Welcome Back!

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything.
I've been piled high with school work this semester and I haven't had much free time.
On top of it all, I got sick this weekend after my Birthday (at least it wasn't on my birthday) most likely from the lack of sleep, eating, and copious amounts of self induced stress.
But, as a sort of welcome back I've decided to post a few pictures of cupcakes I've made!


Strawberry, Chocolate Mint, and Red Velvet Cupcakes
The cupcake adventures started off with Valentine's Day. I decided to bake a ton of cupcakes in attempts to find the best recipe to ship off to my boyfriend's ship. I had also bought a really cute dress that day and I wanted to show it off, so I invited some friends over and we had sweet wine, chocolate stout, and cupcakes for Valentine's day!


Green Gin & Tonic
Of course St. Patrick's Day was along the way so I made my friend and I green drinks, as well as green cupcakes (sadly, I do not have any photos of the green cupcakes, but the color was unbelievably vibrant!)


Cinnamon Sugar Cupcakes
For my parent's church's Fish Fry I made these soft and fluffy Cinnamon Sugar Cupcakes. I also put them in little bags with labels in an attempt to get my name out and about the town. I believe everything counts!

And for the grand finale...

Amaretto and Chocolate Spice Cupcakes
As a Birthday Gift, my parents bought me a cupcake stand!!! Which I put out on display for my "Birthday Table". I had made pink butterflies out of chocolate and adorned almost every other cupcake with them, as a sort of 'flowering' & 'blooming' effect coming out from the stand. Quite frankly, all my baking from the last few months came down to these, and they were WONDERFUL!

Now, my father has recently bought a book all about Pasta and it has many different recipes, so I hope to bring more variety to my entries (other than just cupcakes and sweets... as much as i love them!) and maybe share a bit of my Food Science knowledge to the table as well.

One thing I would like to put out that I learned, which has greatly changed what I pick to eat when I go out, and how I bake at home, is that the Double Acting Baking Powder bought at the grocery stores almost all the time contains Aluminum Sulfate. Aluminum is directly correlated with Alzheimer's, so I've decided to start making my own baking powder.

Homemade Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda

Measure out the ingredients and then mix in a bowl. If the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of Baking Powder then you can directly measure them out and put them in to your dry ingredients. If the recipe calls for less than 1 Tbsp, in a separate bowl, sift the Cream of Tartar and Baking Soda together and then measure out the amount you need for the recipe.
I've used this in all my baked recipes and I haven't noticed a difference in taste or texture, and they have come out looking wonderfully and Aluminum free!

Happy Baking! <3


My Flower's from Nathan, and I

December Already!

I know I haven't updated in a while, and all I have done is post 2 entries in this blog, but I do have an excuse.
Unfortunately, my last computer finally gave in and stopped working. I was without a computer for two weeks, and just last week on Sunday I was gifted a new MacBook. I love it! It is definitely a switch from the old Windows XP OS, and I still have much to learn about it until I can use it up to its full potential.

So far, all I've been able to bake in my free time are these little Pocket Pies:



I volunteered to cook the Thanksgiving meal this year as well. Everything turned out all right, but in my opinion the mashed potatoes could have been creamier, the sweet potatoes sweeter, and the green been casserole with more crunch. I made a rosemary seasoned turkey breast and it. was. phenomenal. Brining is definitely the key to a tender, juicy, and flavorful meat. I filled a large pot with water, salt (lots of it, because the salt sinks in to the meat of the skin and retains water so the turkey will not dry out when it is being cooked), and rosemary (lots of it, because you want the flavorful to really settle in the meat), and had brought it up to a boil. Once it was boiling I turned it off and put the turkey in a huge bag, that was inside a huge bag, and filled it up with the brining mixture. Then I added some buttermilk and had it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Once I get my pictures loaded, I will post them so that you may also see the beautiful apple pie my dad and I made that was absolutely perfect!

-<3

Haunted Cookie House

I know: when you think of gingerbread houses, you think of lollipops and gumdrops with sugar coated rooftops. My sister and I were at a fabric store when I came across a pre-baked cookie house kit with none other than black and orange frosting, candy corn, and a little sugar ghost, so I had to get it! This, I suspect, is when I declared myself officially bitten by the "sweet treats" bug.

This is the kit, with packets of ready-to-make icing and gingerbread walls already done. I know I can admit that making a gingerbread house is no easy task, but I was determined.

Unfortunately (in this case) detail is important to me, so in the beginning I was frustrated and concentrating intensely to make sure the icing would first of all just come out, and secondly not fall off as soon as it did!

A few tips for those who would like to know:
- Keep the bags of icing under a damp cloth when they're not in use
- Have a cup nearby with some water to use when the icing has dried up, but remember! a little goes a long way
- As you're holding the bag of icing for piping, keep it warm with your hands and "massage" it as you squeeze the icing out: this keeps the icing warm and lets it flow smoothly out the end for easier decorating

Finally I finished the Haunted Cookie House! It was definitely worth the time because in the end I felt so accomplished. Now I feel like I could make a legitimate gingerbread house when Christmas rolls around!

Tomorrow, my sister and I will be baking some little treats we found on Bakerella.com , the site that I will mostly gather some ideas from to try over the course of these next few weeks.

Now I must get back to nursing my Biochemistry notes - I have a test in one week and still there are two chapters to cover in class, yikes!

Charming Treats

Welcome to Charming Treats!

The love of food and all things cute has always been a driving force in my own experiences, and I do believe creative endeavors are the sparks of life (music, cooking, baking, decorating, poetry...), so I have decided to share my crafts to those with similar interests as mine. I will post musical things, paper cutout projects, and charming sweet things that I decide to indulge in as I proceed with the many wonderful gifts life presents to me.

A little about myself:
I am currently a Junior in College pursuing a degree in Human Nutrition and Foods, and every day I encounter the wonderful chemistry that is life and how we have learned to use what nature offers, because all that is given by nature is good for the soul. I am ecstatic with what I get to go to school and learn everyday. I enjoy baking and have recently taken up writing music, poetry, and creating little art projects with anything I can get my hands on. At this moment I could only be happier if I had more time to do all the wonderful things I enjoy!

Now it is time to continue with my first post- it is Halloween after all, so it's time to get going!

Happy Reading!!!