Oh She Glows

School’s back in session and between prepping for homecoming,  attending weekend socials, and—oh yeah!–class, you probably have barely enough time to catch up on CollegeCandy (LOL JK) let alone cook! I know the routine all too well: you get into a busy cycle, mealtimes go by the wayside and soon you’re like a primitive hunter-gatherer, stuffing your face at each feeding or snacking opportunity that arises, never knowing when the next one will present itself. It’s not a pretty sight, nor is it a very healthy one.

A simple solution to this problem would be to stock up on energy bars. But even those are extremely costly and can be so high in sugar that they’re simply masquerading candy bars. So why not make your own? If you can devote just an hour or two on the weekend to whip up one of these recipes, you’ll have portable, preservative-free meal replacements for the week ahead at just a fraction of the store-bought price!

The All-Natural Homemade Larabar

I have to admit that I’m a huge fan of Larabars. They’re gluten-free, kosher, and made from whole foods with zero preservatives. What’s not to love, you ask? At nearly $2 per bar, they make my wallet skinnier than my jeans. So you can bet I was pleased when the fantastic blogger Angela at Oh She Glows posted this DIY recipe of my favorite Larabar, the Banana Bread.

Ingredients

1/4 cup dates
1/4 cup dried banana
1/3 cup raw almonds

Instructions

1. Slice 1 small banana. Lay banana on greased baking sheet.
2. Cook banana at 175F for 2-3 hours until dry.
3. Roughly chop 1/4 cup of dates. Put dates and dried banana into food processor. Process for 1-2 mins.
4. Remove from processor bowl, set aside in a small bowl. Add almonds to food processor and process for 1 min.
5. Add almond mixture to date/banana paste and blend well with hands. Divide into 2 halves.
6. Set each half on a piece of saran wrap. Fold wrap over each piece and roll flat with a rolling pin or soup can. Shape to your liking. Makes 2 bars.

Nutrition info: Each bar has approximately 230 calories, 5 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fiber.

The Whole-Grain Whole Meal

From Wellsphere, this recipe allows for your own improvisations. Hate raisins but love dried apricots? Prefer Rice Crispies to Kashi? Customize to your heart’s desire:

Ingredients

3 cups puffed whole grain cereal (e.g., puffed wheat or Kashi)
1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds (or a combination)
1/2 (or up to 3/4) cup chopped dried fruit (one fruit, or a combination)
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/3 cup creamy nut or seed butter (e.g. peanut, cashew, almond, soy; natural style is fine)
1/2 cup honey (or brown rice syrup, light molasses, sorghum, or maple syrup)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch square metal baking pan foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl mix the cereal, nuts, dried fruit and (optional) flaxseed; set aside.
3. Place the nut butter and honey in small heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly for about 1 minute until bubbly and smooth.
4. Pour hot mixture over cereal mixture in bowl, stirring to blend (mix well to coat all of the cereal). Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using a large square of wax paper or foil, firmly press mixture down into pan to firmly compact.
5. Bake until just golden around edges, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Remove bars using foil lines and cut into 16 bars or squares.

Nutrition per Serving (1 bar): Calories 121; Fat 6.0g (sat 0.8g, mono 1.8 g, poly 3.1g); Protein 3.2g; Cholesterol 0mg; Carbohydrate 16.3g; Sodium 28.2mg.

The No-Bake Piece-of-Cake Granola Bar

And if you really don’t have much time to bake (nor access to an oven), try these press-and-go babies from fANNEtastic food!

Ingredients

1 & 3/4 Cup rolled oats
1 C crisp puffed brown rice cereal
1/4 C pumpkin seeds
1/4 C sunflower seeds
1/4 C chia seeds
1/4 C unsweetened coconut
1/8 C finely ground flaxseed
1/2 C brown rice syrup
1/3 C creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix them together.
2. In a separate (microwave safe) bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, then microwave them for about 20 to 30 seconds.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix! Keep mixing until the wet binding ingredients are as well distributed as possible.
4. Put the mixture into a shallow pan and flatten it down.
5. Cut them into about 10 to 12 bars and store them in the fridge to bind them.

(Nutritional info N/A)

Yum!

I don’t know about you, but this year I’m in serious money-saving mode.  As much as I’d love to go buy my biffies matching pairs of Alexander McQueen’s 10-inch Alien Heels (if you don’t know what these are, you obviously haven’t seen Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video), college girls don’t have tons of moolah to buy the most fabulous gifts out there.

Besides, gifts are most meaningful when they require time and thought. And they’re even better when people know that you put blood, sweat and tears (and maybe even a little pee pee if looking through old pictures really makes you laugh) into them.

So if you’ve got tons of people to give to but not tons of money to do it, try some of these DIY gifts on for size. They’ll work for absolutely everyone on your list and you won’t have to drop serious cash or serious elbows at your neighborhood holiday sale.

1. Photo Collages
Photo collages are meaningful gifts that can be given to anyone – family, friends, boyfriends.  Now, I don’t mean just some poster with photos erratically hacked with cheap scissors and doused in Elmer’s glue. Get a cigar box and some Mod-Podge (a specific glue excellent for collages) from a craft store, plan the arrangements of photos before you start cutting, and use a paintbrush to glue them down. Then paint a thin layer of Mod-Podge on top of the pictures,  let it dry and – Voila! – you’ve got a super cute jewelry box full of your favorite pics and memories. You can even get some cute puff paint and embellish.  Cheap, cute, and sure to impress! (This also works with frames, mirrors, boxes, or anything else that you’d wanna personalize!)

Not an artsy fartsy? Don’t worry! You can do it all online, too!

2. Cookie Mix in a Jar
If you’re known for your cookies (or even if you’re only known for tossing them…) this is a really great gift that people can’t help but love. Even better: it’s something you can make in huge batches and keep on tap all season in case you need a quick gift.

It’s cookies. Big, delicious cookies.

All you need is a jar (like for jelly) and some simple ingredients. Decorate the jar with ribbon, stickers, etc., then in the jar, layer 2 cups flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, a dash of salt, 1.25 cups granulated sugar, and 1 cup of chocolate chips. (You can throw in other fun ingredients like candy or nuts, too.) On a piece of paper, write the following directions: mix this up with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla! Shape into balls the size of walnuts, place on lightly greased baking sheets about two inches apart. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Enjoy! Yum.

Tie the paper onto the jar with a ribbon, throw in a box of Celestial Seasoning’s Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea and your giftee will want to marry you.

3. Bath Salts
Since you already have cute jars from making your adorable cookie mixes, why not make some bath salts, too? These are great for the family ladies in your life – mom, grandma, aunt – because no sane college girl would ever lay her body in those nasty dorm bathtubs. And bath salts encourage people to take time out to relax – something your mama definitely deserves! Plus, you don’t need much to make something totally impressive.

Get some Epsom Salt (enough to fill your jars), some food coloring, and your favorite perfume (or one of those perfumes you stare at but never actually put on…I, for one, have an obscene amount of perfume stockpiled in my bathroom and I KNOW I will never get through them all). Just mix the Epsom salt in a huge bowl with the food coloring and the perfume until the color is even, and spread the mix on a sheet of wax paper to dry. Once it’s dry, put it in the jar and wrap it up! Easy, right?

You can use the salt right away, but it’s even better if you let it sit for a week or two.

These gifts are not only super easy and cheap, but they show thoughtfulness and love. And that’s much better than any gift you can buy… except maybe for those Alexander McQueen Alien Shoes. Those are still pretty rad.

Well, okay, that’s pretty disgusting, so I take it back (sorta). But baked pie crust is an entirely different story. It’s so versatile—you can use it for tarts, dessert pizza, and (obviously) pies. And you can fill those pies with anything—lemon curd, banana cream, fresh strawberries . . .

Now that we’re getting into some serious summer weather, fresh fruit (yes, the kind that you don’t take out of the freezer and probably haven’t had since you were home for Christmas) is soon going to be abundant in grocery stores and farmers’ markets all over the country. You’ll be able to pick your own berries for cheaper than the cost of a vanilla latte, and everyone knows that berries taste best in pie!

It’s easy to haul down to the store and pick up a ready-made pie crust, but who needs that? People (cute people, obviously) will be sooooo much more impressed if you can make your own. Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment that comes from putting a homemade pie on the table!

Here’s how you do it.

