Cookievonster

Its Halloween again.... Boo!

2011-10-18T00:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-10-07T11:01:00.002-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving, a photo by Cookievonster on Flickr.

Hi everyone. here's wishing you all a happy thanksgiving weekend.
May you have great company, scrumptious food, lots of laughter
and joyous memorable moments with your family and friends.

Teachers need to feel the love sometimes too

2011-09-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

A new year of school begins this week, but in BC, Canada,

teachers are starting the new year by going on strike.

To be honest, I have no children, so I haven't really paid much attention to what all the hoopla's about.

But!

I believe teachers are beacons to children's future and they hold the key to tomorrow's state of humanity. I hold teachers in the highest regard and feel that their contribution to our children and society is of the utmost importance.

Deep.....

LOL!

But! Seriously.

Teachers need to be more appreciated.

An appreciated teacher is a happy teacher.

A happy teacher will genuinely love their job, and if they love their job, they will give their very best at all times to every single child.

A teacher gives knowledge, shares their experiences, guides and disciplines.

A good teacher inspires, encourages, and will have a profound effect on a child's life forever.

I'd also like to thank my high school teachers from Mowbray College, Australia;

who inspired me, guided me and positively influenced me.

Mr. O'Shea for being my rock when I began a new life in Australia as a scared little girl.

Mr. Winder who taught me individuality and that it was ok to simply be me.

And most importantly, Mr. Graham Vohmann, if by change you ever read this, I never had the chance to tell you this personally, but you were my father figure, whom I will respect and remember with fond and grateful memories, forever.

Thank you all.

Give your teachers the recognition, honor and respect they deserve.

"Back to School" special - September Only

Dozen mini 3D shortbread Apple cookies $18.00

Order at info@cookievonster.com

Come visit me this weekend :O)

2011-08-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

Guess where Cookievonster will be this weekend??? Come join us at the "Leila Likes" launch party. It’s going to be an AMAZING event with vendors bringing in their overstock/sample/last season KIDS products and the sales are up to 70% off!

http://www.leilalikes.com/2011/08/22/leila-likes-launch-party/

Cookievonster menu for this weekend

- mini brown butter chocolate chip cookies
- mini apricot almond oatmeal cookies
- mini peanut butter marbled chocolate and caramel cookies
- mini raspberry melting moments
- double chocolate cupcakes with butter frosting.
- fresh apple cupcake with butterscotch butter frosting.

- banana strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Mini 3D cookies

2011-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

I was baking some custom cookies one day and had a small piece of left over shortbread cookie dough. I would have automatically thrown it into the bin but I could hear my angry grandmother's spirit yelling at me for wasting even the most microscopic amount of food.

I could also hear my dad's voice in my head repeating over and over again about sending me to Ethiopia when I was a child if I didn't finish off the last grain of rice on my plate.

So, without any thought, I just rolled it up into a ball and stuck it into the oven with the rest of the cookies that I was baking and I'd eat it. There!

Grandma would be proud!

When the cookies were done, I pulled out the tray and lo and behold!

The ball of dough... stayed in the shape of a ball!

WOAAAAA..... I had a cookie epiphany!

It was a sunny day in September, ( I don't really remember what kind of a day it was, but being that happy with my new discovering, might as well be a sunny day eh in my story telling), I thought to myself, "What can I make? What can I make????"

Thanksgiving was near so... why not mini Pumpkins????

Why not!

So I did... and I posted them on Facebook and I ended up making over 1000 mini shortbread pumpkins that October for Thanksgiving and Halloween.

I love'd them! So cute! I boxed them with some home made shredded soy wax paper and it looked like pumpkins on a field of straw :O)

Mini 3D Shortbread Pumpkins (Thanksgiving / Halloween/ Fall)

Then came the holiday season, and I thought... if I can make them into a ball.... wonder if I can make them into a box!

A box was much harder to make and trickier to mould in order to hold its shape, but it worked and I was happier than a pig in poop, because they were even CUTER than the pumpkins!

Mini 3D Shortbread Gift Boxes

My excitement led me to think.... if a shortbread dough can be made into a 3D cookie.... wonder if my Gingerbread dough would do the same too.

And... it did!

WOAAAAAA.........

Happiness!!!!!

So I made some gingerbread Christmas Puddings to go with the shortbread Gift Boxes.

Soooooo CUTE!

Mini 3D Gingerbread Christmas Puddings

By now I am addicted to coming up with ideas for mini 3D cookies.

Easter rolls up and while I was doing some research, I came across this picture of a bunny and bam!

A BUNNY, for Easter. Why not.

I tested a sample of the bunny and it looked really cute, but it also looked lonely :O(

So I decided to make him a friend.

A chicken, a cock to be exact, I tried to make a plain chic, but it looked, well, plain and simple, and I cannot do plain and simple.

I also made a bed of chocolate noodles for it to sit on so it didn't look so lost.

Mini 3D Shortbread Easter Buddies "Sam & Esther"

(Esther the bunny because its Easter; I know, it should be a cuter name but, hang on, my niece Esther, she's super cute, so Esther's a cute name; and Sam the chicken, because, it just looks like a Sam to me)

Does anyone have more ideas of mini 3D cookies for me to try out???

Drop me a note :O)

Cheers!

Please Help Cookievonster Grow

2011-07-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

http://contest.eatdrinkbelocal.com/contest/listing/131

Hi everyone. Little favour please .... could you please take a couple of minutes to vote for Cookievonster in the "Eat Drink be local" contest and help Cookievonster grow.

The winner will receive assistance from various professionals in setting up their business with creating a logo, free membership to the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), website audit and traffic assistance, a public relations, communications and social media consulting package, and a Fast Track website hosting package too.

This would be very valuable to the growth of my little business as these are not aspects that I am familiar with, but do require to grow Cookievonster into a proper business.

I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to register with "Eat Drink be local" and vote for Cookievonster.

Every vote counts, and every vote is much appreciated.

Thank you!!!!!!!

:O)

Cheers and Have a fab day!

Cookievonster makes Cupcakes too

2011-07-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I do.... I make cupcakes too.

Only my regulars know this and they usually order the cupcakes with their custom cookie favours for their parties.

I kept it hush hush for the longest time, just because EVERYONE is making cupcakes.

And I wanted to be known as the Cookie Lady, more like the Cookie Auntie as all my friends' kids call me, but... I'm not that old!

So lets just stick with the Cookie Lady.

Or even better Cookie Missy perhaps? Pushing it I think :OP

Cupcakes are EVIL don't you think?

They're so so good, and oh so bad for you too.

But if you eat only one (if you can), guess they're not so evil hehehehe.

I make all my cupcakes with the good stuff!

Butter! Butter! Butter!

Fresh cream, fresh eggs, fresh fruits.

BUTTER!

D describes the frosting as dreamy fluffy 'ice cream' on a cupcake.

Mind you, he really does eat an entire bowl of frosting like he does ice cream all the time.

Double chocolate cupcake with Vanilla buttercream frosting.

Mini Fresh Strawberry cupcakes with roasted Banana cream cheese frosting.

Mini cupcakes - epitome of EVIL.

thee hee heee.... rubs hands together

And I love mini cute things. Especially when they are delicious too.

I can pop about 6 mini cupcakes at any one time. Hmmmmmmm... cupcakes.......

Fresh orange cupcakes with Grandmarnier dark chocolate ganache

I should have dressed it with my marshmallow flowers.... but we ate them all before I could even decorate them, did get this photo though.

Banana cupcakes with mini butterscotch chocolate cups & burnt caramel buttercream frosting & topped with chocolate shavings.

Phew! Say all that without taking a breath.

Playing with some frosting designs. Which one is your favourite?

Mine's with the cluster of rosettes, so .... 'wedding like' don't you think?

Oh no, I feel like a cupcake now. So.... gonna go make me some cupcakes, later! :OP

Summer Flower Cookie Bouquet

2011-07-11T20:16:00.001-07:00

Summer Flower Cookie Bouquet, a photo by Cookievonster on Flickr.

I knew it.

This day would come sooner or later.The unavoidable 'Cookie Bouquet'. I've made cookie pops before but no one has ever requested for a cookie bouquet, till now YEAY! Finally!

Shhh.... I secretly always wanted to make one.

