Genius Hour 2.4

For the fourth week of this project, I decided to make raspberry pies. I used a recipe that I had done once before for Thanksgiving. The pie turned out pretty well the first time around, so my goal for this week was to improve my skills or improve the pie itself since the first time I made one. I hope to become a better baker and problem solver from this project. I get frustrated sometimes and it’s hard for me to except help in these times. I have improved on this in the past few weeks because I have been able to let my grandma help me and show me things.
    First, I had to make the crust. I made this the day before I baked the pies and left it in the fridge. The next day I took the dough out and let it warm before rolling it out. I didn’t have much trouble rolling the dough out. Then I make the raspberry filling. This filling is simple and easy for beginners. The raspberries can be tart so add more sugar if you prefer it sweet. I put the filling in the pan on the first layer of crust, then I laid the second half on top. The part that I struggled with the most was punching the crust. My grandma showed me two different techniques and I tried them both. They looked better than the first pie I had made but the fork technique didn’t work very well.
   I got good reviews this week also: 9/10 and 10/10. Some comments were that it was visually appealing, the crust was good, and that it was tart. I expected it to be tart so I served it with ice cream. Here are some pictures of the process:

                                                           
 

Genius Hour 2.3

This week, I baked one of my favorite treats: lemon bars. I have never baked lemon bars so my goal for this project was to get them to be the right texture and have a good lemon flavor. I had to start the process by finding a recipe since my grandma didn’t have one. I thought of looking on the internet to find one, but sometimes they don’t turn out very well. Then my mom suggested that I asked Mrs. Shock, my former elementary teacher. She is an experienced baker so we knew that she would have a good recipe. There is always a way to obtain something that you need.
     After getting the recipe, I began then baking process. I first mixed the crust and baked it for ten minutes. The crust only consisted of three ingredients: butter, flour, and powdered sugar. After the crust was lightly browned, I took it out to cool before putting the lemon filling on top. The filling consisted of lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and eggs. I was nervous when making the filling because I have done made lemon bars or anything like them. I had my mom come help me so I could have a second opinion on how they looked. I hope to eventually be confident enough in myself to trust what I think, in baking and other things. Everything went smoothly until it was time to bake them. I was sure how firm or goey they should’ve looked, so I stressed about that, but the turned out to be okay.
     My reviews were really good this week. I received and 11/10 and a 10/10. They both said that I did a good job making them. One commented on how the flavors complimented each other well. This feedback shows that I can trust myself more than I think. Here are some pictures of the baking process:

Lemon filling mixture 

Finished product

Genius Hour 2.2

For the second week of this genius hour, I decided to bake banana bread. Banana bread has always been one of my favorite treats so I was glad I could share it with the class. The making of the mixture for the bread isn’t a long process, but it takes an hour to bake. This gives you free time for a little while, but you can’t forget to check on the bread. First, you mix the butter, sugar, and eggs together. Then you mash the bananas and set them aside. Last, you measure the flour and baking soda into a third container. With thus recipe, we also add mild to the mixture. Then you combine the flour into the butter mixture along with the milk, then slowly add the mashed bananas. Pour the mixture into the pans and make them for an hour at 350 degrees. That is all that this process requires.
     I got amazing feedback this week from the class. The ratings were 11/10 and 10/10. One person said that it had good flavor and the bananas weren’t overwhelming. Another person said that the texture and moisture was good. I am happy with this feedback and didn’t run into too many complications this week. Here are some photos of the process:

Genius Hour 2.1

As I start with my second genius hour, I have to get myself back on a schedule so I can get things done. I plan to take time every Tuesday to bake for my genius hour. The first thing that I baked was sugar cookies. There were a few bumps in the process and I forgot to take pictures while I was making them. I decided to use my grandmas recipe, which was for soft, airy sugar cookies. My first step was to make sure I had all of the ingredients. I was short on a few things so I made a trip to the store. I preheated the oven and began mixing the wet mixture and the dry mixture. I slowly combined the two mixtures and greased the pans so they were ready to put the cookies on. I used two spoons to drop pieces of dough onto the cookie sheets, then I took a small glass, dipped the bottom in sugar and smushed the dough to make them round and flat. I baked the cookies for about ten minutes. A few of the batches turned out a little doughy in the middle, because they were on the bottom rack. Enough of the cookies turned out so I could take them to class. Just because something goes wrong, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.
     In order to measure my success, I will be having two people a week judge my treats based on taste and allow them to make comments and suggestions. The two that I got this week both gave me relatively good scores: and 8 and a 9 (out of 10). I was proud of these scores considering I don’t bake much. They both said they were very soft but they could have been a little sweeter. I agree they could have been a little sweeter, but I don’t like when things are too sweet. This may be why I held back on the sweetness. I will take this feedback into consideration for the next week. I plan on making banana bread next week.