Thursday, January 27, 2011

Tinkerbell Doll Cake

Ooooh the holiday gifts thanking never stops, does it? That's because I received quite a number and I feel really excited when I get the chance to make use of them.

You see, I received a Wilton Doll Cake pan from an aunt and I was wondering how and when I'd be able to use it. Thanks to a number of Youtube videos, the Wilton site and a niece who fell in love with Tinkerbell, I got to make a doll cake for the very first time last wednesday.  It was really fun to do. I enjoyed decorating it as much as I am in awe of the pan. haha :D

Here's my finished product. My brother says, I did a pretty good job for a first time cake like this. hihi :D



That's her with her cake and party food. :) 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the many many food gifts our family had received for the holidays is a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter. It was actually given to my cousins family then her turning out to give the jar to us because she couldn't find any use of it since the little kids don't like its taste. It's more salty than sweet which is not very appealing to the Filipino palate when it comes to peanut butter. Well that's per observation though I don't mean to generalize. 

And so I make use of it by pairing it with jelly as in PB&J sandwich. They mix together so well that I end up gobbling up not just one but a few more sandwiches. I have also thought of making cookies out of them. And so I browsed through Tastespotting again [my go to site] for a good peanut butter cookie recipe. I decided on this one from Confabulation in the kitchen because of the rave reviews. The only little tweak I did was adding a cup of chocolate chips. I then teamed up with my cousin and her kiddos so we could bake in the new oven of their new house since her mom keeps asking me to 'baptize' her oven. hihi :D

Here's one of my neices with the waiting batch of cookie doughs

Us patiently waiting...

...for these babies to cook. 


And Voila! Beautiful and uberly tasty cookies!!! 

The perfect blend of Peanut butter, Oatmeal and Chocolate. 
Mmmmmmmmmmm :P


Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from AllRecipes


Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat shortening, butter, sugars and peanut butter until smooth, about three minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and mix well. Fold in oats, stirring until just combined.
4. Drop by teaspoon-fulls onto cookie sheets.
 Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are just brown on the edges. Cool for a couple of minutes on sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Thanks,  Abby of Confabulation in the Kitchen for sharing this recipe. This sure is a keeper! 




Monday, January 24, 2011

Lingerie Cookies

After the holidays, I wasn't really very busy anymore. Add to that the fact that I still wasn't taken back by the hospital so I didn't have to go there. I got bored. Sure I had to bake a number of goodies but they were box mixes and those simply aren't my thing. Take this red velvet cake for example. It's better than the first one I made but still I don't feel so fulfilled as I know I did it using a cake mix. It looks so pretty though. I just wanted to share. Fudge frosting btw is also store bought. 


Fortunately, I got an order of 150 cookies for a bachelorette party last Saturday. I started baking them on Monday and finished packing them on Friday night. I know it took quite a long time but it's okay. I also didn't have much control on the blacks so they were like bleeding. Good thing the client liked the end products.
Here they are. 

150 cookies in the making.

the start of the decoration job. 

finished products.

another view.

The red lace looking part of the packaging were actually strips of cartolina run through a Martha Stewart puncher gifted to me by an aunt for Christmas. :)

Hope you enjoyed them. :D





Monday, January 17, 2011

Oatmeal Choc Chunk Cookies

We have a big bag of oatmeal gifted to us during the holiday season and I swear it begs to be noticed. The holidays never seem to stop for us. I guess that's because some of our cousins who don't actually live here[they're from the US] are still here and my Lola[grandmother]'s dining table is never empty. Meat mostly and sweet sweets[know what I mean?], foods like these make me miss the good stuff. I mean those that are really good for the body like veggies and fruits, and maybe oatmeal. :)

I was browsing through Tastespotting days ago and found this Oatmeal Kiss Cookie Recipe from Within the Kitchen Blog. Like her, I am looking for a good oatmeal cookie recipe. Hers looked really appetizing so I decided to try it. I found the chocolate addition interesting as it wasn't mixed with the batter like the ones with chocolate chips, just placed on top. I didn't have 'mini-kisses' but I still had about two thirds of a bar of dark swiss chocolate sitting in the fridge [one of the many chocolate gifts last Christmas.] Please forgive me if I didn't get the name. I found it wrapped in foil when I decided to use it for the recipe. I then used a knife to cut it into small bits and topped them on each cookie. 

So here they are.



Wish i took better photographs. 
Guess I'm just not a pro in that aspect. 

The Verdict? Right after baking it, I said to my mom that I want to just give them away because they're not sweet. I didn't like them. She grabbed a bite and so did my sister. They both disagreed with me and my ranting. I then decided to pack them and keep 'em in the fridge. Yesterday, we went to an island and I gulped up considerable amounts of salt water like more than three times! So when I got home, I needed a quick sweet fix. I opened the fridge and looked for my cookies. I grabbed one, then another, until I finished what were left in the bag. [Don't look at me with accusing eyes yet. There were only about five left and I gave one to my sister so I ate the four. haha] In short, I loved them and I'm going to make more of them soon. :) 

Thanks, Within the Kitchen Blog for the recipe. [I'm sorry I can't find the name of the writer].
If you need the recipe, head over to her blog entry




Monday, January 10, 2011

Pirate Cookies

Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrhhhh!!!
The treasure must be here somewhere....


Well here they are! My first project for 2011. Pirate Cookies for a birthday party.

Aren't they adorable? :)

I'm kinda sick right now[cough and colds] and looking at how cute they turned out is kinda making me feel better. 
Haha so much for self love. 
But I do hope you liked them. :)

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Holidays of 2010

First off Happy New Year, Everyone! 
I know it's been quite a long time since I last posted. The holiday season has been quite busy yet very rewarding for me. I've baked quite a number that's why I got too lazy to post. 

Anyhoo, 2010 has been a fun year for me. Especially that I got to get back to work at the hospital and travel even to just nearby destinations. It also marked the start of my baking blog which will be a year older next month.[Yay!] And it was on that year that I kinda fell in love and got broken hearted a few months after. 

Now 2011 is here and I'm looking forward to a number of things. I know so many can happen within a year and we'll never know what might come our way. Well anyway, I only have fond wishes and hopes of continued good health for everyone.

Right now though, I'd like to share to you the last few goodies I made for 2010. Did them through the holidays. Btw, my aunt brought more than 10 cake, muffin and brownie mixes for me to do. I'm not a fan of those stuff but sometimes, it's just the most convenient and because my family thinks of me as the 'baker girl/cupcake girl' already, I have to do the baking for them. It's not always fun but there's something with the sound of the mixer and the heat of the oven that makes my day. hihi

Here are the stuff I sold during the holidays.

 Holiday Cookies [Poinsettia, Christmas Tree, Santa Claus, Winter House, Hollies and 2011 Bunny Cookies]

Chocolate Fudge Frosted Chocolate Cakes for Christmas and New Year

Here are the ones I made for the family. 
 Scorched Cheese Lasagna :D

Berry Medley Cheesecake
[Pie crust was ready made by Honey Maid but cheesecake was made from scratch. Berry Medley  Filling by Comstock.]

Chocolate Mint Brownie 
[Brownie Mix by Pillsbury]

There are still a lot more but haven't taken pictures of. 
More box mixes to bake. 

Happy New Year again, Everyone! 
:D