Monthly Archives: December 2011

A Very Merry Holiday With A Hot Fudge Sundae

Well, here we are at the end of 2011. What has happened for me?

I started this blog (YAY)’
I had my year 10 formal (woohoo!)
I turned 16 (the age of party, driving etc.)
I explored and became part of my baking – it is no longer a hobby, it is in my blood 🙂

Sounds like a pretty satisfying year to me? But what about you my dear readers – this year came and went so quickly – what happened for all of you? A marriage, a family addition? A celebration of some sort?

I am sure that whatever happened, 2011 was a year of goodwill, cheer and fabulous times for all of you – how else could it possibly have gone so fast?

Now, I do believe the Aztecs have predicted that the end of world is upon us in 2012. Specifically, “The Mayan calendar comes to an end on Sunday, December 23, 2012” – http://www.greatdreams.com/end-world.htm
How creepy that that is exactly 1 year and 1 day away!!! *Shudders*

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 9: Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake (Thickshake)

I got the idea from here – those are some talented and creative cooks at Two Peas & Their Pod! But that is where the similarities end between my milkshake creation and theirs… and that is a good thing for me 😛

Let me put one thing straight – I cannot consider this a milkshake. This is a THICKSHAKE. My straw was having trouble slurping this up so I basically ended up scooping it out and eating it with a spoon – and it was so worth it! Vying for the ‘Most Creative Chocolate Chip Dough/Cookie’ section winner, I can’t say this beats that double chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (perhaps since I am a little partial to ice cream…) but it came very close.

See, I was a little apprehensive about this shake. Ever tried Max Brenner’s Cookie Shake? It tastes like Oreo cookies crumbled and drowned in a porridge consisting of rolled oats, weetbix and that gross Up ‘n’ Go! *Shudders*

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 8: Malted Milk Powder Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know it says published 19th December but here in Aus it is the 20th – how time travel style, Doctor Who cool is that!

Sorry, but being the child I am, I sometimes have to let all my pent up festive excitement out (as seen through the way I devour fruit mince pies, tear open presents in a frenzy, adore the secrets of Kris Kringle and love watching Christmas themed reruns of Sabrina the Teenage Witch…)

Back to the post now…

What is malted milk powder? On stumbling on this chocolate chip cookie recipe, that was the first thing that hit me. See, Australia is kind of a baking goods hole a.k.a you can find no toffee chips, or Reese’s special hot fudge topping etc. unless you go to specialty shops in the city or further beyond. No wonder I had never heard of this thing before!

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 7: Thick And Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am asking you a very personal question – have you ever had that dream where you are eating a giant marshmallow but on waking, are actually chewing on your pillow? No?

Good because obviously neither have I. But I believe now that should I ever happen to have this dream (stranger things have happened, I assure you!), it won’t be a giant, fluffy marshmallow I am devouring. It will be this cookie, only ultra mega-sized.

I kid you not, this cookie has simply taken up the position as winner of the Thick and Cakey section as if it was born to be there. And as its name suggests, it obviously was. When you bite into one of these darlings, it feels as if your teeth are chomping through a never ending bite of soft, chewy cookie dough pillow. It delivers twice the POW of a normal cookie due to the extraordinary thickness.

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 6: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

“Baby, you light up my world like nobody else”

My latest obsession of a song, it totally conveys my emotions felt towards this ice cream. Ever since formal, this song has been running through my head on repeat and when I made this ice cream, I felt like screaming this song into the sky. No joke.
The only difference is that this song definitely knows it’s beautiful. It ain’t looking at the ground (that would be sacrilege) and it doesn’t have hair to flip (uh, gross?) and boy, can everyone in the room see that it is beautiful.

Needless to say, this has kicked out the delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes out of the ‘Most Creative Chocolate Chip Dough/Cookie’ category because, honestly, I don’t think anything could ever compete. Or, perhaps eating this ice cream on top of the Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes could 😛

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 5: Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

These gorgeous babies were included in this baking week as vying for a part in the ‘Most Creative Use Of Chocolate Chip Cookie/Dough’. No, they did not win at all, beating the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes was a hard call but I do believe next time I make them, things might get a little heated between the two – and I assure you there will be a next time 🙂

The only real contribution made concerning chocolate chip cookies or their dough when I made this was really only crushing up the Mrs Field’s version of my first chocolate chip cookie tried (the last remaining after my brother and his mates happily polished off the rest :P) in the crust and adding chocolate chips into the batter, as the name suggests.

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 4: Eggless White Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being Indian, I know many people who have an aversion to eggs – whether it be religious or personal choice. My own mother hounds me day after day due to the stench of ‘egg’ in the kitchen on freshly washed dishes. So I decided, for fun, to pop in an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe – and there is no doubt that this recipe is a keeper.

While it would not be a grand prize winner in any of my categories, this is a really good practical recipe, easy to make desserts from as a base for example like: a Philadelphia style homemade ice cream sandwich, for those unable to eat egg – remember that aunty who can’t eat egg?

Unlike the past chocolate chip cookie recipes made in this week already, these have a very crackly appearance due to the lack of binding agent and also have a crunchy, sugary exterior hiding a soft and chewy and utterly divine interior – similar to the brown sugar chocolate chip cookies but not that extent of softness.

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Chocolate Chip Baking Week 3: Brown Butter Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wow. This is just wow. I can’t even begin to explain it. These have come the closest so far to kicking my original favourite off its high horse.

Where do I begin with these cookies? They are so different to any other recipe for one thing when it comes to classic chocolate chip cookies – I mean let’s see, they: