The Trials and Errors of Tanya Burr's Cookies

To start this post off, I must mention that I am quite a big fan of the lovely site known by the name of YouTube. I've mentioned this on my blog before, but that was a long time ago and some of you might not have been here a long time ago. 

One of the many people that I watch religiously on YouTube is Tanya Burr and she is known for her infamous cookie recipe that she stole! I know, scandalous, right? I wouldn't have know that tid bit of information myself if it wasn't for a very old vlog of hers explaining how to make these delicious cookies for the first time. And unlike that vlog, my first time making these cookies myself wasn't very successful. Here's the story...

Tanya is British. The British when baking measure in grams. Belle is American. The Americans when baking measure in cups. This was my first Problem. When inspiration to bake this cookies struck at the late hour of midnight, I took to the Internet in search of grams to cups conversion tables and converted the ingredients as followed: 

British Recipe: -200g of butter                American Conversion: -7/8 cup of butter

                       -300g of sugar                                                      -1 1/3 cups of of sugar     

                       -1 egg                                                                   -1 egg

                       -275g of flour                                                       -1 3/4 cups of flour***

                       -75g of cocoa powder                                          -1/3 cup of cocoa powder   

                       -a dash of milk                                                     -a dash of milk

                       -2 bars of chocolate                                              -2 bars of chocolate

                (Cadbury is Tanya's favorite)                (whatever European goodness us Americans can                                          

                                                                                                       get our hands on)

                                                                                     (Cadbury is sold at places such as Target)

***Disclaimer: If you do the conversions yourself, you will find that the flour should actually be 1 1/4 cups but you'll read about my failed attempt and realize why you need more flour than this.

Belle and Ellie: Failed Attempt Take One (why yes, that does say take one meaning we failed twice)

Everything started out fine, just like everything always does just before your whole world comes crashing down before your very eyes. A little dramatic when referring to baking, you say? Absolutely not. I ran through the conversions with Ellie and everything seemed to be going right. Except the previous night I had been wondering something about the amount of suggested butter. Why would the conversion turn out to be 7/8 of a cup? That's not a normal baking measurement. I knew it was less than a cup, but how much? A tablespoon? Two? The next day this question still bothered me, so I brought it up to Ellie. She logically explained how several different measurements were broken down within that 7/8ths and we somehow came out with less than FOUR sticks of butter. Let me take a moment here to say that 1 stick of butter is 1/2 a cup, meaning 2 sticks of butter is 1 cup. Do you see the second Problem here. Carrying on...

I figured that whatever Ellie had told me was right, being I'm not the most confident in my math skills. I proceeded to melt the butter in the microwave to make it workable and mix the sugar into it. 

Let me stop you here... While adding in the sugar, I noticed that there was not enough sugar in my sugar jar, so we had to make an impromptu trip to the nearest store to purchase some more. Remember this little fact for later... Also Problem 3 of the failed baking. 

After returning home, we added the egg and mixed that in, followed by the flour (1 1/4 cups of it), and the cocoa powder. After mixing all of the ingredients together, I became increasingly aware of the sticky consistency of the mixture (meaning that rolling them into balls would be quite the challenge.) This was Problem 4. But never mind that, it was time to add in the 2 bars of chocolate! We had purchased 3 from Target, but decided that 2 was plenty. 

Ellie attempted to roll out large balls of dough, but couldn't because the dough was sticking to her hands and not in the least bit getting spherical. I thought that this meant we needed to add more flour. I was right, but I decided this too late being there was already large pieces of chocolate in it making it difficult to properly stir more flour in. I thought, "screw it" (Problem 5) and we carried out rolling the dough. 

We put them in the oven which was set at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or 200 degrees Celsius) and being there was two trays, I put one on the top rack and one on the bottom rack and planned to switch them after 5 minutes (the baking time was 10 minutes total). 

5 minutes quickly passed and it was time to switch the trays. I opened up the oven to find two trays with melted brown dough lakes in the middle of them, each with melted butter seeping out of it. Problem 6: no awesome Tanya Burr cookies. I fell to the floor yelling "WHY ME!" I just wanted to make some cookies and all I was able to get out of the experience was failure after failure. 

