Oatmeal Cookies!

Awesome stuff here! It's a great cookie recipe that the whole family loves. Finally something that everyone enjoys. *Sighs in relief*

I hope this is my gateway to something bigger. The first step to a thousand miles. In the meantime...

It gets tiring sometimes... But only then can you feel the adrenaline rush. What's life without a little excitement? 

2012

It's my favourite recipe again... And it's the time of the year where I look back and make my new year resolution. With chocolate chip cookies!

Last year's resolution was to forgive. I DID IT. I found perfection in imperfection and learning to let go was one of the most difficult things that I had to do. I've accomplished much for baking, I've learnt to love so much more and to all those who completed my 2011, I can't thank you enough for accepting me and letting me into your life.

This year's resolution is to learn to love myself more. I'm not perfect, because I don't have to be. Instead of trying to prove myself, I'm learning to live for myself. As much as I've let go, I also realised that in the process, I forgot what it was like to hold on to what truly matters. It's scary when I let myself be defined by material gains. Because at the end of the day, those aren't what makes me truly happy. University showed me many amazing people, and I've been inspired in countless ways. Stories shared awakened emotions, reminding me that somewhere not so deep within, I was still that girl that I've always wanted to be but never dared to be.

So this year, I'll be that girl. And I'll continue to inspire. Because we've only got one life, it's time to make it count.

As I usher in this year, I've made some mistakes. Mistakes that had to be made, that opened up my heart to what I couldn't see with my eyes. This time, I don't want to make a mistake again. Too important, therefore I am too afraid. Don't want to be lost again without my pillar of strength and inspiration.

On a side note, I hope this happens!:

2am

2am

Name of a dessert bar
The aftermath of a run
Realisation
Of a self-fulfilling prophecy

Remembering this last time the heart smiled
There were cookie crumbs on faces, on teeth, on hearts

A reminder to never lose sight of what we call love
In this crazy whirlwind of what we call life.

There is no telling how many miles you'll have to run in chasing a dream

Shortbread Cookies

The first time I baked since I started school! And it was part of my campaigning process for ABC business manager. So shortbread cookies shaped into 'F', to win votes. But I think a little less butter might be better. Still though, it tasted good! As they say, the way to anyone's heart is through the stomach!

I really want to thank my roomie for helping me and for being so awesome! Most days I think about how lucky I am to have met her and to have her as a roomie. When she returns to Denmark, I guess I'll be a lonely soul again in hall 16. :(

It's amazing how adorable my friends are. Never thought I could make such great friends in university. Thanks guys, for coming down and for singing the songs. Like I said, it's friends like y'all that gave me the bizmag position. And honestly, if not for Mario and all, I'll be nowhere near the 383 votes. Campaigning was crazy tiring, but the amount of love I felt, is enough to make up for anything.

I guess I can never hit that pause button for baking even though life is rushing by me like a bullet train. University made me know a lot more people and at the end of the day, I realised that passion is everywhere. You know it'll never leave you once you find meaning in doing what you love. Sometimes though, I wish that we could all dare to love a little bit more. Then maybe we could all smile a little bit more.

4 years to learn to love again. Family, Friends, Food. :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies 2

Just a farewell gift to mark the end of my internship! While I did meet some wonderful people, had some fun, and gained valuable experiences, I must say that Im SO GLAD IT'S OVER!! Guess I wouldn't elaborate on it, except that working is really a whole different life and for those still studying, enjoy it while it lasts. You don't know what you lose, till you lose it.



Tried to do some ginger cookies with the same cookie dough, but I probably didn't do my estimation well. Only thing I realised: I absolutely dislike ginger cookies. :/

But I was just thinking, due to strong faith and confidence in my cookie recipe, that perhaps I can create variations/flavours and in the future when I open my own shop, I can specialise on cookies. At least have it as a signature product. Ah, when we're young, we dare to dream.

I'll fly to Paris before I turn 30.

Cinnamon Chips Cookies

I bought the cinnamon chips on impulse a while back at Hershey's World in Citylink and it was due to expiry soon! So, hey I gotta make use of it else I would waste my 8 bucks. I used my chocolate chips cookie recipe and used cinnamon chips instead of chocolate chips. Added a dash of cinnamon powder and tadaa! Cinnamon chips cookies. :)

They taste pretty good, just that I find the chips too sweet. And the best cookies are actually a little burnt. Chaota. Bagus! Then I packed them up and gave to my department which I will bid farewell to today as I rotate to another department. Pretty sad, I hope I'll be fine and happy there. Will miss my seat terribly, good fengshui and people.

Heyhey! How's this bros?

Cinnamon Snaps

Probably the second or third time I've attempted these cookies and hey it is still as awesome! Finally I can give these cookies to my dear friend that I've promised since last last christmas...

