Favorite Recipes Ice Cream + a Sorbet

Today I want to talk about some of the ice cream recipes I tried. Although I don’t remember everything I made, this is more of a collection post since I’ll be talking about multiple recipes briefly. For all of them, I used our Cuisinart Ice-21 1 ½ quarts Ice Cream Maker—which I love since it doesn’t require salt. However, you don’t need one to make frozen desserts. If you look around, there are ways to do it without a machine.

The first recipe is Simple Vanilla Ice Cream from Cuisinart. It was in the machine’s booklet, but you can find it on Cuisinart’s website. After making it so many times, I found that I like an additional ½ cup of milk, which I have to admit is probably ½ cup too much. After all, the instructions mention something about keeping the base 1½ quarts (about 6 cups), but I push it a little. (But I won’t personally recommend doing this). But overall, this has ruined most store brought ice creams for me.

The next one I made more recently is tea flavored ice cream. I wanted to make it out of the vanilla recipe above, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I ended up using Milk Tea Ice Cream by Catherine Zhang from Zhang Catherine as instructional reference.

In the end I heated 4-6 bags of Celestial Seasonings’ Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride with the cream, milk, and vanilla. Then I poured the hot mixture into a bowl with the sugar and mixed it well. Lastly I let it cool and left it in the fridge overnight before churning. I think this was the best ice cream I made. It was absolutely delectable! But then again this is a favorite tea. As for my reference recipe I’d like to try it one day on it’s own. 

I also want to mention a few things I found after making this twice. I found that dissolving the sugar into a hot base gave it a slightly different texture. I haven’t tried this with any other recipe though. And I ended up straining the mixture, because a film developed on the surface once it cooled. 

I don’t have images for all of them, including this one, but I absolutely loved this Pineapple Ice cream, by Swathi (Ambujom Saraswathy) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen. I haven’t made any in a long time, but from what I recall, it was really refreshing. I do want to try it with coconut since I thought it could be a nice homemade replacement for Thirfty/Rite Aid Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream.

Lastly, (and the last thing I churned last year) I made This Lemon Sorbet by Leigh Anne Wilkes from Your Home Based Mom. It was the simplest sorbet recipe I could find quickly, so it’s a favorite. I accidently messed up since I didn’t let the sugar mixture cool before combining it with the other mixture. But I think it still turned out great. It also tasted great. Unfortunately, I discovered I’m not big on strong lemon flavor. So I do want to try it again (and make sure I cool it enough).

I'm Back....

My break from blogging is over. I hope everyone had a great New Year. I enjoyed my time off, but I’m ready to try and get back into the swing of things. Posts will be kind of sporadic for a few weeks, and Short Stories is still on hold this month while I prepare February’s edition. So I thought I would start the year with a chatty catchup type of thing, which I rarely do on the blog.

So what have I been up to?

Over my break, I did a lot less reading than I thought I would. Instead, I spent way too much time making miniature clay animals (many hedgehogs, two penguins, a possum, an owl, and all the other ones I haven’t had the chance to paint yet). I originally started the project with the intention of making Christmas gifts (and those ones aren’t pictured here), and I discovered that I really like making tiny animals. The process was time consuming, and so it remains an ongoing activity on my end. I also made some ornaments based off of a DIY project I saw in a Michaels newsletter in early December.  

Baking…

I didn’t try many new recipes this year. Although, Emmymade, a Youtube channel I follow, made a master cookie recipe. You can find the video HERE. Master Cookie recipes have been on my baking list for the longest time. And, during December, I wanted to make some thumbprint cookies. I figured it was a good time (and a good excuse) to see whether or not I liked the way the base dough baked.

It’s a fantastic cookie on its own, but with the jam it was absolute delicious. The texture is crisp on the outside but soft on the inside, and the taste is lightly sweet and reminded me of a very rich shortbread cookie.

As mentioned on the recipe, there are other flavor combinations for this dough: peanut butter, chocolate, etc. I eventually want to try them all.

Reading…

As I mentioned above, I did very little reading. But I did get to Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake and Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, two books that were delightful reads for vastly different reason. I recommend both.