Ellie and I pondered the event that occurred after cleaning off the trays of melted hopes and dreams, thinking of everything that could have gone wrong. There were many, but one Problem stood out above the rest. Lets revisit Problems 2 and 6, shall we? Problem 6 stated that butter was seeping out of the dough lake and Problem 2 stated that we put in not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 sticks of butter. Do you realize how much butter that is. 4 STICKS OF BUTTER, THAT'S HOW MUCH. 

Belle and Ellie: Failed Attempt Take Two

So, we tried once more. But this time with less than 2 sticks of butter and our 1 lone chocolate bar. Again, I was suspicious of the sticky mixture, but I wasn't about to add more flour and risk another possible failed attempt. 

I did what was done last time, placed one tray on the top rack and one on the bottom and had the intentions of swapping them after five minutes. When swapping them, I was pleasantly surprised to find actual cookie shapes and not another dough lake. They baked for 5 more minutes and we took them out of the oven. One tray had semi decent cookie shapes, but they weren't as thick and circular as Tanya's are. The second tray had very flat and quite a bit smooshed together cookies. I ended up cutting those up into squares. 

My conclusion on the whole failed attempts is that A: I used FAR to much butter the first time, B: I needed to add more flour on both attempts so that the dough is able to stick and form pleasant looking cookies, and C: They should have been slightly smaller balls than what we had made them. 

So all in all, the second batch tasted good but they were definitely not Tanya Burr cookies. 

I was still not satisfied with my failure though. Baking cookies is my thing, and I couldn't let my image be tarnished by 4 sticks of butter. I recruited someone else for the job the following week. 

Belle and Sammie: The Attempt is a Success

Everything was carried out the same way that day, except I was planning on putting in a half a cup more of flour making it 1 3/4 of a cup. When I went to open the flour jar, I noticed that we didn't have enough flour. Sound familiar? We ran out of yet another crucial ingredient (refer to Problem 3 of the first failed attempt.) So we rushed to the nearest store to purchase more flour and carried out the rest of the baking process with ease. I had every ounce of faith, hope, and fiber of my very being within these cookies. When the five minute switch of the oven came, I burnt my thumb but I was incredibly happy to see that every cookie appeared lovely thus far. The ten minutes was up and I took both batches out of the oven to find 8 cookies shaped like thee actual Tanya Burr cookies. I was over the moon with happiness. OH, and yes, they were delicious. 

I hope these horrible baking stories don't turn you off from baking entirely yourself. I promise that as long as you follow my little tips, you will succeed in having perfect Tanya Burr cookies the first time around. I'll leave you with a little photo of the deliciousness. 

-Belle xx

P.S: Several of the YouTubers that I also watch created this app at the end of last year called 'Storie.' It's basically a platform that allows users to make simple videos of their lives with easy cut and editing tools and it's one of my favorite things ever. I like to describe it as "YouTube for the lazy." If you prefer to watch my failures instead of reading about them, you can download the app and follow me! My user name is belle_was_here just like my blog (only with underscores, of course.)

  

It's Been A While...(Part 2)

The last time we spoke was in March. March. I've run out of apologies and excuses. I've just come to accept that I am in fact a horrible blogger. 

I'm sat here in my bedroom listening to the lovely combination of a heavy downpour mixed with the subtle chords from a Lumineers song, thinking about the fact that one month of my summer has almost come and gone. 

June has been such an incredible month within itself, but before we get to that, I should probably catch you up on what took place between March and June...

The Things Belle Has Done, But Has Neglected To Post On The Blog 'Belle Was Here' Until Now 

