Saturday 29 March 2014

Gluten Free Coconut Almond Protein Bars



Hello!
Popping by today to share these little bars of heavenly deliciousness! Which ones? These ones:






These bars are inspired by a recipe I saw by Ana Sward here. And they use a similar recipe to my protein bars mentioned here. I used components of Anas but mostly just added to my initial recipe.  Told you I couldn't wait to try new flavours! The almond butter and coconut work together SO well here. These are more cakey than the last bars, but very dense, flavourful and not too sweet. They are heaven!

The recipe is no-bake which is always nice. And gluten free! Want to make it vegan? Use agave instead of honey!



Keep reading for the recipe!


Friday 28 March 2014

Perfectly Pink Baked Donuts with Vanilla Glaze





HEY! The weather is blah today. So why not add a little rose-coloured happiness to it?

My first donut attempt,  I recall lamenting about my yearning to recreate the perfect Homer Simpson donut. Ohh and lament I did. And when I made my gluten free donuts, I found out we were having a fam-jam at my grandma and grandpa's house, so I made up a gluten-ous batch as well :p





This was it. This was my chance...to prove I can make a perfectly pink, cartoon-worthy donut. AND BY GOD, I DID IT.




A touch of pink, I sprinkle here and there, some sprinkles on the floor and in my hair--BIPPITY BOPPITY DONUT!












Just LOOK AT THAT. WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT IT!









Want to make some perfectly pink donuts? Let's go!

Slightly Despicable Minion Cookies






Sometimes a cookie is going so well, I get so excited and BAM. It all just tumbles to the ground.
These minion cookies were AWESOME! The overalls were great, the colours were great. And then...the goggles came...Womp womp wommmmp.

I panicked and circles became squircles. and circovals. And not round. Oh well....These are for a friends birthday and I hope she loves them. Minions are quirky little devil's anyway! It was my fault for not using a stencil and thinking I could do it freehand. NOPE! I will have to try these again, I was really devastated how wonky they looked...but I ran out of time to make new ones :(

Jerry, Carl and Tim! Ba-na-na Ba-na-na-na!



BEEE-DO BEE-DO- BEE-DO *minion giggles*



Tim, Jerry and Carl. Looking happy hanging out with their cookie friends!



I absolutely LOVE minions. And so does my friend. Who can resist? They just make me so happy! I love Carl the best. He's so ridiculously cute!

Do you love minions?? Know someone else who does? I'm sure you can do these, too! Or even just use the colours to make cute designs! I dream up party ideas whenever I make cookies. I'd love to just do that forever! Someone have a kid who likes minions so I can come plan a party!

Have a great day everyone!

And remember...don't sweat the small stuff!

XO

P.S She loved them and was super sweet about how cute they looked, even if the eyes were wonky ;) That's what best friends are for! <3

Thursday 27 March 2014

Feeding My Cookie Addiction: Spiderman Style!



Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can! Except Andrew Garfield is so much prettier than a spider, no? Another design using my royal icing transfers:




These are also done for me special someone who insists that Spiderman is the best superhero. Him and I just can't seem to agree. Why can't he see that Batman and Superman are superior! Whatever the case, this new trailer does look amazing:


Maybe you have a spiderman lover in your life?! These cookies would be a great surprise for them :)

All you need? Red flood icing. I did these at the same time as my transformers ones. See how planning ahead makes life so easy? Just pipe this on to a cookie that your transfer will fit on and your done! Remember to put the transfer on when the icing is wet! Couldn't be easier. Well...it could. Someone could make these FOR YOU! Wouldn't that be great?

See the blue and red 'spider web' one? Neat, right!?






Want more fun pictures? Is your spidey-sense tingling? Or your nose? Because these smell amazing <3


Feeding My Cookie Addiction: Transformer's Edition {Autobots VS. Decepticons}



HELLO!

There is no reason needed for transformers cookies other than this:


But also my special someone is obsessed with transformers and I wanted to make these for his birthday! Along with cupcakes and spiderman cookies to be shared with you soon!

These cookies were brought to you by these:



Which you can read about in my post here.

So all I did was prepare my flood icing:

Yay fun flood icing! Yay toothpicks!


