Sugar Coated Pecans

Just when you thought pecans couldn't get any better.

Sable Viennois

I like my cookies with personalities. I like the naughty and nutty peanut butter cookies and the hippie, carefree oatmeal raisins. I love the crisp and sharp gingersnaps and the fun and happy chocolate chip. Gingerbread biscuits are wise and soft and caring. Snickerdoodles and crazy and kooky. Meringues and sweet and simple. French macarons are elegant and... french.

That being said, i think that the one cookie that REALLy lacks a personality are butter cookies. or shortbread. potato, potahto. So plain! So dry! So bland!

I don't know why i decided that sables, or french butter cookies, would be my first attempt at baking such cookies. To tell you the truth, i didn't know they were butter cookies until i read the recipe. I was lured by the pretty piped cookies i had seen in the picture. (WARNING! do not be lured by pictures. Except for mine. Mine are worth the lure)

But what can i say? The french make everything a little better. The excessive amount of vanilla really gave the little cookies OOMPHFT! and it was not as dry or bland as their shortbread counterparts.

What do you know? i may like butter cookies after all.

P.S. yes, i was baking during my prelim exam period. but do as i say, not as i do! But in my defense, baking is theraputic for me and it really helps me to calm myself down whenever i get the wrong value for 'x' for the umpteenth time.

Peanut Butter Banana Granola

I feel like Elvis everytime i eat this.

Be warned though! this recipe makes a measly mount if you are known to consume excessive amounts of toasted oats.
(especially since this one has peanut butter)

The only way i justified finished the whole batch in a day (Alone!) was that it was full of good-for-me peanut butter, and natural sweeteners and nuts. Good, right?

I hope so.

I got a bit carried away with the photography this time round, so i thought i would take all of you on a virtual tour of my new favourite food.

I know your stomach is growling. Man i can hear it from here. Do yourself a favour and whip up a batch so that your tummy will stop that nonsence.

Oven Baked 'Fries'

You want fries with ZERO guilt but still crisp and fry-like?

Well, here it is folks!
The ultimate fry-less fry does exist, and let me tell you, it's even better than the real thing.

Beaten egg whites give them their crisp exterior, and the eggs also help the salt and pepper and spices cling to them.
In fact, if you didn't tell me that these were fry-free, i would have thought this was the full-guilt version!

So breathe out and keep your fat pants in your closet.
This is a fry for all.

Pineapple tarts

Alright, arguably, this isn't really a tart.
But it is a cookie that is usually shaped like one. a small, cookie sized tart base with a rounded ball of pineapple filling right smack in the middle. We used to have it every Christmastime.

But the one thing about these 'tarts' is that sometimes, you would have to eat the pastry without the filling or the other way around. And you can't have that! The pineapple filling and buttery, crumbly pastry go so well together it would be a waste to even spend a nibble-full without either one.

S we solved the problem by encasing the whole ball of pineapple filling with a layer of crust. Sort of like a cake ball slash chocolate truffle. Problemo solved!

although, now, it isn't really a tart anymore, is it?

If you really have no clue on what pineapple filling is...
neither do I.

I just get it ready-made fuss-free, from my neighbourhood baking shop.

But if you're up to the challenge, i have found a wonderful recipe for you to make your own.

Or if you're really a lazy potato but still wish to reap the benefits of this crumbly confection, just thicken some pineapple jam. Won't be AS good, but still pretty darn delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

What kind of baker would i be if i didn't have a chocolate chip cookie staple recipe?

And these cookies are 'da bomb.
crisp and brown on the edges and gooey and chewy and divine in the middle.

Man, I am still hungry.

If you want to shake it up a little, add white chocolate chips. Or butterscotch chips. Or peanut butter chips.
Well, whatever floats your boat.

I love walnuts and semisweet hersheys bake-able chocolate morsels.

Mmm.
Now ponder this: Should i ask for a giant tower of chocolate chips cookies for my sixteenth birthday 'cake'?
Fancy Schmancy sweet sixteen cakes are so overrated.

I'll have a leaning tower of choc. chip goodness.

Pros:
1. i don't need to CUT the cake into slices
2. You don't need to feel bad asking the hostess to cut you another slice. just nip one right off the tower.
3. i like cookies more than cake
4. i ESPECIALLY love these cookies

cons:
1. i might finish the whole cake myself

well, then.
it looks like i am having a birthday cookie tower.

Cream Puffs

I love this recipe.

Make them into little balls and you have cream puffs.
Roll them a little long into logs and top with chocolate ganache once they are done, and you have elcaires.

Brush the little balls with egg wash and cross hatch like and peanut butter cookie and sprinkle some pearl sugar and you have those deliciously delicate french pastries, choquettes.

this is the ever-versatile choux pastry recipe. Mine is a Japanese take on the choux recipe.