1. I had a very dull spring break that involved a short but sweet trip to Duluth, Minnesota.
2. Smallpools (the band I informed you I met in my previous concert) officially released their first album, Lovetap(!), and it's awesome. I expected nothing less from them. 
3. I saw my actual favorite band, Walk the Moon (who introduced me to Smallpools), for the second time in concert in one of my favorite venues, First Avenue. I was several feet away from Kevin Ray who is such a beautiful person. And yes, you CAN lift a car up all by yourself. 
4. I entered a Vans shoe contest in which I painted a pair of Vans and my school submitted them for the chance for me to fly to New York, have my shoes printed and displayed in stores across the country, and my art department to win $50,000. I did not win. 
5.  I finished my tryptic drawing titled 'Death and All His Friends.' Remember that drawing of the skull that I did? Yeah that one. It's now accompanied by a rose and a coffee cup. Hopefully soon it will be accompanied by several more drawings that fit with the theme. The tryptic went on to win both a Superior award within the Minnesota State High School League and Best In Show in a district competition. 
6. I went to prom, which happens to be just another dance with a classy venue, better food, and fancier dresses.
7. It was my first time being a Stage Manager for a musical production which happened to be Center State (our high schools spring performance...it's like a big themed mashup of many songs). It was an incredible experience in a fun position where I 'manage' things and call the show. I'm looking forward to doing more of it in the upcoming year. 
8. I attended yet another Smallpools concerts at a another very tiny venue. It was also perfect. 
9. I was selected as 'Student of the Year' for visual art.
10. I completed my junior year of high school and I couldn't be happier. They say that's the worst year, and they were right. 
11. I've began and progressed on my first colored pencil portrait of Cara Delevingne and I'm really liking it.

A Photo Collection of Everything Listed Above, With Corresponding Numbers of Course

1. Duluth

3. Kevin Ray

4. Vans Shoes

5. Death And All His Friends

6. Prom

7. CenterStage

11. Cara 

photo cannot be found

Actually, it's just not currently completed so I thought I'd wait until it's done to show you. Also my mac is making horrifying noises because I think I'm putting to much strain on it so I want to shut it down and let it cool off as soon as possible so this post is going to end quite abruptly. More to come. 

See you soon. And that's a promise. 

-Belle xx

A Catch Up

Remember how I said that I was going to make it a goal to blog more on here this year, even if it was just a quick catch up? Yeah, I'm sorry. I haven't been very good about that, but I'm here do catch up as promised. 

I'm here to recap the epic moments of my life so that you all assume that my life is epic 100% of the time, even if that's far from the truth. Here we go...

1. I met Smallpools-one of my absolute favorite bands

A very good friend of mine and her sisters attended a Smallpools concert a couple weeks back and it was spectacular. Our elbows were on the stage, I was a foot away from Joe, the bass player, and we were singing our hearts out the all of the songs-including some of new tracks off of their album Lovetap which is debuting in exactly two weeks. Now you're probably thinking, "Belle, where does this 'meeting Smallpools' come in?" Well, actually right now. So after the concert we all went upstairs to grab some food and one of the opening acts, Yonas (who is in fact NOT related to the Jonas Brothers in any way... joking), was milling about and talking to people so we took our chicken strips and cheese curds and sat down to eat them. Anyways, Yonas left and not five minutes later, guess who comes down the stairs...SMALLPOOLS!!!!! I was close to spitting out the cheese curd I was eating, but I had to remain calm. This was the opportunity I needed to chat with one of my favorite bands and I wasn't about to look stupid in front of them. So I waved at Sean, lead singer and pianist, and he wALKED OVER TO OUR TABLE, CHATTED, AND ATE OUR CHICKEN STRIPS. What a night. After a bit he went back to join the band and some people started taking pictures with them so I told Kenzie that this is yet another opportunity of a lifetime and we got photos with the band. It was unbelievable. Sean even had to go and buy his own chicken strips after, so naturally we said goodnight and to enjoy the chicken strips.                                                                                                                                        

ENJOY

2. I finished my Prismacolor pencil drawing of a skull

And I'm really proud of it. It's very detailed and it looks really realistic. I put a lot of time and effort into it so I'm glad I enjoy it, and this only means improvement from here, which makes me really excited. This photo was taken before I added several more adjustments to the dark portions, but I'm too lazy to photograph it again with the little paper watermark so just imagine it slightly adjusted. 

3. I've been very busy

Thinking now, I haven't had time for too many over the top exciting things lately with the trimester/semester quickly approaching an end. It's over now (thank God) but recently I've just been hanging out with awesome people, jamming to some music, creating art, and trying to keep my head above water. Future endeavors include concerts and travel (what's new) and more Europe posts which I stopped like five months ago! I'm beginning to shift into summer mode already which is slightly dangerous, but that's probably due to the fact that it's now 60 degrees outside (YES!!!) 

