You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘cookies’ tag.
I was supposed to post this entry prior to my trip to Korea but alas my habit of last minute packing ate up my time, so here is the recipe I said I would post during Christmas a loooooong time ago but never got around to doing it.
Despite procrastination, this cookie recipe deserves a special shout out.
I’m not really a cookie person. I’m not a cookie person because I’m not a snack person. Snacks, as adorably enticing they are, are impulsive hors d’oeuvres to whet the appetite but don’t satisfy. When I see a bag of mini Kit Kats on my desk, their existence aggravates me because it’s taking up potentially saved space. So I try to eat them all to get them out of my way.
I’m a cake person. I’m a cake person because dessert is a main course for me. I don’t snack because I don’t find sweets satisfying so I eat a heavy, ‘big’ dessert to feel full. That way, I know I should stop whereas if I snack, that ‘full feeling’ never comes so I’ll keep snacking. Snacks are cheap, easy thrills while a well made dessert is the consumption of miniature art and richness. I seriously think that may be the reason why I can stay relatively thin while eating dessert/baking. Baking is literally my form of exercise and a distraction from being on the computer all the time. From sourcing all my ingredients at various grocery stores to washing the dishes to grating carrots, they all require manpower.
Anyhow, because I am a cake person and not a cookie person, this recipe is the perfect synthesis between the two: a dessert snack.
For those who love carrot cake, check this recipe out. It’s exactly like carrot cake but better. How? It’s ergonomically designed to be taken on your next picnic, compact enough to be carried anywhere easily and can be shared individually. They make great presents particularly because it’s a twist on the traditional carrot cake and requires less ‘frosting’ for the health conscious while keeping the vitamin A element to it. It’s a comfort food but bite size and easily consumed. Not to mention a sandwich cookie trumps a plain biscuit in terms of decadence. It tastes like a bite-size version of all the goodness that Christmas brings thanks to the warmth of the cinnamon, nuts and brown sugar. And best of all? It’s super easy to make! Yum.
When I first found this recipe on epicurious, I made it three times during Christmas for family and friends (my aunt and cousins loved them!). I recently made them again for my colleagues when I visited Korea as a gift since I didn’t know what Hong Kong sweets to get them. Alas it was quite humid when I baked them so they were slightly damp by the time they arrived in Seoul.
You can find the recipe here
**TIP: make smaller cookie balls because when they bake, they’ll spread and rise slightly so you can get more cookies out of one recipe. You can see that in my pictures above.
**TIP 2: I followed my own recipe for the filling which is just a brick of Philly cream cheese mixed in with approximately 3/4 cup icing sugar (I never measure… just toss in whatever looks okay). I also whip a little cream (yet again this is all improv so I would guess about 1/4 cup) and fold that in at the end with a splash of vanilla essence.
Don’t forget about the packaging! I found these adorable white gingham cups with scalloped edges at my local dollar store! Well, they’re $10 stores here. =P
One Girl Cookies
I am feeling so incredibly homesick right now.
I’m not really homesick for the place as I am homesick for the people. Though the majority of us can’t say that ‘New York City is my home,’ at the time, I really never considered it to be a place I’d really miss. But as many Americans come together to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I feel somewhat left out. There will not be a 30lb turkey to celebrate over with my cousin and roommate, no brisk strolls to visit the stunningly beautiful Christmas window displays at Bergdorf Goodman.
The Goods: Cupcakes, cookies, fruit pie, pumpkin whoopie pies
But what am I thankful for? I’m thankful for having such a wonderful Thanksgiving memory. Last year’s was truly a gem of a memory: the day before Thanksgiving, a classmate invited my roommate(s) and I to her place in Brooklyn where she graciously cooked a 30lb turkey and made the gravy and stuffing to go with it. We washed it down with Calpico and a pumpkin cheesecake my roommate and I made and sat around looking at our hosts’ truly crazy closet of thigh-high silver boots and Betsey Johnson heels. The day of Thanksgiving, David invited us to his house in New Jersey so the five homeless Canadian orphans were adopted into his family. I remember him driving us to his house and us crammed in his SUV listening to ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz. Every time I hear that song now, I think of that day. We celebrated alongside his family which included two turkeys. The following day we went Black Friday shopping and then returned to the city for ice skating at Bryant Park, Kunjip and Max Brenners. There is much to be thankful for.
Signature Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Post Thanksgiving a few of us sleepily ventured out to a bakery/cafe my cousin recommended me (she said something along the lines that it was really cute and how Japanese tourists would love it) in the outskirts of Brooklyn called One Girl Cookies. I remember it was a cool but sunny morning- the perfect weather to nourish a post-turkey body. Tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood, we ‘broke bread’ together for a morning meal over sugar-laced goods. Yes, we had cake and cookies for breakfast. That’s how we roll. What I love about One Girl Cookies is the way they deliver their goodies: the cafe is spacious and painted in eggshell blue highlighted with the warmth of the wood tables and chairs. The five of us shared a handful of assorted cookies while individuals went with fat slices of chocolate cake, foamy hot chocolate topped with a generous handmade marshmallow slowly dissolving into creamy cacao and crumbly fruit pie. Betty graciously bought us each a pumpkin whoopie pie, a signature dessert at One Girl cookies. After experiencing that, I went and found a sandwich cookie recipe that was reminscent of the ones at One Girl Cookies. I will share that recipe in the next couple of weeks. Anyway, their site is also absolutely adorable so all you NYCers, get your butt out of Manhattan and in to Brooklyn!
Click here for the One Girl Cookies website!
Dessert Fiends
Yesterday friend asked me what my favourite dessertS were (emphasis on the plural form of the noun to ensure that I wouldn’t be torn between two or more desserts). I blanked out. If you ask me what my favourite is, the dessert is intrinsically tied in with the emotional bond I have with the place and the people. For this baker, finding something new to satiate the epicurious appetite is greater than a slice of pie, sharing a moment with someone over Italian thick hot chocolate more valuable than its taste. Dessert was never only about enjoying the taste but enjoying it with someone.
And that’s why, this is a blog about the social form of sweets.
The set of photos that defined our later shoots that often revolve around catching a little air.
