Week 3- Apple Hand Pies

This week I made Apple Hand Pies. I liked them very much. I followed the directions mostly to a tee, with a few extra changes. First of all, when I mixed the diced butter and flour, I had to hand mix it. Stirring wouldn't do anything, obviously, the electric mixer started to make a complete mess, and I did not have a food processor. However, hand mixing is not a bad choice. It ended up 'sandy' within just a few minutes. Also, I did not use any salt because the only butter in my house was salted butter. Also, the end results seemed plain, so I sprinkled cinnamon sugar and the rest of the apple filling on top of each one. I thought they tasted very good, especially the filing part.
 The only changes I would make are rolling out the dough thinner, so that more are made and they wouldn't taste as doughy. Because the dough was kind of thickish for each one, I had to bake them longer and they did in fact, taste doughy (which I don't mind). Also, next time I need to close the ends better because some of the pies were slightly opened where they should be closed.

But yes, I think these were pretty successful! :)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ice water
4 tsp lemon juice
2 apples peeled and diced
2 tbsp butter melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar

Week 2- Chocolate Jelly Roll ll

I redid the roll today! It's not beautiful, but it was a lot better this time than my last one!

Week 2- Chocolate Jelly Roll

Today I made the Chocolate Jelly Roll and it was a disaster. Not competely, just the end product. It was supposed to be a chocolate cake part, mousse chocolate filling, and a chocolatey drizzle on top. I didn't do the drizzle on top at the end cause it was too messy and I just couldn't make it look nice no matter what. Alright.
First things first, I am HORRIBLE at whipping anything into nice stiff peaks. For the mousse part, I needed to whip the whipping cream a lot more. Also, when I added the melted chocolate and egg mixture to the mousse part, I should have let both of them cool more before folding in. It just warmed the whipped cream even more and made it more liquidy. Next, the cake part came out nicely. However, I rolled it in a towel and I should have let it cool in the towel longer. When I unrolled it and applied the mousse, it started spreading out a lot more and off the cake! So when I rolled it back up, that was my breaking point. 1.) the cake was stuck to the towel and chunks were coming off and 2.) the melting mousse was poooouuring out of the cake. Arg! So in the end, I just shoved it all in a tupperwear container.

My mom says I should try it again next week. Despite my frustration, humiliation, and dissapointment, maybe I will. I mean who wants to be a failure? Not me. And I was excited to use the cornstarch cause I've never used it before. Until next week, buh bye!

Ingediants:
(cake part)
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking bowder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

(chocolate mousse part)
6 oz chocolate
1  cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp water
1 egg
2 egg yolks
pinch salt
1/3 cup sugar

(chocolate drizzle)
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
dash salt
1 oz chocolate
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

Week 1- Chocolate Phyllo Pockets

Hi, I'm Alexis. I am starting this new thing where I bake something new once a week for the next year. Why am I doing this? It's because I simply love to bake, and I need something in my life where I can control happily and enjoy. So, I started two days ago, Monday. I made my first dessert- Chocolate Phyllo Pockets. By the way, I don't make the recipe, I copy them from wherever I can find them (magazines, cookbooks, online, etc.) Sorry if I 'copy' a recipe of yours. Be flattered :) ! Anyways, I will also be making a short video of the baking process, for my own good (and anyone else who is interested). I'm not sure how to post videos, so I'll lay that off for a while. But let me tell you about my pockets.

First of all, the recipe I used calls for like this big ole bowl of butter so you can brush the pockets, I didn't use nearly half of it. So you just need a little bit (not 6 tbsp). Also, it was the perfect amt. of nutella-choc mix. The phyllo, as I heard before, was in fact kind of ahrd to work with because it is so thin, and it dries easily. So work fast! Maybe add a couple more layers of phyllo on each pocket, or at least a whole one. The end result was what it looks like, it tastes like. A little plain, the poundcake part that is. My suggestion for the next time I do this recipe-- add something in it. Maybe cut up fruit (ex. strawberries, bananas, apples, etc.), chocolate chips or other kinds of chips, or even some kind of cream in the middle (bavarian?). Makes about 12 pockets, and 210 cals per pocket (calories differ with different types of poundcake and chocolate and other things. You can always ask me what calories are in something, I'll always have an answer [eventually]). Thanks for reading! This is my first blog type of thing, so I appreciate anyone who is interested :) !


Ingrediants:
-5 oz semisweeet chocolate
-1/2 cup nutella
-1 box betty crocker poundcake (made already)
-6 tbsp butter (probably more like 3)
-4 sheets phyllo dough (I used like 7)
-2 tbsp conf. sugar
-optional: raspberries for decoration.