I hope you've enjoyed this little tiny bit of my life. I'll be back with more soon. BYEEEEEEEEE

-Belle xx

Don't Let Fear Shut You Down

Jacksgap, one of my favorite accounts on YouTube, recently did a two part collaboration with Skype where they asked viewers from all over the world to submit clips of them explaining what they love and what they fear. Two seemingly simple questions evolved into two quite magical and thought provoking videos, so I thought what better to write about on a Sunday afternoon than fear itself? (I'll link both of the videos down below so you can watch them, if you'd like. And yes, I cried during both of them. Don't tell anyone, I'd hate for the Internet to find out.)

What do you fear?

Simple enough question to begin with, right? I've looked up the top 10 fears of people around the world, and these were the results: 

                                                                   1. Snakes

                                                                   2. Thunderstorms

                                                                   3. Darkness

                                                                   4. Heights

                                                                   5. Blood

                                                                   6. Death

                                                                   7. Rats/mice

                                                                   8. Spiders

                                                                   9. Dogs

                                                                   10. Flying

Now, on several different sites were a slightly different combination of almost all of those answers, so I think it's safe to say that those are pretty much the top 10. I could definitely vouch for some of those answers, but I feel as though myself (and a whole lot of other people) fear things that aren't entirely physical. The things in this world  that have more of a physiological impact in the long run. Many of the submissions from the Skype calls were very easy to relate to. The fear of being alone, feeling empty, not being happy in the future, the future itself, loosing the ones you love--those kind of fears.

There was just a big discussion on this very topic the other evening, actually, as part of 'The Great Think-off,' I believe. The question was asking what's the greatest motivator: Fear or Love? Right off the bat, I immediately sided with love being every argument seemed to lead back to it. But in the instant motivation, fear is what's going to get you moving, no matter what the outcome is for. The fear of striking out, the fear of death, the fear of never seeing loved ones again, fear kicks in with your natural instincts for survival. And I feel like our society has trained us to believe that fear is ultimately the death of you. That you have to always put on this strong front for the world as if to say everything is always okay and grand; that you're not struggling at all, because then others will take advantage of you in your time of weakness. Fear is not something that should be covered up. You need to recognize that you have a fear and find a way to overcome it to ultimately make you that stronger person. If you play the 'Everything is Okay' card all the time, you will have manifested what shuts yourself down. No one is able to handle all of that alone. Talk to someone you trust, someone who loves you, and tell them what been bothering you. Why you're scared of loosing them or yourself. Why you fear what's to come, and figure out how to overcome it. Fear is the matter of a mental barrier, which may be the most difficult to overcome, but it's not impossible.

So yes, embrace those fears that motivate you, that keep you going, that build you into a better and stronger person. But don't let those fears shut you down. The same thing that has this great ability to motivate you has an even greater ability to destroy you. The moment you let your fears get to you by telling yourself you aren't capable of something or that you're not strong enough to accomplish it is the moment you extinguish your light. That hope you once had is seemingly lost, and it's going to take a whole lot more than overcoming your fears to regain it.

Let fear be the motivation that keeps you going, not the thing that shuts you down. 

-Belle xx

Living Life Without a Plan B

Hey guys. Today I want to write about a topic that scares the hell out of me. The future. 

*screams are heard in the distance, buildings explode, and the universe collapses in on itself*

But really, it's a terrifying topic. Unless you've already got a set road map all laid in front of you that you've been sketching for years, I'm sure this then is a common feeling among us. I can barely decide what I want to eat for dinner let alone decide what classes I want to take eight months in advance. And not only that, but classes that are chosen based of off what I'm considering of pursuing in the future. IT ALL COMES BACK TO THE FUTURE. I don't know what exactly I want to do with my life yet, and why should I have to decide this instant? I do have some clue as to what I want to pursue though, and that is happiness. 