I substituted treacle with maple syrup and the cookies turned out just as great. Proving that I was right that they are substitutes! It's a nice discovery.



Awesome cookies. The best thing is, I actually got my recipe from IKEA. Who would've thought there would be baking demonstrations in IKEA.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Recently, someone posed a question to me. Why are some cookies as hard as a rock?

I was a little taken aback, because I didn't think that cookies could go so wrong. Cookies have very simple steps, but are yet the most versatile. Everywhere you'll find thousands of recipes for a single type of cookie. It is the best stepping stone for any beginner, or for last minute presents (especially to impress your other half!) So in any case, I thought about what could go wrong and decided to start:

Fionainthekitchen Lesson #01

Recipe: Peanut butter cookies

170g butter

105g brown sugar

100g brown sugar

100g caster sugar

185g peanut butter

280g plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

80g raw peanut (chopped)

1) Whisk sugars and butters together.

2) Pour in beaten egg and vanilla essence and whisk.

3) Fold in sifted flour and then peanut.

4) Preheat oven at 180C and bake for till golden brown.

So firstly, prepare all your ingredients and make sure your work table is clean and tidy.

Whisk until the colour changes to a lighter brown. This is a very important step for incorporating air into the mixture. Whisk in a clockwise/ anticlockwise direction and the colour will fade because butter becomes lighter when creamed with sugar. In this case, due to the brown sugar and peanut butter, it is a little less obvious.

After the addition of the egg and vanilla essence, this is another significant step which will ensure that the cookies retain air holes, bringing about cookies that the teeth can handle! Folding in is a method that involves the use of a spatula which cuts and 'folds' the dough. It is done in a clockwise direction, and turning the bowl constantly helps to speed things up. To mix the flour in i.e. in a stirring motion, would be a big mistake. Remember to sift the flour as it incorporates air.

When done, roll into balls. Here's a tip, the smaller your cookies, the more addictive they are. Be careful, they're so addictive it can be lethal for those with a sweet tooth!

Use a fork and press down the balls.

How then do you know it's cooked? When you flip the cookie over, it must be golden brown. Don't worry if it feels a bit soft, it will harden once it's cooled.

Finally, fill the crunch when you bite into one of them!

Hopefully this helps in the creation of many delicious cookies. Remember, cookies like cake also require air to be incorporated inside. So folding in and whisking of the butter is very important. Lastly, bake with confidence and you can't go too wrong!

Christmas Cookies (2) - Butterman

Christmas cookies part 2 for X'mas Kind of Wonderful!

Each cookie is a classmate attending the party tomorrow. Hopefully they wouldn't mind eating themselves! And yes, this is adapted from Eden's birthday party cookies.

3I in all its glory:



I think I took tedious to a whole new level. Wrapping each cookie individually and writing all their names really tire me out. But I think the smiles and laughter will be worth all the work. However, I think I'm too tired for a log cake. HOW.



Okay I need to start eating 3 meals a day. THREE.

Christmas Cookies (1) - Swedish Gingersnaps

Part 1 of christmas baking:

Swedish gingersnaps. I didn't have treacle, so I substituted it with maple syrup instead. And it tasted just as good. This is my favourite biscuit/cookie. In fact, I love it more than my chocolate chips cookies.

It's a lot of effort though, the dough has to be made the day before and then it has to be rolled into 3mm thickness and shaped with a cookie cutter. But I was really glad I did it, thanks to an sms that reminded me that time can be "made"!

Cheryl is really cute, she loves it so much too, I shall make her a packet after christmas.



There's still part 2, 3, and 4 of christmas baking!

I'm getting quite worried though, today I cannot fit into my jeans anymore. I can't fit into my shorts which I got from Malaysia. That shirt I bought became a loose fit. I don't want to live in belts. Meat is becoming a struggle again.

What happened to my appetite?

Eden's 3rd Birthday

A cake for dearest Eden who turns 3 tomorrow!

This is the awesomest cake I've ever done. It's an oreo cake and inside, the cake is a layer of oreo crumbs with whipped cream sandwiched between two slices of chocolate sponge cake. It's meant to look like an oreo biscuit, with black biscuits and white cream. This is then engulfed in cream and the sides are covered with oreo crumbs. And it's a happy face for Eden!

Then, as take home stuff for the kids, I became an artist and using my "paint", created...

cute little boys and girls! These butter cookies are quite tasty too!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

And finally, this is the happy birthday girl. Hopefully everything tastes great tomorrow and everyone will have a whole load of fun!

Does Eden look like the cake?

My first project ACCOMPLISHED!

