for the kids! (choc.chip.cookie.dough.truffles)

well, tomorrow is officially the last day for 2012! another year has gone by, i have always noticed just how time flies, so very fast! (it is also, officially a full three months of unemployment bliss! .... uhmmm ... no?!)

so, agreeing to visit a longtime family friend, whose kids are growing into beautiful gurls, i decided to make chocolate chip cookie dough. a few changes though, since most of the chocolate that is bought from the store is dark chocolate, i tempered the dark chocolate over warm cream, and let the dark chocolate melt with continuous stirring, it makes the dark chocolate a little sweeter (i skipped adding sugar in the melted choc.) of course, you decide how much cream you want (if you're choosing to do the same).

Annie's Cooking Lab

the changes i made was simply to temper the dark chocolate in warm cream (melting the chocolate in warm cream with continuous stirring) the cream was heated in a pot to a boil (do not burn the cream) - for the finishing, some of the truffles were topped with toasted coconuts, almonds, pistachios and some were plain since the kids aren't that fond of too much crunch, then after chilling, i'll put them into tiny pastry cups.

hopefully, the chocolate is sweet enough for the kids, we'll know tomorrow, so, i guess it is just appropriate to say, that ... till ... next year then!

happy happy new years everyone!

beginning to bake! (dark.chocolate.biscotti)

... and so recently (and by "recently" i meant almost three months now) i find myself unemployed, by technical reasons, i am however, continuously in search of that new rewarding job! and i look forward for that first day on the job! in the meantime, i found myself enrolling on a certification, i completed the first part and then decided to continue the second part when i get employed.

it is the holidays, and i thought of making some "no-bake" dessert called "pastillas de-leche", which involved a two-hour continuous mixing of liquid ingredients to create a "dough-like" thing, which i chose to form into small balls and finish off by sprinkling some toasted coconuts, almonds and pistachios - from there, i got interested in learning to bake ... here i jot down my efforts in the culinary arts of baking! for now, my aim is not to burn what i bake, not to use too much sugar (so as not to cause diabetes) or too less of it either - simply put - i'd like to bake something "deliciously edible"

this morning it snowed right after i bought some juice, expresso powder (i call coffee) and parchment paper from the grocery store, when i came back home, i decided to make dark-chocolate biscotti from scratch ... well, not really from scratch, i meant, i followed a recipe from Jane's Sweets & Baking Journal (i find her dark chocolate biscotti a healthy recipe!), i did not add the fruit and liquor ingredients though, as i wanted the taste more to be dark chocolate. by the time i was done baking, outside snow turned into rain, i found it easier to line the baking sheet/pan with wax or parchment paper, the loaf of biscotti does not stick, and it is easier to flip sides and i should have sprinkled the nuts towards the remaining few minutes before taking the biscotti out of the oven (good thing, they did not burn).

Jane's Sweets & Baking Journal

by early afternoon, the sun was back up and the day turned out nice, outside (at least in the immediate area, a thin covering of scattered snow).