Chocolates thickens or seize during melting

What casuses chocolate to thicken or "seize" when melting? When chocolate has "seized", it could be one or a combination of the following factors:

Heat that is too high - above 120F
Condensation of steam droplets
Water drops on utensils or equipment

When this happens, do not dispair. To return chocolate to its original consistency, stir in 1 teaspoon solid shortening (except butter because it contains water) for every 2 ounces of chocolate used.

FudPro - Chocolates are good

Drop Cookies

Drop cookies are the easiest of all cookies to make making them ideal for first time bakers and children. Here are some of the guidelines for children to follow when baking drop cookies or anything that has to do with baking.

Guidelines in Baking Drop Cookies

• Have a grown-up close by to help.
• Read the recipe carefully and gather together ingredients and baking utensils.
• Place one cookie sheet at a time on the middle oven rack.
• Check the cookiesat the earliest baking time indicated.
• Always use potholders to remove cookie sheets from the oven.
• Let hot cookie sheets cool before putting the next batch of dough on them.

Steps in Baking Drop Cookies

1. In large mixer bowl, beat brown sugar, sugar, margarine and shortening until the mixture is light in color and fluffy in texture. This takes 2 to 3 minutes with an electric mixer. If you are using a wooden spoon, it will take longer. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. The flour, baking soda and salt caan be mixed in with an electric mixer or stirred in until it is completely combined. The dough will be quite stiff.
2. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chopped chocolate and nuts until the pieces are evenly distributed.
3. To bake the cookies, drop small amounts of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet. An easy way to do this is to use a rubber spatula and regular-sized tablespoon to spoon and drop the dough in equal-sized mounds, about 2-inches apart on the cookie sheet to allow for spreading during baking.

FudPro - All about chocolates. Everything chocolates

Anytime Treats

Anytime treats are chocolatey goodies for lunchtime, snacktime, bedtime or anytime.

For the dedicated chocolate lover, chocolate treats don't have to be sophisticated, highfalutin or elegant. They just have to be good and chocolatey. And that best describes this assortment of treats -- good, chocolatey, and ready for eating.

These are the goodies you grab when you need a pick-me-up snack, when you're packing a lunch, when you're settling down to watch the late-late movie, when you want a "little something" to go with a steaming mug of coffee. They're the treats like grandma used to make on cold, rainy days. They're bars, biscuits and breads; cupcakes, coffee cakes and cookies. They are fun to make and fun to eat.

Chocolates - Good Chocolates

Brownies Baking Tips

What is it with brownies that we just can't say no? How did brownies came to life? It's a big mystery how brownies were born. But whether they are fortunate result of a failed chocolate cake or conspicuously concocted, there's no deep, dark secret behind their popularity. Just deeo, dark chocolate (or white chocolate, or caramel, or mint or peanut butter)!

However, there are a few secrets to baking the best-ever brownies:

• Choose pans specified in the recipe and prepare them according to the directions.


• Mix according to recipe directions being careful not to overmix.


• Bake brownies only for the time indicated in the recipe, or until et. This test for doneness is to feel structure beneath your finger when you lightly press the brownie surface.

Brownies can be as plain as a white-washed farmhouse or as gussied up as a Victorian mansion. With equal aplomb, they adapt to lunchboxes or dessert buffets. With the fanciful addition of frostings, flavorings, fillings or fruits, they are transformed into gourmet delights.

FudPro - All about chocolates, Everything chocolates.

Packing Cookies, Brownies and Bars for Shipping

If you are thinking of starting baking cookies, brownies and bars as a home business and you need to ship them to your customers, there are some things for you to consider. What are the kinds of cookies, brownies or bars that can be shipped, how to pack them, and how to ship them.