I flooded my cookies one at a time, and dropped the transfer on top ensuring it would be in the middle of the cookie. And that was that! My only advice? Be stingy on the icing. I used a lot and it kind of oozed a little bit...OOPS! Also don't forget to add the transfer right away or before the icing dries! This will adhere it to the cookie!

My transfers did break when I put them on the cookie because my surface wasn't 100% flat. It's ok. Don't panic! Just push the pieces together before the icing sets!

Don't they look so fun?!



Want more pictures? Keep Reading!


Wednesday 26 March 2014

Royal Icing Transfers Made Easy!



Oh hey bro. What's up? Just kidding...*no I'm not*

If you read cookie blogs at all--you will see some pretty CRAZY designs. A lot of these are done by amazing artists! I am not one of these people. And I cannot afford a fancy projector a la kopykake machine!

So I got to thinking...how about 'transfers' that I have heard about? This is exactly the same method that I talked about when discussing melting chocolate for decorations here  and also here. The only difference is that this is done with royal icing for use on sugar cookies.

I can't draw elaborate things freehand, especially characters. This helps me get a similar design each time! When they are dry (I leave them over night) I slide them off and keep them in an airtight container until I need them!

Want to try?

Keep reading!


Gluten Free, No Bake Chocolate & Cranberry Protein Bars




I have been looking for a protein bar recipe that doesn't use dates or rice protein powder for a long time, to no avail. Why? Because I never have those things handy...and I am lazy. And also, most store-bought bars are no bueno and have funky weird ingredients.

At last, I was inspired by this post at Yummy, Healthy, Easy  for chocolate raspberry protein bars. As per usual though, I had to complicate things for myself and change things around because ehh where is the fun in following sound advice?

But what happened was...great!

I thought I'd use oats...but that would make these bars like granola bars. I wanted a dense, chewy protein bar. So I blended the oats into oat flour...added cranberries and not raspberries...added cocoa powder..and dark chocolate chips and before I knew it, this baby was born! No baking, no sugar, no gluten. Just...awesomeness!





So magical. So so so magical.





Now I KNOW you want the recipe! So keep on readin'!


Tuesday 25 March 2014

The Randomest of Sugar Cookies: Forever 21, Henna and Yellow and Grey!




Hello! I'm just sharing the random cookies I made last week with leftover cookies!
No rhyme or reason, just for fun! And for practice.


Forever 21 cookies! I mixed this colour and thought. THIS LOOKS JUST LIKE XXI YELLOW !!

Henna cookies and the Eye of Horus! What up, Egypt!

Cookies from the title image. I just love these colours together!!! These would be cute for a  baby shower :)

That's it! Just some random cookie designs

Friday 21 March 2014

Vegetarian Kale and Quinoa Bowl With Roasted Pine Nuts




Hello! A break from baking posts this afternoon ( don't worry, lots are coming!). Most people who know me know I actually eat very healthy and love to make healthy food--don't let the cookies fool you. Although baking treats is also just as fun!


Quinoa is a 'buzz word' these days. It's a grain that's actually not a grain at all! It's a seed with higher protein content then other starches like rice or pasta. It is very easy to prepare, has a mild nutty flavour and pairs well with a lot of different spice palates. Today, I share with you my version with kale, organic corn (non-GMO), peas, chickpeas, quinoa, feta cheese garlic and Mediterranean spices and of course, roasted pine nuts.

Keep reading for a recipe and how-to !


Cookies From Middle Earth: Bilbo's 111th Birthday Party




"My dear Baggins's and Boffins. Tooks and Brandybucks! Grubbs. Chubbs. Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles and Proudfoots!"

--PROUDFEET!!--

Welcome to Bilbo's 111th Birthday Party! In the jar we have Smaug's coins, and of course to eat we have a hobbit house, a ring, a birthday cookie, a hobbit cake and Bilbo and Frodo themselves! Yes. We will eat them, too. Such a shame! Gandalf will be oh so upset with us!

Just don't touch the ring cookie...it's mine. Myyyyyyy precioussss!


Of course instead of Bilbo getting these cookies, these are for someone from earth and not Middle Earth! Happy Birthday Marly!