I don't want to be the kind person working for a salary. Someone who goes to a 9 to 5 (maybe even longer) job where I sit at a desk on a computer all day doing who knows what only to go back to my average suburban house and repeat the same maddening process daily. I've already wasted roughly twelve years of my life doing that already, I don't want to go out doing the same. I used to like the daily routine, maybe even enjoy it. I used to like knowing what I was getting into each and every day with a set schedule to follow. Now I absolutely hate it. I want spontaneity and a new exciting adventure each and every day. I want to learn some days and create others and explore the world around me the days in between. I want to be excited about life everyday. Not just the weekends, holidays, and summers. 

By now you all know that my passion is art. My mind is constantly developing ideas, seeing the world from a different perspective, needing to put what I cannot say through words onto paper. It's just how I tick. Being confined from being able to keep my mind on it's 'art' mode all the time isn't enjoyable. It's who I am, and I need to pursue this passion. I've recently become obsessed with Twenty One Pilots (no lie, I've listened to Vessel roughly 30 times this past month). The band is made up of two guys, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. You can tell they have such a devotion to their music and making sure their lyrics not only mean the world to them, but to their fans as well. Any experience you could imagine is captured within their songs; it's pretty magical to be honest. One day, I saw a little vine clip from an interview of theirs and Tyler was describing how he met Josh. He said, "Then I met Josh, a kid with no Plan B. He lived and breathed Plan A: Music." It just really struck me that once you find that thing that makes you tick, that thing that keeps you going, that thing that gets you up in the morning, you have to hold onto it and never let it go. Why should I have a backup plan when I want to devote myself to the thing I love most in this world? If you really have a passion for something, you will make it become a reality no matter how hard of a challenge you're faced with. If you are able to pursue your passion, you will never have to work a day in your life. I'll find a way to make it work and I'll find a way to financially support myself, I just don't want to wake up one day hating my life because let me remind you, we only get one. 

Find your passion and run with it. 

-Belle xx

P.S: Speaking of which, this is how I'm currently working on pursuing my passion. I'm very proud of this piece myself (Which doesn't happen all the time. You win some you loose some)

OH and song suggestion of the week? New thing? Since I was speaking of Twenty One Pilots, I figured I should mention one song for you to now go on and listen to. You should listen to the entire Vessel album, because I cannot choose a favorite, but one that really stuck with me today was Trees. 

Je Suis Charlie

I wanted to put in a word or two of mine in about the event that took place in Paris last Wednesday.

The violence that took place is inexcusable, and no, I'm not putting a blame for what was done on the religion of Islam at all. I recognize that there is a clear split between those apart of the religion that believe this sort of action is not apart of the Islamic values and detest that there is a portion of believers that practice it and ones that believe it to be right and just. 

But I didn't want to talk too much about this messy part of the issue. I want to speak of the outcome.  

It's incredible to see the global aftermath of the tragedy that occurred, with people from all different backgrounds coming together to support the freedom of speech and expression of France and the arts combined. It's a movement of peaceful ways with pencils raised and the brilliant thought that one pencil broken can be turned into two. The reaction that occurred gives me the hope that for every bad person there is in this world, there are thousands of others that are just the opposite who are willing to fight for others freedoms and people who can recognize that just because the event didn't happen anywhere close to them, it can hit just as close to home as someone in Paris who personally knew the victims.

I could wish all day for killings all over the world to come to a halt and that we would all view each other as equal and love and cherish everyone for who they are, but I know that this won't happen. I could wish that people would recognize that others are going to have differing opinions on subjects regarding the world and life to come and that that's okay because their views cannot alter yours as long as you don't allow them to, but I know that this won't happen. 

What I do know is that from what I've seen come out of this event, we have the ability to unite a great majority of the world based on some basic set of human values, whatever those may be. I know that out in the universe, others share these views of mine and want to do something about it, but can't as one small person. That's exactly why it's important to stand up and unite with those around you to see the change you want to be made, preferably in a peaceful way. And I know that others in this universe aren't going to agree with these views I share with you today, and that's okay. Whatever you believe, I hope you recognize that reacting with violence to a situation only makes the outcome ten times worse. Words are a powerful weapon in the process of achieving peace, which is why it's really cool to see "Je Suis Charlie" circling the Internet. 

As much as I'd like to keep wishing, I'm afraid the world is running scarcely low on magic. 

My thoughts go out to the loved ones of the victims involved in the Paris shooting. The world has lost several more creative sparks.

-Belle xx