Money Talks But Chocolate Sings!

I love dessert! Growing up, I always craved salt more than sweets and my go-to snack you could usually find me up to my ears in was chips and salsa. Over the last couple of years however, I have come to appreciate dessert. I have learned dessert doesn't have to be heavy and covered in mountains of chocolate. It can be as simple as one delicious cupcake or two delicate cookies. It can be as light and ethereal as creme brulee. Regardless, since my cookie extravaganza and the success I had, I am really revved up about baking lately. I want to do more and improve more, learn more. To continue on with my 2012 goals, here are my baking aspirations for the year:

1. To master the croissant. The hubby put in a request for me to learn how to make his favorite breakfast pastry, the cream cheese danish. Delicate, flaky pastry with a sweetened, vanilla-y, cream cheese filling and then topped with a sweet icing and toasted, sliced almonds. The first recipe I am going to try involves using puff pastry sheets but I want to master this pastry dough by the end of the year.

2. Cupcakes! Since the discovering the Dollhouse Bake Shoppe blog last month, I have found several of her cupcake recipes I want to try. First on my list is the Churro Cupcakes (also a request from the hubby!). They look delish! I think this will be as easy goal for me.

3. To master making breads. I have only tried once to make something bread-like. It was pizza dough and it was a disaster. I didn't knead the dough long enough and the dough never rose. My husband is a master baker when it comes to bread so I have always left the making of homemade bread to him. Well, no longer! I am going to learn to do it myself. I am going to try my hand at pizza dough again and then I am going to move on to a rustic french bread.

4. My fourth goal is not baking per se, but it greatly has to do with it... I want a STAND MIXER! I do all my baking with a hand mixer and I think it's time for a change. I truly believe all I need is that appliance and my skill will be magnified ten-fold (whether this is true remains to be seen). The hubby and I have decided this year to put all the money I save from couponing in one account and see how much we have at the end of the year and use it to buy our Christmas gift for each other. I am hoping some of this money will go towards this dream.

Stay tuned for pictures of whatever delicious desserts I bake this year! It's going to be a busy year and I haven't even outlined all my goals for the year yet :)