Round 2 Of Project Food Blog Is Here And I Need Your Vote! :D

Voting Ends September 30th

It's that time of week again. Time to Vote for me! ha. Thanks to everyone who helped me make it past round one. Let me tell you, when I found out, I was extremely excited I was jumping up and down. It made my day. Now, I need your help once again. You have until September 30th to vote for me so that I can make it past the second round.

Hopefully you've seen my Second Round Entry, Project Food Blog: "The Classics", for this competition. (I procrastinated and posted at the last minute XD). If you love Pad Thai as much as I do and you loved my partially rhyming post, it's your turn to help me out! 

Go to FoodBuzz, create an account if you haven't already, and vote for my blog entry. Simply click the heart and by the magic of the internet, it will magically turn red. haha. Just go here to vote. You can also go to my Project Food Blog Profile and vote from there. Every vote counts and it'll mean the world to me!!

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Project Food Blog: "The Classics"

Drop the beat!

The first round of the PFB Competition is now done

Thanks to everyone who helped me make it past round one

Now here we go again with another rhyme

I promise you I won't be wasting your time

Don't worry, I won't rhyme throughout the whole post

I just want to make a simple toast

Congrats to everyone else that made it this far

But, you all should know I'll be raising the bar 

For the second round we have to make a classic dish

Choose what you want, it can even be fish

Make a dish from a different cuisine outside your comfort zone

Something more challenging than a simple ice cream cone

For the first time I will be posting something savory on my blog

In this special event, you definitely know it won't be a hot dog

By now you should be asking, "What are you making dude?"

For this special event, let's make some Thai Food!

With that being said, this rhyme is complete

It's now time to get serious and compete! :D

Since I made it past the first round of the PFB competition, I think it's now time to bring a little asian persuasion to this competition. ha. Thai Food is a cuisine that I am obsessed with, particularly the noodle dishes. I've even been known to eat at least two Thai meals a week. (And I'm not even Thai! Talk about dedication!) The great balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy, without either one overpowering one another, takes real skill. Let's get ready to tackle the, ever so famous, extremely iconic, most desired, Pad Thai!

The Mise En Place

Pad Thai, is defined as "Stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, shrimp, peanuts and seasonings". Define it how you will, to me it's good eating! lol. For a well made Pad Thai, it either requires you to be either A. Thai or B. Eat at a delicious Thai Restaurant. Now, I've had my share of bad Pad Thai, (Hint: The Pad Thais that use ketchup...) but it wasn't until I ate Pad Thai that was Tamarind Based, two years ago, that I fell in love with it. Having a Tamarind Base, it has a distinct flavor. You can taste every single layer of flavor in the dish. The tender rice noodles that have soaked up this sweet, sour, salty, spicy, garlic-y tamarind based sauce, mixed with eggs, chicken and tofu, or whatever protein you desire, to give body to the dish, bean sprouts for crunch, peanuts for more added crunch and nuttyness and green onions for that onion-y bite. Then to top it all off, when the steaming hot noodle dish is served to you, you take that wedge of lime, squeeze it right on top for the added tang. YUM! Am I making your mouth water yet? I am, huh? Talk about heaven in a bowl! Mmmmm, I can taste it now. Literally. ha.

Adding Eggs To The Cooked Noodles, Chicken And Tofu

Surprisingly, Pad Thai is not as hard to make as many would think. The sauce does take time but it only involves reducing the sauce. Labor intensive? I think not. Also, you do end up with quite a bit of sauce left at the end but that just means you can make Pad Thai any time you want! :D If the thought of having multiple Pad Thai nights doesn't persuade you, I don't know what will. ha. Just throw all your ingredients into the wok or pan, add some sauce and BAM! you have yourself some Pad Thai. (I just had to release my inner Emeril "BAM!"). I believe the key to Pad Thai is to NOT substitute ingredients!! It's the only way to have the right flavor. To stay true to the cuisine and dish, stay true to the recipe.

Pad Thai Anyone?

Now, what are you waiting for? Go out and make yourself some Pad Thai! You know you want to.  Your stomach is waiting! hehe.

