If at first you don't succeed...

Find another pan!

Today, I wanted to make some mini-brownie cupcakes for my uncles wedding this week, and it was going smoothly, until....DISASTER STRUCK!!!!  After I had baked them in a mini-cupcake pan that I had sprayed with baking spray, they wouldn't come out!  I turned the pan over and shook it, tried to pry them out with a bamboo skewer, and then resorted to scraping them out with a small rubber spatula(those little suckers were about as hard as concrete glue).  My mom went to the store, but sadly she couldn't find any greaseproof liners for the mini pan, so my brownie bites idea was thrown overboard.  I was disappointed, as I hadn't had trouble with this recipe before(well...when I was following the directions), and I had to come up with another idea, as I still had a bowl of uncooked brownie batter on the counter.  

     

I still wanted round brownies, to match the other goodies that we're making, so I decided to copy my mom's idea from last winter, and just bake them in a flat cookie sheet.  After they were done baking and had cooled, they were punched into small circles with a 1 1\4 inch biscuit cutter and put in a freezer bag to harden up for the scary plane ride they have to take in a few days.  While I didn't get to have what I had envisioned, or as many as I had hoped for, it turned out all right in the end.  On the bright side, we then had yummy brownie scraps to eat after we cut them out!  

  I used the Baker's One-Bowl Brownies recipe, substituting one cup of chopped walnuts in place of pecans.  I used a medium-sized jelly roll pan, lined with buttered parchment paper, and cooked for 30 minutes.  The cookie sheet was too large for a single batch of brownies to fill it, so I only spread the batter in it halfway.  I would recommend using the smallest cookie sheet you have.  But really, depending on the thickness that you want your brownie cutouts, use whatever pan you want, as long as you have a liner!!!!  If you decide to use this recipe, pop on over to Mrs. Tricia's blog for pretty recipe cards that are a nice alternative to notebook paper. 

Mini Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

This week I made mini-chocolate chip cookie sandwiches!!!  They were for an event at the library, and they were well-liked by everyone.  ;)  They came out very cute, and very tasty!

I used the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, with a few changes.  Instead of using butter, I used butter-flavored Crisco, as it yields a softer cookie.  The salt was reduced to 1/4 teaspoon, and the chocolate chips were reduced to 1 cup.  For this batch of cookies, I omitted the nuts since these were for a group of people other than family, and I didn't want to risk someone with a nut allergy eating one!!  I used mini chocolate chips because I used a mini cookie scoop.

 

When I put these on the pan to bake, I used the bottom of a glass cup to flatten them into a more sandwich-friendly thickness.  I baked them for 6 minutes, and they came out slightly crispy, so I would recommend baking them for only 4-5 minutes for a nice soft cookie.

Once these were all made, I put them in the fridge overnight.  The next morning, I made the filling, using Bakerella's Easy Buttercream Frosting recipe.  It was absolutely wonderful!!!!  It had the easily spreadable texture of the tubs of frosting that you can buy at the store.  It had a sugary, vanilla taste, and I loved it!  Thank you Bakerella!!!!  

I filled the cookies with the frosting using a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #12 tip (a round tip), putting a big blob in the center of one cookie and topping it with another.  For added cuteness, I rolled the edges in rainbow jimmies then froze the whole batch.  They came out soft and delicious!  I would highly recommend a plate and napkin (you might lose some jimmies or frosting when you take a bite).

Here are some other nice sandwich cookie ideas:

Raspberry Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Cream by TheCookingPhotographer

Green Tea Sandwich Cookies with White Chocolate by lccavender

Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies by Sunday Nite Dinner

Dark Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies with Milk Chocolate Frosting by domolovestolookatme

And if you want to see more, go to Flickr for more!!!

My Goal.

Hello, anyone and everyone!!!

My name is Bitsy Baker, and I am the creator of BITSY...the bakery.  This blog will be advised by my mom, Lovey, creator of Loveyland and Loveywood.  My aim for this blog is to inform and assist the population at large with inspiration and helpful notes for all their baking needs.  Baking is a calming and wonderful activity for anyone of any age and background.  I hope to change the sad statistics of people who don't know how to bake into a well-informed army of able-bodied bakers.  I have been baking for years, and it is something very precious to me.  When I bake, I am so calm and happy, and I want to give others tools and ideas to enjoy and employ this useful skill.  My first baking post will be in the next few days, so I hope that you will return to read it.  See you soon!!!!!

Yours Truly,

Bitsy