Stuff You Need
To make one double pie crust (bottom and top), get together:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
- 1 teaspoon salt
- A bowl of ice water
- A rolling pin

What You Do

1. Mix the flour and salt together.

2. Take ½ cup of the butter or shortening and cut or break it into tiny (pea-sized) pieces.

3. Toss these pieces into your flour mixture, and massage them in with your fingers. You want them to get smaller and combine with the flour. Go for the consistency of coarse meal.

4. Cut or break the remaining ½ cup of butter or shortening into tiny pieces.

5. Add that to the flour mixture. If you want big flakes in your crust, don’t combine it much at all—leave some big chunks. If you want a fine, crumbly crust, combine it much more thoroughly.

6. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time to your flour mixture. After each addition, mix everything together with a fork. When it barely holds together, use your hands to gather everything up into a ball.

7. Break the ball in two, and flatten each smaller ball into a disc.

8. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for at least a half hour. (The dough can also be frozen indefinitely.)

9. Whip those suckers out of the fridge, sprinkle your smooth work surface and your rolling pin with flour liberally, and roll out the crusts to about 1/8” thickness. Take one, fold it lightly into fourths to make it easier to put them in the pan, then shove it in there.

10. Fill that sucker with some fruit, bake it up and enjoy a scrumptious slab of that homemade pie!

Need some delicious pie recipes? Here you go. You (and everyone who licks the pie dish) can thank me later.

Huaraches are traditional Mexican sandals or flip-flops made with woven leather straps and rubber soles. They became extremely popular due to their reputation as being long-lasting, comfortable, and inexpensive to make. Oh, and someone in the fashion world decided they’d be cool again. Either way, you don’t have to spend money on a shoe that everyone else will inevitably have – you can make a pair of the originals yourself!

Materials:
Rubber sole material, about 5mm thick
Very long strips of leather (as thick or thin as you want them).
Scissors
A hole puncher

Get Crafty!

1)    Cut out the rubber soles in the shape of your feet by tracing your feet on the rubber and cutting an inch beyond the lines so the soles are a little bigger than your feet.

2)    Make 3 holes with the hole punch in a triangle shape for the straps, one in between your big toe and two on either sides of the middle of your foot (see regular flip-flops for an example).

3)    Start stringing the first of your leather straps through the shoe. Usually one strap goes from the left big-toe hole to the right hole, then from the right hole behind the ankle to the left hole. But you don’t have to do it this way. Play around a bit and figure out which way works best for you/is most like the style you want. (Note: there will be a lot of extra strap. Do not cut this!)

4)    Tie a knot on the bottom of the big-toe hole to keep the strap in place and lace them up by wrapping the long leftover strap around your ankles and tying it  up.

5)    Personalize your huaraches by decorating them with ribbons or sequins, or just leave them as they are: ready to wear with your favorite summer dresses!

[Photos courtesy of barefootted.com]

Every college girl has moments of extreme stress/anxiety/feeling a little crazy. Rather than take it out on a poor, defenseless friend (or door), I have the perfect project to ease your mind:The Dammit Doll.

These little dolls make great targets for taking out your frustration when you’re stressed about school, when you have guy troubles, and just in general when you need something to throw, jab, squeeze, or stomp on (not that I promote violence).

They also make great gifts for your angst-filled friends as well, and are much cuter than your average bland stress ball, not to mention cheaper than anger management classes.

Materials:

- Felt

- Stuffing (cotton balls, beans, pine straw, rice, etc.)

- Needle & thread or sewing machine

- Decorations (cut-out felt pieces for clothing, sequins for eyes, pins for jewelry, etc.)

Steps:

1) Cut out 2 identical pieces of felt based on whatever size and shape you want your doll’s body to be: human, animal, ex boyfriend?

2) Sew around the edges, leaving a hole open at the top of the head large enough that you can stuff your organs in. (Note: in order to make the doll look good, after sewing you will turn the doll inside-out, so keep that in mind when sewing.)

3) Turn the doll right-side-out and push out any limbs that need to be formed into a complete 3-D shape (unless deformed is the look you’re going for).

4) Stuff the doll with your choice of filling. Personally, cotton balls are my #1 choice because no matter how hard I throw it, it doesn’t spill out… or put dents in the wall. (Tip: Don’t use rocks. Just trust me.)

5) When you reach the head, use a couple stiches to close it up and prevent leakage. Sew that sucker up tight! Spilled rice could be used to feed hungry children, but is also a major pain to clean up.