I have never had such a great time decorating these cookies. Lord of the Rings The Hobbit are so near and dear to my heart that designing these were a breeze. I didn't plan, I just piped. Piped from my heart ;) Also for all the fanboys (like me) I did mix elements of both LOTR and the Hobbit. Don't hate me---I just wanted cookies that captured elements from both. I think it would be fun to do lambas bread cookies, some elves, dwarves, smaug, etc! Maybe another post? Would you want to see those?!

Can you see my Elvish script? Looks a lot like Arabic!
It was a big party, so let's take a look at more pictures--and see the end of this post for tools/icing colours needed!



Thursday 20 March 2014

Cookie Inception: A Blog On Cookies Featuring Cookies Based On My Blog. WOAH!




HELLO! I was making cookies yesterday (surprise I know, control yourself!) and I had some leftover pink and black icing. And the pink. Looked. So. Familiar.

And then I thought to myself:
 "Should I?"
"No, I can't"
"Ohh...but I should!!!"
And so, I did!

I made blog cookies! Cute right? I love that shade of pink (as I'm sure is quite obvious). Inspiration comes from the funniest of places! A sign, a cup, a cute little hungry monster! He is cute and mine and his nom est NOM!

I wish I could give every person who has ever found their way on to my blog a cookie. Because I want to. You make my day, you really, really do. Until virtual food-transferring is a thing, pretend that these are from me to you!







I hope you have an amazing day. And if you don't, come visit me on the blog. I will happily keep you company and rant about food-related and other un-related things!

Happy Web-Surfing!

XO

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Oh, Sugar, Sugar {Cookies} Part 2: Icing, Design and Specialty Products




I bought fun props! They make me giddy with happy pink sparkly joy.








It's Thursday, folks. Do you know what that means? No? Me either. Any-who-- want to see something funny?


No these were not decorated by toddler's. These are my FIRST ever batch of sugar cookies from December 2013!

My favourite is the gingerbread man with pants that are slowly wilting off his body. Yeahh. That's pretty sweet! The bears turned out okay I guess. But I used piping gel for their bow-ties and they never dried as a result. But man. There were SO many curse words flying from my mouth this holiday season. This is before I knew what the H-E double hockey sticks royal icing was and I just bought some random icing from the store! I also burned the cookies pretty badly...WOOPS!

My second batch, after I realized by first batch was kind of ugly and I couldn't give them away. My first attempt with royal icing. These took a loooong time because I didn't know what I was doing. They were also kind of This was also in December!


This being said, I'm NO professional now. The Valentines Day cookies above were my 3rd attempt, Superbowl cookies were my 4th and St.Patrick's Day my 5th. So, I'm new to the cookie game. But I think about cookies, dream up designs and now am VERY careful and make sure to stay calm instead of cursing, tossing sprinkles angrily into the air and knocking over cookie trays a la Hulk the Baker. I'm quickly learning that there are lots of things that you can do to make your life easier! I also read a lot and asked my Aunt a lot of questions!

Let's get to sharing tips, tricks and all that jazz!


Mixing It Up: Gluten Free Pizza




Hey!

Happy hump day! I hope your week is going well. My week has involved an insane amount of planning around cookies. And also headaches. And coupons. Sounds crayfish right? Can't wait to share them with you soon!

Do you know Za? THE ZA! The pee-za! This is another food I had not had in many years up until recently. Now I love making it at home. We talked socca pizza over here but this is a version made with this:



You can make the mix yourself using a gluten free flour blend as well! IF you are planning on making pizza anytime soon and feel like doing it gluten free...then this is for YOUUUU *game show voice*

To see what you'll need and even more importantly, how it TASTES...Keep on readin'!


Tuesday 18 March 2014

Baking Tips and Tricks: Avoid Icing Messes and Uneven Cookies!






HEY...again! Time for another baking tip! 


Not one but two really quick and easy baking tips for cookie making and decorating!

#1: Filling Piping Bags





I had mentioned earlier  that an easy way to keep your icing tips from clogging was to store them upright in a cup lined with moistened paper towels. How about filling your bags? Without help, filling bags can be annoying. Quick and easy solution? Use an appropriately sized cup (depending on your bag size) as your helper! Just open up the bag, stick it inside, and wrap the bag around your cup and spoon in your icing! 