It tastes incredibly similar to those custard-filled giant cream puffs that exploded in my face (quite literally) on my trip to Hokkaido.

Next i need to master the cream puff swans.

Something just fills me with glee when i think of eating cream-filled swan puffs.

Fill these babies with buttercream or custard.
If you are daring, vanilla ice cream.

In fact, i stuff my puffs (heh. heh.) with a variety of ingredients. the whackier the better. I like fig jam and kaya (coconut custard) and peanut butter and mousse.

Try it out. go crazy.

Apricot upside down Cake

This cake has been an important part if my life for the past three years.

I still remember the first day my mother decided to try out a recipe from some odd magazine we sneaked out of a hotel.
Peach upside down cakes.

Of course, we did not have peach jam.
So we used the only jam we had in ridiculous quantities: Apricot.

Why we possess so much apricot preserves? Because my mother loves making fruit cakes. For Easter, Christmas, dinner parties. And whenever you ice a fruit cake with marzipan it is never half as good when you do it without a layer of apricot jam in between.

So, anyway. Apricot Jam it was!
And, my oh my. i must say, apricot jam would probably be the better choice. As much as i do love my peaches, apricot really brought out the buttery, warm, moist cake more than it's peach counterpart would have.

Now even if we have a jar of peach jam in the fridge, we still may these babies with apricot jam.
But i suppose this would go well with almost any kind of jam.
Imagine raspberry, or blueberry. How about Marmalade?

Oh!
My recent jam-obsession : Fig Jam.
I wonder if fig upside down cakes will taste just as good.

Because i was incredibly bored today, I doodled out the recipe too.
I am no picasso.
but, here it is anyway. have a laugh.

Japanese cotton cheesecake

I hate it when i have to walk past bread talk every time i go to the mall.
You know why?

Because every time--EVERY TIME--i catch a glimpse of their cotton cheesecakes and i just die.
right there.
In a public place. i die.

Well, not literally. But inside.
Why i never BUY one?

Because by that time i would have already spent about 99% of my savings on topshop stuff. More accurately--ONE topshop item. gosh things are getting pricey, aren't they?

Then i came up with the GENIUS idea that i would make my mom buy me all the ingredients so i can MAKE my own. That way i get to stuff my face all free of charge!

SO here is the ultimate sponge-cake-like, light, cheesy, Japanese-inspired cheesecake that i have been obsessing over for about nearly a year. It's about damn time.

This is what happens when a cheesecake meets a sponge cake. ever want all that cheesy goodness in a less dense, not-so-rich cake?

Of course you do.
Now you have the solution so don't dilly dally and get your parents to invest in some quality cream cheese.

And because i couldn't resist...

Cheat Banana Soft Serve

One ingredient is all this baby needs.

That's right.
Ice cream made with no cream. no milk. no sugar. no egg white. no--

heck.
ice cream made of--and only of--creamy rich sweet bananas.

Too good to be true?
Believe me, i was skeptical at frist.

But now i have tasted the real deal, and i am never going back.

I look forward to night upon night of indulging in my icy-creamy banana soft-serve.

Ach.
My photo does not do this any justice.

I am SERIOUS.
try it.

More Macarons!

The success of your macaron recipes is entirely dependant on your climate, oven temperatures, et cetera, et cetera.

Here is the one that worked for me, although what works in my kitchen may not necessarily work in everyone elses'.

Rainy-Day S'mores

Okay, who can't make a S'more?
Even a three year-old could.
(But SHOULDN'T given the fact that the marshmallows need to be TOASTED)

But when it's raining out and you're really hungry and are craving the ooey-gooey-ness of marshmallows with the sweet tang of chocolate, the crisp bite of crackers and the saltiness of some quality nut butter, Here's a fail-proof pick-me-up.

You could try to mix things up a but and try almond butter.
Or Nutella-double chocolately goodness.

Basic Cupcakes

Eh, Who doesn't like a cupcake?
And, honestly, who hasn't already tried baking one?

If you have, and failed. Or if you just feel like baking more amazing cup-like-cakes, try this recipe. It you don't have much of a sweet tooth, you could cut down on the sugar.

But for me and my mouth-full of sweet teeth, these were perfect.

For my birthday, I once demanded a tower of cupcakes instead of a regular cake. Save the hassle of cutting perfect slices, just grab one off the tower once they were candle-free and stuff your face.

Ahh, memories.

Buttercream? Here!
In fact, feel free to use ANY buttercream/ganache/frosting I have here. I'll bet they taste AMAZING with coconut buttercream!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

Baking, i have realised, is entirely dependant on the weather.
If it's too humid, macarons flop.
If it's too cold, yeasted breads don't rise.

If it is too HOT, you sugar cookie dough will become sugar cookie batter all over the front of your shirt, your hands, you counter top. Hell--even in your hair.

