So, I've decided to switch blogging platforms from Blogspot to Wordpress. The reason being is that if I ever decide to go to a professional domain, it will be much easier to do from Wordpress than from Blogger. Plus, Wordpress has more widgets, plugins, and theme options to make my blog more professional and unique.
Head on over to the new pixiedustkitchen, and be sure to follow me on Bloglovin'!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Cake Batter Cookies
Also known as the best, most addictive, softest cookies ever. 
I made these a few weeks ago for my roommates and they were gone about five days later! I may or may not have had some for breakfast multiple times.
The recipe is from sallysbakingaddiction, so go on over there to make these cookies.
Like seriously, do it. you won't regret it.
I made these a few weeks ago for my roommates and they were gone about five days later! I may or may not have had some for breakfast multiple times.
The recipe is from sallysbakingaddiction, so go on over there to make these cookies.
Like seriously, do it. you won't regret it.
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Perfect Pie Crust
That title doesn't lie. I have been using this same recipe since I was eight years old- that's over half my life! (Twelve years, to be exact.)
Of course, I've changed bits and pieces of it here and there over the years, but essentially, it remains the same. It's not my own recipe- if I was developing recipes at eight years old I can assure you I would not be a music major and in fact, be at pastry school. (Or already working full time at Disney, whatever.)
A bit of background: Every year as a child my family would take a fall trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg is best in the fall because everyone else is trying to take last-minute beach trips and then there are the weird, slightly nerdy families like mine that go to a living history museum. I highly recommend it.
On one of those such trips, I purchased a book told from the perspective of a (real) eight year old girl at the time of the American Revolution. This book included a pie recipe, and as eight year old me often did, I dreamed of this recipe until I could go home and make it.
And now I am sharing it with all of you. (Sans photos, because pictures (and hardcore baking in general) are slightly impossible in my tiny dorm kitchen)
This pie crust has it all- flaky layers, golden brown edges, and goes perfectly with apple pie, a la mode.
Of course, I've changed bits and pieces of it here and there over the years, but essentially, it remains the same. It's not my own recipe- if I was developing recipes at eight years old I can assure you I would not be a music major and in fact, be at pastry school. (Or already working full time at Disney, whatever.)
A bit of background: Every year as a child my family would take a fall trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg is best in the fall because everyone else is trying to take last-minute beach trips and then there are the weird, slightly nerdy families like mine that go to a living history museum. I highly recommend it.
On one of those such trips, I purchased a book told from the perspective of a (real) eight year old girl at the time of the American Revolution. This book included a pie recipe, and as eight year old me often did, I dreamed of this recipe until I could go home and make it.
And now I am sharing it with all of you. (Sans photos, because pictures (and hardcore baking in general) are slightly impossible in my tiny dorm kitchen)
This pie crust has it all- flaky layers, golden brown edges, and goes perfectly with apple pie, a la mode.
Or just apple pie in general. Or just plain crust; pre-baked. I mean what.
It stars your basic cast of pie crust characters: Flour, salt, an egg, and some sort of fat. Butter is my fat of choice. It makes the crust flakier, fluffier, and melt-in-your-mouthier. Simply mix your flour and salt, and cut in your fat. I start with a pastry cutter (or two knives here in Florida) and then I mix with my hands. Once that's all crumbly and mixed, I drop in water until it's all together and mixed well. I chill the dough to congeal the fat and make the dough easier to use, then I roll it and fill it and bake it.
Make this recipe. It will be the only pie crust recipe you will ever need.
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 cup very cold water
Combine flour and salt. Add the shortening and cut the mixture with a knife or a pastry blender until it is mealy. Add the beaten egg and 1/4 of the water. Gradually add the remaining water, if necessary, to make a soft pastry. Chill well. On a floured surface, roll out two round crusts about 1/8 inch thick.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Disney Life
So, if you don't know, I work at Walt Disney World! Specifically, I am here on a temporary internship as part of the Disney College Program and I work in Outdoor foods at Hollywood Studios!
Life at Disney is amazing. I love working here; I love being in the parks, I love making magic for people. There are downsides, of course; such as people who expect everything to be handed to them hand and foot, and having to clean out the ice cream machines aren't that fun either.
But otherwise, things are great. I love it.
As far as housing, Disney provides housing for all of their College Program interns. I share an apartment with three other wonderful girls who I love dearly. One of them is my childhood best friend and college roommate.
Basically, I love it here. I love Florida. I love Disney. I love my job. I miss my puppies and my boyfriend though. :( But I'll be home in two months to see them!
Life at Disney is amazing. I love working here; I love being in the parks, I love making magic for people. There are downsides, of course; such as people who expect everything to be handed to them hand and foot, and having to clean out the ice cream machines aren't that fun either.
But otherwise, things are great. I love it.
As far as housing, Disney provides housing for all of their College Program interns. I share an apartment with three other wonderful girls who I love dearly. One of them is my childhood best friend and college roommate.