6) Add detail! Use markers to draw facial features, cut out more felt pieces for a cute wardrobe selection, paste some beads or sequins on, add some colored string for hair, whatever you want!

7) Voila! Dunzo. You can hug it and designate it as your new best friend when you are upset, or stick little pins in it and throw it against the wall when you are angry. Pass it off to a friend going through a bad breakup, or make a whole slew of them to keep in case of “so stressed and I need to strangle something” emergencies.  The possibilities are endless.

It’s that time of year again: cold season.

Ew.

I’ve been noticing more people sneezing, which is why sanitizer is my new BFF. Unfortunately, thanks to all the common surfaces in college – computers, desks, ice luges – no matter how hard we all try we are gonna catch a cold. Pretty much everybody does. Even if they can avoid the germy keyboards and doorknobs on campus, the change in weather usually has them sniffling before too long.

But I have the cure for what ails us all: the best chicken soup EVER. Don’t use that canned stuff; the time and effort to make this soup is totally worth it. It will fill you up and make you feel all warm and toasty inside, no matter how chilly and snowy it is outside.

What you’ll need:

A pretty big pot

1 whole chicken

2 onions

3 carrots

About 6 small red potatoes

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

Salt to taste

1 bag egg noodles

Time to Cook:

1. First, you better clean the chicken. If you’ve never been witness to this before, the stores don’t take all their, um, insides out before they sell it. So you have to pull out the gizzard and everything else. Once you get the chicken cleaned out from the inside, give it a good wash inside and out. Just rinse the bird a couple of times in cold water. If you want to take the skin off or trim the fat, feel free to, but I usually leave them on. It enhances the flavor.

2. Cut both onions into quarters. Stuff one onion inside the chicken and salt and pepper the inside also. While you’re at it, peel the carrots and cut them into good size chunks and set them off to the side. Go ahead and wash the potatoes too, and cut them into even sized chunks.

3. Take the pot and fill it 3/4 of the way with water. It needs to be big enough that the chicken can soak and the water can boil but not boil over.

4. Add the other onion, the carrots, and the potatoes to the water. Add the garlic, oregano, basil, and pepper to the water. Add a little salt, but not too much (you can add more later).

5. Add the bird (carefully!) and crank the stove to medium heat. Bring the soup to a boil and then turn the heat to low.

6. Here’s where the waiting comes in: it’s going to take roughly six hours for the soup to get nice and yummy. Every hour, flip the chicken over in the pot (carefully!) so that it cooks evenly. Around the sixth time you flip it, the chicken should begin to fall apart.

7. Once the chicken starts falling off the bone, take it out of the pot. Leave heat on low to keep soup warm. Debone the chicken, making sure to strip the meat carefully. Once you’ve finished that, set that juicy chicken aside.

8. Take some standard egg noodles and add them to your broth. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook them for roughly fifteen minutes, then add the chicken back to the pot. Once you add the chicken back to the pot, turn the heat off.

You can store this soup easily and reheat it on the stove or in the microwave. It’s awesome with saltine crackers or some nice buttery ones. It seems kind of intensive, but trust me, this soup beats any canned chicken noodle any day.

(Photo courtesy flickr via edestlin)

[I used to think I knew everything…until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you.

Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely random. Because, hey, you never know when you just might need to know how to change a tire…or mix a perfect martini.]

It’s that time of year again—a chill is in the air, you’ll freeze without your scarf, and a salad just isn’t going to cut it for dinner anymore. You need heartiness, and what better way to get it than from soup?

But hold the phone. I’m not talking about Chicken and Stars here. Ohhhh, no. I’m talking about real soup; soup that you make with fresh vegetables and your hands (although please refrain from putting your actual hands in the soup).

Homemade soup is not just something your grandmother makes. It’s a very simple equation: ingredients + broth + flavor = soup. Each of these components can be mixed and matched to create tons of awesome soups, so here are some basics to get you started.