Games...

Animal Crossing New Horizons. There's so much to do in the game with the 2.0 update and the Happy Home Paradise DLC. I'm having way too much fun decorating houses, but as I told Adri before the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct, I had my fingers crossed that Happy Home Decorator would be ported for the Switch in some form. I literally got what I wished for. 

So, I’m back, and I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Up next, I’ll do my most anticipated 2022 books and music. So, keep an eye out for that. Happy reading!

Favorite Recipe: Homemade Soft Pretzels

 

It’s been a long time since I last talked about what I’ve been cooking or baking on the blog. However, I had to dust off the Favorite Recipe post graphic for this. I finally tried making homemade soft pretzels again, and I found a recipe that’s super simple and tastes great.

The recipe: Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels from Sally’s Baking Addiction

The first time I ever tried to make homemade soft pretzels, it didn’t turn out so great. It was years ago, and I was trying a different recipe that I don’t even remember now. The dough didn’t come out right, it was tough to shape, and something was off with the flavor and texture after the baking soda bath + baking.

Fast forward to the end of October 2021, and I had a craving for soft pretzels and wanted to try my hand at making them again. So I did some searching, and I came across the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I gave it a try, and it was easy to make. Before writing up my experience making them, I did two batches on separate days. The first try, I didn’t get the process pictures. So of course I had to make them again!

It’s incredibly simple to make these—few ingredients, short resting time, clear measurements. The dough was simple to mix up and easily shaped. Nothing stuck when I moved on to the boiling, and they baked in 12 minutes once in the oven. They not only smelled like pretzels, but they tasted like them with the texture I was looking for.

I followed the recipe exactly, except for the type of salt I sprinkled on top before baking. I used table salt instead, because I didn’t have fine sea salt on hand. They still tasted great anyway. But you can definitely go with the coarse kind, since it’s standard for soft pretzels.

Overall, this is a great recipe, and I know I will make these again in the near future. Have you made homemade soft pretzels before?

[**Note: photos include (1) the dough after it rested for 10 minutes, (2) the shaped pretzels in the baking soda bath, (3) the pretzels after they were boiled and dusted with salt, and (4) the baked pretzels.**]

Favorite Recipe: Blueberry Pie

Hello readers! Today I’m going to talk about a new favorite recipe: blueberry pie. Today is also the anniversary of when we sat down and created Our Thoughts Precisely in the blog creation part of Blogger. That was in 2013. I really cannot believe it has been eight years already. Time sure does fly! Any way onto Our Favorite Recipes!

Around Thanksgiving 2020, Breana and I made the Butter Flakey Pie Crust by Melissa Stadler again (and our previous thoughts are here). This time we used milk and vinegar instead of water like we usually do. It came out great. However, by the time we finished pouring our sweet potato pie in, we discovered that we had no need for two crusts. For some reason, I started thinking about blueberry pie. I immediately went to find a recipe. I eventually found one with a crumb topping –my favorite! It is Blueberry Crumb Pie by Bethany Webber.

I made it according to the instructions. But, at the suggestions of the comments I decided to add cornstarch. A lot of commenters used between 1 and 3TBS, but I used about 3 ½. Additionally, I did not thaw my blue berries. Instead, I poured the filling in (it was kind of sandy), and shook the crumble over by the spoonful. 

Ironically, what started with finding a way to use the last crust, ended with me having extra pie filling. Andrea mentioned cheesecake. And then I got an idea which ended up being the most recipe mixing I have ever done. In the mean time I put the pie in the oven. Later I had to add 10 minutes to my time because the center was still cold (maybe thawing would have helped it cooked faster?) 

Of course I was out of a pie shell. So I had to make another one. This time, I made the crust from the Tasty 5 Minute Microwave Cheesecake recipe. (Off topic this recipe is pretty good, I’m pretty sure I modified it a tiny bit. I don’t remember what I did though; it’s been a long time since I made it.) I quadrupled the crust measurements to 8 graham crackers and 4 TBS of melted butter –which then became 5 because it still seemed dry. I added about ½ tsp of cinnamon too. I packed that into a parchment lined pie pan (honestly I just wanted a quick clean up). For the cheesecake, I made half of Philadelphia’s 3-step Cheesecake. I messed up and added the full ½ cup of sugar. I ended up adding sour cream and it balanced it out just fine. 