Those that can be shipped:

• Unfrosted crispy or chewy bars
• Chewy of fudgy brownies
• Firm cut-out cookies
• Drop cookies

Those that shouldn't be shipped:

• Cake-like brownies or bars
• Soft cookies
• Cookies or bars with soft frosting
• Cookies or bars with ingredients that might melt or spoit in warm weather

Packing your cookies, brownies or bars:

• Use plastic or metal containers
• Line containers with plastic wrap, waxed paper or aluminum foil
• Pack cookies, brownies or bars snugly
• Cushion cookies with crumpled waxed paper so they do not shift
• Wrap more tender cookies individually in plastic wrap or in back-to-back pairs

Shipping you cookies, brownies or bars:

• Pack each container of cookies, brownies or bars in a strong cardboard shipping box
• Tuck crumpled newspaper or waxed paper around container to prevent shifting
• Label box carefully
• Mark the shipping box "perishable" to encourage careful handling

Packaging Chocolate Cookies

Packaging enhances the appearance of your chocolate cookies given as gifts. Try these packaging ideas for cookies you wanted to share:

• Use decorative paper or freezer bags, then tie them with colorful ribbons or strings.


• Wrap and decorate coffee or shortening cans with wrapping or contact paper.


• Use wide-mouth canning jar in packing chocolate cookies. Cover the lid with fabric and secure by screwing on the outer ring.


• Weave ribbons through fruit or vegetable baskets lined with cellophane or plastic wrap.

Chocolate Substitutions

Having a hard time looking for that exact chocolate to use? Here is the list of which chocolate can be substituted with what's available.

• For semi-sweet chocolate chips in cookie recipes, substitute white or milk chocolate chips or chunks


• For 1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate, use 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips or 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate and 1 tablespoon sugar.


• For 6 ouncees (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips to be melted, use 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup shortening.


• For a 4-ounce bar of sweet cooking chocolate to be melted, use 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, 1/3 cup sugar and 3 tablespoon shortening.

Enjoy chocolate cooking.

Cooking with Chocolate

Chocolate are pretty easy to cook. Here are some of the tips on cooking with chocolate.

• Facilitate melting by breaking chocolate blocks, bars or chunks into smaller uniform pieces.


• Place chocolate pieces for melting in pan or dish that is completely dry and use thoroughly dry utensils for stirring.


• For range top melting, place chocolate pieces in heavy saucepan. Avoid scorching and stiffening by stirring constantly over low, even heat not exceeding a temperature of 110 degree celsius. Melted chocolate should feel lukewarm, not hot, to the touch.


• If chocolate should harden or stiffen during stove-top melting, add 1 teaspoon shortening or oil (not butter) for each ounce of chocolate and stir until texture returns to normal.


• For microwave oven melting, place chocolate pieces in microwave-safe container. A 1-ounce square will take 1 to 2 minutes on medium setting to become soft enough to stir to smooth consistency. Add 10 seconds per each additional ounce. Six ounces chocolate chips need 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes of medium microwave heat to become soft enough to stir. Add 2 to 3 minutes for each additional cup of chips. Note: Most chocolates melted by microwave method will retain original shape even though they have softened to proper consistency. Look for glossy appearance and stir before adding additional time.


• It is recommended to use 650-watt microwave ovens.

Source: Pillsbury - Make Mine Chocolate

Keeping Cookies Fresh

I am fond of eating cookies. And we buy or bake cookies by the bag. But there were times that the cookies gets spoiled faster than you can consume them. Here are some tips on keeping your cookies fresh and tasty longer.

• To prevent flavors from mixing, store each kind of cookie in a separate container.
• To keep soft cookies soft, store in a container with a tight-fitting cover. Place sheets of waxed paper between layers so cookies won't stick together.
• To keep crisp cookies crisp, store in a container with a loose-fitting cover. However, if you live in a humid climate, containers should be tightly covered.
• To store bars, place in a tightly-covered container or leave them right in the baking pan. Cover the pan with foil, plastic wrap, or slip it into a plastic bag.

Source: Pillsbury - Poppin' Fresh Homemade Cookies

What is FudPro

Oh no!!! Yet another food blog. What else do people have in mind these days? The same idea goes around the internet. There are less new concepts introduced today. So why not jump into the bandwagon, I say.

But not so quick. This is not yet another Food Blog. This is another crappy Food Blog. See? There's a big difference between just a food blog and being crappy. Being crappy brings in crappy people. I guess you're thinking you'll stop reading at this moment. But wait, I didn't mean crappy blogs have crappy readers. Readers can read whatever they like. They are in search for better things to read. This blog won't offer you something better to read but, it will definitely give an idea what goes inside a crappy food blogger's mind. Just watch what comes out of this project.