Monday, October 7, 2013

My Special, Special Gift

You know that old story about King Midas, and how everything he touched turned to gold?

Well, I have an equally impressive gift. Every dessert I touch turns to crap.

I've never been a great dessert-maker. I can work my way around a savory dish, no problem, but desserts have always baffled me. They just never turn out right for me, the way they do for other people. I mean, you remember the cake that broke in half, right?

Happyyyy birthdayyy Maaaatt.

Well, on Friday, I decided I wanted a brownie. And my options were: drive five minutes to Starbucks and pay $2.95 for a single brownie, or stay in my kitchen and spend zero dollars for an entire pan of brownies.

(Like that was a hard decision.)

Except that apparently I didn't beat the eggs well enough, because the finished brownies had some eggy bits in them. Like, chunks that still looked and tasted like eggs.

Didn't stop us from plowing through them, though.

Last week at church, one of the ladies asked Matt if we would bring the refreshments for the Welcome Center for yesterday's service. Usually people will bring doughnuts or kolaches, but it's not unusual for there to be homemade goodies, like brownies or cakes, sitting on the counter. So Matt suggested that I make something since we're trying not to spend a lot of money. I decided I wanted to make these amazing-looking cookie dough truffles.


Yeah. Mine didn't turn out anything like that. I mean, they tasted as awesome as you'd expect cookie dough dipped in chocolate to be. But they're weren't pretty or appetizing-looking AT ALL. And I TRIED.

I totally know what happened, too. The dough started melting into the chocolate, and then the chocolate got all thick and wouldn't spread right.

You'd think that wearing an adorable apron would automatically turn one into a domestic goddess.

The good news is that everyone thought they were delicious despite appearances, and the truffles got gobbled up in record time, and now some of the other ladies are expecting me to post the recipe in our church's newsletter, which I put together every month. So ... win? (Definite win: now maybe more people will read the newsletter, ha!)

What's something that you've tried and tried to be good at, but just can't seem to get the hang of? Come on, people, I need some commiseration. :)

11 comments

  1. I can totally relate, desserts are hard! I can't seem to make anything with frosting look decent, no matter how hard I try. But elaborate mini stuffed appetizers? No problem!

    I bet those truffles were amazing though, looks be damned. I'd eat cookie dough dipped in chocolate no matter what it looked like!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, the best thing I can do with frosting is eat it straight out of the can. :) The truffles did taste good, albeit very sweet!

      Delete
  2. Oh friend. I am no good at baking, nor am I good at REAL crafting. I can glue things together, but making beautiful flower things out of paper? Yeah, no. And at the end of the day, I guess I don't care too much, but i doubt I will ever learn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, crafting is a good one. I am terrible at sewing. I can only do straight lines!

      Delete
  3. This post cracked me up, because the same thing happens to me all the time! I don't enjoy cooking or baking (unless a really weird mood hits me), and I'm a lazy cook. I usually measure wrong or forget an ingredient entirely. At least your things taste good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am a meticulous measure-r, because I am terrified that in addition to looking terrible, my desserts will also taste terrible. I am not confident in adjusting recipes at all.

      Delete
  4. I've made those truffles, they are not easy! You look really cute in your apron if that's any consolation :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your apron is super adorable! I'm not great at baking either - I pretty much just stick to cupcakes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never even tried to make brownies from scratch, because the box mixes are so cheap, easy, and taste really, really good! Those cookie balls do look pretty scary, but taste IS what really counts in a dessert, right?

    ReplyDelete