Baking

ph/ private

Just some pictures of stuff I've baked recently. I am very proud of myself how those buns (left corner) turned out! I'm a total disaster when it comes to bread, but I was ready for the challenge and together with my Kenwood standing mixer we conquered it!

Happy Wednesday!

Paris part 5

ph/ private

On the last day we went to Montmartre, the part where most of the artists live. At least, that's what our travel book said. I really liked it because it's very parisian but on the other hand very different.

I really liked that between all those grey, beige and white houses there's a bright pink one. The houses have more green on the outside compared to the rest of Paris. Also a plus. ;)

Paris part 4

ph/ private

I still wanted to show you all the pictures that I've made of Paris, so here's part 4. We went to the Notre Dame (unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that) and to the Arc de Triompe (including the Champs-Elysees, which I'm not a big fan of). We also walked on the bridge-with-all-the-locks-that-symbolize-the-our-love-is-forever-locks (I forgot the name of the brigde) and we went to Le Bon Marché.

Little peak

ph/ private

A walk through the neighborhood across my neighborhood (get the picture?) on a cold and sunny day in February.

Flashback

ph/ private

Saw this picture all by himself on my computer in my file with pictures of Paris that I haven't posted yet (which I'm gonna do in a couple of days, so stay tuned!). This door reminded me of Paris and that I really want to go back.

New goal

ph/ private

After a few failed attempts to run (at least) 2 or 3 times a week I've decided to give it one more try. I've never been really athletic in my life so it's gonna be a bit of a challenge to maintain this.

I've got a schedule from a running store downtown and within 10 weeks I'm ready to run 5 km (which is around 3 miles).

I really want to reach this goal and if I reach it I get a new pair of running shoes (of course financed by me).

What is your #1 goal for this year?

Decorated Cookies

I was 7 or 8, the night before it finally snowed after a few winters without it, and me and my brothers played in the snow and all of us were cold and wet. We went inside, put on our pj´s and my mom made some hot chocolate milk. While we were heating up, we were baking cookies. That´s why I love to bake cookies. It reminds me of the good old times. And it´s one of the first things I ever baked! :) Back then we had cutters of cats, people, hearts, flowers and even houses. But nowadays I keep it simple. 

The cookies:

125gr unsalted butter
75gr brown sugar (dark or light)
250gr all purpose flour
1 egg
10gr vanilla sugar 
pinch of salt

There isn´t a specific way of making this dough. Just combine all of these ingredients into a large bowl and start working the dough with your hands. Or you can mix it with a hand mixer or with a Kitchenaid (I love love love Kitchenaid, except their prices..). Once that is done you can or start working immediately or put it in you fridge for a while.
Once you start working with the completed dough you can cut out any figure you want and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to preheat your oven to 175C or 345F. Bake them for 10-15 minutes until they´re golden brown.

The glace:

1 eggwhite
225gr powdered sugar
1tspn lemon juice.

Start whisking the eggwhite until it´s nice smooth, white and foamy. Then slowly add the powdered sugar. Finally add the lemon juice and voilà, the glace is done. When using it for cookies or cupcakes or even normal cakes, let the glace dry about 3 hours (after applying it) before eating it.

What's your favorite recipe?