Mad about Macadamias...

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...

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.....

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......

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.