Ingredients

My favorite kind of soup to make is a variety that I affectionately deem “hobo soup”—it involves chopping up whatever I have in the fridge and tossing it in a big pot with some broth. If you are slightly more refined (which you probably are), you may want to decide on a kind of soup before you start making it. Get together the things you need—broccoli and cheese for cream of broccoli soup, pasta and carrots and celery and chicken for chicken noodle, flour for dumpling soup, etc. Basic soup recipes are available online, so when in doubt, Google. Get all your ingredients together and prepare them by chopping, sifting, and sorting. If you want more flavor to your soup, you can sauté certain ingredients (such as onions or celery) before adding broth.

Broth

The broth is the important base of your soup. You could also call it the stock. If you have leftover turkey stock from Thanksgiving, don’t throw it away—use it to make soup. If you don’t have any stock, don’t worry—you can use canned vegetable broth or chicken/beef/whatever broth. If you’re making a creamy soup, use milk as your broth. And in a real pinch, you can use water. Figure that you need between 1 and 1 ½ cups of broth for each serving of soup. When all of your ingredients are prepared, pour broth in your pot and add the ingredients. Simmer covered or uncovered for at least 20 minutes or until all of the ingredients are fully cooked and at the consistency you want. If you’d like a thick broth, whisk together 2 tablespoons of broth with 1 tablespoon of flour, and add that mixture to your broth.

Flavor

Much of your soup’s flavor will come from the broth, but it’s nice to add a little something extra. Italian Wedding soup will include basil, for example, and you may want to add cheese to a cream soup or a little bit of cumin to kick up a pumpkin soup. Stick with standbys for the first few times you make your own soup, but after that, you should have a good idea of how you can branch out and still end up with a delicious flavor every time.

All right. After writing that, I’m going to go dig into my leftover corn chowder (homemade soup keeps really well, by the way). I’ll share my recipe if you guys will share yours. What’s your favorite kind of homemade soup?

[Image courtesy of whatwereeating.com.]

I have to admit, I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and am usually fine with shelling out a few extra dollars to indulge in something tastier than Folgers. Still, I need a new winter wardrobe… so I’m weaning myself off of overpriced coffee drinks (that taste like dessert) and makin’ my coffee at home.

I know it’s a bold move, but after playing around a bit I have learned a few things: 1) Making your own coffee can save you billions, and 2) It is really, really easy. Here are a few tips:

1. Flavor it Up.

Whenever I make my own coffee, no matter how good the brand, or how carefully I measure the coffee-to-water ratio, it always seems to taste like dirt. My solution? Flavor, flavor, flavor. Syrup, syrup, Equal, syrup. Seriously, who just gets a latte from Starbucks? Everyone has their signature: the Pumpkin Latte, Caramel Macchiato, White Chocolate Mocha…what do they have in common? Manufactured taste. Instead of shelling out $4-$5 a day for Starbucks, buy a bottle of Torani Syrups. This brand is used in tons of coffee shops across the country, so you might not even taste the difference.

2. Be Exotic.

Trading a Mocha Java Frappucino for a cup of Dark Roast isn’t going to fly. If you have money to burn on blended concoctions, you can afford gourmet coffees and still save a fortune by brewing them yourself. If you can’t find any good varieties at the store, surf the net to find your new flave: Coffee Been Direct offers Cookiedoodle, Creme Brulee, and Chocolate Raspberry coffees, to name a few; Papa Nicholas features Chocolate Hazelnut and Toasted Southern Pecan, among others; and FlavoredCoffees.Net has an overwhelming selection, from Cherry Cream to Egg Nog to Chocolate Orange. Bonus: FlavoredCoffees.Net also sells Torani syrups! Just add a splash of 2% milk to your tasty brew and you’ll douse your (high priced) cappuccino cravings.

3. Be Your Own Barista.

The internet is smattered with recipe websites, many of which include jazzy coffee beverages. All you need is Google and a ready mug. AllRecipes.com, for example lists a Cappuccino Mix that you can make for yourself, or give as a low-cost gift. The Culinary Review, meanwhile, has a great recipe for a Homemade Chocolate Mocha that you won’t even have to wait in line for!

Once you get the hang of homemade capps and frapps, you can experiment yourself! Double-brew some coffee grounds and pour the extra-strong coffee over ice for an easy iced coffee (the ice will water it down, so you should start off with stronger brew); or cool a pot to room temp and blend it up for a cheap Frappucino. Pulling an all-nighter? Pour hot coffee over a scoop of your favorite ice cream; you can indulge while you give yourself that extra boost!

4. Go For the Splurge.

If you REALLY don’t think you can substitute your fave Starbucks drink for a plain-jane coffee, invest in your own espresso machine. Yes, it will be pricey, but that one time purchase will still be cheaper than a daily Dunkin Donuts run. You’ll also save time on going out of your way to stop at the shop, and you won’t have to worry about the Barista giving you too much foam.

Nespresso has machines starting at $200, about the cost of a month’s worth of Tall Skinny Lattes, while Whole Latte Love has a decent model for $100. Search espresso machines by price at BizRate.com and find a simple yet classic Italian taste…for ONLY $23!. I’ve spent way over that in ONE DAY on coffee before.

So there you have it – four perfectly good options to start your own coffee service in the privacy of your own apartment or dorm. You’ll acquire a taste for non-Starbucks caffeinated beverages while saving tons of money for some more worthy splurges.

Or, if all else fails, you can save a couple dollars a day by switching to energy drinks, which are usually only about $2 for a giant can. That means you can drink THREE for the price of a venti Chai Tea Latte! Not that I have been known to drink three energy drinks in one day. I mean, that would mean I have a problem. <Cough.>

[For more money-saving tips for the college budget, join CollegeCandy's Facebook group!]

I digress. Homemade applesauce is surprisingly easy to make and cooks up really fast. It’s a great way to use apples that are starting to get mushy, or a fun way to make use of your haul after a visit to the orchard. Plus, it’s a lot less work than making a pie.

For your consideration, here’s my really simple recipe.

3 Pounds of apples – That’s 6-8 apples for those you without food scales. (Any variety will do but Gala, Red Delicious, Fuji, Macintosh and Honeycrisp work really well.)

¾ – 1 Cup of Sugar

½ Cup of Water

2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon (more to taste if that’s what you’re into)

The juice of half a lemon

1. Rinse, peel, core and chop your apples. Do not chop the fruit too finely, a small bite size pieces will do the trick.

2. Place your apple chunks, water and sugar into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Make sure the sugar dissolves.

3. Lower the heat to medium or medium-low and let the apple mixture simmer for 20-25 minutes or until soft. Stir and mash up the apples every few minutes.

4. Cook, stir and mash to your desired consistency. If you like your sauce chunky, you may be done at closer to the 18 minute mark. If it’s thin applesauce you crave, let it cook a while longer. You may also want to run your mixture through a sieve or food mill to get out any remaining chunks.

5. Once you’ve achieved the desired consistency, take the saucepan off the heat. Add cinnamon and lemon juice to taste.

This recipe makes two to three hearty servings of applesauce. If you’re making applesauce for a group, check out Ina Garten’s awesome recipe for baked applesauce. It’s a bit more work intensive but also a real crowd-pleaser!

The quintessential dessert of summer is the strawberry shortcake, and for good reason. There’s even a licensed character named after the dessert, for crying out loud. So when you make one, you want to make it good—and no, that does not involve picking up a four-pack of preservative-loaded, Twinkie-like “shortcakes” from Walmart.

What, you’ve never made your own shortcake before? Then you, my friend, are seriously missing out. Allow me to be your guide for your first foray into the world of better-tasting shortcakes—once you’ve entered, you’ll never look back.

For two nice-sized shortcakes (a little bigger than those store-bought lumps), you need:

• 2/3 cup flour

• a generous sprinkle (about 1/8 tsp) salt

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 ½ tablespoons sugar

• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

• ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350, and take out two separate bowls. In one bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar until it’s well combined. In the second bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the bowl with your dry ingredients, and drizzle in the whipping cream mixture while you stir or whisk the contents of the bowl. This can be difficult to do by yourself, but it doesn’t really matter if you kind of mess it up. Shortcakes are forgiving (and delicious—oh, so delicious).

When you’ve poured in all the cream, you should be able to mix the resulting mass together into one big ball. If it’s too sticky, add a little flour (and if it’s not sticky enough, add a few more drops of cream). Using floured hands, separate the big ball into two smaller balls.

Grease a cookie sheet or coast it with parchment paper, and set the two shortcake balls on the sheet at least three inches apart (they will spread out a bit). Pop them in the oven, and about 27-30 minutes later you will have two lovely, beautiful, mouth-watering shortcakes that will be just dying for you to heap them with strawberries and cream.