Summer Sweets | No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Hi lovely reader! Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope you are having a great weekend and celebrating the kickoff to summer in some way. Today's recipe is simple, delicious and totally customizable. I found this recipe on the Food Network Kitchen App and it turned out great so I wanted to share. As you can tell from the title, the great thing about this ice cream recipe is that you do not need an ice cream maker! Just a 9x5x3 metal pan or a similar size to freeze the ice cream in. I also posted a reels video over on my instagram if you want to see the process!

No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

-1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

-a pinch of fine salt

-2 cups of cold heavy cream

-1 9x5x3 inch chilled metal loaf pan

To make the ice cream,

Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and then set aside.

Whip the cream with a mixer (I chilled my mixing bowl before starting) on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, around 2 minutes. Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream in the condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula until combined and then fold the lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended. Then pour into a chilled 9x5x3 inch metal loaf pan and freeze, covered, until thick and creamy, like soft serve, around 2 hours. Swirl in any desired mix-ins with a spoon. Place back in the freezer, covered, until solid and scoopable, about 3 more hours.

Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Blondies - Simple & Delicious Recipe

Hi lovely reader! If you follow me on Instagram @notexactlyplainjane you may have seen that I posted a Reel the other day of a Birthday Cake Blondie Cake that I made (check it out here). It turned out super cute and was really easy to make so I wanted to share the recipe with you! Funfetti, white chocolate, and rainbow sprinkles, what's not to love? Check it out below!

Ingredients
-Cooking Spray
-Baking Pans (I used 2 6-inch rounds and 1 8-inch round to make multiple "cakes")
-Parchment Paper
-3 cups All Purpose Flour
-1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
-1 tsp. Baking Powder
-2 1/4 sticks butter (18 Tbsp), softened
-1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
-3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
-2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
-3 eggs
-2 1/4 cups white chocolate chips (I used the Nestle Funfetti morsels)
-1 cup Rainbow Sprinkles (or any color) + optional extra for decorating (I used 2 small shakers total to cover the sides)
-Icing (option, these are actually really moist so they don't necessarily "need it")

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pans with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.

2. In a larger bowl using a mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, then add the vanilla and eggs and beat until combined.

3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture gradually and beat until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the sprinkles.

4. Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake until the edge are golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool & then decorate!

And Voila!

What's your favorite birthday treat to make for others? Xx

Classic Comfort Baking | DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello lovely reader! I hope you are staying safe and healthy in these beyond crazy times. This pandemic is truly an unimaginable situation and I hope everyone is coping the best they can and that you are being kind to others and especially to yourself.

One thing that I have always found relaxing and therapeutic is baking and this time at home has allowed me to try new recipes and zone out for an hour or two. At the beginning of April, Hilton released their world famous DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as a way for people to bring this iconic, warm, and comforting treat into their own home. I don't tend to stray much when it comes to chocolate chip cookies with my go to being our family recipe so I'm always a bit hesitant to give something else a chance...however, when in quarantine might as well! I decided to give it a go and I am glad that I did! The cookies are delicious, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and the walnuts add a great additional texture! 10/10 would recommend.

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe (Makes 26 cookies)

Ingredients

½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ¼ cups flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of cinnamon

2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

*Click here for recipe in metric units*

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. 

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft. 

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.

Simple to make and really delicious!

What have you been baking during quarantine? Tried any new recipes? Xx

*This post is not an ad or in affiliation with Hilton or the DoubleTree*

The Ultimate Baking Feat | French Macaron Recipe

Hello lovely reader! The time has officially come where I can say that I have attempted and succeeded in baking what is said to be one of the most difficult treats to master...the French Macaron. I have to be honest that I was slightly intimidated about attempting to create such an iconic and beloved sweet but after watching a few videos and reading through various recipes it really didn't seem that bad! The main challenge was finding a recipe that was not in grams or used a fahrenheit oven temperature. The one that I ended up using and am going to share with you today is from Food Network Magazine, I've also added a few of my own notes in italics.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 large egg whites, at room temperature (the room temp is important)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar
2 to 3 drops of gel food color (whatever color you want your macarons to be)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (I used almond)
Assorted fillings (I made a chocolate ganache and white chocolate ganache)


Recipe
Food Network calls for the some"special equipment" which you can see below. I do not have a convection oven so I set my regular oven to 300 degrees F. I also used parchment paper instead of silicone baking sheets and they turned out just fine.

Special Equipment: Oven with convection setting, 4 baking sheets, 3 silicone baking mats, Fine-mesh sieve, Pastry bag with 1/4-inch round tip

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting (I used a regular setting on an oven). Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats (Or parchment paper). Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.

2. Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it. (not gonna lie, this is probably the worst part of the whole process so once you get through this, you're golden)

3. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes. (I actually ended up having to redo this step because I didn't let the mixture get stiff enough, if the mixture is too runny it won't have enough standup when you go to pipe the cookies, so be sure to be patient in this step and make sure you have stiff peaks)

4. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. (This step and the one following are probably the most important because you don't want to smash all the air that you whipped into the egg whites out, so try to be delicate in your turns and mixing)

5. Add the food coloring and extract (see options on Food Networks post for flavors). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.

7. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).

8. Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes (mine only took about 15 minutes, so I would set a timer for maybe 10 min and keep an eye on them). Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling.

And voila!