I added the cheesecake, and then the pie filling on top. By this time, the blueberries had started thawing and made the mixture thick like sludge. So, it ended up really heavy and swirled on top of the cheese cake. Finally I added the crumble. Since I was randomly doing this, I decided to change the temperature to 350°F. I figured this would be in between for the pie (375°F) and cheesecake (325°F).

And then everything was done. Except, in another twist, I still had extra crumb topping… Breana and I thought of making a plain cheese cake so we could be done. And eventually we did.

The blueberry pie was amazing. I think, in past post, I’ve mentioned desserts not being too sweet. Well, those are my favorite desserts, and that’s where this falls. The same thing for the cheesecake, the flavors melded nicely. Adding as much cornstarch as I did seems to make it thicken well. The only time it was slightly runny was when I cut it warm. After being in the refrigerator, it became stiff and no longer runny, at all.

Anyway that’s all. Whew, this one was a little longer than I’d usually write, but I wanted to be in-depth. Thanks for reading. What’s your favorite pie flavor?

Favorite Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie + Round-Up

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well. Today, I'm here to talk about a new favorite tried-and-true recipe.  Breana recently came across a great cookie recipe. It is The Most Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies by Laura from her website Joy Food Sunshine. For the longest time, I have been looking for cookies that remain chewy after baking. Most of the recipes tasted good. However, they were chewy when warm and crispy when cooled. This one is, kind of, the opposite. Breana described it to me as being slightly crispy (but still soft) out of the oven, and chewy once cooled.

After Breana made a half batch, we discovered how good they were. So, she made a whole batch soon after. When I made them, I used white chocolate chips (pictured). However, I didn't have enough brown sugar at the time. One commenter, Gulshan Naqvee (on October 6th) mentioned they used all white sugar. So, I just used 1 ½ cups of white sugar. These ones were really rich. To be fair it could have been the difference in sugar, but I’ll eventually remake them with the proper measurements.

We also tried other add-ins besides chocolate chips. Some of the combinations we tried were chocolate chips and raisins, chocolate chips and peppermint chunks*, and just peppermint chunks. Speaking of which, I totally recommend Ghirardelli Peppermint chunks, it taste just like their peppermint squares, without the chocolate.

*With chocolate chips and raisins/peppermint chunks, I used 1 cup of each one. 

And with that, let’s get to the Round up. It’s holiday baking season, so I thought I would re-share some desserts (except for one).

Brownies

In our experience, you can throw everything in the bowl without separating it. However, following the directions exact is what guarantees that top layer.

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE

Original Recipe by Sarah: HERE 

Waffle cones/ bowls

I preferred making waffle bowls because it was easier than trying to roll it into a cone…

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE

Original Recipe (chocolate) by Sara Wells: HERE

Original Recipe by Williams-Sonoma: HERE 

Pie crust and pumpkin cheesecake pie

This is a mix-match post. The crust is flakey, and the pumpkin cheesecake pie was delicious.

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE

Original Recipe by Melissa Stadler: HERE 

Stadler includes both a single and double pie crust recipe.

Original Recipe by Lyuba Brooke: HERE 

Dark chocolate sour cream cake

I love sour cream cakes because most of the time they come out moist.

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE 

Original Recipe by Tami Baity: HERE 

Biscuits

I know I said desserts, but biscuits occasionally end up part of our end of the year baking, so I have to include them. Plus this recipe has been forgiving when I’ve been lazy about making it.

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE 

Original Recipe by Amber: HERE 

Eggless Sugar cookies

I’m including this last because of some technicalities. Some of the amounts called for are different than when we first found this recipe. The main difference is that we use only ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of flour + any extra needed. Everything else is the same. 

Our thoughts about the recipe: HERE

Original Recipe: HERE 

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. What's your favorite recipe to make around the holidays? And do you prefer crispy or chewy cookies? We would love to know.

