For the Crust

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt

For the Topping:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 8×8-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper (so that it over hangs slightly from the pan) and grease the parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. To make the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add flour and salt.  Beat on low speed until dough is incorporated.  Dough may come together, but if it remains shaggy, that’s fine too.
3. Dump the crust into the prepared pan and use your fingertips to press the dough into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until just browned around the edges.
4. You can make the filling while the crust is baking!  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well combined and slightly thick.  Add the flour, lemon juice, and zest and whisk until blended.
5. Pour the filling over the still warm baked crust.  Return to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and no longer jiggling in the center.
6. Allow to cool completely in the pan.  Run a knife around the edges of the pan.  Slice lemon bars into nine squares. Use the over hanging parchment paper to lift the squares out.  To store the lemon bars, place them in an airtight container separated by wax paper layers.  

Vanilla Bean Cookies

Vanilla Bean Cookies

Whenever I’m searching for a great recipe, I mean one that’s just remarkable in every way, I usually check one of my favorite baking sites. There are four baking sites that I follow almost religiously. These women behind these blogs are simply so inspiring, all with different areas of expertise and abilities to make food look flawless.

In no particular order, my four favorite baking blogs are:

1.       http://www.sprinklebakes.com/

2.       http://iambaker.net/

3.       http://joythebaker.com/

4.       http://sweetapolita.com/

Today, I am going to focus on #3: Joy The Baker, as this is where this recipe originates. I have been following Joy’s blog for two years now and some of my personal staple recipes are from her. She’s my go-to blog when I want a recipe I could have never imagined. One day at work, I was scrolling through her site, drooling, when I realized her newest cookbook, “Homemade Decadence” had been released. So on my lunch break, I skipped to the Barnes and Noble and purchased it. When I returned from my break, I was back to drooling over all the photos and bookmarking all the recipes I wanted to try (aka the whole book had post-it in it).

One recipe that caught my attention were her “Vanilla Bean Confetti Cookies”. At the time, I had just returned from a trip in Kansas and purchased 3 vanilla beans. Fun fact, I had never used vanilla beans prior to this recipe. Shocking? What baker doesn’t use vanilla beans? Gilly…that’s who. Something always intimidated me about vanilla beans. I did not know what the seeds were supposed to look like, I have really bad knives, I was nervous! But I read the recipe, re-read it, and then once more to make sure I knew what to do, and watched 10 videos on how to split a vanilla bean.

The only aspect of my life where I’m a perfectionist is baking. I have a horrendously messy room, I could care less if dishes are piled in the sink, I don’t care if I get a lower grade on an assignment…I’m just not particular about certain things. But baking, that’s a different story. I hate if my flour is not spooned and leveled. I hate when one cake layer is a half inch higher than the other, I hate when my butter is not softened enough. I can become this person who I do not even recognize. The vanilla beans brought this out.

First, I recently broke my bamboo cutting board. How does that happen? I wish I knew. It split at the top making it all wobbly and instead of going to Target and buying a new one like a normal person, I keep putting it off. Well, being the efficient woman I am, using a broken bamboo cutting board, I went to split the beans and that went as well as expected. I ended up scraping half onto my counter and re-doing it. Needless to say, I got the seeds out and I moved on with my life, unafraid of vanilla beans.

Now, the cookies. These cookies were so good. So, Joy calls for the essential dry ingredients, and then cream of tartar. From my understanding, this makes the cookie extremely soft and melty on the inside. I sifted all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and then slightly whisked them. Then you beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar. Joy is so great on the timing of whipping things…this recipe calls for 3-4 minutes, which you should definitely follow. Under-mixing is a detriment to your creation.

Once the mixture is fluffy and light in color, you scrape in the beans. I did this using a rubber spatula. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract and beat for about 1 minute, a little more or less, until everything is combined. Using the same rubber spatula add half the sprinkles. Half. I bold this, because, yes, I missed that step and threw them all in and had a sprinkle party.

Once the sprinkles are added, roll them into their baking balls and roll them with the remaining sprinkles. They’ll look like vanilla-sprinkled donut holes and it’s hard not to pop 7 in your mouth. Place the balls on a plate and place in the fridge for the next step.

Here’s an important step. Chill the dough for 2 hours or more. You need to chill this dough. If you take anything away from this post, is shouldn’t be that I’m afraid of vanilla beans, but that you need to chill this dough. Please, just chill it!

While my dough was chilling, I cleaned my horrendous room and cooked some dinner. Then it was time for cookies. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the dough balls on the baking sheets and pop into the oven for about 9 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

I preferred these cookies on the warmer side, but they taste just as good when completely cooled. These cookies last for 4-days…if they make it that long. I stored mine in my cookie jar, but any airtight container will do.

Try these cookies out! They are so soft and delicious and they look adorable too!

Vanilla Bean Confetti Cookies 

Recipe by Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sprinkles (I prefer jimmies over nonpareils)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
   
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until thoroughly combined.
   
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The dough will be thick (you may have to finish incorporating the mixture with a spatula). Fold in 1/4 cup of the sprinkles.
   
4. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sprinkles in a bowl. Scoop up 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Dip the ball in the bowl of sprinkles to cover lightly. Put the balls on a plate. Repeat with the remaining sprinkles and dough. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
   
5. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
6. Transfer the chilled dough balls to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space in between each ball.
   
7. Bake until the cookies have spread and are just beginning to brown around the edges, but are mostly pale and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.