Its Halloween again.... Boo!

Happy Thanksgiving

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

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.

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

"Back to School" cookie special

Order at info@cookievonster.com

Come visit me this weekend :O)

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. 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.
2. In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form.
3. 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
4. In a small bowl, combine coffee and kahlua.
5. 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.
6. 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

Valentine's Day

Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit 2011)

Christmas and Hannukah

Hey there....

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.