Holiday Bread Wreath - Step by Step!

Hi All! It's been terribly long since my last post, I apologize for that! Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.

My fiance and I made this Holiday Bread Wreath for Thanksgiving, and it was a huge hit! We got the recipe from the Food Network magazine, and you can also find it on their website. Let me start by saying - if you want to make this, make sure you can dedicate most of your day. The actual cook time isn't very long, but the prep time is lengthy - about 6 hours of prep time (most of which is waiting around while it's in the fridge) and only 20 min of actual cook time. However, it was totally worth it and our family and friends were asking for the recipe! So festive and fun for the holidays. Here's what you'll need:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for forming the loaves
2 1/4 cups bread flour
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast

Here we go!

What they will look like when you're done! So cute right? 

To start: Mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, the bread flour, salt, yeast and 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105 degrees F to 110 degrees F) in a large bowl with a wooden spoon to make a wet and sticky dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until almost tripled in size, 2 to 3 hours (the top will flatten and begin to sink in the center).

Before

After 2-3 hours

Divide the dough in half and transfer one piece to another bowl. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. (See what I mean about the waiting around time? HA!)

Put a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the highest oven rack and put a broiler pan on the lowest rack; preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, sprinkle each piece with 1/4 cup flour, then shape each into a smooth, taut ball. Cover the bowls loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Put a large piece of parchment paper on a pizza peel or another inverted baking sheet and dust with flour. Using floured hands, pick up a ball of dough and poke your thumbs through the center to make a hole. Place on the parchment, then gently stretch the dough from the center to make a 9-inch-diameter ring with a 5-inch hole in the center. Sprinkle generously with flour. Lay out another sheet of parchment, dust with flour and repeat to shape the other ball of dough into a ring. Let rest, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Holding kitchen shears at a 45 degrees F angle, make deep cuts at 1-to-1 1/2-inch intervals all the way around both dough rings, pulling the cut sections away from the center as you go to make "leaves."

Almost done... 

YAY! Let rest, uncovered, until plump, about 15 more minutes. (Is it time for a wine yet?)

Slide one dough wreath (on the parchment) directly onto the hot stone. Carefully pour 1 cup water into the broiler pan underneath to create steam; quickly shut the oven door. Bake until the bread is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with the second dough wreath, adding another cup of water to the broiler pan.

And we're finally done!

The bread was so soft and delicious! I found it a little difficult to make the proper cuts for the leaves, but you get the hang of it after a few cuts. What do you guys think, do you have the guts to try? Haha, hope everyone had a great weekend! xoxo

The "Right Way" to Eat a Popsicle

How funny is this?! I saw this on Buzzfeed and had to share. No more drips while eating a popsicle, just use a cupcake paper!

SWEET Halloween Costumes

Clearly, this is a just for fun, let's see how many stupid dessert-related costumes I can find online post. Some of them genuinely made me CRACK up. Enjoy and Happy Friday! 

Which is your favorite? =)

When Cupcakes go to Heaven

Aren't these beautiful?! I'm talking about the cupcakes AND the photos taken of them! My sis and I spent the day Sunday making my favorite dark chocolate cupcake recipe for one of her college classes. She is a photography major, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity of showing off her kick ass skills! The first photo is my favorite - the cupcakes look like they're in heaven haha.

Of course the best part of the day, was enjoying a Grey Goose and apple juice cocktail (surprisingly delicious and fall-like) and shoving cupcakes in our mouths. Nothing compares!

Us on Christmas with our pillow pets! Love you

First Time Making Apple Pie!!!

Isn't she beautiful?! My fiance and I decided on a whim to make apple pie last weekend. Neither of us had ever made pie before, so we kind of just winged it. And it came out pretty good! We used the Betty Crocker recipe below and it was very tasty. Check out the photos we took below and step by step directions!


You'll Need:

Pastry
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Filling shopping list
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
6 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (6 medium)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, if desired

Topping
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Heat oven to 425°F. In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt.


Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

The camera made it look yellowy, but I guess this was the size of small peas. Right? =)

2. Gather pastry into a ball

It's coming along!!

Divide pastry in half; shape each half into flattened round on lightly floured surface.

Wrap flattened rounds of pastry in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until firm and cold, yet pliable.

While you wait for the pastry, you can cut the apples and make the filing!

We used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Pink Lady Apples to add some interest

3. On lightly floured surface, roll 1 round of pastry into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate, using floured rolling pin. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

4. In large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the cinnamon, nutmeg and dash of salt. Stir in apples. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples. Trim overhanging edge of bottom pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate. (This was a little tricky! If there were breaks in the dough, we just took the excess from a different side of the pie and it came out fine)

5. Roll other round of pastry. Fold pastry into fourths and cut slits so steam can escape; place over filling and unfold. Trim overhanging edge of top pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute. Brush top crust with 1 tablespoon water; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

6. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours.

Ta DAAA!!!

Our only minor complaint, was that our pie was a little watery on the bottom when we went to cut it. This could have been because we didn't drain the moisture from our apples, or because we didn't wait long enough for it to cool. Regardless, the pie was delicious and i'm not a big pie person at all. Definitely worth the time to make!

How To Eat a Cupcake - Review of a Page Turner

I’m always looking for a good read. Strangely enough, my dad recommended this novel to me. At first, I thought it was strange that he even knew about a cupcake novel, let alone recommend it to me. Don’t get me wrong – cupcakes are clearly my THING. My dad explained that his coworkers’ best friend had written the book, and he thought of me and my obsessive love of all things baking related. I went on Amazon, and pre-ordered two copies – one for me and one for my mother (because I am the best daughter ever). OK, here we go…

I half expected How to Eat a Cupcake to be a fluffy baking book with adorable recipes, pictures, pink stuff and possibly even kittens. Which I would have been fine with, I am a girl afterall. However, this book is nothing of the sort. It has this menacing undertone that something is always brewing, which made for a great page turner. On my commute into Manhattan for work, on my couch, in my car (when my fiancé was driving, of course) I had my nose in this novel. Page after page I read about two frenemies who couldn’t be from more different worlds, and somehow went into business together to open a cupcake shop. Everyone’s dream, right? Book over? Hardly. The trials and tribulations of the shop, cleverly titled Treat, is anything but sweet. Without giving too much of the book away (because you should get yourself a copy!) this book is filled with everything - lies, vandalism, family, long lost friends, growing pains, ex boyfriends, class conflict and of course – cupcakes. Glorious, tasty, wonderful, unique cupcakes. The book gave me a few ideas on new recipes I wanted to create myself. My apron goes off to Meg Donohue, who wrote a book I never wanted to put down!

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes!

Hi dolls! Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July! My friend Melissa and I made these delicious and festive funfetti cupcakes from scratch! They are easy to make and SO good. Check out the photos below and I will explain!


So adorable, right?! We clearly went with a 4th of July theme. I got the sprinkles and little giraffes at A&P! So - you can make funfetti out of any cupcake or cake batter you'd like, just be sure that the batter is light - like vanilla - so you can see the fun sprinkles inside! All you do is mix your sprinkles of choice into the batter, mix thoroughly, and bake as usual. When you take a bite, you will see the rainbow of colors inside! I wish I took a photo of the inside, but trust me you won't be disappointed =) They are my fiance's favorite type of cupcake!

It was also one of my best friend's birthdays as well, so we put a few candles (and giraffes) in the cupcake and sang happy birthday (a few times, upon her request).

Make a wish!

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! <3