Basically, I love it here. I love Florida. I love Disney. I love my job. I miss my puppies and my boyfriend though. :( But I'll be home in two months to see them!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Long time, no talk!
HELLO EVERYONE!
Long time, no talk! I'm sorry about that! School breaks make me so lazy, and then I moved temporarily for an internship at...
... wait for it...
WALT DISNEY WORLD!
I'm working at Hollywood Studios in Outdoor Foods, and it is wonderful. There are a lot of cranky adults who get mad at me, but the little pirates and princesses I get to create magic for every day make up for it. And yes, even in ODF magic moments are created.
Like a few days ago, when a little girl and her grandmother walked up to the ice cream stand I was at and ordered a mickey premium bar. (Vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate in the shape of mickey.) I gave the girl her ice cream, then told her grandmother the price. The grandmother instantly said "Oh, that's way too expensive! Put that back." However, the girl had already opened the ice cream. Fortunately, I hadn't finished ringing up the order, so I just said "don't worry about it, it's on Mickey." The grandmother thanked me, and then told the girl "tell this nice lady thank you!", then made her thank me a second time because she didn't smile. The little girl turned to me with the ice cream bar in her mouth and a huge smile on her face and said thanks, and it was so wonderful.
There are so many moments when I hand a kid ice cream, and they get so excited about having ice cream that looks like Mickey Mouse! I get so many comments saying "this is so awesome. I'm going to eat this right now. I'm so excited." It's just as magical for me as it is for the guests.
In baking news, well, it's rather difficult to bake in a half-furnished kitchen in Disney College Program housing. I'm doing my best though! I've started working on a new recipe, Nutella fudge mini pies! I have a bit more development to do to perfect the recipe, and then I will share it here with you all, hopefully in time for Valentines Day!
Until then, have a magical day!
Long time, no talk! I'm sorry about that! School breaks make me so lazy, and then I moved temporarily for an internship at...
... wait for it...
WALT DISNEY WORLD!
I'm working at Hollywood Studios in Outdoor Foods, and it is wonderful. There are a lot of cranky adults who get mad at me, but the little pirates and princesses I get to create magic for every day make up for it. And yes, even in ODF magic moments are created.
Like a few days ago, when a little girl and her grandmother walked up to the ice cream stand I was at and ordered a mickey premium bar. (Vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate in the shape of mickey.) I gave the girl her ice cream, then told her grandmother the price. The grandmother instantly said "Oh, that's way too expensive! Put that back." However, the girl had already opened the ice cream. Fortunately, I hadn't finished ringing up the order, so I just said "don't worry about it, it's on Mickey." The grandmother thanked me, and then told the girl "tell this nice lady thank you!", then made her thank me a second time because she didn't smile. The little girl turned to me with the ice cream bar in her mouth and a huge smile on her face and said thanks, and it was so wonderful.
There are so many moments when I hand a kid ice cream, and they get so excited about having ice cream that looks like Mickey Mouse! I get so many comments saying "this is so awesome. I'm going to eat this right now. I'm so excited." It's just as magical for me as it is for the guests.
In baking news, well, it's rather difficult to bake in a half-furnished kitchen in Disney College Program housing. I'm doing my best though! I've started working on a new recipe, Nutella fudge mini pies! I have a bit more development to do to perfect the recipe, and then I will share it here with you all, hopefully in time for Valentines Day!
Until then, have a magical day!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Pull-Apart Pizza Bread
(also known as MY FIRST FOOD POST YAY)
I visited home this weekend to start moving things out of my dorm room and to see my boyfriend and my puppies. For me, one of the best parts about being home is a REAL, AWESOME kitchen. Seriously, it's wonderful.
Anyway, I always take advantage of that to test out some new recipes, and today was Pull Apart Pizza bread, which I discovered over on Stick a Fork in it and adapted a bit. I chose this one because Pizza is Brian's favorite food. I'm a good girlfriend. Plus, pizza is a super simple dish to make.
I made my own dough, using my mother's recipe which is loosely adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook, mostly out of laziness.
Just throw all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add yeast to very warm (not hot) water, and add the water mixture and olive oil and mix! Then let it rise, knead, and refrigerate until you are ready to use it! It's the easiest thing ever. I think people overestimate how simple pizza dough is.
I made my own sauce, too. I used two 8-oz cans of tomato sauce, and sprinkled in whatever spices sounded good from the spice cabinet that I vaguely remember watching my mom use growing up. I ended up using sugar, salt, italian seasoning, parsley, basil, pepper, and possibly some others.
Then you roll out the dough, add the sauce and 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, slice and stack, bake and walla! I did it in two halves, because the original recipe called for 1/2 of a pizza crust, but that really wasn't enough. I barely filled my bread pan.
So anyway, here's how it goes in a much less confusing way.
Pull Apart Pizza Bread (original recipe here.)
Ingredients
1 Pizza Crust (I made my own, but you can also use a storebought one.)
1 cup pizza sauce (again, I made my own, but you can use premade.)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Any toppings of choice.