Favorite Recipe: Refried Beans

Typically when I have tacos or burritos, I don’t eat it with refried beans. I usually mix in drained/rinsed black beans from a can, and cook it all together with the taco seasoning. I like it that way, but recently I was in the mood for refried beans, just without it being so oily. Once I had the thought, it turned into a craving. I did not have any, of course, and I also didn’t want to go to the store to get it. So my choice was clear: I was just going to have to make it.

With the powers that are a quick google search, I found this 10 minute Refried Black Bean recipe from Joy Food Sunshine. This recipe was truly simple to assemble, and even quicker to cook. There wasn’t much effort involved at all, and it came out perfectly. [**Note: the only changes I made were doubling the recipe and I also didn’t add any cilantro. It really depends on how many people you’re making it for. Otherwise the basic recipe is fine as is.]

As for the taste it was fantastic. I paired it with simple chicken and cheddar cheese, and it was delicious. It tasted just like the stuff from the can. Except, I got more of the flavor from the seasonings that were added, and there was no extra oil in this recipe. Even the texture was similar. [Note: I used a masher to crush the bean and broth mixture in the pot, but it was soft enough to use a fork or spoon if I’d wanted to.] I also think it would pair quite well with whatever taco or burrito mixture you want.

Ultimately, I see myself using this recipe again. What have you been cooking recently?    

Favorite Recipe: Tortillas

Besides birthday cakes, I did some other baking. So far I’ve made cookies, cheesecake, brownies and other dishes/desserts. Most of those recipes are ones I’ve talked about before, except for tortillas. Everyone else on my twitter and Instagram timelines is out there making sourdough bread, and here I am over here just making tortillas (sadly, I don’t have any sourdough starter…). This Homemade Tortilla recipe from The Brewer & The Baker is my current go-to recipe for making tortillas.
(Note: I use a modified version of this recipe, which I tested out the ingredient amounts for over time until it suited my needs. However, I recommend sticking to the recipe before making any adjustments, because it’s fine the way it is. I also only use cooking oil or Olive oil when I make them, instead of shortening or butter….)

Tortillas, for me, have been a pretty forgiving type of bread to make. There’s no yeast involved, and the rest time is short compared to other bread types. This recipe is quick and easy, and the results always have a great taste.

(Note: I use a countertop griddle to cook mine, but I’ve also made them in a skillet on the stove.)
One thing I adhere to when making tortillas, is to keep them covered. They can seem a little stiff or crunchy around thinner edges when they come off the pan. But letting them sit covered and in their own steam, really softens them up.

I had two uses for these: for tacos and for pizza. For tacos, I make them a little smaller so there was more of them. When I made them for pizzas, I divided the dough four ways and rolled them to be vaguely-rectangular in shape—around personal pan size. (Note: I cooked the tortillas before putting the toppings on them, and the only other cooking I did after that was to broil it in the oven on the lowest setting to melt the cheese. It comes out like a thin-crust pizza.)

What have you been baking recently? If you found any good recipes, leave your recommendations in the comments.

**(This post was written in early May)**

Favorite Recipe: Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Late in March, I was making a birthday cake for a relative. The flavor, by request, was supposed to be Black Forest, and the base to that is typically chocolate, cherry, and vanilla. Since I didn’t have a tried-and-true recipe for that type of cake, I tried something new. [Note: all pictures used in this post are ones I took myself.]

One of my favorite types of cake and doughnut is sour cream. I love the difference in the texture of the crumb. And this Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake recipe from allrecipes proved to be a perfect fit. Here are the results.

The standard size of cake I make is determined by the pans I’m using. The recipe called for three nine-inch pans. However, I used two ten-inch round metal pans instead. The recipe made enough batter for two good sized layers without having to make any additional batches.

This cake was super simple to make. One interesting part of this recipe was how the cocoa powder and boiling water were mixed and cooled before being added to the cake. It had a consistency like pudding.

[Note: I had to bake the cakes for about 10 extra minutes. It depends on your oven so follow the recipe, and check the center to make sure it’s done before adding any extra time. Also I put parchment on the bottom of each pan, and that’s just to keep the cake from sticking.]

