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.

    I’m alive guys!

    So sorry for the delay, laziness has taken over and something new has happened.

    I have become a Vegan.

    OMG! The end of Freakin’ Delicious!?!?

    Not quite. I will still be posting delicious NON VEGAN recipes, along with some Vegan ones.

    Yeah, I had to put that in Caps, just to make sure you didn’t miss it, because your probably thinking…

    Ewwwww! Vegan!?

    No, its not ewwwww, there are a lot yummy Vegan friendly recipes out there!

    Stuff like Seitan, the delicious wheat meat that tastes just like actual meat.

    Many new and interesting things to come, so don’t go anywhere!

    …and again, don’t worry – there will still be some cruelty to animals here on the site, shame on me.

    Recipes full of Eggs, Milk, Butter, Chicken, etc.

    So no changes to Freakin’ Delicious, other than having some Vegan recipes.

    This Mango Mousse is not Vegan, containing cows milk.

    The recipe is from my mom’s old recipe journal, so no idea where its originally from.

    Its a refreshing and light dessert, perfect for hot Summer days.

    Most of you guys are suffering with Winter, just stay strong and make this in a couple of months. :D

    As for all of us down in the Southern Hemisphere, make this – its freakin’ delicious!

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    INGREDIENTS:

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    2 boxs of mango gelatin

    1 large mango, cut into small cubes

    3 cups water

    1 can evaporated milk (you can use fat free)

    2 egg whites

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    DIRECTIONS:

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    Make the gelatin as instructed in the box, using 3 cups of water and let cool.

    Beat the egg whites into a meringue consistency for about 5 minutes and gently pour

    the evaporated milk without stopping beating. Beat this for about 3 minutes and add the

    mango gelatin syrup. Add this point you can add some fruit to the mix.

    Get a deep parfait dish and wet the inside with cold water.

    Pour the mango mousse into the dish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

    Now that the mousse is a bit more firm, you can add your cut up mango pieces to the top.

    Refrigerate this for 3 more hours and its done!

    I know what your thinking…

    “What has gotten into this girl?! All I’ve been seeing is sweet recipes here!”

    “What is this, a baked sweets only blog?”

    Am I right or am I right? I can’t help it, I have a undying love for sweet baked goods.

    It’s all I seem to make these days. From time to time I make some savory things but not like

    I used to. Dinners have become snack time around here or left overs from lunch.

    As a result, Freakin’ Delicious has become a sweets only place. Which is not what I wanted,

    I love savory dishes! Especially baked savory dished, as you can see, I have a thing for baked foods. :P

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    So for my next recipe, I will try to post something savory. In the mean time, enjoy these delicious cupcakes

    from one of my favorite blog Vanilla Garlic. Vanilla Garlic is a special blog, because it has the most

    unique and different recipes. Like Bacon Cupcakes, Pea Cupcakes, Green Tea Cupcakes, Butternut Squash

    Cupcakes, etc. The blog specializes in cupcakes, the weirdest flavors, but don’t let the ingredients fool you.

    They are good! Have you ever heard of the combination of vanilla and thyme? Most likely you haven’t,

    yet the taste is surprisingly very good. These new combination make new flavors that I’m sure one day will

    be a normal staple to cooking. Anybody want to some Maple Bacon Cupcakes?

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    INGREDIENTS:

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    Cupcakes

    3/4 cup (1-1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

    1-2/3 cups vanilla sugar

    2 large eggs, room temperature

    2-2/3 cups flour

    1-1/2 tsp baking powder

    1/4 tsp salt

    3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

    1 tsp vanilla extract

    1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

    2 tsp of loosely packed, fresh thyme

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    Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

    1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature

    8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature

    2 – 3 cups of powdered sugar

    1 tsp of vanilla extract

    Scrapings from 1/2 of a vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract

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    DIRECTIONS:

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    Cupcakes

    1. Beat the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

    2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in each for 30 seconds.

    3. Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and thyme into one bowl.

    4. Measure the milk, vanilla bean scrapings, and vanilla into another bowl.

    5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine.

    Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between

    dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

    6. Scoop into cupcake papers about 2/3 full. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

    Allow to cool on wire racks. When completely cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

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    Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

    1. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium

    speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

    2. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla bean and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until

    you get to desired sweetness.

    3. Either spread on with a blunt knife or spatula, or spoon into a piping bag to decorate your cake

    or cupcake.

    4. Sprinkle some Thyme on top to decorate.

    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.

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    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.

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    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:

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    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:

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    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:

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    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:

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    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

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    hhhhh

    delte2

    dellee