I turned to my garden for the inspiration of course. I love my little humble garden that is spotted with blue, purple pink and white flowers, and little pops of yellow and reds. I don't have a well organized garden, I see something I like and I 'll buy one of them,

stick 'em in the ground into any spot I can find and pray over it :OP

Its packed with more plants that my little patch can handle but I still buy plants all summer long. So yes, I have hanging baskets, things climbing on fences and I also turned my solarium into a green house. Everything is so LOVELY!!!!

Bees are buzzing in my garden too and don't ask me why.... but I like to follow them about the garden and watch them enjoy the flowers as much as I do.

So here it is every body. My very first Cookie Flower Bouquet.

Sharing the love .... and calories

2011-07-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was asked to make a tiramisu for a party today and me being me, can't follow recipes... and I really wanted to make a trifle instead.

Its summer and berries are everywhere and that's always yummy in my tummy!

I really wanted to make a berry trifle!!!

Like seriously, I really wanted a refreshing summer berry dessert.

So I decided to make a Berry Tiramisu instead. It turned out delish!!!!

WARNING!

This is seriously additive, and although its a light and fluffy dessert, try not to eat the entire bowl by yourself. If you did... well... go for a run I guess :OP

I made the Berry Tiramisu in a large trifle bowl piled up high with goodness for the party,

and a little glass for myself for portion control *heh heh heh*

Happy summer! Here's the recipe if you would like to make a yummy dessert for your BBQ parties, or simply just for yourself.

Berry Tiramisu

Ingredients

6 eggs (separated at room temp.)
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 cups whip cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 container mascarpone cheese (475g)
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup kahlua
2 packages ladyfinger cookies
2-3 cups of mixed fresh berries (I used raspberries, strawberries and blueberries)
Chocolate shavings (I used Dark chocolate, but feel free to use any chocolate you prefer, try orange chocolate or hazelnut chocolate)

Directions

First make the custard by whisking together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils for 1 minute. Allow to cool, cover and chill in refrigerator till cold. Be careful not to scramble the custard while boiling, just make sure to stir constantly and not over cook the mixture. It should be silky smooth and coats the back of a spoon.
In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form.
Whisk egg whites till stiff and out aside. Whisk mascarpone till creamy and add in custard until smooth. Fold in egg whites till fully combines. This will make the cheese mix fluffy like clouds :OD
In a small bowl, combine coffee and kahlua.
Dip ladyfingers with coffee mixture and arrange the soaked ladyfingers in bottom of a trifle bowl. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers, top with a layer of berries, then half of whipped cream over that. Repeat layers and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
Cover and refrigerate overnight, or two if you can wait that long (but the longer you let it set, the yummier it gets).

Enjoy your summer everyone!

Some photos of what Churchill Churned out during the holidays

2011-07-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day

Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit 2011)

Christmas and Hannukah

Hey there....

2011-06-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

I'm back!

:O)

Well, I haven't really gone anywhere... oh! hang on, I lie. I went home to Australia and Malaysia for a few weeks earlier this year to visit some family. Make that lots of family!!!

My baby cousin got married *tear* and it was a beautiful beautiful gorgeous wedding.

Congrats cuzzies! *love*

Cookievonster updates... hmmmm.

Where to start.

Let me see.

Lets start with the newest addition to the family - Churchill.

In the peak of my crazy holiday baking, my Cuisinart mixer croaked on me, and it was only a year old! I had worked the poor baby to death! People, take note. Cuisinart mixer, pretty awesome. Has a fabulous big 7 quart bowl, functional shape and size. Whips and mixes better than any Kitchenaid mixer. I know this because when the Cuisinart broke down, I had to use 2 Kitchenaid mixers to do what the one Cuisinart did.

Problem with Cuisinart, it runs on an electronic circut board, its digital, and that's where it loses out to Kitchenaid. Since all functions on a Kitchenaid are manual, its straight forward, strong and durable. Anyway... the circut board on my mixer blew and I was without a mixer at the worst time possible. I had to order parts to fix it, bla bla bla, it was going to take 2 months, bla bla bla...

OMG! ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was all I could think of while I freaked out.

Working with 2 little mixers was a huge juggle and by the end of the 2nd day without my Cuisinart, I was ready to explode, condemn the world, bite anybody's head off, kick in doors and walls, scream till my lungs collapsed,

i.e. be as dramatic as I could be :OP

Then... Christmas came early.

While I was battling with the 2 mixers, stressing out and making doughs in tiny batches, D came home and yelled, "make space on your counter for me now, now!" and runs back out.

I thought to myself... Oh no he didn't!!!!!

Was he absolutely insane, and I must say, brave, to dare ask me to clear my table while I was in the mist of baking.

The next thing I saw were these 3 guys struggling like mad and lugging in this monster of a machine.

Its....its....

BEAUTIFUL!

It is huge, but silent. Strong yet agile and graceful. Its simply impressive and for any home baker,

its plain Awesomeness.

It has such character I had to name it.

So everybody, meet the giant of home mixers who has taken up a quarter of my island.

This - is - Churchill.

D and the whole family, mainly Dad *big hugs*,

had chipped in to get me Churchill for Christmas to save my 'behind'!

BEST

CHRISTMAS

PRESENT

EVER!!!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

oxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxox

As for the Cuisinart. I got it fixed, works perfectly now, better than new too. And its sitting nicely in storage. I kinda feel bad for it, but oh well... I can't move Churchill out of the way even if I wanted to anyway :OP

Sorry Cuisinart, Churchill's here to stay.

Give the Free gift of a Smile & Hug this holiday season... and some Cookievonster Cookies!

2010-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

What is the most contagious thing in the world?

An ugly ugly Frown.

And there is no pretty kind too.

Yeap, sad to say... human beings are unconsciously 'conditioned' to seek out and react with negative energy.

Start your day stressed, worried, angry, whether it be caused by yourself, a situation or someone else... you are guaranteed to bump into negative situations and people all day long.

That's the simple law of attraction.

What is the most powerful thing in the world?

A Smile.

What is the most powerful contagious thing?

(if we let ourselves be aware of it..)

Still ...a Smile

:O)

Scientifically, there has been many debates about how many actual muscles it takes to frown and how many it takes to smile. This however has been proven, a frown is followed by stress, anger, and all the negative energy you can muster.
What a waste of energy.

A Smile.... it lifts your soul, sets you free and some say, and I believe... is healing.

And... its FREE!

In the world we live in today, we need to spread a little more positive energy.

This holiday season give the positive energy of love.
Love has many different levels.

You can love your partner, your kids, and your parents.

You can also love a total stranger.

Its just an energy that you chose to project.

A Smile is Free, and given genuinely, it spreads like wild fire.

A joyous Smile plus a Hug.....

Volcanic eruption of joy and happiness!

:OP

I love hugging people!

Come visit me at one of my Holiday Markets this season.

Guaranteed a Free Smile from me, and if you like...

Definitely a Free Hug too!

Oh btw...if you smile at someone who frowns, even if they don't share and return the same energy,

it sure will drive them crazy,

which usually sets me off into a hissy fit of uncontrollable laughter!

Dates and details of my up and coming Holiday markets will be posted up soon.

Pls chk bk soon.

SMILE!!!!!

:O)

For your Christmas Cookie orders, please email me at

info@cookievonster.com

Halloween is scarily cute

2010-10-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

I have a Halloween experience at least once a week at home.... "I see dead people"... NAH! Only kidding :OP

But if I did, I'd ask them for some winning lottery numbers, like the dutiful daughter I am as my Chinese mother would expect nothing less from me in a situation like that.

Once a week (maybe twice, I know... I know.... I have issues) I'd do a total scrub down of my bathroom. Well, what would you expect, I'm already in the shower, so I might as well clean it while I'm in there right?

Get ready for my weekly freaky experience as I know... some of you can relate to this :O)

Ever reached into the shower drainage hole and .... pull out...

HAIR?!!!!!

And I have long long long dark hair. I'd reach in and yank out this lump of hair that is long , slimy, yucky and gross that goes on and on.... and worse... it looks like I am pulling out a severed head ! Every time I half expect a real head attached to that lump of hair, turn around and gorily evilly smile at me, dripping with blood and slime, GROSS RIGHT???!!!

Did I succeed in making you gag? Squeal? ... a little maybe? ehheheheh... Well....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

xoxoxo

Thankful for great family, friends & mini shortbread pumpkins

2010-10-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Its Thanksgiving in Canada, and for me this is only my 4th Thanksgiving here.