Don't forget to vote again from September 27 to 30. 

Just go to my PFB Profile HERE during those dates. 

Thanks for the support! :)

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

The Winner Is.....

Drumroll please.......The winning number is 18!! This means that Stephanie is the winner of a $35 Gift Certificate for CSN Stores. Congrats!! I will contact you for your prize.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! A special thanks to CSN Stores for allowing me to do this giveaway as well!! This giveaway would not have been possible without you guys and the help of CSN! I guess that's about it for this post. Once again, thank you to everyone for participating!! Tune in next time because who knows what I will be giving away or doing on my blog!! :D

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

It's Time To Vote Your Hearts Out!

Look to the right of your screen, now back to this post, now back to the right of your screen, now back to this post. The difference? You can click the "Vote For Me" button on the one to the right of your screen while the one above is just a picture. Either way, the main message is to Vote For Me! ha. You have until the 23rd to vote for me so that I can make it past the first round.

By now, you've seen my Competition Entry, Project Food Blog: "Ready, Set, Blog!", for this competition and hopefully you loved my creative take on expressing who I am and why I blog. Now, it's your turn to help me out! Go to FoodBuzz, create an account if you haven't already, and vote for my blog entry by turning my grey, sad heart, into the happy, red heart, it should be! haha. Just go here to vote. You can also go to my Project Food Blog Profile and vote from there. Every vote counts and it'll mean the world to me!!

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Giveaway Entrants And Your Numbers

Just like my last giveaway, I'm going to number the entries myself. Look for your name and numbers and Good Luck!! The winner will be announced shortly!

Mamipdx: 1, 2

An Open Book: 3

Pixie: 4, 5, 6, 7

Michael: 8, 9, 10

Susitravl: 11, 12, 13

Krissie: 14, 15, 16, 17

Stephanie: 18, 19, 20, 21

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Project Food Blog: "Ready, Set, Blog!"

Let the "Project Food Blog" Competition begin!! Today marks the first event in the competition hosted by FoodBuzz, "Ready, Set, Blog!": Why do you think you have what it takes to be the next food blog star? What makes your blog unique and sets you apart from other food blog brands?

Here I am today trying to persuade you that I'm the Next Food Blog Star,

Of course I'm going to say yes, is that so bizarre?

While thinking of what to post on my blog, it was pretty hard

Sort of like the hardening of arteries when you eat too much lard (hehe)

I wrote and wrote until I finished the post

After reading it over, it was like a simple piece of toast

It was something bland and boring

And it would have had you snoring

Then I decided to re-do the whole thing

To be creative and have something with a little "zing"

But what can I do to stand out from the crowd?

Make it rhyme of course, so you all will be "wowed"

Why am I the Next Food Blog Star, you ask?

Well, that right now, is my task

Cooking and Baking wasn't stereotypical for a 13 year old boy to do

Instead, it was cars and sports and them saying "That's for you!"

I, myself, knew that wasn't for me

I mean, I didn't want to end up sweaty, dirty and achy

So, I kept it a secret for nearly 6 years

Can you believe I was sort of living in fear?

When my talents were accepted the day they were unveiled

All I did was smile and exhale

I'm now 19 years old

I've now realized that my talents are gold

Now I have this blog where I can share all the food I make

Mostly sharing what I will bake

I'm at the point where I am proud of what I can do

Now, here are more reasons why I am the Next Food Blog Star too

Being in the kitchen is where I love to be

To Cook and Bake is where I am Me

I'm here to show you all what I can really make and do

To share my Filipino Culture with all of you

I mean, do you really want to read about Chocolate Cupcakes all day?

I want to show you something from my culture that makes you say "Hey!"

I'm here to inspire everyone, especially the youngsters out there

To never be afraid to cook, bake and be different for a talent that is rare

I'm here to show people to simply cook and bake with all your heart

To show you how to make your very first fruit tart

I'm here to show people that cooking and baking are not as hard as people say they are

In a way, it's as simple as opening a jar

With a little patience, tricks and tips

It can be as easy as eating salsa and chips

If I was able to cook and bake at 13 years old

Even you can be the star of your household

Of course there'll be mistakes along the way

But once you get it right, you'll be screaming "Hurray!"

