Butter Tarts and Lemon Squares

Well, the baking kick that started earlier this month continues and show no signs of abating. I'm almost through my second bag of flour for the month, and I've certainly kept the dairy and egg farmers in business. I've been learning a lot though. Nifty little lessons like parchment paper makes a world of difference. As you can see from the big yellow block below, I was able to lift the entire pan of lemon bars out and didn't have to destroy the pan in the process of removing them.

Also pictured here are the results of my butter tarts. They're not bad, but they're not great. I prefer a smoother filling. Of course, I did a silly thing, and I poured the sugar mixture into a hot pan instead of a cool pan and bringing it to a boil.

Working with the dough was... interesting. I made a single batch this time, and didn't let it chill for quite so long. When rolling it out, I divided it again so that I was working with half of the dough. This worked better, but I think I need a different rolling pin as this one does not hold flour at all. Also, I think I'd prefer a one piece rolling pin. Ever since I took that Indian cooking class, I've just preferred them.

In making the shells, I used the 3inch cookie cutter rather than the 4 inch. I think this is more of a confidence and practice thing. I had a lot of dough left over, but I wasn't really able to use it. I did get one 4 inch crust, and I must say I really like the look. And the recipe is pretty good. Thanks Anna for your help and suggestions. I'm sure with practice, I'll get it right. =)

Lastly, still no second date yet. She's busy again this weekend with more family things. Maybe I should take a hint, but I'll give it a rest till Monday and then see what turns up. I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of IM'ing with people as a form of getting to know someone. IM'ing is too convenient, and so so so very hard to read and you feel like you always have to be on. Yes, I realize this is incongruous given my long history of playing online games, but there's a social element within the online games that allow you to see some of the real person that IM'ing doesn't show.

- edited -
Back to the family things; yes, I understand family happens and no, I'm not necessarily a priority. I'm fine with that, but I will admit that I'm disappointed that the schedules just don't seem to work out.

Anyways, practice and confidence. Works well for both baking and dating.