Happy new year my friends! I know I haven't followed up on my pictures but I have been posting! I baked all the goods here for a new year's eve party for my friend.

I baked my signature fruit meringue (jamie oliver), brownies (anna olson) and chocolate meltaways (anna olson). You can refer to my old postings regarding the ingredients and procedures. I got a lot of feedback regarding the brownies on how sweet they are but I really like it like that and I think they are fine. Maybe 2 cups of sugar is really a bit too much. The cookies were a bit odd, I did everything the book told me to and the "soft dough" didn't come together until I added 3 egg yolks. Maybe I didn't have enough butter? I will explore this again.

I need you guys to do me a favor and encourage me to bake more, I feel that I some how lost that passion a bit to bake and instead, it just seems like a bit like a chore to me. I use to bake everyday or at lease cook and actually enjoy it. I need to look for that passion again.

Sometimes I just don't get it, its always a surprise and it hits me in the weirdest way. Well either way, I will not be shaken and I will always believe like I always have. I will cook/bake my way to the good life if I have to. =)

Cheers my friends! =) =) =)

Back to my roots.

Meringue, is the only friend I really know by heart. She is soft by heart and hard/crispy on the outside. She is the only one that i have tamed compared to the rest of the specialty items. She always turns out the way I want to, never a surprise, sweet and attracts a lot of attention.

I decided to share this with my coworkers on a nice cold pre-Christmas day. At first glance, people were at awe and curious about what it really is. But with confidence and assurance, I presented her to my audience and without surprise, it was a huge favourite.

Jamie Oliver, I owe you one.

Thanks!

Baking for me, is a way of escaping into a place of comforting and creativity. When I am in the kitchen, I lose track of time and is in a whole new utopia. I almost forgot how comforting baking could and can be. I mean, desserts are not meant to serve just one.

I had the time to bake something extremely different and new yesterday night. Chocolate Peanut Pretzel Squares.

Base:
unsalted butter
brown sugar
sugar
egg yolks
vanilla extract
all purpose flour
regular oats
salt

Topping:
semisweet chocolate
unsalted butter
corn syrup
pretzel pieces
chopped peanuts

The taste was very refreshing in a way that it was sweet and salt at the same time. There was great balance between the two and it kept me going back for more. My co-workers really enjoyed it and wanted to know how to bake it.

We will see how the lady reacts to it.

The beauty of baking cookies is the simplicity and the ability to share with friends and family. It is simple baking with endless possbilites in terms of flavouring. Yesterday night, I baked some peanut butter flavour cookies and Anna introduced me to a new technique; criss(sp?) cross. By pressing down on the cookie dough, it allows the cookie to flatten out since the cookie does not flatten by itself.

Basic cookie dough
125ml unsalted butter
125ml brown sugar
60ml sugar
1 egg
5ml vanilla extract
310ml all purpose flour
30ml cornstarch
2ml baking soda
2ml salt
125ml peanut butter

I baked it for 15 minutes at 350F but it was too much! And I burnt the bottom a bit =(.

Cold winter days here in Toronto, minus the snow which makes it a little better. Yesterday night I had the chance to bake some brownies for my mother's Christmas party. I have to admit, this recipe is really different from the others I did before. Instead of using the double boiler technique, she had me pour hot water onto the chocolate directly which was very strange. Also, what caught my attention was mayo. It was added to give moisture and is a substance to replace butter.

I didn't taste much of it yet or any at all, but I will give a review of it soon!

some christmas fun =)

Christmas is finally here, how can you tell? Welp, there is snow, cold winds and a christmas tree! Oh and of course, some cookies. =) After a long work day and the car thing al sorted out, I decided to continue with my Anna adventure and bake some more cookies out of her baking book.

This one was no easy task, I thought a food processor could be replaced with a blender that has "pulse" function to it. Boy was I wrong, it took so long to get everything nicely blended in and consistent. I almost broke my blender while I was at it. Anyways, this recipe was quite straight forward and easy, I recommend you try this yourself when you get the chance.

Pistachio Snowball Cookies
580 ml all purpose flour
250 ml roasted pistachios
80 ml sugar
1 ml salt
310 ml unsalted butter
5 ml vanilla extract

It doesn't look that great in this picture but I assure you that it tastes great. My grandma can testify to that, she one some this morning. =)