I want to show you all the food I've made

So, here's a recap to use as an aid

A Chocolate Chip Cookie started it all

My Blueberry Scones were definitely a downfall

Sticky Buns that caused my mixer to break

A variety of different flavored Mini Cheesecakes

A Carrot Cake with a frosting of cream cheese

I even made cookies that tasted like "Cookies N' Cream"

Red Velvet Cupcakes for my birthday

Here's the rest of my creations up until today

I hope this competition will allow me to grow and improve

To the point where my blog really has a groove

The longer I stay in the competition, the more I will learn

Just think of me as being an intern

I hope reading this post was a blast

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my blogging past

I guess that is all I have to say for now

I hope this is creative enough to make it past the first round

After all is said and done, I am now finished with the rhyme I made

I will now take a bow and let the lights fade

So Vote for me

From the dates of September 20 to 23

See, you thought I would stop my rhyming a paragraph ago

But I have got you fooled with my witty lingo

But for real, vote for me to become the winner of this contest

So I can be the pride and joy of the Northwest (?) :D

Please Vote For Me From September 20th-23rd!! :DD

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Raspberry Jelly Roll

The post for the Jelly Roll is coming sooner than planned. Since I'm a competitor in Project FoodBuzz, I need to make a blog post dedicated to that competition which I will post this week. So get ready for that and don't forget to vote for me on Sept 20th!! :D One more thing, if you haven't entered my second giveaway, you should!! Just head on over to my Molten Chocolate Cake Blog Post and enter to win a $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores!!

Any who, this weekend I was watching "Ghost Adventures" on the Travel Channel and this show is so addictive! I've been fascinated with paranormal stuff since the seventh grade along with some of my friends. We actually tried to hunt for ghosts in our old elementary school. haha. They say ghosts come out as "orbs" in pictures so I would take my friend's camera and take pictures down the hallway to see if orbs came up. To much disappointment, nothing came up. However, just because I was fascinated with the paranormal stuff, it doesn't mean I'm not afraid of it. I am extremely scared of it all!! The thought of coming face to face with a paranormal thing scares the heck out of me! I mean, after watching "Paranormal Activity", I couldn't sleep for weeks because of the thought of a ghost lifting up the blankets to get into bed. Scary, much? lol. So, why is it that these ghost shows are so addictive? I mean, you don't want to watch it but you just can't stop. What this has to do with Jelly Rolls, I have no clue. haha. But here's the Results, Tips and Recipe!

Results

-Taste: Not that great. Sponge cake had a nice subtle vanilla flavor but the jelly overpowered the jelly roll making it too sweet (I added a bit too much jelly)

-Texture: Sponge cake was dry and broke during the rolling process. Parts surrounded by jelly made the cake "mushy"

Tips

-Another way to make sure the sponge cake is fully cooked is to press the top slightly. If the cake springs back to its original form, it's done.

-There are 2 methods for rolling a jelly roll:

1. Some recommend you invert the cake immediately, after coming out of the oven, onto a towel that is covered in powdered sugar. Then you roll it in the towel and let it cool completely. After cooling, you unroll the cake, remove the towel, spread the jam, then re-roll

2. Others recommend you let the cake completely in the pan after coming out of the oven. Once cooled, remove the cake from the pan, spread the jam and roll.

-If using method 1, I advise to sprinkle powdered sugar not only on the towel where the cake will be positioned, but on the top of the cake when the cake is on the towel as well. It will reduce the "sticking".

-I tried both methods and found that method 2 worked best for me (even though my cake cracked multiple times).

-If filling the sponge cake with something other than jam, such as whipped cream, refrigerate the rolled and filled cake for at least 6 hours to allow the cake to set.

Sponge Cake (Serves 8-10)
Ingredients
4 eggs, bring to room temperature
100g caster sugar
4g salt
140g cake flour
30g salad oil
30g fresh milk

Directions
Sift cake flour, set aside. Grease and line a 20cm round pan, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 180degC. Position rack at the lower bottom of the oven.

