October Unprocessed: Baking Up Some Love

I have overcome my fear of baking. 

"Fear of baking?  What?!" 

Yeah, yeah.  I hear you.  But here is the thing: every time I bake, it never comes out right.  I comes out OK, but it might be too dry, too fat, too skinny, too whatever.  And that has been alright, because I have not needed to bake because I have had Joe-Joe's around (Trader Joe's Oreo cookies) or another sweet treat.

October Unprocessed, however, means that I cannot just go out and by cookies whenever I jolly well feel like.  Nope, if I want something sweet, I need to get my butt into the kitchen and make it happen.  Which ultimately means I need to bake.  With my raw sugar and unbleached flour, of course. 

You know what?  This looks like success to me!  I think in a match Baking v. Tiffany, we know who the winner is.

Sweet.

Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.               

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups white sugar, butter or margarine, vanilla and eggs. Mix well.
3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Blend well. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Roll dough in sugar/cinnamon mixture and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.