C is for Cookie.

Nope, it’s not just cookie monster who loves cookies. I DO TOO! (:

Every year during chinese new year, I look forward to having the chocolate chip cookie made by the mr’s mum. A whole big bottle to myself. haha. Not good for the waist, but oh so good for my tummy! The buttery, nutty and chocolatey goodness will just melt in your mouth. It’s awesome. Really.

So I had a craving for cookies, and wanted to be adventurous. haha and in my mind, i wanted something nutty, chocolatey and also crunchy! I looked through my whole list of “to bake” list and found a perfect recipe.

Crispy salted oatmeal almond white chocolate cookies! These were crisp and sprinkling the top with a little fleur de sel was a special touch which brought it to another level! Was so good, really. The Mr loved it as well. hehe which is always a bonus!

Although the recipe from Smitten Kitchen used just plain white chocolate, but I had a bar of almond white chocolate from Lindt sitting on the kitchen bench, and instead of gobbling down the whole bar (which would really happen), I decided to put it in the cookie and share the calories with everyone! haha

If you haven’t tried it, you really should. You would not stop eating it. I swear. It’s not just me… is it? haha ah wells. TRY IT!

and like Smitten Kitchen, I agree that you should only use good quality chocolate. But if you don’t have ay in your pantry, then I guess the chips will do for now!

Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Almond Cookies via Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Cook’s Illustrated

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

170g good quality white chocolate, chopped (I used the Lindt one shown above)

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (for sprinkling on top)

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 3/4-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

not perfect but love it that it isn’t!

all packed and ready to give to….

So, I’m going to be real straightforward and ask: Would any of  you dear readers be kind enough to order my baked goods to raise funds for my wedding? I’m really free these days as it’s the school holidays so if you do wanna order anything and I mean anything (cupcake, macarons or cookies) just leave me a message using the feedback or email me! Would love to hear from you! (: Thanks! Many thanks!

email : lianne.low@gmail.com

Hershey’s Kisses (Nutella) Blossoms

I have been wanting to bake these for the longest time. My dearest cousin, Gladys, blogged about these a while back and I promised her we would bake this together. I am SO GLAD we did! (: I had so much fun making it with her, and I tried my best to let her get involved, seeing how I am always very bossy in the kitchen haha. So I hope she enjoyed herself as much as I did!

So off we went to the supermarket to get Hershey’s Kisses! (: It’s like my favourite type of choc ever! I love the almonds ones, but something else attracted our eyes : CARAMEL! Who could resist caramel ? I definitely can’t. hehe

to be honest, I have always been hesistant about making cookies. Of course I have failed in making cupcakes or cakes before, but somehow, the failure in making cookies hit me more than the others did! So I left the cookie baking to my baby. hehe. But this time, I decided to suck it up and give it another shot! I love how it looks! It’s sooo pretty! (: Makes me smile just looking at the photos!

So here’s the recipe for these cookies my cousin found in a magazine, she can’t really remember. I changed it alittle so enjoy! (:

Ingredients : Makes 48 cookies (but we got 53!)

48 Hershey’s Kisses (any flavour you want, number changes according to how many cookies u yield)
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Nutella (original recipe calls for 3/4cup of Reese’s creamy peanut butter)
1/3 cup caster sugar (I omitted this)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (If u use peanut butter, use 1/3 cup)
1 egg
2 tablespoon milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
Caster sugar (extra)
1/2 tsp salt

Steps :

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 Degree Celcius.
2. Beat shortening and nutella in a large bowl. Add 1/3 cup granulated  & brown sugar , beat until fluffy.

3. Add egg, milk and vanilla extract. Beat well.

4. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and gradually beat into mixture.

5. Shape dough into 1 inch sized balls. Roll in sugar, and  place on ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 8-10minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a Hershey’s kisses chocolate into the center.

Guess who wants some?

Tips :

1) Depending on what you use, you might want to cut your sugar down. I completed omitted the caster sugar and reduced the brown sugar cause Nutella is sweet! (:

2) I baked mine for 8 mins and the softness of the outer layer of the cookie was soft enough to push the kisses in. 10 mins might be a little too hard.

3) I didn’t use ungreased cookie sheet, I just used the normal baking sheet, it tured out fine!

4) Don’t roll the dough to anything bigger than 1 inch, as it will flatten out a bit too much and it won’t look as pretty!

ps : No I didn’t give Drummer chocolate, yes I know it will kill her. I love her too much! (:

pss : thanks cousin for sharing the recipe and baking with me! love ya!

Melting Moments with Lemon Buttercream

ever wanted to make something that takes really little time and yet tastes so good that you would squeeze in time just to make them?

Having more time on my hands now, all I want to do is bake. haha so cupcake one day, today cookies!

to be honest, I was never a cookie person (baby is!) normally my cookies don’t come out good. but this one is simple enough to taste yumms!

so give it a try! (: Then you won’t have to pay $2 (or more) for one at a cafe! haha

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