Hey guys, it has been yet another month since I posted anything here.

This whole Veganism has changed some things in terms of cooking.

I don’t have as much options as I did before and I’ve been lacking the motivation to cook new things.

In the mean time, I leave you with this famous cookie amongst my friends, they go crazy for these!

One of my colleagues has been pleading me to bring these cookies to school for about a year now – I still haven’t, poor guy!

After chocolate chip cookies, THESE are # 2 in my top cookies list and you can even make them Vegan!

Just use a Vegan friendly margarine like Earth Balance (Sold in the U.S.A) or Olé (Sold in Mozambique/South Africa) and

apple sauce or banana puré to substitute the eggs. Of course you can always use egg replacers.

Like most cookies, this is a VERY easy recipe, anyone can make this. The only thing you need to know is working with your oven. :P

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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter/margarine

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup lightly crushed peanuts

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

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DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC

Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, peanuts, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter.

Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

    To me, this recipe is essential to every food blog out there!

    The famed $250  Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe, an urban legend still told and believed by some to this day.

    In the legend, a woman and her daughter enjoy a cookie while shopping at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas,

    and ask for the recipe. The waiter informs her there will be a “two-fifty” charge, which the woman interprets

    as a modest $2.50. Upon receiving her VISA statement, she is shocked to discover she has been charged

    $250.00 instead. In revenge, she photocopies the recipe and urges her friends to distribute it for free to

    everyone they know so that the store will make no further profit on its sale.

    The Neiman Marcus Cookie sold is actually quite different from this recipe, they even show the recipe for

    free in their website.

    .

    Its so silly how so many people actually believe in this story, here are a few things that prove it isn’t:

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    • Prior to the emergence of the legend, the store did not have a chocolate chip cookie;
    • A similar story has been around since the 1940s, originally involving a red velvet cake
      recipe from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the story’s focus
      shifted to cookies. The cookie version of the story originally was attached to Mrs. Fields
      cookies, causing that company eventually to post disavowals of the notices at all its stores.
    • Neiman-Marcus for most of its history only accepted its own card and American Express.

    .

    So there you have it folks, not a true story.

    However, whoever did invent this recipe sure knew what they were doing, these cookies are DELICIOUS.

    So good in fact, that I find it difficult to choose between the classic chocolate chip cookies and these.

    …and boy do I LOVE chocolate chip cookies! :D

    Like most cookie recipes, its very easy to make. So why not make these for New Years as a delicious treat?

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    INGREDIENTS:

    .

    2½ cups rolled oats

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    1 tsp baking powder

    1 tsp baking soda

    ½ tsp salt

    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

    1 cup granulated sugar

    1 cup brown sugar

    2 eggs

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

    4 ounces milk chocolate chips

    1½ cups chopped walnuts/pecans

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    DIRECTIONS:

    .

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

    2. Blend the oats in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. In a medium bowl whisk together

    the blended oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

    3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy,

    3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

    Beat in the vanilla extract. On low speed gradually mix in the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

    With a rubber spatula fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

    4. Roll the dough into 2-ounce balls (or about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth) and place about 2 inches apart

    on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cookies should be lightly brown and set on the

    outside but still look a little undone in the middle. That’s okay – they will finish setting up after you remove them

    from the oven. Let cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

    Store in an airtight container.

    delete

    I got so frustrated thinking what to call these cookies!… thinking how to start this post

    and sounding silly in the process.

    I’ve been playing Dragon Age Origins for the past 4 hours now and as a result having “writers block”.

    So, as promised, here is yet another 4 weeks of Christmas recipe post!

    Yet another sweet recipe, I just can’t get enough of sweets!

    Next week I promise to share a savory Christmas recipe, maybe turkey?

    This recipe is from Ana Maria Braga, she calls them American Cookies – not the best name, this

    explains why I had to think of a new more suitable one. They’re really yummy and sweet, I just love

    dunking them in a glass full of cold milk!

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    INGREDIENTS:

    .

    2 cups sugar

    1/2 cup vegetable oil

    2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

    120 g semi sweet chocolate/dark chocolate – melted

    2 eggs

    2 cups flour

    1 cup icing/powdered sugar

    2 tsp baking powder

    pinch of salt

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    DIRECTIONS:

    .

    In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients – leaving out the icing sugar.

    Mix well until you obtain a sticky dough. Wrap this in saran wrap

    or wax paper and keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

    With a buttered spoon or a small ice cream scoop, scoop small portions and roll into balls.

    Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.

    Roll the balls into the plate with the icing sugar, completely covering each ball.

    Place the cookie balls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes

    .

    hhhhh

    delte2

    dellee


    cookies

    Who says gingerbread is only made for Christmas?

    I say gingerbread is for any occasion and not made just as gingerbread men.

    Gingerbread for Halloween!

    Gingerbread ghosts, pumpkins, cats and bats. Whatever Halloween cookie cutter you have.

    Cookie cutters are great because they’re easy to use and the finished product is always super cute.

    Especially if you decorate them with icing and color.

    For my last year’s Halloween party I served a couple of these super cute cookies you see above.

    Everyone loved them, although, later the pizza got all of the attention. :)

    If you don’t have any Halloween cookie cutters, there are plenty of places you can buy online.

    .

    Places like:

    Cakes, Cookies and Crafts Shop

    The Cookie Cutter Shop

    Shop Baker’s Nook

    Sugar Craft

    .

    Not only do they supply a large range of Halloween cookie cutters, but edible decorations and

    decorating supplies.

    I used a simple icing recipe and added a few drops of food coloring.

    To obtain my black I made a mixture of red, green and blue, adding many drops of each to obtain

    a strong dark color, black!

    I used chocolate chips for the ghosts eyes, this all took me about 30 minutes to frost 45 cookies.

    So for this years Halloween why not make some Gingerbread Halloween Cookies?

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    INGREDIENTS:

    .

    Gingerbread Cookies

    3 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour

    1/4 tsp salt

    3/4 tsp baking soda

    2 tsp ground ginger

    1 tsp ground cinnamon

    1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

    1/4 tsp ground cloves

    1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

    1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

    1 large egg

    2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molasses

    .

    Icing

    2 cups confectioners’ sugar

    3 tbsps milk

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    2 tbsp butter

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    DIRECTIONS:

    .

    Gingerbread Cookies

    In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

    In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment,

    cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

    Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture

    beating until incorporated.

    Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two

    hours or overnight.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

    Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

    On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.

    Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies.

    With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies

    about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart.

    If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies

    with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.

    Bake for about 8 – 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies.

    Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes.

    They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

    Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes.

    When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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    Icing

    In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended.

    Add the vanilla extract.

    With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.

    Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater.

    Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).

    Add a little more milk if too dry.

    Tint portions of frosting with desired food color.

    Use a small spoon to place the icing on the cookie and spread carefully with a knife.

    .

    Makes about 45 cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.

    Cookies

    Here it is, my first actual recipe post to this new and improved site!

    Halloween is getting close and most of you know or should know that its one of my fave

    holidays, second to Christmas. :P

    ..and most of you know or should know that one of my fave veggies is pumpkin/butternut squash.

    Lets combine the two, shall we?

    …and you get Halloween themed pumpkin cookies!

    There are so many things that can be done… Like a Pumpkin Bread baked in a round cake tin,

    covered in chocolate ganache with a white chocolate spiderweb drawn on top. Hmmm…

    Now that I’ve mentioned it, I just might make it for the big day.  :)

    These cookies are easy and fun to make, call over a friend to help you make the silly skulls, spiders,

    spider webs, go nuts!

    Another thing you can do to get that Halloween orange and black decoration theme, is by simply

    dipping the cookies half way into dark chocolate.

    Another idea I just had for all you milk and cookies lovers is by adding green food coloring to the

    milk just to make it look gross! Dip in your spooky cookies and you got yourself a tasty Halloween treat. :)

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    INGREDIENTS:

    .

    Cookies

    2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    2 tsp baking powder

    2 tsp ground cinnamon

    1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

    1/2 tsp ground cloves

    1/2 tsp salt

    1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

    1 1/2 cups white sugar

    1 cup canned pumpkin puree

    1 egg

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    .

    Icing

    2 cups confectioners’ sugar

    3 tbsp milk

    1 tsp vanilla extract

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    DIRECTIONS:

    .

    Cookies

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon,

    nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

    2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/4 cup of butter and white sugar.

    Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy.

    Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

    3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

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    Icing

    1. To Make Icing: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

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    coookies

    Makes 40 cookies