With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar & salt on HIGH speed for about 5 to 7mins, until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the beater should leave a ribbon-like texture when the batter is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilize the air bubbles in the batter.

Add sifted cake flour into the batter. With a spatula, gently fold in the flour until well blended.
With a spatula, mix about 1/3 of the batter with the salad oil in a separate bowl. Fold in this mixture into the remaining batter. This method will help to ensure the oil will be fully blended and at the same time will not deflate the batter.

Add in fresh milk and fold in gently with spatula.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Unmold and cool completely.

**For a Jelly Roll, prepare the sponge cake the same way. Once prepared, pour the batter into a 15'' x 10'' inch baking pan that is greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

From this point you can either roll the cake in a towel that is covered with powdered sugar or let it cool completely in the pan. Once fully cooled, spread about 1/2 cup Raspberry Jam onto the cake and roll. Let it sit for about an hour before consuming.

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Molten Chocolate Cake With A Surprise Inside...Another Giveaway That Is!

Today is your lucky day! The surprise isn't IN the Molten Chocolate Cake, it's literally in this blog post. Once again, I was contacted by CSN Stores to do another giveaway. If you still haven't given CSN Stores a look-see, get to it!! They seriously have everything. Need some Modern Bedding to spruce up your bedroom? Well, they have it! Need some new furniture? They have that! Need a simple pot? They even have that. Seriously, with their 200+ stores, the possibilities are endless! I'll talk more about this later.

Well, two weeks after the egg fiasco (which I still think is going on) and it's time to make the Molten Chocolate Cake I planned for. This recipe comes from Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman and this is also the first time that I will try a Molten Chocolate Cake. There has been so much hype about a Molten Chocolate Cake that I had to make it. This recipe is extremely simple to follow that it was made in no time. When I tried the cake, it's essentially a chocolate cake, meets a melted chocolate bar, meets a souffle. The cake was fluffy like a souffle with the center somewhat liquidy (I left it in the oven a minute too long). Overall, it tasted "ehhhh". I'm not exactly sure what the "best" Molten Chocolate Cake is supposed to taste like but I'm not exactly a fan. haha. It definitely tasted like dark chocolate but I think I have to get used to the "molten" center. I think I'm a little sketchy about it since the eggs are basically still raw. I'm not a fan of a Molten Chocolate Cake just yet but, maybe in the future, I will be. As of right now, I would gladly eat a chocolate cake with fudge sauce on top or even a chocolate cupcake that is baked with a chocolate truffle on the inside rather than this Molten Chocolate Cake. Would that be great or what?! Well, that's for next time. ha.

Now, back to the giveaway. Like I said before, I was approached by CSN to do a giveaway. This time, CSN Stores is giving you the chance to win a $35 Gift Certificate for any of their online stores! Here's how to enter:

You must be a follower of "AJ's Cooking Secrets" through the Google Friend Connect located on the left side bar of my blog to enter this giveaway. If you are not a follower, your entry and/or entries will not be counted.

You have FOUR chances to enter!!

1. Leave a comment stating what you would like to buy from CSN Stores with the $35 Gift Certificate, along with your email.

2. Follow my other blog, AJ's Food Adventure, and leave a comment below stating that you have become a follower. If you are already a follower of my other blog, leave a comment stating that you are.

3. Become a fan/liker of my Facebook Fan Page : AJ's Cooking Secrets and leave a comment below stating that you have become a fan/liker. If you are already a fan/liker of my FB Fan Page, leave a comment stating that you are.

4. Follow me on Twitter @aaronjohn04 and leave a comment below stating that you have become a follower. If you are already a follower of my twitter page, leave a comment stating that you are.

**If entering all four times, leave four different comments.

Important Guidelines:

-Must be a follower of this blog, "AJ's Cooking Secrets", through Google Friend Connect located on the left side bar for your entry/entries to count. Anyone who "enters" without being a follower of this blog will not be entered into the drawing.

