Pink Rose Bake Shop

Hi everyone! So Pink Rose Bake Shop is my newest project! I decided it was time to not only share my love of baking with other bloggers, but the whole world! Pink Rose Bake Shop will be starting as an online business in September and hopefully growing from there! I will happily ship customized sugar cookies and other cookies to anywhere I possibly can! Please follow me on twitter @pinkrosebakes and like Pink Rose Bake Shop on Facebook! And of course spread the word! Thank you!

Thanksgiving.. A Week of Fun!

So it's that time of year again! Once Halloween came and gone I knew the holidays would fly by! This week was a crazy one! Since I am not living at home at the moment, I was feeling a bit down and extremely home sick. But lucky for me and wonderful bosses at the cake shop where I work, I had a few days off to spend time with my family at home. Unlike my roommates who all work in restaurants in Manhattan, I work in a cute, happy, and bubbly little cake shop that doesn't work us around the clock!
My week of fun started on Tuesday morning when I froze in Central Park for about three hours waiting to see none other than One Direction! Was it worth it? Um... hell yeah! I was super close to the stage and saw everything and everyone perfectly! Needless to say I made it from the Upper East side all the way to Midtown West for work with 3 minutes to spare!
Wednesday, however, was the real fun day! A half day at work and then on the train to go home! Real home, not Long Island home! When I got home, I whipped up my famous chocolate chip cookies with no time to waste! For Thanksgiving, our dessert selection consisted of cookies, cheesecake, cookies, and chocolate saucy cakes? Saucy what? Yeah still not sure what they were but my Uncle was being nice and decided to bring them! Long story short, I always end up thinking about food and dessert, mainly dessert! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving if celebrated!

                                           (Can never go wrong with cookies, chips, and wine!)

                                                     (The dinner table for Thanksgiving!)

                                                        (My plate of food! So yummy!)

                                                  (Chocolate Saucy Cakes...Interesting.)

                                                     (The important part of the night!)

                                       (My ever so famous and delicious chocolate chip cookies!)

                                              (My mom's chocolate ganache cheesecake!)

                                          (Yes this is Harry Styles and yes I was this close!!)

The Culinary Institute of America: Where Dreams Come True!

     As of January 2013, I began my journey through the kitchens of the Culinary Institute of America! Being a baking pastry major requires a lot of hard work and little to no free time to, let's say, update a blog! Before I started school, I was nervous beyond belief. Little did I know that great things were headed my way. The very first day of school I met some incredible people. Only a few days in, groups of friends were starting to form and new routines were being made.
     Learning the basics of baking and whipping up some things I have never tried before was the "icing on the cake" so to speak. My baking class was a group of 20 girls, or sisters rather. We were together 24/7 and surprisingly, that was not a bad thing. The bakers mingled with the culinary students and everyone in the start date were one big happy family. That brings me to my group of friends! A small but close group consisting of a handful of bakers and a pinch of culinary kids! And then there was Phil! A culinary student from New York who I happen to fall in love with!
     Ten months later and here we are. My start date is all on externship now around the world. Me, my boyfriend Phil, and our two best friends who are also dating living under one roof in Long Island, externing in Manhattan. My little life turned around completely! So this is my journey through the kitchens and the streets and through a ton of flour and sugar. But that's a good thing because I am learning a ton of stuff and having the time of my life!

                                    (my best friend and extern roommate! and fellow baker!)

                                           (my beautiful group of baker sisters!)

                                                (the two girls that get me through my day!)

                                              

                                              (I met Florian from Cupcake Wars!)

                                               (the love of my life, Phil!)

                                                   (my extern site that went to Martha Stewart's event!)

My Adventures In Culinary School

Snickerdoodle Maple Bars

I'm getting ready for Christmas already! I have a list of cookies that I want to try, so I thought it would be a good idea to start a bit early. I came across this recipe but decided to make it my own. I added some chocolate chips to the bars and reduced the amount of maple syrup in the glaze, and I'm glad I did because, boy were they sweet! Overall, these bars were delicious! After the glaze settled in on the bars they were so moist and gooey! Definitely worth a try!

Snickerdoodle Maple Bars
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp. cinnamon-sugar

Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-3 tsp. water

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mintues or until golden brown. Cool completely.

3. In a small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth; drizzle over top. Cut into bars and enjoy!

One Direction and Magnolia Bakery Visit

Yes, I admit it! I am a Directioner! For those of you who don't know what that means, allow me to explain. A Directioner is a dedicated fan of the British boy band One Direction. The boys were playing on the Today Show in New York City a few weeks ago and I just had to be there! It was me against 15,000 other Directioners! We filled the streets of NYC in the rain and cold, but hey, you only live once! The good news is, I got to see the boys once I made it to the back of the stage! More good news, I visited Magnolia Bakery! I've always heard such wonderful things about Magnolia Bakery. I was not impressed by their cupcakes, however, but their peanut butter toffee bars had me hooked! Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures of the goodies, because I had to eat them on the side of the street... in the rain...in the cold... and my hands were full of shopping bags! Sorry! I was able to snap some pictures of the bakery itself though! Very cute and welcoming!

 

If visiting the Magnolia Bakery, I highly recommend the peanut butter toffee bars I was talking about and also their chocolate chip cookies. You will thank me for warning you... trust me!

Graham Cracker Chocolate Chippers

It was the week before Thanksgiving and I was just in the mood to bake! I found some graham crackers in my pantry and could not let them go to waste. A lovely idea came to mind: graham cracker crumbs in cookies! My search began for the perfect cookie recipe that included some graham cracker crumbs in place of some of the flour. Well, I found it! I got right to baking and ended up with a delicious chocolate chip cookie with that special secret ingredient. These cookies look like your average chocolate chip cookie, but don't be fooled! The graham cracker crumbs add that little extra flavor that only you and I will know about!

 



Graham Cracker Chocolate Chippers1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for about 15-20 minutes.
Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes.