For most of 2019 and the start of 2020, TikTok has become the new social media sensation. It seems to have stepped in after apps like Vine and Music.ly fell, and its novelty still seems to be going. Honestly, I was not really exposed to TikTok until this past school year, it being a hot point of conversation in my college. At first, I was set against even downloading the app on my phone, believing that it was overrated and not sure if it was worth my time.
After a few months, I finally broke down and downloaded it, and I have to admit, I’ve been hooked ever since. The great thing about TikTok is that it allows you to go through your interests by watching different videos and they build up a great “For You” video feed where you can find videos that really appeal to your interests.
For me, I have found TikTok to be a great tool for finding ideas for DIY projects, ways to decorate my room or clothing style, and especially for finding great baking recipes. I have always loved to bake, and now that I have more free time due to the pandemic, TikTok has allowed me to discover and try out new recipes. I have to be honest, not all of them have been hits, but I have really enjoyed experimenting with new recipes. Below, I have compiled a list of the top 4 TikTok recipes I have tried so far and ranked them on which ones you immediately need to try, to ones you can avoid.
1. Mini Key Lime Pies
Not trying to brag or anything, but this was some of the best key lime pie I have ever had. I had never made it before, but it ended up being super easy to make. I happened to fall upon the recipe a few days ago when scrolling through TikTok and it really caught my attention. To make things easier, I used premade mini Keebler pie crusts from the grocery store and worked on the filling, which took about 20 minutes to prepare and only 15 minutes to make. One thing I want to note, it is kinda difficult to find key lime juice, so you can instead make your own by using ¼ cup of lemon juice and ¼ cup of lime juice to make a great key lime flavor. I ended up making them for my uncle’s birthday and sent them to him, which ended up being a huge hit. If you have a chance to make them, I highly recommend it.
2. Homemade Lofthouse cookies
You definitely know which cookies I’m talking about. The soft sugar cookies and the frosting and sprinkles on top that was at most middle school parties. For many people, they either love them or they don’t. For me, they’re honestly one of my favorite cookies, and I am not picky when it comes to dessert. I watched a video a few weeks ago on these and I was dying to make them. Turns out, you don’t have to travel all the way to the grocery store to get these delicious cookies. The recipe was super easy, calling for ingredients like flour, corn starch, baking powder, butter, salt, sugar, and vanilla. However, two ingredients that are key to getting the cookies right are cream of tartar and sour cream, which are supposed to get the cookies soft. Once you get the cookie mixture completed, it only takes 10-12 minutes to bake and then you can frost them.
3. Whipped Coffee
I know I said this was going to be just about baking recipes, but I really have to share with the world this recipe I found. I am really not a coffee drinker, but the recipe looked too good not to try. The end result was supposed to have the consistency of whipped cream, but coffee-flavored, that you could mix into your milk of choice and it would make a delicious coffee drink. The only instructions given for the recipe was to mix 1 tablespoon of instant coffee, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of piping hot water together, and then whisk for 3-5 minutes. Seeming simple enough, I gave it a go. The end result was not really what I had in mind. After tiringly whisking hard for the allotted amount of time, the mixture still remained liquid and did not have that nice fluffy consistency as whipped cream does. However, after I poured the mixture in about half a glass of almond milk and mixed it together, it seemed to get a little better. Sadly, it was not the right consistency, but it did have a nice mocha taste I think you can improve by modifying the recipe.
4. Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
This recipe was one of the first I discovered on TikTok. It is a recipe for homemade vegan ice cream or “nice cream” as my vegan roommate called it. The main ingredient for the recipe is frozen bananas, which you should cut up and freeze ahead of time. Then, there are simple ingredients like peanut butter, cocoa powder, and almond milk you add with the bananas and mix together in the blender. It is supposed to have a thick consistency and you put in a container in the freezer for a few hours so it can solidify. I was very eager to try the end result, but honestly, I was very disappointed. After taking it out of the freezer after letting it sit in there for a few hours, I let it thaw out for a few before eating it. The consistency was more icy and rough than what I was used to with regular ice cream, and it seemed as if the flavor was overpowered by the taste of banana. I think that maybe by switching some of the ingredients around and trying different amounts of each, it could greatly be improved and be a nice ice cream alternative.
If you haven’t tried TikTok yet, I highly recommend downloading it immediately and start to explore the different baking recipes it has to offer.