-The Giveaway will last until Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be drawn using Random.org. The winner will then be announced in a blog post, on my facebook page and emailed that they are the winner. From there, the winner will be contacted by CSN Stores where you will receive a Gift Certificate Code.

Now, here's my tips and recipe to the Molten Chocolate Cake.

**Tips

-You're going to love this tip. You can actually make this cake ahead of time! Follow the recipe as stated and when you divide the batter into the molds, store it in the refrigerator until you're ready! All you have to do is take it out of the refrigerator about 30 min before baking, to allow the cake batter to come to room temperature, then bake it off!

-I personally think that the cake looks better presented in a ramekin rather than un-molding it. I un-molded one of the cakes and it had a sort of "wrinkly" outside. If you like that, go for it. haha

Molten Chocolate Cake (Makes 4 individual cakes)

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for molds

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting molds

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona

2 large whole eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Butter and lightly flour four 4-ounce molds, ramekins, or custard cups. Tap out excess flour; butter and flour them again, and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine butter and chocolate; heat until chocolate has almost completely melted.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs, yolks, and sugar until light and thick.

Add melted chocolate mixture, and beat to combine. Quickly beat in flour until just combined. Divide batter evenly among the molds.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place filled molds on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until the sides have set but the centers remain soft, 6 to 7 minutes.

Invert each mold onto a plate, and let rest 10 seconds. Unmold by lifting up one corner of the mold; the cake will fall out onto the plate. Serve immediately.

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

"That's How I Roll" Cookie

So I have some news!! If you look on the right side bar of my blog, you may notice that I am now a contestant for Project Food Blog. This competition is a set of culinary blogging challenges that many featured publishers have entered with a Grand Prize at the end. I am actually very excited about this because not only does it seem like it would be a fun thing to do, but I think it will help me blog better. Well, this is where you come in. Once the competition starts in two week, I will need your guy's help to vote! haha. I would appreciate it so much! :D Also, my weekly creations might need to be put on hold the longer I stick around in the competition but we will see. Until then, if I just so happen to be the winner, I will post my actual Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and my Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe on this blog. Sound like a plan? ;)

Anyways, the second week in my "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project is here. My "That's How I Roll" Cookie is inspired by the Coldstone's Ice Cream flavor. This flavor is Cake Batter Ice Cream, cinnamon, pecans and vanilla cake pieces. This flavor sounded and looked delicious on their website that I just had to try it. Essentially, Coldstone re-invented a cinnamon roll into an ice cream flavor. So technically, my "That's How I Roll" Cookie is a cinnamon roll, turned ice cream, turned cookie. haha. Once again, I used Tyler Florence's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as my base.

What's in my "That's How I Roll" Cookie? The same exact thing that's in the ice cream!! I mixed chopped pecans, cinnamon, and pound cake pieces into the chocolate chip cookie dough and got this cookie. Once again, I am in love with this cookie! lol. It actually taste's like a cinnamon roll! The dough isn't too sweet, the cinnamon gave a great "spice" to the cookie, the pecans gave a nutty-ness and crunch and the pound cake was, of course, delicious. It added a moistness to the cookie just like in the "Birthday Cake" Cookie I made. I think I might even like these more than the "Birthday Cake" Cookie. This is another keeper!! Here's my tips and recipe!

**Tips

-Just like in the "Birthday Cake" Cookie, it's best to mix in the pecans before the cake to keep the cake in bigger chunks.

-Try not to break up the cake too much. A light mix-in is just fine.

"That's How I Roll" Cookie (Makes 1 Dozen 5 inch Cookies or 4 Dozen Mini Cookies)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups pound cake, cut into cubes

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the pecans and pound cake using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

Soft Pretzels

It's beginning to look like Fall here in Seattle. The air is crisp, the clouds have arrived and the rain has fallen. I love it. Well, just not the rain part. Everything else is "A-OK" with me.