What is Thanksgiving all about anyway? My first year, it was all and nothing but the turkey!

Yeap! I admit I have my ignorant times. I'm not shy about it. Mind you, I think letting go of a whoopie is hilarious too at certain occasions, and I'm not shy about that either :OP

This year however, I celebrated Thanksgiving for the right reason, for family. A certain event that took place the past few months has taught me a lot about family, living life consciously, simply, and gratefully. I am thankful for everything I have, and also for everything I do not have, as it makes me stronger and more aware of the things that are truly important. I am more forgiving as I become more thankful, and most importantly, I have learnt to forgive myself for the past and live in the present.

I am thankful for the friends who have embraced me openly when I first moved to Vancouver, and for D's family who has made me one of their own. I am thankful for my family at home as we grow closer each day even though we have never ever been so far apart, (but thank god for web cams). I am also grateful for everyone whom I have met along the way in the journey with Cookievonster.

This Thanksgiving, we had our turkey, and it was the BEST turkey ever! A gift from a true friend, whom I am thankful for for having in my life, PLUS the turkey. I had been raving about this turkey for over a year now since I had it at her place, and now my family knows why I kept going on and on like a mad obsessed turkey crazed lady for months. Turkey crazy-lady I am not, but greedy I definitely am :O)

At this moment I must remember to be thankful for my blessed metabolism, which allows me to eat like there is no tomorrow, and not have to be rolled around like a pumpkin. This I am sure will not last forever so I better eat more in the next few years before my metabolism calls it quits.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and may your lives be filled with love and gratefulness, and may you be thankful for every present moment that you are blessed with now.

oxo

The new addition to the Cookievonster baked goods family

2010-08-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Introducing....

the MINI DONUT MUFFINS

I haven't been blogging for a while now.

I won't lie.

I was just plain lazy and I can't sit still long enough to complete an entire blog, even a short one. Something flickers at the corner of my eye,

I get distracted and I vanish into another world.

Lately, it has been the Sun. It was this little thing called 'Summer'.

Every morning when I get up, its shimmer sparkles on my young garden and make the fresh blooms glow and gloat with the widest joyful smiles.

It was impossible for me to stay indoors on the computer, so... I built a deck this summer to sit out at the back with my lap top. Unfortunately, sitting out in the sun got me even more distracted :OP

So.... I'll just have a to back track Cookievonster events now that the raining season has begun and I am stuck indoors.

Here goes...

I have a thing for cute little things. As long as they are teeny weeny and adorable. I love 'em!

I started Cookievonster with average to giant sized cookies, but as I ate, I felt awfully guilty after devouring just one cookie, and felt even worse when I follow it up with another cookie (..and another... and....). So most of my cookies were turned into mouth-popping mini cookies.

Some of you might know that I also offer mini bundt cakes topped with some pretty ooey gooey decadent toppings.... Mmmmmmm. But they were a bit messy to eat, and they were a two bite cake. I wanted to create a 'ONE BITE' treat.

I thought about all the one bite desserts out there and remembered that I love jam filled donut holes. Mmmmmmmm... Donuts! In the end, this is what I came up with. A healthier version of a donut, not fried but baked - I made Mini Jam filled Donut Muffins!

My first recipe was a fresh raspberry jam filled donut muffin with cinnamon and vanilla sugar. Oh my! I popped 8 in a row! Delish! Mind you I'm greedy and I have a big mouth to fit all the food that I eat all day long, but for the less greedy, the mini donut muffins are more like one and a half bites, but they are still cute n tiny!

After that initial jam donut, there is now a series of Cookievonster mini donut muffins.

Mini Jam donut muffins with Cinnamon sugar.
Fresh Lemon curd filled donut muffins with toasted Coconut.
Date and Fig mini donut muffins with butterscotch glaze.
Fresh Apple mini donut muffins with butterscotch glaze.

YUM!

Happy Canada Day everyone :O)

2010-06-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Afternoon Tea at Van Dusen Gardens

2010-06-11T18:00:00.001-07:00

61st Annual Rose Show and Craft Sale

at the gorgeous Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, BC

Sunday 20th June, Father's Day, 12:30pm-4:30pm

Father's Day cookie Set

Flower Cookie Pop - 3 cookies

Waffle Ice creams to welcome summer

I'd like to invite you along with the rest of your family to the

Vancouver Rose Society 61st Annual Rose Show and Craft Sale this Sunday,

at the beautiful Van Dusen Botanical Gardens.

Come celebrate Father's Day at Van Dusen Gardens, especially if your dad is an avid gardener, come for a stroll and have afternoon tea or coffee in the perfect setting for a special day.

This year they have taken a “sweet” turn and welcomed some Bakery Market vendors,

and Cookievonster, that'll be ME incase you're wondering who :OP

will be serving up some yummilicious baked goodies for the day,

such as mini donut-muffins, mini cakes and an assortment of fantabulous cookies,

including some Father's Day, Canada Day and Garden themed decorated shortbread cookies.
There will be tables to sit and enjoy a tea party with yummy treats, and still take some home.

We are also looking forward to seeing an array of tables with Garden related products.

The Rose show will also feature a judged Rose show in over 150 classes, 25 awards, expert demonstrations, throughout the show by leading rose experts and judged photography exhibit,
Of course, there will be Roses of every possible kind and size,
Hand tied bouquets and blooms at the end of the show for sale

as well as other perennial plant material.

Vancouver Rose Society Annual Rose Show, in Floral Hall, Cedar Room & Covered Walkway.
12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Hope to see you this Sunday :O)

Cookievonster's new 'LOADED' cookie

Green Tea Shortbread cookie

I am... first and foremost, an Artist

2010-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Has any of you ever sat down and thought to yourself, "Am I a right brain person, or am I a left brain person?"

Here's a little test for you to try and see if you are a Righty or a Lefty

http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

I'm a Righty

And am kinda proud of it! Kinda because sometimes I wish I wasn't so absentminded and a little less loonie! But, I like being who I am, I'm also a Libran, which adds to my Looniness

*wink*

To write this blog, I did some reading on what the characteristics of a Righty are, and I giggled all the way through it. It was spot on!

Basically...

Righties are creative, absentminded, philosophical Dreamers!

I am also sure I have a slight case of ADD and OCD. When I was working on projects like clubs and bars and restaurants, we were always nominated to have the cleanest washrooms, so imagine my house. I spend 80% of my life cleaning, and 20% stressing that its not clean enough. Things are never perfect enough for me, I can always do better. And I always wonder off topic, because everything interests me and I bore easily. And I'm starting to wonder what the point of this specific blog was about. HAH! That might be the Libran in me however. Oh, and its also because I am a dreamer and absentminded, and loving it!

Anyway, why this brain topic? I've had a week to sit back and not do any markets or baking or stressing about where Cookievonster was going. To reflect back on what my aim was, and trust me, this is hard for a righty, we don't plan; actually we do, but we most probably might not follow it, and we don't wrote things down, and even if we do... we'd probably make a few more list because we just find it more fun than actually following the list. Righties just do it, like the NIKE ad - DO IT! Set the target and DO IT! DOOOOOOO IT! I love saying that, DOOOOOO IT! heheheheheh

(Oh, any future possible investors/ partners in my business, have no fear... Cookievonster is here, heh heh. I might be absentminded, but I am extremely good at what I do, and everything else I take on. I literally just don't know any other way of doing things. Whatever I do, I only know how to do it at my very best, and I wasn't called the "bulldozer" in one of my past companies for no reason :OP )

oh dear, off track again.... My aim... and for those of you who have read my very first blog entry, my aim is to open up my own cafe in the near future.

Cookievonster just happen to be a stepping stone towards that aim. I have been working hard, putting my very best on all my baking and preparation for Cookievonster that I haven't had time to step back and analyze my journey. Its always best to remember who you are before you continue on your journey in life, because if you forget who you are, you will follow the wrong path and end up at the wrong destination. But if you ideally know who you are, all paths in life, good or bad, will lead you to the right destination. Well, that's what I like to believe anyway. So I try once a while to remember who I am.

Who am I?

I am a Righty!

And I am an Artist.

I was redesigning my website and was thinking how my custom decorated cookies were different from the rest. How? I am first and foremost an Artist. That is how I am different. To me everything I do is Art. From designing my house, to my furniture, to painting a mural on my wall, my cooking, my baking, my garden, my previous jobs, I see everything as Art. I see life itself as Art. I see beauty in everything.

My conclusion, I do not just make decorated cookies, I make edible Art. I take cookie orders that excites me, and from people who understands and appreciates it as Art. I make decorated cookies for the love of it, its not a job, its my passion to have a chance to get inspired and create Art for people who understands this. I give my best because I love it and hope others will too :O)

Bacon heaven, in a cookie...

2010-05-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Who loves Bacon? Hands up!

ME! ME! ME!

I LOVE BACON!

Last Christmas a friend gave me a bar of chocolate. Not just any chocolate bar. It was a fancy gourmet BACON chocolate bar. A Vosges Mo's Chocolate Bacon Bar to be exact. I had seen a bunch of desserts made with bacon on TV lately. Its the "IN" thing, that and Matcha. Green tea is vastly promoted as a healthy ingredient, a healthy habit, and Bacon... well, I'd promote it simply as AWESOME! Bacon makes me happy. I have bacon and eggs as often as I can, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays, Thursdays, Wednesdays, Sundays and Fridays.

After I had a piece of the bacon chocolate, I definitely had to make something chocolate and bacon. How can I not? Two of my absolute favourite foods in the whole world!

I did my research as usual, and went and tested all sorts of bacon from the deli. Picked up some sausages and cold cuts at the same time too, just to keep the bacon company :OP

In the end, I settled on the aromatic Applewood Bacon.

I started making various versions of bacon brownies, because I loved the chocolate bar so much. MMmmmmmmm... they were GOOD.... and rich.... and very very good. I topped my brownies with some home made smoked coffee infused sea salt to intensify the flavours of the bacon and chocolate. Everyone raved about how wickedly good they were. Addictive, sinful and fantabulous! I was very happy with them, bacon makes me happy, bacon and chocolate makes me even happier.

I had planned to add the Bacon brownie to my list of goodies for sale at the market, but I am Cookievonster after all, and at the Baker's Market, I am situated next to Lily (Yaletown Brownies) who specialized in some pretty decadent brownies.

So I decided to switch and make some bacon cookies. It was an easy task, all I really did was mix the applewood bacon into my Chunky Chewy Brown butter Chocolate Chip cookie and sprinkled it with some coffee sea salt.

Why change a good thing? I still loved my chocolate chip cookie, and it made perfect sense to combine the two. Heavenly. So happy!

Well, now my Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookie has taken over the sales of the Chocolate Chip cookie, so I only make the Bacon one these days for the markets.

So calling all bacon lovers out there, drop by the BLIM Market this Sunday 23 May, 2010 @ the Heritage Hall (Main & 15th) and pick up some delicious mouth watering Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies.

Crazy about Marshmellows!

2010-05-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

I discovered something new lately... its the ever oh so light and Skooshie fresh homemade Marshmallow!

Yeap!

SKOO-SHIE!

(do you think that's a Skooshie color?)

I never understood the 'fluffy' reference. Fluffy = soft, fuzzy, feathery, downy, fleecy or flossy.

Besides the soft description... fluffy doesn't seem quite fit a marshmallow. Neither does spongy. Its softer than a sponge and its a different kind of spongy. When I get hold of a marshmallow, I can't help but Squash it between my fingers. Its the best fun! Especially those tiny store bought ones, I squash everyone of them before I pop some into my mouth, and I never liked the taste of the store bought ones either, I just like squashing them and watch them in glee while they bounce back, or simply stay squashed!

Since I have been selling my fresh marshmallows, I have noticed that when someone picks up a bag of marshmallow, the first thing they do is to "skoosh" them! They don't Squash them completely, just a little 'Skooshness' test, and fresh marshmallow... wayyyyyy Skooshier than store bought ones. Oh yes, way way wayyyyy TASTIER too!

If you had ever had a fresh Marshmallow, you will never go back to the funny tasting store bought ones. First of all, fresh marshmallow does not stay fresh for long, so, I can't even imagine what is in the store bought marshmallows that allows it to sit and stay on the shelf for days, weeks or months. A little freaky if you ask me, but I still like to skoosh them whenever I get my hands on some :OP

I gave a marshmallow to a dog once. I think he was all confused and wondered if he should chew it or just swallow the thing whole, and then it got stuck on his teeth. (no animal cruelty here, he loved it! and wanted more, only got one though, sugar + dog= not good) It was funny to watch him try to eat it though... he! he! Ahhh I get entertained so easily... like skooshing mini marshmallows!

I landed on the idea of making marshmallows by accident. I had bought myself 5 new cookie recipe books over Christmas and saw some recipes for squares. I like squares, they seem 'wholesome' and more satisfying than a cookie, they always seem to be rich in flavour and texture.

Then I came across this recipe of a Jello square that had to be refrigerated. It looked so pretty. Selling something that should be refrigerated till served is not a good idea for bake sales, so the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of jello was marshmallow. The picture of the jello square was pink, and I like the pink.

What am I talking about ? I LOVE pink! I wanted to make something similar just because it was pink! A mix here, a mix there, trial here and there and there we have it!

I put together a Fresh Raspberry Marshmallow Lemon Shortbread Square. I combined it with a shortbread base because I kept thinking in my mind how awesome it would be to have a rich buttery and slightly crunchy texture combined with a tangy soft refreshing raspberry marshmallow, and awesome it did turn out to be. This has been one cookie combo that I steal a piece of every time I make them for the markets :O)

I've been hooked on marshmallows ever since. I've made mixed berries marshmellows, chocolate, and green tea ones too!

Yummy... and oh so Skooshie!

Infact, its taken me almost 8 weeks to get a photo of them. I prepare them as fresh as possible for the market, which means I cut them, dust them and run out the door. And since they are always sold out, I never got a chance to take a photo of them. I only got a quick shot of them last week before I ran out of the house to the market. Aren't they cute?

:O)

Two more for Mother's Day

2010-04-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

Please drop by the Baker's Market this Saturday 24, April or 1st May to place your order with your 50% deposit.

(Front)

(Back)

'Mom's Garden' BOX Set (Front) - 13 shortbread cookies all together to form a 3D cookie gift set in a clear box

Approximately 5 1/2" high by 5" wide, Base cookie is coated with chocolate.

'Cherry Blossom' Set- 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbon and homemade tag

Mother's Day cookie Sets

2010-04-21T21:33:00.001-07:00

Please drop by the Baker's Market this Saturday 24, April or 1st May to put your order in with your 50% deposit.

'AJ' set - 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbons and homemade gift tag.

I had spent the last 3 days working on these sets for Mother's Day, and I suddenly realized.... it's HARD work! Lucky for me I try not to think of this as work, but fun, and it is lots of fun!

Many things inspire me when I research for ideas, but for Mother's Day I kept coming back to two designers who ideally represents motherhood in their work. I have always been touched byAnita Jeram's work, and her beautiful art inspired me to create a set of Mother's day cookies just for her. Now if I only knew where to send the cookies to her... anyone? anyone???

'Mom's Tea Party' Set - 5pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a box with ribbon and homemade tag

'Me & Mom' Set - 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbon and homemade gift tag.

'Birdie' Set - 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a box with ribbon and homemade tag.

'Tickled Pink Teapot' Set - 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a box with ribbon and homemade tag.

'Peacock' Set- 2pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbon and homemade tag.

'Porcelain TeaPot' Set- 3pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbon and homemade tag.

'JR' set - 2pc set, 3.5inch each, wrapped in a pretty box with ribbons and homemade gift tag.

Here is the design inspired by jewellery designer Janel Russell. I love the simple message of a mother's love and her relationship with her child. So sweet...

I'm off to finish off my two other designs and will post the photos up tomorrow, so please come back and check it out and maybe you'll find one just right for your mum :O)

"Earth Day"

2010-04-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

Its Earth Day this Thursday!!!

Yeay! to planet Earth.

Time to stop, reflect and respect.

Sneak peak at Mother's Day Cookies

2010-04-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

I had planned to bake and ice up some Mother's Day design cookies early this week as samples for orders, but I have had some custom birthday cookie orders which I had to make, meetings to go to and also been updating my website.

So I'm just showing you a little sneak peak at the designs I had planned for Mother's Day, and please do come back and take another peak in a few days for the actual cookies sets that will be available to order as a fantabulous and unique gift for your special Mom.

A poem for Cookievonster...

2010-04-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

I was buzzing about my house today...cleaning of course, when I heard the 'You've got mail!' DING! *that would be the email "ding", not the door kind :OP

So I dropped the mop and went to see who was so nice to have thought of me today and had sent me mail. I love getting mail, any kind of mail. I do prefer the 'real' kind of course, especially the care packs which my family always sends to me from home.

It was my friend Connie who organizes the Vancouver Baker's Market. Cute as a button she is!

It was THE BEST mail I had ever received. She wrote and emailed me a POEM about Cookievonster. How awesome is that? Sorry mum dad and sisters... this beats all your mails.

Someone actually wrote me a POEM!

A POEM!

How Awesome and So sweet! And I love it! I'm so touched.

Thanks Connie, you are sooooooo sweet!!!!!!!!!! And talented! Ahhh... what other hidden talents do you have Connie?

Here's the Poem , I've read it like 10 times since I got it about 10 mins ago :O)

twas the night before (by Connie Mar)

‘Twas the night before Baker’s Market,

When all through her friend’s house,

Not a child was stirring, not even a mouse.

The Cookievonster would sneak in to bake up a storm,

A magical night where sugar cookies and creations are born!

Hmmm…what shapes to make?

So much to bake!

Sugar cookies galore,

shaped like bunnies, bees, flowers and more.

The cookies line up like little toy soldiers all waiting their turn

For a flood of icing and new techniques Evon has learned!

Some of them even lust

For a tiny bit more sugar dust!

Hooray, hooray! It’s Saturday.

A beautiful day to go to the Baker’s Market.

One by one, the cookies are bought

With coins from piggy banks or whatever you’ve got.

Oh boy, what joy! Such beauty in each one.

It’s a beautiful day, go and enjoy the sun.

'TEA PARTY' with Cookievonster

2010-04-08T21:55:00.001-07:00

HAVE A COOKIEVONSTER "TEA PARTY"

Box of assorted freshly baked Mini goodies ONLY $10

A different TEA PARTY surprise every week

ONLY at the Baker's Market,

every Saturday 11am-3pm.

I've always dreamed of having my own little English Cottage, or an old Tudor mansion or castle wouldn't hurt, with an English Garden filled with roses, peonies and every other plant imaginable surrounding the house. All snuggled up in a cozy leather arm chair with a woolly blanket and a cup of tea... OK, so I lie, only Coffee for me, but cookies and cakes for sure! and looking out into my garden with one or two faithful companions by my side. How perfect would life be. Of course in my dreams... it never rains in England. And that's because I've been there twice and it never rained! How lucky!

I had mentioned that the 1st thing I ever baked was a fruit flan, the second thing were scones, some 4 years later. When I moved into my first house with my buddy Bruce way back then, we were so excited.

It was the oldest town house on the block, next to a train track, the whole house would rattle when the train passed by. It was cold and dark, the walls peeled, and as for fun, we used to throw things at the wall to watch the brick wall crumble into tiny bits. He took the room on the 2nd floor, I took the top floor. This house was so old it had a manual 'maid's bell' from the top floor.

We were sure it was haunted too. We used to wait for each other to finish school or after work late at night so we could meet and come home together, simply because it was a little scary at the beginning. I also remember the old wood fire place we'd use to hover over in winter to keep warm. There was a fire place in every room, not that it ever warmed up the bedrooms at all, smoked us out though, but it was nice!

The whole house squeaked, windows jammed, lights were too dim, BUT it had a working oven. It was the best fun Bruce and I ever had when we first moved in. He made chicken rice soup, and I made scones. I can't remember much about my scones, but I sure do remember his chicken soup, yum!

Where am I going with all this? Ever notice how certain food brings back memories of good times? Food and good times always seem to go together.

Oh yes, TEA PARTY! I love tea parties! I started organizing Tea parties when I was about 2, with all my toys, my plastic tea set, and some of mum's cookies. LOVED TEA PARTIES!

I still love a good Tea Party.

But I'd like to have it in England somewhere if I can :O)

For now, I'll have to settle for my own little tea parties in my back yard which I had spent the last 2 years turning into a proper garden from scratch.

'Always do what you love and you'll love what you do' people say all the time. Since I love tea parties, I had decided to make a box of TEA PARTY mini cookies and mini cakes. A perfect tea party should have a good assortment of baked goods, so I have planned to put together a variety of mini goodies every week till Mother's day week just for the TEA PARTY box.

I hope you'll drop by and grab yourself a box of my Tea Party goodies, and start your own precious memories of good times.

More Easter goodies

2010-04-02T19:26:00.001-07:00

Fresh Raspberry buttercream Shortbread sandwich cookie

Easter Cookie Galore

2010-03-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Easter Basket of Mixed Decorated Shortbread cookies and assorted Chocolate Nests.

Cookievonster Special Easter Box set of Assorted Shortbreads (Vanilla, Lemon & Chocolate), and mixed goodies of homemade chocolate Nests, chocolate eggs, bunnies and jelly beans.

Cookievonster Double Stacked Shortbread Cookies

Spring has sprung! Tulips Shortbread cookies.
Mini Cookievonster Double Stacked Shortbread Cookies

A little sneak peak at Easter plans :OP

2010-03-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

This little Piggy went to the market... and will be going again this Saturday

2010-03-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. I will be joining the Vancouver Baker's Market and the Blim Market at Heritage Hall (Main and 15th) again from March till May 2010. The exact dates are as listed below.

At the Vancouver Bakers Market, on Saturdays on the following dates:

March 27
April 3, 17, 24
May 8

At the BLIM Market, on Sundays on the following dates:

March, 28

April, 25

May, 23

Do come for a visit as I have planned for some fantabulous surprises for Easter and Mother's Day goodies.

Just remember.... Everyone loves a Cookie, so give everyone something they like... COOKIES!!!

:O)

Give me Lemons... and I'll make some mini Lemon Cakes

2010-03-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

Baby Lemon Poppy Seed cakes with tangy Lemon Curd

Someone gave me a huge bag of gorgeous juicy shiny lemons one day and what do I make, lemonade of course, what else? *wink*

Freshly juiced lemonade is awesome. But drinking lemonade everyday and all day long, a little less awesome.

What the next best thing? I cooked my dinners with lemon. I made lemon pasta, baked lemon chicken and a whole bunch of salad dressing.

Still I had some lemon left! I did say I had a HUGE bag of lemons.

I have never baked with lemon before but I do remember a pastry I once had which had some really yummy lemon curd in it.

I'm no fancy pastry chef, so I had to think of something else to have the lemon curd with.

So lemon cake it was! I looked through all my recipe books and surfed the net for some lemon cake recipes.

I selected a few that sounded great in my mind and made my first lemon cake. It was a loaf cake, kinda like a pound cake.

It wasn't too bad at all, especially when eaten with the fresh lemon curd I made to go along with it.

My lemon cake has come a long long way since that first trial. I had changed and tested more recipes than I remember, not all were successful, some, well... weren't that great.

I tried the creaming method, the folding method, the loaf shape, the bundt shape, the round shape, the layered cake and so on.

In the end, I found the recipe that was finally happy with. Its moist, its not too light nor too heavy, mixed with lemon zest and poppy seed and drenched with fresh lemon juice once its out of the oven. More importantly, it has great lemon flavour. Top it off with the creamy buttery lemon curd, awesomeness!

I usually make mine now as one big bundt cake, or as mini baby bundt cakes so that I can fill up each individual cake with just the right amount of lemon curd to satisfy each mouthful, YUMS!

Since then, when I do get some fresh lemons, I make... Lemonade? What lemonade?

A little cloud shadowing my day... but sunshine always shines through

2010-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

I had been planning to attend the "Got Craft Market" this spring, but I received the reply today that I did not receive a spot at the market that was to be held on Sunday, 2nd May 2010 (10am-5pm). I had half expected it, but was still disappointed.

However, I believe there is a silver lining to everything, so maybe its just as well that I didn't get in this time. I have never been to any of the past events when they had held it, and I should most probably visit it in May to learn a few more things first. I have really only ever attended two markets and still a newbie at this and I have lots more to learn :OP

I shall try to apply again for December.

Got Craft is listed as "Vancouver's largest Indie craft fair".

"Held the first Sunday of May and December, Got Craft? features over 55 local and handmade vendors ranging from clothing to jewelry to ceramics and wall art.

Now it's your turn to pledge handmade and shop local. Why? It helps the environment by reducing your carbon footprint, it keeps your hard earned money in the community and it supports Vancouver's handmade revolution!

The first 30 people through the door receive a FREE, handmade swag bag stuffed full of goodies from all of our vendors. Make sure you arrive early!"

Below is a collage I made for my application to Got Craft :O)

Even though I will not be attending Got Craft as a vendor, I will definitely be visiting the fair as I strongly believe in supporting local artists, anything handmade and shopping local.

So I do encourage everyone to drop by and pick up some handmade crafts, for I am sure there will be something for everyone there. I for one am sure there will be more than just one thing for me as I can never help myself, I just love anything handmade especially when its made with passion and lots of love as all artists do.

My Cream Cheese chocolate fudge cookie

2010-01-28T11:34:00.001-08:00

It was one of those nights where I was tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep. When that happens, I usually think of food and end up making myself a vegemite cheese sandwich, or a vegemite banana cheese toast sandwich… I know… it’s a bit odd but I love it.However, that night I thought best to skip a late night supper. Unfortunately, that just made me think of food all night long. But then again, I am always thinking about food. I’m greedy like that :OPSome people read novels in bed, some read magazines, I read recipe books or surf online for recipes, and imagine cooking or baking them and what they taste like. I want to make everything I read, especially when there are pictures that just make me drool. Needless to say, I always end up getting even hungrier in the middle of the night and end up going down to have my sandwich anyway.

My mum makes a pretty wicked chocolate marbled cheesecake and that was on my mind that night, simply because I was craving chocolate. Then I thought to myself, “ that would be a pretty good cookie too”. I got all excited and surfed the net, and sure enough, there are lots of chocolate cream cheese cookie recipes out there. Yum yum!

The following days, I tried a couple of recipes out. All of them mixed the cream cheese into the dough, and I didn’t find that the cream cheese flavour stood out enough. If it was going to be a cream cheese cookie, I would like the see the cream cheese and taste it, just like my mum’s marbled cheese cake.

So instead of mixing the cream cheese into the dough, I marbled it in. I was so happy with it, because it sure looked pretty and mum would be proud. Heh heh...

Still, I really wanted the cream cheese to be more profound. The trial went on and on, until I thought of the ‘thumb print’ cookies. Why not just stick a dollop of cream cheese in the middle? Well, the end product ended up becoming my Signature and best selling cookie, and my very own favourite cookie. Never do I fail to make some extra ones for myself when I have an order for it. It taste just like a rich creamy chocolate truffle that has a little crunch but still melts in your mouth.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yum!

After writing about it, I have to go and make myself some right now when I log off *wink*

Super artistic & friendly people at the Blim market

2010-01-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

I met 3 fabulous and creative people at the Blim market whom I wish to tell you about.

One of them is Christi, from Bueno Style, is one of the happiest person I had ever had the privilege to meet, she just oozed positive energy. Love it!

I was completely exhausted and sleepy from 2 weeks of continuous baking and icing. I was zoned out when it came to being at the Blim market, but her energy gave me a total boost which I desperately needed.

Oh, at this stage I better thank my man for totally helping me out on that day too :O*

Christi makes some pretty awesome jewellery out of unique vintage finds which I had to refrain

myself from buying. I had bought a whole bunch of jewellery a short while back, and trust me when I say... 'I have a lot of costume jewellery'. Well, in my defence, who doesn't like pretty stuff right? And if it blings, its mine!!! ... & it didn't help that my man was standing beside me :OP

I'll just have to find Christi one day w/o my man so I won't feel so guilty. She has a new line of design specially for the Olympics so do check her out, she has great stuff! I particularly love her 'Oak' series. http://buenostyle.blogspot.com/

Some of my 'stuff'... I'm too shy to show you the rest... heh heh

I was stationed next to another baker at the Blim market. Delainy specialized in gluten free baked goods. We loved the gluten free cheese buns, they were so good, we bought a whole bunch and had them all as our dinner that night. YUM!

What is even more impressive about Delainy besides her baking is that she is a a brilliant photographer. I tried to pull some photos off her website to show you but I couldn't copy it (hehheh... opps!) but you honestly have to check out her work at Living Image

She has a great eye for things and I just love love love her style. She even makes me want to get married or have a kid just so I can hire her to be my photographer! She has recently been chosen to receive the Bride's Choice Award 2010 too.

And then there's Trudy from Trudy Ann's Bombay Masala Chai..... she is a total ray of sunshine, she reminds me of a Double Orange Champagne Punch! Yeap!

Here's the recipe, and I'll tell you why...

2 bottles (750 mL each) champagne, chilled
1 bottle (1 Liter each) club soda, chilled
6 oz. Sunkist® frozen concentrated orange juice, thawed
½ cup Curacao or other orange-flavored liqueur
½ cup brandy (optional)
6 ice cubes
5 orange and lemon cartwheel slices

Trudy is triple bubbly, a refreshing experience with a kick!

She makes her own chai tea mix. I personally never liked Chai tea, but when this woman with the biggest smile walked over to me with a sample of her tea, who was I to say no. I'm telling you, you cannot resist this woman! She glows!!!!

So I tried her Chai tea and just like her, it was awesome! And remember people... I do not like Chai tea, but hers was YUMMY!!!!! It was fresh and tasty, not like the others that I have tried that were made from a powder form, you know.... like those big franchise coffee places...ahem!

So for Chai lovers, I fully recommend you hunt her down and buy some of Truddy Ann's Bombay Masala Chai tea.

A little summary... continuation

2010-01-22T18:08:00.001-08:00

So here is my little short summery of what I learnt attending the 2 markets for the very first time.

First, I learnt that I have some really awesome supportive friends! Whom I threw a little party for after my last market-do, where I forced more of my cooking and baking on them, heh ehhe...

Second, I have been in the food business for a very very long time, but never a baker, and I am glad that this event gave me the chance to test drive and fine tune my products, not so much the recipes, but mainly the packaging and displaying of my cookies and cakes.

Unfortunately, all this time, I have been taking photos of my cookies with a camera I borrowed from someone; and managed to photograph only some of the cookies I made thought out the few weeks of daily baking.

I also didn't have a camera during the market days to take photos of my cookies and cakes, nor of my table at the markets to show you my display. I also did not have the time to step outside of my table to take a photo when I actually did have the camera that one day.

Bummer, I promise you that my table display was kinda cute, all decked out with my gingerbread trees of all sizes, a festive green and white table cloth, couple of white square ornate plates for my cookies and red glass cake stands for my baby cakes, plus a basket for my decorated festive cookies.

So, I'll give you one guess as to what I received for a present this Christmas from my special someone, he he heh... score! Just as well, I was planning to treat myself to a new camera anyway. Now I'll just have to reward myself for all the hard work with something else, like ... more baking stuff!!!!

Anyway.... I baked almost every cookie recipe I had on my little menu on the first day, and I baked A LOT if it!

Lesson no.1, don't over bake.

Lesson No.2, its all about the packaging. I went from baking individually wrapped large cookies, to turning some of my cookies into bags of 'Mini' cookies, and they were a hit! And the best sellers were the Peanut butter and Chocolate Fudge Cream cheese cookies.

Lesson No.3, check out the other vendors and streamline your products and make it visually clear why your product is different form the rest. So not only did I make some mini cookies, I also limited the kind of cookies I made each day, so that I can better inform the customers why they were special :O)

Lesson No.4, I need a second pair of hands during the holiday season :OP

Thats all I can remember for now. I have been lazy from over eating during the holiday season, so I am now taking everything that I have learnt, and spending some time to rethink, plan and create more recipes and designs for Easter and Mothers day. Yummo!

A little summary...

2010-01-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

But first.... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!! OXOXOXOXOXOOXO

Here's wishing everyone a fantabulous 2010, filled with an abundant wealth of joy, love and happiness, and lots of sweet goodies :O)

To be continued....

Going to the BLIM Holiday Crafts market...

2009-12-14T22:03:00.001-08:00

I am finally done with the Vancouver Baker's Market. What an experience it was. Deprived of sleep baking into the wee hours to make sure everythig was fresh, learned lots, met lots of great people and had a fab time... when I wasn't half asleep that was :O)
I'm still baking like a mad woman at the moment to fulfill all my custom cookie orders, I think my right arm is much bigger than my left now from all that icing.
I'm a bit sad, and a bit relieved at the same time that the Baker's Market is over... I really enjoyed it, but I am also swamped with custom orders which I need to put all my love into for now.

However, I have a one-day Crafts Market to attend this Sunday. I got invited in at the last minute and since its a craft market, it'll be a little different from the Baker's Market I presume, and I am quite excited!!!!

http://blim.ca/2009/11/30/sun-dec-20-blim-monthly-community-market/

I'm planning to make mini version of my specialty cookies, plus some decorated gingerbread and shortbreads for the holiday season. So if you are free.... do come by and check the market out... I'm sure I'll be buying lots of my Christmas presents from the market as well because I just love all things handmade.

:O)

Going to the Vancouver Baker's Market...

2009-11-23T00:36:00.000-08:00

I have been super busy lately and therefore had not had the time to update my site. As many of you know, I joined the VANCOUVER BAKER'S MARKET a month ago and have been baking like a mad woman! This would be the very first time I sold my cookies and cakes 'commercially'.
Please visit the market's website at www.bakersmarket.com for more details.

My first market day was on a Saturday on November 7th. Boy was I unorganized on the very 1st day. Preparing for a Bake Sale I believe is much harder than opening a restaurant or bar :OP
I think I baked enough goodies to feed an entire village!!! I had no sleep the night before and was tired and wired at the same time, but it was a great experience and I sure learned my lesson fast after that.
The following market days, I was more organized and knew what better to expect, so its been fantabulous ever since.
So far I've met a lot of great people and as long as I get to bake, I've been having a ball!!! Thanks to everyone who had supported me and my cookies and cakes, yes you all know who you are, so I am sending all of you some gigantic big big hugs.
Above are some photos that I managed to take of some of my baking before I ran off to the market.
Next Saturday on 12 December will be my last day at the Baker's Market. Do drop by if you are free, come buy some cookies for the holidays as gifts, house party or just as sticking stuffers. There are lots and lots of variety of yummy goodies too at the market.

Oh yes, I also joined the Christmas Blim Craft Market on Dec 20 at the Cambrian Hall on Main and 17th. For further details go to their website at
http://blim.ca/2009/11/30/sun-dec-20-blim-monthly-community-market/
Fun Fun Fun! Tell all our friends to come by :O)
Cheers everyone! I'm in a great holiday spirit!
At the moment I am still baking like a mad woman for all the holiday cookie orders but am LOVIN' IT!

'Tis the season to be jolly...

2009-11-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

I like pretty things, so I have been collecting anything and everything that would be great for packaging.
I have been collecting ribbons, and cards, stickers, stamps, glitter, paper, anything decorative and pretty really.... even found some fabulous peacock feathers.

I have been making some gift tags out of recycled wooden veneer cards, which I originally bought to make my business cards with, but I couldn't find anyone to make me an iron stamp with my logo on it :O(
I gift wrapped a box as a sample today for the holiday season, as an option for my customers in case they wanted to buy cookies as a gift for their friends.
Then I ended up eating all the cookies after I took these photos cause they smelt so mmm mmm Good... hehehe... burp!

The boxes have arrived....

2009-11-11T22:42:00.001-08:00

I ordered some clear boxes for my Gingerbread Christmas Trees and they had finally arrived.
They fit perfect!
Well..... they were a bit bigger than I expected so I had to make a couple of new bigger trees for it.
But since I really like making these trees, I didn't mind one bit.
Love 'em!
They're the cutest gifts for the holiday season!!!!

Going to the Vancouver's Bakers market

2009-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.bakersmarket.com/

I'm heading off to join the Vancouver's Bakers Market this November and December.
Am very excited indeed.
Have been looking forward to this all week long and preparing everything to perfection.
Going to head off to the market with my Cookies and Baby Bundt Cakes y'all!!!!
Come join me at the market and sample some of my cookies and cakes :O)
Check out the link. There are many other goodies at the market too...yummmmmmm........

Market dates: Nov 7, 14, 21, Dec 5, 12
Times: 11am -3pm
118-408 East Kent Avenue South, Vancouver, BC

Holidays are drawing near.....

2009-10-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I prepared some holiday cookie design samples this year to cater for the holiday season. I sat down one week and sketched a whole bunch of designs. I selected the themes that I really liked and worked out sets for them as I went along. This of course gave me a chance to go and shop for more cookie cutters to add to my little collection, but trying to buy holiday themed cookie cutters in late summer deemed to be quite the challenge. However, I did managed to find some, but lately have seen a lot more Christmas cookie cutters at the stores now. Guess I will just have to go shopping again... awww... such hard work but someone's got to do it :O)

Besides the 3D Gingerbread Christmas Trees, I made a set of Wreaths, a set of Red & Green Christmas cookies, a set of Elegant White Series, a set of Red & White series, Set of Baby Blue & White and a set of Hanukkah Star of David series.
Each set comes in a Dozen of cookies decorated with lots of details and full of Love.

The Rebirth of the Classic Oatmeal cookie....

2009-10-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Australia, and in Australia we call an Oatmeal cookie an 'Anzac' cookie, and besides my tub of 2.5kg of Vegemite, my house is always stocked up with homemade Anzac cookies. How I wished that I also had a stash of Caramel Koalas at home too.... mmmmmmmmmmm.... Caramel Koalas.......mmm...

Everyone who has tried it loves this oatmeal cookie, and Sally calls it the 'Best Ever Oatmeal Cookie'....why.... Thanks Sal.
There is just something about it that is very satisfying, like a mug of hot chocolate. Especially when the oatmeal cookie is sticky, gooey and chewy with a little golden crunch on the edges, scrumptious!

These oatmeal cookies are usually just made with rolled oats and coconut, which are simple yet delicious. To add more umph! to the oatmeal cookie, I toasted some almond slivers for extra depth of flavour and added some dried apricots for a little extra sweetness and a touch of tartness. I guess that might qualify turning a plain Oatmeal cookie into a perfect Breakfast cookie :O)

Double stacked of cuteness...

2009-10-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

I made my very first Iced Shortbread cookie for little Emma's 6th birthday party.
They wanted something different as party favours and asked if I could come up with something like the iced sugar cookies.
This project started my new hobby of hunting down and collecting cookie cutters, Yay! for me, but not so much for my little house that is already jammed packed with full of 'stuff' :OP
I'd love to try making my own too, if only I knew how to, but that will have to be added onto my long list of 'things to try'.
My cookie cutter hunt lead me to the idea of a double layer cookie, and I found a fab set of cutters to do just that. It was a set of one large 5" flower for the base and little individual petals and a bumble bee for the top layer. All in all, it was a total of 9 cookies in one. Quite the assembly job it was, but well worth the end result.

Anyway..... I don't know about you, but a sugar cookie tastes like sugared cardboard to me, more like a biscuit, and I'm not a big fan of biscuits.
I love cookies! So I could not make myself bake any biscuit-like sugar cookies. I just couldn't do it! I need to love what I make so I had to find a recipe that I loved to suit this very purpose. After spending a week of trying out recipes of different sugar cookies, I just dropped the whole idea of it and started from scratch.

What did I love? Well, I do love the melt in your mouth Shortbread cookie, so that was what I started with. I had to adjust my Shortbread recipe to make it suitable for cutting and icing, and still kept all the elements of a delicious buttery rich melt in your mouth Shortbread cookie.

A week and 8 attempts later, I got a recipe that I was truly happy with. It held its shape well, was buttery, with a hint of lemon n vanilla, wasn't dry, and tasted perfect! By this time however, everyone who lived near me was over loaded with shortbread cookies :OP

The assembly line for this cookie was long.... and although it was only an order for 15 cookies, it took forever! Let me put it this way, I had to individually cut, bake, ice and stack each of the 15 big flowers + 15 bumble bees + 105 petals = a lot of cookies!
After a lot more practice, thank God I work a lot faster these days, because those cookies took what felt like an eternity.
But it was FUN! Loved every second of it and I especially loved the Bumble Bees! I even made some extra bumble bees for the fun of it because they were just too cute :O)

So here's my Lemon Vanilla Shortbread Iced cookies

Obcessed with the Gingerbread tree...

2009-10-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm obsessed with making this Gingerbread tree, and what do I find at the store one day on sale? A Wilton Gingerbread Christmas tree cookie cutter set for a Large tree, on SALE!

So I wasn't the only person who thought of making a 3d Gingerbread Christmas tree. Now if I had thought of it much much earlier and sold the idea to Wilton...hmmmm.

The assembled tree is nearly 12" high by 10" in diameter. AWESOME!
I went on an icing craze with this tree. It took me 3 whole days from start to finish.
First, I iced the base layer of leaves on the tree which were a darker green. Round and round I went for hours till it was covered from top to bottom. Next, two more layers of lighter green leaves were applied and then it was left to dry for the night. While waiting for the leaves to dry, I made a tray of little red poinsettias with yellow centers and leaves. This would be the first time I had made icing flowers, lots of fun! I will have to remember to make it a point to do more projects that include different flowers in the future for practice, and yes.... for FUN!

The Snow was next, and round and round the tree I went again. Oh yes, I forgot to mention: this tree is Big, and, being so big, it took 3 Gingerbread Cookie recipes to make and half a day to bake all the parts, which meant, a whole lot of wonderful delicious and intoxicating smells concentrated into one gigantic cookie. It was Christmas in mid summer for 3 whole days.

To complete the tree, I attached the pre-made poinsettias along with little silver sugar balls. Round and round I went again trying to get a good balance for the placement of all the flowers and silver balls, and it sure made me dizzy at times :OP

All that was left to do was to top off the tree. I made a smaller star, iced it in yellow on both sides and sprinkled some sugar sparkles over it, then I added some silver sugar balls for some extra bling, and attached it on top of the tree.

Ta Da!!!
The foot high Large Gingerbread Christmas Tree was completed.
That was FUN! And it was even followed by a week of back massages too :O)

Gingerbread Christmas Tree craze....

2009-10-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, since I decided to set up my Home-baked Cookie business, and with my icing skills a tad better, I wanted to give my small 5 1/2 inches Gingerbread Tree a little make over.
Equipped with proper icing tools this time round, I managed to decorate the tree in more detail.
However, more detail meant more time, plus a sore neck, back and eyes.
But it was surely worth every minute and all the effort as it turned out to be absolutely adorable, don't you think?
:O)

Development of my Gingerbread cookie...

2009-10-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last winter was unbelievable. How beautiful can a white winter be? Very! It was peaceful, silent, and everything seemed to glow.
We had a record breaking snow fall and it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen from my bedroom window.
There are several large pine trees outside my house and they were covered in snow, gorgeous!
That gave me an idea to make my Gingerbread cookie gifts a little different that year.

I ruffled through my box of cookie cutters and found a few varied sizes of Star shaped cutters. I was going to assemble a forest of little Gingerbread Trees. In my happy holiday mood, I baked the star shaped gingerbread cookies in all sizes, gathered them into sets and started to ice and assemble them one by one.
By the end of the night, I had a forest of Gingerbread Trees in my living room that filled the air with spice and everything nice. Nothing better to set the holiday spirit at home.

A new discovery....

2009-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Did I mention I love Art too? Yep... love to draw and paint just as much as I love baking.
So, two Christmases ago, along with my brand new oven, I made my first Gingerbread-man cookies. It was my first attempt at icing a cookie and it was just like art on a cookie. Can't remember ever having so much fun!

I was never a real fan of the gingerbread cookie. Most of the ginger bread cookies that I have tasted were dry, and over spiced. But I had just bought some really cute cookie cutters that I wanted to try out. What else was one to do? Do some research, test some recipes, and put together the parts that I liked and tweeked it 'til I was happy.
The result: a ginger bread cookie that was moist, yet held its shape well, smelled like heaven, and tasted fabulous. Since then, I've made gingerbread cookies all year round, drizzled with white chocolate and topped with candied ginger. Delish!
Icing the cookies was tricky, as I had never tried it before. All I had was a plastic icing syringe from the dollar store :O)
The icing on the cookies turned out pretty good for a 1st timer I guess. I even made some ornaments for my Christmas tree and gave some as gifts to my friends. All in all, I was pretty happy with them.

Mad about Macadamias...

2009-10-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest. I have never tried a Macadamia White chocolate cookie till this year. And its GOOD! So it was immediately added onto my Cookie list.
I hunted down as many Macadamia White Chocolate cookies as I could to better understand it... by eating them. Yes, I do work extremely hard on the relationships with all my cookies :O)

I didn't just want a good cookie, I wanted a Great chunky rich decadent cookie that was loaded with satisfying goodies and bursting with flavour.

First I toasted some raw macadamia nuts and then glazed it with some honey.
Next I prepared some brown butter to get that rich nutty flavour to compliment the macadamia nuts. For that extra texture and flavour I added some shredded coconut and white chocolate chunks. When the cookies came out of the oven, they were finished off with some white chocolate swirls. They turned out to be just plain YUMMY! so said all my very kind and helpful guinea pigs whom I force all my baking on... thank you guys :O*

So here it is... my very own Macadamia Brown Butter White Chocolate Cookie

And the baking continues...

2009-10-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

After weeks and weeks of research I came up with a special list of cookies I wanted to bake and sell. Being extremely happy with the final Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, I attacked the next cookie on my list: another classic, the PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE.

I started with a very basic recipe, primarily peanut butter and nothing else. It was good, but it definitely needed more character. More depth. More attitude. More class.

The key to a good peanut butter cookie is in the peanut butter itself. It has to be extra smooth and creamy, and of very high quality. The kind that is just plain Mmm-Mmm-peanut-buttery-goodness. When I open the lid, the aroma should burst out and fill the entire room until I want to dive into the jar myself. Perfect!

To give the cookie more depth, I first incorporated my trusty Brown Butter into the recipe. And, since everyone loves a little chocolate here and there, I added enough chocolate chunks to create some depth without stealing the limelight from the peanut butter. The result was a marbling of melted chocolate and peanut butter dough. It looked so pretty I could have stopped right there, but a balance of texture was needed for the creamy peanut butter, so freshly toasted whole Peanuts were added to the cookie. Finally, I drizzled some delicious melted Caramel for extra character and VIOLA!

Here's the Chunky Rich Peanut Butter Chocolate Marbled Caramel cookie.

The Experiment begins.....

2009-10-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie.

There is an endless stream of variations on the Chocolate Chip Cookie: large, small, crunchy, chewy. You name it. Everybody has their own twist on this timeless classic, and I've just about tried them all.

I even had a go-to recipe that I baked with for many years, but since I am starting my own cookie business, I had to refine it and try to find the perfect balance in order to achieve perfection!

How do I define a perfect chocolate chip cookie?

Simple:

1. It needs to be chunky, chewy, and chocolatey.

2. The flavour of the cookie component must stand on it's own.

3. The overall product must smell and taste fantabulous!

So after experimenting with batch after batch of Chocolate chip cookies, I finally uncovered my Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookie.

Tha Da!

Here it is,

the Chunky Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookie.

I HAVE DECIDED......

2009-10-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany: I LOVE baking. I like to cook, but I LOVE baking.

I remember the first time I ever baked. It was a fruit flan. I remember how thrilled I was when it came out of the oven. Back then, at 13, it was beautiful. Mind you, the flan was lop-sided and the glaze over-flowed.

Yet, I was so excited sitting on the floor, simply watching the flan rise in the oven while the sweet aroma filled the air. I still get that feeling every time I bake.

When you bake, you never know the outcome 'til the end. Unlike most cooking, you can't taste as you go, you're forced to wait until it comes out of the oven before the final product is revealed.

Somewhere along the line 'life' happened and baking took a back seat while I searched for what direction my career would take; and, BAM! It hit me. It was there all along... I find pure joy in baking.

These last few years, I've been baking almost every other day.
Did I mention how much I LOVE baking? Especially Cookies and Cupcakes.

My life long dream has always been to own and operate my own cafe serving my own creations. I've managed and set-up enough restaurants, cafes and bars for other people, and my time is near. So I have decided.... I'm going to begin by doing what I love most, baking Cookies and Cupcakes.

This blog will document my journey from creating my own cookies, cakes and desserts recipes, to starting a home based cookie business, and if all goes as planned, opening my own cafe.