Brioche

There are few things better for breakfast than a couple of tasty brioche slices along with some homemade jam, don't you think? You can find the recipe I used at La tartine gourmande.

Homemade nutella

Can you think of a better way to start off the weekend than with a bit of homemade Nutella? For me it's the perfect way to reminisce over my childhood memories, especially over the afternoon snacks I had in the park. A mouthful of Nutella smeared on bread tasted like heaven after much playing, running and skipping rope. So, as soon as I found the recipe on David Lebovitz's I knew I had to do it and it didn't dissapoint me.

Doughnuts

Yesterday I was craving for something sweet and tender -not a hooligan- and I decided to do doughnuts. I used this recipe from Food and Cook and they turned out so good. As she says in the post they're easy to make you only need a bit of patience with times. They taste like heaven, believe me.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, divided
• 1 cup whole milk, heated to 110˚F, divided
• 2 to 21/2 cups (320 to 400 grams) bread flour, divided
• 2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
• Vegetable oil for frying

Glaze

• 150 g. confectionarers sugar
• 3 or 4 teaspoon water (I actually needed two more)
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

"In a medium bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon of the yeast into 3/4 cup of the milk. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Chocolate chip cookies

It's weird but I think I've never mentioned here before that I am very fond of cooking, especially baking.Well, there is always a first time for everything and I am going to share with you one of my all time favourite recipes. It's super easy, fast and delicious. I am talking about the popular chocolate chip cookies. This recipe is from Joy of Baking and is -no doubt- the best I've tried so far.

Ingredients:

• 226 g. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 150 g. granulated white sugar
• 160 g. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 295 g. all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 270 g. semisweet chocolate chips
• 100 g. walnuts or pecans coarsely chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) with rack in center oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the white and brown sugars and beat until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat until incorporated, adding the chocolate chips and nuts (if using) about half way through mixing. If you find the dough very soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (from 30 minutes to 2 hours).

For large cookies, use about a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop or with two spoons, drop about two tablespoons of dough (35 g.) onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake about 10-14 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen, so I always do half the ingredients. You can freeze this dough, though.

Source: Joy of Baking