#2: Making All Cookies Even 


This is a new trick that I tried today. Thanks to Haniela on YouTube which inspired this idea and at my trip to the craft store today I found the perfect birch panels for around 2$ a piece. 


 Simply set up your parchment paper (if you choose to roll it in between parchment like I do) and the panels on each side, close enough together that the rolling pin rests on them. You want a good thickness--these are around 1/4 inch. If you want thicker or thinner cookies this will change the size of panel that you use. I did clean these before hand but for future use I will wrap them in saran wrap just to be sure!

Use these planks to ensure all your cookies are the same width! It's kind of like using elastics on fondant rollers. The rolling pin hits the planks before your cookies can get too thin! Then just cut out your cookies as per usual!



Hope these tips are helpful!

Happy Rolling and Piping!

XO


Gluten Free {Black Bean} Brownies



Hello hungry people!

It's Tuesday. Such a forgettable day of the week. Whenever it's Tuesday I often confuse it for some other day. It's just blah. You know what helps blah days? BROWNIES! I don't know that for sure...but...science?
What do you look for in a brownie?

  • Dense- HELLS YES
  • Brown- DUH
  • Chocolatey as a mofo- PREACH
  • Soft and melty and with crunchy edges - MMHMM GIRLFRIEND
  • Easy to make-- IDEAL
  • Gluten Free- CHECK AND CHECK
  • Healthy-- OKAY these aren't healthy. But they have beans and thus fibre. Happy colons for all!
Anyone who is ANYONE on pinterest has probably seen black bean brownies floating around. No? Maybe it's because I'm always on the food and drink pages ;)

I was SO nervous. Black beans? Really? Stanky beans??? And CHOCOLATE? Sounded like an inappropriate marriage. And shame on me for thinking so, because truly they are DELISH! The beans make them so dense and fudge-tastic. Also--I didn't tell anyone there was beans in the recipe until after they enjoyed them...MWAHAHAHAH. But maybe don't do this....apparently that whole 'beans beans the musical fruit' thing is true for some people...WHOOPS!

If Barry White was narrating..you'd get how magical these brownies are..

Enough of my teasing you (cruel, I know) on to the recipe!


Friday 14 March 2014

Oh Chocolate. You and Your Temper!





HEY!


Do you know those people? You know THOSE PEOPLE! Who say they don't like...*whispers* chocolate. I know. Well, I was one of those people! It hurts me to type those words, but it is true.

I thought if I told myself I hated it, I would believe. But then...I met someone. Someone dark, velvety and full of aromatic deliciousness. Lindt 70% dark chocolate. 



He was strong and powerful...but then, I met 80. And 90! And I was so far gone down the chocolate rabbit hole! I am clearly getting carried away. The point is--I will never forsake chocolate or take its name in vain again. 

Easter is coming up and I think making your own treats would be a lot of fun. I have seen egg and bunny molds all over the place! Check Wal-Mart, Target, Bulk Barn and even the dollar store! Yep. I saw SILICONE MOLDS there. And they are just as cute as my Wilton ones. Remember--you can use plastic or silicone! But the plastic ones are a bit easier to use and clean (in my opinion).

This post is brought to you by the letter C. And inspired by these cuties:


Mock-olate Decorations for Cupcakes!

You may remember them from such posts as Cookie Dough Cupcakes, Shamrock Cupcakes AND...Okay, no. Only those two. Anyways this post has a couple goals: First, to talk about the difference between 'fake' and 'real' chocolate. I call it mock-olate because I think I'm super hilarious. Second is to talk about chocolate tempering and the purpose of it.

Keep reading for pictures and tips!


Thursday 13 March 2014

St. Patrick's Day Chocolate Mint Gluten Free Cupcakes




It's official. I have a problem. After whipping up those adorable sugar cookies...I just couldn't help it. I got to thinking. Green? Green....mint. Mint chocolate...CUPCAKES? Gluten Free? Why yes. I think I will.

This was also my chance to try this:

PC Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix


Keep Reading for a how-to!