So how did it taste?

It tasted kind of like an Oreo cookie. It had a strong dark chocolate flavor, and didn’t taste too sweet which I liked. I was surprised at the depth of flavor, considering that there was no coffee in the recipe. The cake proved to be a great combination with the cherry pie filling and cream cheese buttercream frosting that we added later. I’m not sharing any pictures of the final cake, because it was for a birthday. However, I did snap a few pictures with the crumb-coat on it, as well as how the inside looked after it was cut.

Between the texture and the flavor, I will likely use this recipe again in the future. Have you done any baking recently? If so, what was your favorite dish or dessert you made?

Favorite Recipe: Pie Crust + Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

During our break from blogging, Adri and I did some baking, and we wanted to share two of the new recipes we tried out.

The first was this All Butter Flaky Pie Crust from Modern Honey. We had some leftovers of a chicken dish from the night before, and we wanted to make it into a chicken-pot-pie (not pictured). During the whole process, we ended up trying this recipe for the crust. We had never made this particular kind of pie crust before and were looking forward to seeing if it was something we would use again in the future.

Adri: When we put the dough together and we went to form it into the ball, the texture before baking was amazing. I can’t even describe it.

Breana: That’s true. I’ve made standard pie crust before, and I did notice the difference in texture. The main difference—in ingredients—between this recipe and others was the buttermilk and vinegar, instead of just butter and cold water.

Adri: When it cooked, it had a light, flaky, and buttery taste that I hardly ever get from store-bought crust.

Breana: I agree with everything you said, Adri. One of the things I was worried about was if the vinegar flavor would be too strong, but there was nothing to fear. The flavor of the butter really came through. As the recipe says, remember to put the pie shields or foil to keep the exposed crust from overbaking.

After we made the chicken-pot-pie, we had some crust left over, and we decided to put it to good use. We also had some leftover pumpkin puree and half of an eight ounce block of cream cheese, and those were also going to be put to good use. The second recipe we tried was the Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie from Will Cook For Smiles; although, we cut the amount in half + used half-and-half instead of cream (because that’s all we had enough for, but we’ll likely make the full recipe when we try this one again).

Breana: I was happy with how it came out. Overall it was just good, and I got enough of the pumpkin and cream cheese flavors.

Adri: It was delicious. There’s nothing else to say except for: go try it out for yourself.

What recipes did you make this holiday season? If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments down below.

Favorite Recipes... Waffle Cones/Bowls

After checking , I realized that our last favorite recipe post was in December... of 2017! And, I thought it would be a perfect time to do another one since we recently got a Koji Waffle Cone Maker.

The first recipe I made was the Waffle Cone Recipe from William Sonoma. For some reason, I thought that my first try was going to turn out horrible, but they were relatively easy. Just a little trial and error. The first four bowls I made came out thick. I wanted thinner batter and decided to add more milk. I did read on different recipe (from Barbara Bakes) that adding more butter is a way to thin it out. Unfortunately, I found this out after I made them.

 

Eventually, Breana suggested we should try chocolate ones, and I am glad I did. The second recipe I partially used was Homemade Chocolate Waffle Cones from Our Best Bites. I didn’t actually use the full recipe this time. The only thing I did was add the amount of chocolate to the first recipe. The bowls came out absolutely delicious. I did think about adding more chocolate; however, after having ice cream I found that the flavor was perfect, and that it would over power the ice cream.

And finally, I really wanted to try the recipe from Our Best Bites on its own. I found that the cones from Our Best Bites were more light and crispy than the other ones I made.

During the process of making cones/bowls three times, I discovered that the order of ingredients is important in terms of texture. Particularly in terms of mixing the egg and sugar.The first time around I kind of threw everything in at once. I felt like this resulted in a fluffy texture. It still tasted good, but that wasn't what I was going for. Additionally, when trying to roll cones I found that it was important to have something under it. I tried rolling it on a plate, but it made it cool too fast. In a lot of videos I watched, people used towels; I found it slightly easier with a paper towel.

Thanks for Reading.

Have you made waffle cones/bowls before?

*FTC: All products mentioned in this post were purchased.*