Sugar cookies make the best cookie gifts. Because it's hard to find anyone who doesn't appreciate a nice, crisp, buttery sugar cookie.
Plus, the ingredients are something you find in even the most basic of pantries.

I like to make them for valentines day.
Use heart cookie cutters to show the love.

Halloween? Make pumpkin sugar cookies! Christmas? Stars or trees!
the possibilities are virtually endless, as is your appetite when you have a jar-full of rejected sugar cookies in your cupboard.

sugar... overdose...

French Macarons

Must have taken me about 13 times to finally, FINALLY get it right.

A great tip, though. make these macarons on a day that's not too humid. Trust me.

If you are feeling bake-y but it's as humid as hell wherever you are, try these instead, the humid weather is GREAT for proving!

Buttercream recipe?
Here you go!

Olive Oil and Rosemary Crackers

Are you in a snacking mood?

And why go out to the nearby conviencence store and indulge in a packet of crisps or a tub of meh-quality ice cream when you could whip up a batch of these babies?

If you're the type that love teensy tiny bite-size, herby-flavoured, crisp crackers.
These are for you.

In fact.

this recipe makes too little.
Double it!
Triple it!

Have a jar full in your pantry so that people will make excuses to come on over to your place and snack on these crackers!
they will make you famous.

guaranteed.

Granola Bars

Once again,
The granola Girl has put her love of granola to good use

This time, however.
I am banned from consuming said product of my labour.

apparently eating TOO much granola isn't good for my stomach.

These babies are for Kyra who requested a 'chewy' 'crunchy' bar with 'lotsa chocolate bits' with 'honey' and a White chocolate glaze.

The ones with white chocolate glazed did not survive to be photographed.

These made about 12 bars.

My advice though is to really let it cool COMPLETELY before you even attempt taking them out of the tray.
otherwise, they may shatter into teeny tiny yet still incredibly editble granola-bar-bits.
(i.e. granola)

Applesauce Granola

As you may have noticed,
i am hooked on granola.

Whenever we don't have a jar of ready-to-snack-on granola on the countertop, i freak out and make some more.

It's a guilty little thing, isn't it?
Granola.
Full of nuts and seeds and sweeteners and oils.

Until i found this one that uses applesauce instead.

You don't have to loose out on the crunch if you wish to forefit the oil.
It tastes of apple pie, together with the cinnamon.

The best thing about all granola recipes is their versatility.
You hate sesame seeds? Leave 'em out!
Prefer maple syrup? Go ahead!
Not a sultana-lover? Use Rasins instead!

Come on.
You know you countertop is calling out for it.

Blondies

I have a confession:
I am not a brownie lover.

Which is shocking, right?
what 16-year old girl who has a sweet tooth the size of alaska hates a dense, fudgey, oogey gooey chocolate brownie?

(This one)

Then Rachel came to school one day with a box full of betty crocker box-mix brownies.
Best. Brownies. Ever.

And i realised why i loved them.
They were light and crisp on the outside. they weren't dense or overly-rich or glue-your-jaw-shut chewy.

So i was a girl on a misson:
To make a spongy light brownie WITHOUT THE BOX MIX.
(somethign about the box mixes just isn't quite right)

So i went home and opened up my big book of THE NEW BEST RECIPE.
Which is, for the record, the best recipe book you'll ever find because all the recipes have been tested and tried out again and again so they are pratically idiot-proof for baking dummies such as myself.

And i found it!
My brownie recipe! Alas!

Then, i discovered obstacle No. 1: Sarah had used the last of our baking chocolate for chocolate lava cakes.

I wanted to cry out in despair.
A brownie without chocolate?
What was that?

Apparently--a blondie.

I was about to slam the book shut in frustration whne i spotted the recipe right beside the brownies.
Blondies.
Brownies-chocolate+white chocolate chips.

Perfect!

Now i am going to lie and say that i DID NOT, under any circumstances, finish 7 pieces before it was even teatime.

So since i DID NOT eat that many (ahem ahem)
It would be perfectly alright if i just had... one more?

Sticky Finger Buns

So today i was feeling daring and i decided to lose my yeast virginity.

(what??)

Yes.

Now it is me, or does yeast smell great?

Just the SMELL of rising dough intoxicates me.

Kyra, however, refused to enter the kitchen the entire time i was there because she claimed the smell repulsed her.

anyhoo.

observe my japanese sticky finger bun bites.
(i DID NOT come up with the name myslef)

The greatest thing about these buns is that you can add in almost anything you like to jazz it up. Sultanas? Why not? Chocolate Chips? Sure! Blueberries? Be my guest.

And for the really daring, trying stuffing some peanut butter in 'em.

i think i died and went to bun bite heaven.