Deadly sin #5: Envy
It’s no secret that I’ve envied many of the well-established food blogs for their crisp, clear, and perfectly composed food porn. Cyberspace is completely over-saturated with enthusiastic bakers and cooks wanting to share their recipes, and photo quality (not linguistic aptitude) is the measure employed to separate the legitimate from the bastardly.
Shamefully, since it’s conception, Kailley’s Kitchen has fallen under the latter category.
No matter how hard you try, it’s just never going to be easy to entice your audience to bake your recipes and visit the restaurants you review when you photograph them with an iPhone 4S. Elite food porn websites like Food Gawker and Taste Spotting will decline 95% of the photos you submit because the “lighting” and “sharpness” of your photos do not meet or exceed the status quo. Without a DSLR and/or an ideal lighting setup, you’re a permanent fixture on the B-team’s splinter-infested bench.
After months of sticking pins in virtual food blog voodoo dolls, I decided to wash the green off my skin and invest in a shiny new camera of my own (fancy accoutrements not included, but imminent).
From gawky rookie status to breaking in the big girl underoos, Kailley’s Kitchen is on a mission to overhaul its current sophomoric web design and content in order to create something wholly better. It starts here with better photos (okay, so the “auto mode” training wheels are still on, but progress is a process), and ends in the near future with a completely revamped look (thanks to a devoted supporter/computer whizkid).
Stay tuned!
Coconut Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup cream of coconut
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ...sprinkles are optional but strongly encouraged!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside
- Cream butter and sugar in an mixer until light and fluffy
- With mixer running on the lowest setting, add egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated
- Leave mixer running and slowly add dry ingredients
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls, flatten, and place about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet
- Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes
- Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow to cool completely
- While cookies are cooling, use hand-held beaters to cream butter and shortening until smooth
- Add cream of coconut, powdered sugar, and shredded coconut and beat
- Spoon a generous dollop of filling onto the flat side of a cookie, cover with another cookie to complete sandwich; repeat with remaining cookies
- If desired, top sandwiches with additional dollop of filling and finish off with sprinkles
- Store in an airtight container
Pam says
They look delish! Great photo!