Pizza Crust (Adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all- purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup very warm water
In a large bowl mix together 2 1/2 cups flour, the sugar, and the salt. Measure out the water and add the yeast. Add the oil to the dry ingredients and stir in the water mixture. Slowly add more flour (about a teaspoon at a time) and knead the dough, until it is smooth and springing. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for around 30 minutes.
Once the dough is risen, roll out the dough in a large rectangle and add the sauce, cheese, and your toppings. Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into long strips, then into squares, so you end up with about 20 squares. Stack the squares onto of each other, and stack into a greased loaf pan. (For pictures of how to do that, go here or here.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven at 400ยบ for 20-25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan.
Yum.
I visited home this weekend to start moving things out of my dorm room and to see my boyfriend and my puppies. For me, one of the best parts about being home is a REAL, AWESOME kitchen. Seriously, it's wonderful.
Anyway, I always take advantage of that to test out some new recipes, and today was Pull Apart Pizza bread, which I discovered over on Stick a Fork in it and adapted a bit. I chose this one because Pizza is Brian's favorite food. I'm a good girlfriend. Plus, pizza is a super simple dish to make.
I made my own dough, using my mother's recipe which is loosely adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook, mostly out of laziness.
Just throw all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add yeast to very warm (not hot) water, and add the water mixture and olive oil and mix! Then let it rise, knead, and refrigerate until you are ready to use it! It's the easiest thing ever. I think people overestimate how simple pizza dough is.
I made my own sauce, too. I used two 8-oz cans of tomato sauce, and sprinkled in whatever spices sounded good from the spice cabinet that I vaguely remember watching my mom use growing up. I ended up using sugar, salt, italian seasoning, parsley, basil, pepper, and possibly some others.
Then you roll out the dough, add the sauce and 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, slice and stack, bake and walla! I did it in two halves, because the original recipe called for 1/2 of a pizza crust, but that really wasn't enough. I barely filled my bread pan.
So anyway, here's how it goes in a much less confusing way.
Pull Apart Pizza Bread (original recipe here.)
Ingredients
1 Pizza Crust (I made my own, but you can also use a storebought one.)
1 cup pizza sauce (again, I made my own, but you can use premade.)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Any toppings of choice.
Pizza Crust (Adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all- purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup very warm water
In a large bowl mix together 2 1/2 cups flour, the sugar, and the salt. Measure out the water and add the yeast. Add the oil to the dry ingredients and stir in the water mixture. Slowly add more flour (about a teaspoon at a time) and knead the dough, until it is smooth and springing. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for around 30 minutes.
Once the dough is risen, roll out the dough in a large rectangle and add the sauce, cheese, and your toppings. Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into long strips, then into squares, so you end up with about 20 squares. Stack the squares onto of each other, and stack into a greased loaf pan. (For pictures of how to do that, go here or here.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven at 400ยบ for 20-25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan.
Yum.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Oh Hai There.
Wellll hello to anyone reading this!
Through my years of blogging, I've found that the first post is almost always the most awkward and out of place, but yet I always insist on creating an "Official First Post" anway.
So here we go.
My name is Faith, I'm 19, and I live in Baltimore, Maryland with time spent in Philadelphia for school. I'm double majoring in Music (flute concentration) and Psychology and hope to combine music Pedagogy and Counseling in the future.
I've been blogging on various websites for around six years but I've felt the most at home over on tumblr- however, I also want a more professional blog to share recipes and tidbits of life here and there without keysmash flailing. I also wanted a way to follow food blogs and interact with food bloggers more now that I'm in the same age demographic as those bloggers. Let me tell you, being 13 and following mommy bloggers is a bit awkward.
Things I like: Jesus, Doctor Who, the Internet, Disney, Reading, Music, Baking, Coffee
Things I dislike: Probably anything not that, Pennsylvania roads, people who walk slow
I'll probably blog about: My life, Eating Disorder Awareness, life at Disney, Recipes, Religion
So now that's out of the way, why don't you introduce yourself?
Through my years of blogging, I've found that the first post is almost always the most awkward and out of place, but yet I always insist on creating an "Official First Post" anway.
So here we go.
My name is Faith, I'm 19, and I live in Baltimore, Maryland with time spent in Philadelphia for school. I'm double majoring in Music (flute concentration) and Psychology and hope to combine music Pedagogy and Counseling in the future.
I've been blogging on various websites for around six years but I've felt the most at home over on tumblr- however, I also want a more professional blog to share recipes and tidbits of life here and there without keysmash flailing. I also wanted a way to follow food blogs and interact with food bloggers more now that I'm in the same age demographic as those bloggers. Let me tell you, being 13 and following mommy bloggers is a bit awkward.
Things I like: Jesus, Doctor Who, the Internet, Disney, Reading, Music, Baking, Coffee
Things I dislike: Probably anything not that, Pennsylvania roads, people who walk slow
I'll probably blog about: My life, Eating Disorder Awareness, life at Disney, Recipes, Religion
So now that's out of the way, why don't you introduce yourself?
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