Nothing better than chocolate chip cookies

I have been on a severe baking kick lately. I am going to attribute this to cold weather and the holidays. So I made these chocolate chip cookies the other day using the original tollhouse recipe. The secret to getting them to look like mine: when putting the dough on the baking sheet, measure it out one table spoon and roll it into a ball.

Happy baking!


You will need:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

From: Nestle

i'm blue

Before I leave for a Las Vegas vacation, I figured I would share a pretty set of extensions I finished.

This is a full set of 18inch human hair extensions. Enjoy!

bakerella cake pops

Let me tell you, I absolutely LOVE bakerella's cake pops. I was checking out her blog this morning and got completely inspired to make my own Halloween cake pops. They are so fun to make and super tasty. I think this is going to be something I make again over the weekend. Last time I made them I decided it would be a good idea to double the size of the pops.. It did not prove to be a good idea at all. This is my favorite Halloween example of her work. Check out how to make cake pops of your own and her shopping list for making Halloween cake pops.

oh the pretty colors

I've been pretty busy lately with life in general, but not to busy where I can't make some extensions. I ordered a ton of clips so I have been making tons of full sets lately, all human hair of course. I have a platinum blonde set, a turquoise set, and a hot hot pink set. So much fun. Maybe some will pop up on my etsy site in the future..

$1 Shipping Sale

Just figured I would let you all know that my shop is having a $1 shipping sale for US and Canada buyers. This is gonna end November 1st, so now would be a good time to get a custom order in or purchase sometime I already made.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade creationsbycate.etsy.com

I am going to try and add some new stuff before the month ends, so check back often.

As promised..

I know I said I would do this days ago but better late than never!

So here's 4 out of 6 of the tie dye shirts I made recently. For whatever reason one of the bull-eye shirts decided to do some weird.. dying pattern in the center. I am sure you will be able to spot it when you see it.





I'll post the other two sometime after I wash them. They are my favorite so I have been wearing them.. a lot.

I've been working on clip-in hair extensions this week so expect to hear more of that soon.

tie dye-ing up a storm!

I have been extremely busy lately with school and work and unfortunately haven't had much time to do the things I enjoy. But when I have time, I find myself tie dying more than anything lately. My friends and I really enjoy having tie dye sessions/parties and trying out new color combos. Our new favorite color is by dylon called "bahama blue." (In the pictures it will appear as the really vibrant bright blue)

While I am still very much into making spiral designs, I started making a few "bulls-eye" shirts. These are probably the simplest to tie in three easy steps.

1. lay shirt flat and with your fingers, pinch where you want the "bulls-eye" to start
2. tie off sections with string or rubber bands (you can twist the shirt as you tie it off for a different look
3. and dye away!

When it's all sectioned off and dyed it should look like this:
Fun stuff!

I'll work on posting pictures of the completed shirts hopefully later today. This batch came out fantastic and is one of my favorites so far.. but I probably say that everytime about everything. =]