My big project is accomplished! Awaiting for feedback always makes me nervous, but whatever the outcome, I just feel so proud of myself. The products of fiona being inthekitchen for 13 hours:



The three layers of cupcakes!



Thousands and Hundreds on cupcakes...



M&M on cupcakes. Erupting like a volcano, into a myraid of colours!



And the top layer with my blessings. =)

12 packets of chocolate chip cookies, each a 100grams.



Sushi: crabstick, cucumber, egg. And another plate for extras.



The finished products all together. It just brought so much joy to me when I took that picture.



Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows while making it.
Rolling the sushi was harder than I thought, since I was using only half a piece of seaweed to do this kind of roll.



But giving up is not an option, so I wiped the sweat away and conquered the almighty sticky rice and flimsy seaweed!

It's time to do some reflections, something rarely seen in this blog of mine, saturated with pictures of food.

Firstly, throughout this whole experience, I never once questioned myself why I was doing this. I never thought about all the things I could accomplish with the time if I didn't accept this task. The thought that kept surfacing into my head was how Melinda would remember her 2nd birthday. And when I think about the permanent memory this would be captured as in pictures, that I made this memory with my own hands, I realise that this is what makes all the sweat worth.

I will never regret doing this and even though I sold everything at a hundred bucks, the opportunity to do this was priceless. Simply because people trusted that I could do it.

I know this post will mean a lot to me. Just like how much this blog will mean to me. 3 years ago, I started off with the image of my mum screaming at me, telling me that I will never be able to make anything and that I should not waste my time. 3 years on, I proved to myself, with this blog, that what I do is going to be something bigger than what everyone initially thought.

It's possible sometimes, with encouragement from all those dear ones, to make your dream come true. So dream big, and stay happy.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My life is almost pathetic now, so in order to cheer myself up and make the world seem more meaningful, I decided to spend my sunday STUDY-FREE.



The story of the creation of these chocolate chip cookies:

A long long time ago, a girl set out to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. She wanted a recipe that would make the cookies seem like pringles. Once you start, you can't stop.

So she went poring through mountains of books, some from the National Library, some from the library near her home and some from her very own recipe book. She even went into major bookstores like MPH and Borders and snapped pictures illegally of the recipes in books she knew she could never afford to buy.


None really worked out well. But she persisted, knowing that someday, she'll find the recipe she was destined for. So she went on to the Internet. And that was when she gained a valuable lesson. The internet is filled with JUNK. Recipes that you could tell at first glance that it'll never work out had five star ratings. Chocolate chip cookies recipes were so abundant, it was like a matchmaking agency.


She knew she couldn't continue searching aimlessly anymore. So, heartlessly and without a single tear, she threw away all the newspaper cuttings, photocopied pages from books and printed out recipes, all of which promised nothing but empty hopes.


Then, she found a highly reliable source and a person to whom she will be eternally grateful to for showing her the ropes to baking. This recipe didn't just come from any dusty old grandma's book. It came from a hotel. And everytime she bakes this, she would tweak the ingredients a bit, just so it would taste different every single time.

I like to think I found my destiny.

*If you are inspired by my touching story, and wish to give these cookies a chance, just request for the recipe and I'll mail it to you.

Cinnamon cookies

This was originally meant to be gingersnaps, but I could not find the gound ginger and cloves, hence I replaced both of them with ground cinnamon instead. The sugar can be slightly cut down and it is very important to make the cookies as thin as possible as they taste better thin. Use a good and big rolling pin.

Here is how thin it should be. As it gets thinner, it's best to roll slowly and exert more force. There's a trick to doing it and you usually get it after the first batch.



Cut it with a cookie cutter.



Remove it slowly and carefully. It tends to break very easily as it is very thin.



Baked. Take note that it burns very easily so keep an eye on the cookies!



Here's the original recipe:

Swedish Gingersnaps

Ingredients:
300g Sugar
100ml Water
50ml Treacle (Molasses)
1.5tsp Ground Cinnamon
1.5tsp Ground Ginger
1.5tsp Ground Cloves
200g Butter
560g Plain Flour
2tsp Baking soda
Brandy (optional)

1) Bring sugar, water, treacle and spices to a boil and let the mixture cool.
2) Add butter little by little (and brandy if used). Stir vigorously.
3) Add sifted flour and baking soda.Let the dough rest overnight.
4) Roll out the dough to 1-2mm thickness. If it is too dry,a little water may be added. Do not let the dough get too wet as it will stick on to the rolling pin. This is best done on non-stick paper.
5) Cut using a cookie cutter and bake at 200 degree Celsius for 5-8 minutes.
6) Leave to cool and store in airtight containers. They may be kept up to a week.

If anyone knows where to find the ground cloves and ginger, please let me know! Thank you.