The Essentials

Up until about an hour ago, I had no idea what I was going to write about today. It has nothing to do with my laziness and I can't even blame Papa's Cupcakearia. I actually ended up making 48 cookies this week. I only had to throw away 5 of them, which I'm pretty sure is a new record. The bad news is, that all the cookies I made were just variations of something I already wrote about. That's what I get for blogging my favorite recipe. So, instead of rehashing an old post, I decided it was time to talk about the essentials. That being said I would like to introduce you to a very close friend of mine, who has appeared on this blog before but now it's his moment to shine. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for, my wooden turner, TIMMY!!

Not to be confused with any other Timmy's or Turner's

Look at that handsome stirring utensil! I could not bake a damn thing without him. I recall mentioning in a previous post how I snapped a wooden spoon in half while mixing cookies. Well, let me tell you, that will never happen with Timmy. If I tried hard enough, I could probably murder someone with this guy. I mean, I won't, or whatever, but it's a possibility. I could go on about the benefits of using wooden spoons over metal, and I probably should but, for now, I just want to say that I love Timmy the turner. So there!  And, while on the topic of tools I like,

The little melon baller looking mother fucker!

That's him officer, that's the guy responsible for my perfectly shaped cookies! I can not oversell getting a little melon baller looking mother fucker. If you make a lot of cookies that don't require cutters, then you really need one. I checked last time I was at the store and the price is pretty much identical to an actual little melon baller mother fucker, which is like 4 bucks at the most. Like I said I made 48 cookies just this week, so that's less than half a penny per cookie. Shit, if I were selling these I would have earned this thing back already.

It's now time for another installment of Bake Tips 101, with Professor Kitten J. Whiskers. 

1) Creativity is encouraged, but remember the balance. You want to make something no one else has done before? That's fantastic news, but for every new ingredient you add something's got to be taken away somewhere. Add too much cocoa powder and you end up with a dry ball of dust, too much lemon juice and it's a splat. Baking is just a tastier form of chemistry and it really helps to keep that in mind.

2)Parchment paper is a gift from the heavens. I only have two baking sheets and now that's all I need. Thank you parchment paper. I don't have a whole lot to add to this but it's an essential to me so it needed to be mentioned. 

3) Instead of an actual third tip, I'm just going to throw some words at you so prepare yourself. Unsalted butter, All-purpose flour, cooling rack, cute antique-store aprons as seen on my dog last week and Ghirardelli chocolate. Seriously, if any people at Ghirardelli are reading this, send me some free stuff because everything you make is the best thing ever! I use the chips, the cocoa and I am actively eating one of the candy bars as a type this.

Pics or it didn't happen

I know this wasn't the most interesting post, but I swear I have some good things coming in the future. I've got some cherries that shall be made into something, and I'm planning on learning some new more difficult shit. Maybe in a few weeks you will be reading about bread or muffins. 

My favorite thing this week unfortunately involves you having to leave your house and do stuff. I am really sorry for this. The thing this week is go out into the world around you and find a local theatre house and volunteer some time. Build a set, audition for shows, buy tickets and support that shit because it's awesome and you will meet some of the best people ever. Including me!