Anyways, I don't know about you but I have this crazy obsession with anything carbs. Whether it be rice, pasta or bread! I commend anyone that can do those "low carb/no carb" diets. How can you live your life without BREAD?! lol. This leads to this week's recipe for Soft Pretzels. One of my favorite "carb-ed" foods at the mall has got to be Soft Pretzels from Auntie Anne's. They're soft, chewy, salty (or sweet) and just soooooo good! How can you go wrong with a Soft Pretzel that is dipped in butter and has various toppings and sauces to dip it in?! Talk about YUM!! This is a copycat recipe of Auntie Anne's. The original recipe was from CDKitchen which you can find here. I love these pretzels! They are delicious!! Chewy, salty, the cinnamon sugar one was sweet and overall just great. Totally reminded me of Auntie Anne's. I must admit, I ate half the batch of pretzels. lol. Did I mention these make your house smell like Soft Pretzels? The smell of these as they were baking got me excited! Here's my tips and recipe!

**Tips

-Try to roll out the pretzel dough as thin as you can. Sort of like the thickness of a pencil. The thinner it is, the better the outcome and the more it looks like the original.

-Using Kosher Salt is perfectly fine to use instead of pretzel salt. Who wants to buy a huge thing of pretzel salt for a batch of pretzels anyway?

Soft Pretzels (Makes 12)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups regular flour
2 cups Warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
to taste coarse salt
4 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:
Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt and stir to dissolve; add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 Tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope* (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again. Bake in 450 oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Toppings: after you brush with butter try sprinkling with coarse salt. or for Auntie Anne's famous Cinnamon Sugar, try melting a stick of butter in a shallow bowl (big enough to fit the entire pretzel) and in another shallow bowl make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dip the pretzel into the butter, coating both sides generously. Then dip again into the cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

Facebook Fan Page

"Birthday Cake" Cookie

Happy September guys!! :) So, way back in May I decided to do an "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project but I never followed through with it. It actually started when I made my "Cookies N' Cream" Cookies and had a brilliant idea to turn our favorite Ice Cream flavors into cookies. The same great flavor of ice cream in a portable "vehicle" that doesn't melt. From there, the last "Ice Cream Into Cookies" baked creation I made was my "Jamocha Almond Fudge" Cookies. Well, 3 months later and my "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project is back in action and it all starts with my "Birthday Cake" Cookie.

My "Birthday Cake" Cookie was inspired by Coldstone's Birthday Cake and Birthday Cake Remix ice creams. I decided to combine the two flavors of these two ice creams into one. If you don't know, their Birthday Cake Ice Cream is, if I can remember right, chocolate cake batter ice cream, vanilla cake, sprinkles and fudge. I think it was taken off the menu for Birthday Cake Remix though. Birthday Cake Remix is Cake Batter Ice Cream, sprinkles, brownies and fudge. So, I combined both flavors and ended up with this "Birthday Cake" Cookie. For the base of the cookie, I used Tyler Florence's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Coincidentally, his recipe was the first chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever used.

You're probably asking yourself what is this "Birthday Cake" Cookie. Well, it's a chocolate chip cookie dough mixed with rainbow sprinkles, pieces of pound cake and white chocolate to keep up with the "vanilla theme" I seemed to be having. I'm seriously in love with this cookie!! It tastes soooo good!! When it comes out of the oven, it smells like a combination of chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cupcakes! The dough had the right amount of sweetness, the sprinkles added a little crunch and color, the white chocolate enhanced the vanilla flavor and the pound cake kept the cookie soft and moist, not to mention that biting into a chunk of cake was the best part! I'm definitely keeping this recipe! I have a ton of ideas for my "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project and I can't wait to try them! Here's my tip and the recipe!

**Tips

-When the cookie base is finished, it's best to mix in the sprinkles and chocolate chips completely before the pound cake. It allows the pound cake to stay in bigger chunks.

-The pound cake doesn't need to be completely mixed into the dough so don't feel frustrated when the cake is breaking apart. When you begin to scoop the cookies, it'll make it's way into the dough.

"Birthday Cake" Cookie (Makes 1 Dozen 5 inch Cookies or 4 Dozen Mini Cookies)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup colored sprinkles

3/4 cup white chocolate

1 1/2 cups of pound cake, cut into cubes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the sprinkles, chocolate chips, and pound cake pieces using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

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