Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

How to make: Tiny Tasty Jam Pockets

I originally was going to call these “homemade pop-tarts”, but the end result turned out to be more of a “jam-pocket” so that’s what I’ll call them. They’re really easy to make and they turn out delicious!



Here’s what you’ll need:

Crust:

* 1 cup white all-purpose flour
* 6 Tbsp. butter
* 2 Tbsp. cold water

Filling:

* Jam (the thicker kinds with fruit pieces in them work best)
* You could also try nutella, marshmallow, or cut up fruit

How to make the crust:

In a medium bowl or in a pastry blender, combine the flour and the butter. The pastry blender works very well or if you’re using a bowl, cut up the mixture with a fork or a pastry cutter until the mixture has small lumps. Sprinkle the water over the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl or pastry blender.



If the mixture doesn’t seem to be pulling away, then add another tablespoon of water. Then roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes so it can become firm and easier to work with.



Rolling the dough:

Unwrap the dough, divide it into two halves and roll it out on a floured surface. Roll it out until it is about and 1/8 inch thick (about the thickness of two stacked nickels).




Cut the dough into rectangles that are about 8 x 6 inches and set them aside. Repeat this process with the remainder of the dough. Roll each rectangle a bit thinner if you feel they are too thick. You want to have enough room to spread the filling and then fold it in half.



Place the rectangles onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Spread half of each rectangle with the filling, leaving about an inch on each side.



Fold the dough in half and match the edges, pressing down to seal them. If you find that your dough is not sticking, try wetting your fingertip in some water, spread it along the edge of the seam and press down to seal.



Use a fork to seal the edges and create a nice pattern along the edges of each pastry.



Trim the edges of each pastry with a knife to neaten them up. Save the scraps for tiny pastries later.



Cut out a few vents on the top of each pastry.



You can use the scraps to make tiny jam rolls. Then bake them in a preheated oven at about 400F (200C) for about 20 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown.



They go very nicely with a dollop of whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream.



Enjoy! J

Friday, December 11, 2009

How to make fun-shaped bokeh!



Ever looked at a photo like the one above and thought "how did they do that?". No, it's not photoshop or any special effects. Believe it or not, the only materials you need to create this fun-shaped bokeh are construction paper of your choice and some tape.

This "filter" works best with large aperture lenses (I used a Canon 50mm F1.8)

1) Cut out a fake lens hood from the paper. Make sure it fits nice and tight around the lens.

2) Punch out or cut out the shape of your choice (ex. Heart) into the center of the filter.

OR

You can try this (it's a bit complicated but it's a little something I created):

Instead of cutting or punching out a shape, cut out a circle that is about an inch in diameter in the center of the filter. Then cut out two thin strips of paper about an inch and a half long each. Tape these two pieces on either side of the hole. It looks like this:




Then, cut out thicker strips of paper that are about 3 inches long, but make the ends not as thick so that they will be able to fit through the strips you just taped to the filter. In the center of the strips, cut out or punch out shapes of your choice. This way, you can have interchangeable shapes for your lens filter! The strips should look like this (I've cut out a heart and a snowflake):



You would attach the shape strips by sliding the ends under the taped strips on your filter. Make sure that the box containing the shape covers the entire circle cut out on your filter as to not let excess light in and possibly distort your shape. It should look like this when attached:




3) Then set your camera to the lowest aperture value...and shoot!

Enjoy!

Here are a few more images I've taken using this technique: