Have I mentioned to you that I am making a wedding cake?

It’s for my two beautiful friends pictured above. If you’re wondering where I’ve been it’s been doing tests and prep and all the research on it.  Their wedding isn’t till May, but I’ll be making lots of cakes now, making lots of excuses to make and use fondant and buttercreams and generally all the delicious things that aren’t exactly good for you.

But they’re good for the heart, so who cares.

My other two boxes of cookies came!

I was so excited to come home from work on Tuesday and to see them sitting in the foyer waiting for me. 

My final two matches.

I was lucky enough to receive some some absolutely lovely Holiday Biscotti from Bailey at Sugar Haven, and they were so perfect with my tea.  My mom actually snagged about half of them so I’ll be more than happy to be able to make them again for the both of us as they were so delicious!

I also got a box of Vanilla Chai Shortbread from Laura at I Heart Fresh Food. When I opened them I instantly knew that there was some serious vanilla bean action, but the chai addition was such a lovely surprise. They also disappeared quite quickly!

I can’t wait till next year to do another swap!

Another cookie exchange has come and gone and it was so much fun! I hope everyone loved it as much as I did. I tried to think about a twist on a holiday standard that I could make and spices and eggnog came to mind and couldn’t leave it, even after people were like, are you sure about that? I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure about them in my life. They are delicious!

Spiced Eggnog Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Sugar Cookies:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of salted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoons spiced rum
• 2/3 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Eggnog Icing:

• 3 cups icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 4 tablespoons eggnog (might need more or less)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon spiced rum
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

Cookies:

1. Cream together butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and the rum to the butter and sugar mixture and thoroughly incorporate.
3. Sift together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon and slowly mix in a cup at a time.
4. Form dough into three even bricks and roll out between two pieces of wax paper. Refrigerate rolled dough for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Cut out your cookie shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges of cookies begin to turn golden.
8. Repeat steps 4 and 6 with dough scraps.
9. When cookies are fully cooled they’re ready for decorating!

Icing:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Mix in vanilla, rum and corn syrup.
3. Slowly add eggnog a spoonful at a time till desired consistency is reached.

Notes:

• When you refrigerate the dough and use the cookie cutters on it it makes it considerably easier to pick up and move the cut dough without it ripping or warping.

This morning I set out to clean the kitchen and finish the blog post I was working on.  But of course first thing first, gotta feed the dog and get the mail.

You have no idea how crazy excited I was when I saw a medium sized square parcel sticking out of the mailbox. I knew exactly what it was. Cookies.

Inside of the package was a lovely tin with a note on top, and I learned that they were from Stacy at Not Crocker.  She made Hot Chocolate Sandwiches with Pink Peppercorn and Cardamom Marshmallows.  Totally a mouthfull, right? But OH MAN, are they ever delicious.  Homemade marshmallows are something I’ve not attempted yet, but I love them.

I was telling a friend that I received my first match and that they were like heaven in my mouth.

Stacy will have the recipe up on her blog in a week or two and I can’t wait till then, cause these are honestly so delicious I am definitely going to make them all the time.

Guess what time it is?

I am SO excited to once again be able to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! This is the second annual year, and it is put together by Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil, and Julie From The Little Kitchen.

I’ve been dreaming up this years recipe since mailing off my cookies last December, so I’m very excited to being testing various versions of it and force feeding my friends my exchange beta version.

To the kitchen!

Snickerdoodle Cake

You know what is the best? Snickerdoodles. The warm sweet vanilla and cinnamon, and comforting and over the moon goodness? Yep. Those. You know what else is good? Cake. The two together? Heaven.

I brought this cake to a friends house and it went over better than expected. The entire thing got DEMOLISHED.  This cake will win people over.

Adapted from Foodie With Family

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 cups sifted four
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup room temperature butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk at room temperature

Buttercream:

• 2 1/4 cups butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 8-9 cups icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of half and half, plus more if needed

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and butter and flour your cake pans.
2. Cream together your butter and sugar till fluffy, and in a separate bowl whisk together your remaining dry ingredients.
3. Beat the eggs into the butter and sugar one at a time and also add vanilla.
4. Alternate adding the milk and flour until both are fully incorporated.
5. Divide the batter evenly between your pans and bake for 35 minutes, rotating half way through, or until toothpicks inserted in the center come out clean.

Buttercream:

1. Cream together your butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Add six cups of icing sugar and vanilla, starting on low and gradually moving up to high until it’s evenly mixed together.
3. Scrape down the bowl and add the half and half, beat until evenly mixed.
4. Add the last two cups of icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy (more or less sugar or half and half can be added depending on your desired consistency).

Notes:

• Let cake cool in the pans for five minutes before removing it to the rack.
• Only frost cake once it is completely cooled.
• I opted to trim my layers to make the cake more flat and uniform.
• Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge!

Spicy Potato and Chicken Quesadilla

You need to know that in Vancouver my favourite slice of pizza that you can get is a veggie one called Spicy Potato. It is DELICIOUS. So so crazy good. If you’ve never had pizza in Van City I’ll give you a quick run-down. The crust is on the thinner side and it’s a little bready, not very greasy. Always has sesame seeds baked on the edged of the crust. There’s tons of toppings and not an exuberant amount of sauce and cheese and almost always is best served with the mystery garlic ranch sauce made at the pizzerias. Definitely the best joints for this are Uncle Fatihs, Pizza Garden, and Mega Bite.

Last week the pizza angels blessed me with the friends, money, and transportation to be able to go downtown for a GIANT co-birthday in East Van. I had to duck out early cause I had to make my way back home, but I budgeted in time to be able to grab an inebriated slice or two before I got on my train.

Since then I’ll I’ve been dreaming about is the delicious slice of Spicy Potato and Spicy Chicken that I had, and how could I remake these beauties in my home in a non-pizza format.

You need to know that my go-to when I’m cooking for one is a weird Mexican food variation. So many veggie, and bean quesadillas, and not always time for cooking a little meat to make them more substantial, and today it hit me.

Boom.

Spicy. Potato. Quesadilla.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized Baked Potato, cooled
• 1 baked Chicken Breast, cooled
• 1/4 cup chopped Green Onions
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 1 tablespoon of Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Cumin
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce
• 2 tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. Chop Chicken, Baked Potato, and Green Onions in to small pieces and place in a medium sized bowl.
2. In a small bowl mix together Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Cumin, Sriracha and lime juice.
3. Pour the mixture over the medium sized bowl and mix ingredients till evenly incorporated.
4. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
5. On one half of the tortilla place your marinated meat and veggies with about a 2 centimeter border around the edges. Cover with half of you cheese and fold in half. Repeat.
6. Heat large cast iron pan to medium, and when hot place Quesadillas inside, with the cheese side on the top.
7. After about three and a half minutes (or when top cheese starts to become melted) flip Quesadillas over for another three minutes or so.
8. Cut Quesadillas into quarters and serve while hot.

Notes:

• These would make a GREAT veggie option with the exclusion of chicken, but I like chicken. Other veggies that would substitute in well include: Avocados, Peppers, and Onions.
• Refrigerating isn’t necessary if you’re pressed for time, but I find that it lets the hot marinade have time to mingle with your meat and potatoes!
• Warning; Cayenne Pepper when in a sauce tends to get a hotter over time. However, if you’re making these you probably like spicy things.
• If you don’t have fresh lime juice, but only bottled one lime has ~ 2-3 tablespoons of juice in it.
• Enjoy with additional hot sauce, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole.

Vanilla Amaretto Sugar Cookies

When I was growing up I wasn’t a big fan of sugar cookies. I liked the whole aspect of making them once a year before Christmas, putting too many sprinkles and way too much icing on them, but that was it. I always found that they were just lacking a little bit. Without icing on them I found that the sometimes the taste reminded me of egg. So weird, but it was all I could think of. In the fall I started playing around with Sugar Cookie recipes because I bought a set of Halloween Cookie cutters. I’m really glad that I did.

Where some have multiple eggs this recipe only has one. Additional moisture (and flavour!) is provided through a full tablespoon of Vanilla and of Amaretto. The combination of the two mixed in with a rather simple dough is perfection. With just subtle hints of the latter it definitely makes a delicious cookie that stands out.

Also, I don’t understand buying sugar cookie mix. Sugar cookies are flour and sugar and butter and egg. That’s all. You still have to mix ingredients and roll and cut when you buy mix and it just doesn’t taste the same. I guess I fail to see where the convenience is.

I’ve talked for long enough.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of salted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon amaretto

Directions:

1. Cream together butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg, vanilla and the amaretto to the butter and sugar mixture and thoroughly incorporate.
3. Slowly add in flour a cup at a time.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Form dough into three even bricks and roll out between two pieces of wax paper. Refrigerate rolled dough for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Cut out your cookie shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges of cookies begin to turn golden.
8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with dough scraps.
9. When cookies are fully cooled they’re ready for decorating!

Notes:

• When you refrigerate the dough and use the cookie cutters on it it makes it considerably easier to pick up and move the cut dough without it ripping or warping.

Cloved Oranges, also known as Orange Pomanders

I know that this isn’t a recipe, but I feel like seeing as it involved cloves and oranges that it is close enough. I never knew that these were called Orange Pomanders until this year. I’ve been doing these every year at Christmas for as long as I can remember. They smell absolutely fantastic and look lovely in a bowl or on a table. The oil from the orange comes out through the clove and you get a fantastic fragrant mix of orange and spice wafting through your house.

What you need:

• Whole Cloves
• Navel Oranges
• A Thimble
• Christmas Music of your choice for listening

Directions:

1. Push cloves into the rind of the orange in any pattern which you would like.
2. Put in a bowl for display purposes.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Coconut Cookies

You know what was absolutely fantastic? The cookie swap. I had SO much fun making, packing, sending and receiving cookies from all over the place! I’ve posted twice about the matches I received, and I’m still hoping to get my third in the next couple of days.

I packed my cookies in vintage tea and sugar tins with matching cards. I thought they looked really cute. I’m already day dreaming about what kind I should make next year. Shipping cookies was way easier than I thought it would be. You just have to pack them snugly and in an air tight container and you’re set. The ladies at the Fed Ex Store were so into the idea of the swap.

These cookies were originally born out of the fact that my house had a surplus of coconut last May. I first made them for a friend who was moving into a new apartment as a housewarming and I’ve not stopped making them. They’re lovely with tea or warm with a BIG glass of milk. The cinnamon, brown sugar, and coconut are a perfect warm sweet and comforting combination. Perfect for the fall and chilly winter months.

Ingredients:

    •    1 1/4 cups flour
    •    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    •    1/4 teaspoon salt
    •    1 tablespoon cinnamon
    •    1/2 cup butter
    •    3/4 cup packed brown sugar
    •    1/4 cup white sugar
    •    1 egg
    •    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    •    1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
    •    1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the flour and then the coconut.
4. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
5. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

Notes:

• In my pictures I doubled the recipe, so the measurements displayed aren’t the same ones as are listed above
• These cookies are really soft when they first come out of the oven, but once they cool they’re a fantastic chewy cookie.