Cookies, Cakes & Catch-Ups Part 9 : A Very Crazy Christmas

Um...


Ya.


So ... You may recall in this post how the Christmas season royally kicked my little tuckus onto another planet in a galaxy so far away that I was unable to properly function for what felt like an eternity?


On a vaguely related note -- I seriously hope you made someone those cookies this holiday season because they are amazing. If you didn't ...well. I will spam you with chain-e-mails so vile you would swear they were from 2002. (PSST. CHECK OUT MY POST FROM LAST CHRISTMAS TOO!)


Just kidding. That's really mean!



I was looking through older posts and realized a new 'catch-ups' post was well overdue. On the non-baking side of things work has been pretty busy and I have been doing this new strategy where I try really really REALLY hard to not flip people off before 10am. So I basically save all my rage in this little jar inside my brain and then I go to the gym.


AND THEN I OPEN THAT JAR, FRIENDS...


I open it and I squat and lift and swing away all that pent up rage. On the plus side I am noticing that I have leaned out and also gained strength.


On the down side I am really sore and will have to decrease the frequency once life gets busy again.

OH YEAH...WHAT ELSE?!??! I have been a busy baker. Like. Wow. All the cookies. And none in my mouth. What a saint, I am. And cupcakes.


Could you tell?

How about now?

Yep. A lot.


And as much as it pains me to do this -- these are all shot with my iphone because I just didn't have the time :( When I finish orders at night and send them off before/right after work then I have zero change of good lighting for my Canon SLR. Plus staging and all that takes time.


Oh it pains me so much. But I still have plenty of poopy photos to share!



I am actually splitting this post up into 2 because I realized that no sane human being wants to see that many dessert photos in one fell swoop.


Well...I mean, I do. But I'm just a wee bit batty ;)

The Breakfast Cookie

Um...Hi.

So it was been 1.2 trillion years since I have had time to publish a new recipe. And quite frankly I don't really have time right now but this one was chilling in my draft folder for that very same 1.2 trillion years SO IT IS ABOUT DAMN TIME!

I thought life was stressful before. I suppose I forgot the holidays were close because of this very non-Canadian winter we have been having lately. 

BUT HOT DIGGETY DARN IT'S ALMOST TIME! 

I have been so grateful for all the orders coming in this holiday season! The Perfect Bite Bake Shoppe has been bumpin' hard core. I mean...JUST LOOKIT WHAT WE'VE MADE SO FAR!!!!

And by we...I mean I: 

 

And the month is only half over. PHEW! I bet there are things I forgot to take pictures of, too. It's been one heck of a month so far.

BUT the reason I am posting this recipe is to take a break from the cake. A healthier cookie offering for your holiday party, perhaps?

Or just another excuse to have cookies for breakfast -- but one that fits in with your 2016 resolutions to...not..have cookies for breakfast! 

These cookies pass the test, I promise. 

These were inspired by a trip to a local bakery that makes these beautiful and gigantic healthy oatmeal cookies.

I really really wanted to have them at arms reach all the time so I set out to create my own.

SPEAKING of having them at arms reach...these freeze REALLY well. It's great to know you can have them handy at any moment ;)

They just look beautiful too don't they? Like every time a pumpkin seed peeks out he is saying 'HEY LOOKIT ME I AM SO HEALTHY COME ON -- LOOKIT ALL MY FRIENDS! WE ARE SO GREAT FOR YOU!'



And they would be right.


The texture of these is soft and chewy -- although the first day fresh out of the oven they have a delightful crispness on the outside WHICH IS MY FAVOURITE THING EVER!

I hate that that texture goes away after that with most cookies. Unless of course they are crunchy through and through. But these are much more pleasing as chewy cookies, I think. 




I actually wish I had some of these left in the freezer but sadly I do not. A migraine as knocked me sideways today and I have so much to do that these cookies seem impossible.


Why oh why didn't I save more of you in the freezer :(


If that bakery was not a wee bit too far from me I would just go there.

Typically... I would consider that blasphemy but honestly I have been so wiped out lately -- I would just plead the fifth.



I don't know what that is...but I would plead it. 

I also need more cookies in my life, I think. 

I have been playing around with my calories more in terms of trying to net gain more muscle without the usual fat of a bulk.  

I definitely feel stronger overall but the stress of life has put my gym goals to a halt. I feel like cookies could fix this because cookies can fix all the things.

OMG THESE WOULD BE SO GOOD WITH ICE CREAM YOU GUYS!

Like little ice cream sandwiches.

I am pretty sure that ice cream, when accompanied by two healthy cookies, is 100% fine and healthy.

I love ice cream. It is my go to cheat meal option alongside ice cream. Pizza and ice cream are where it's at. 

Weird thing is.. I typically feel leaner they day after cheat meals.

Maybe I have been going about this all wrong. I should have more ice cream. 

 

Gluten Free Baked Apple Pie Brie

I never understood having a type.


To me, if a dude was good looking he was just good looking and that was that. He was then rendered an object of affection at school, the gym, the bus, the grocery store...the everywhere.


But I think now that I am a bit older the whole scruffy hair thing is a total go. Oh and blue eyes and slightly disheveled dark hair is also a go.


Listen I am not discounting any other person...all I am saying is CAN WE JUST LOOK AT BRADLEY COOPER OK?

 

Between him and Jensen Ackles, I just die. I really do. My mom and I are OBSESSEDDD with Supernatural and Sam & Dean are real people in my life and Dean/Jensen is absolutely my husband to be met with competition ONLY and I mean ONLY by Bradley Cooper.

So when Castello offered me the chance to see the movie, eat some popcorn and watch the scrumptious Bradley Cooper on screen  followed by using fancy BRIE to make a fancy new RECIPEEEE -- I said...Will Bradley marry me....

They didn't have an answer for that which is honestly really sad but I totes get it. What they did offer me was a package just like the one I got to GIVEAWAYYYYYY!!!!

So that includes: Recipe Cards, Castello Brie, Castello Olive Oil (so good!) and a Great Escape ticket for 2 admissions, 2 regular drinks and 1 regular popcorn!  

YOU CAN USE THAT TO SEE BRADLEY COOPER!!!! Contest rules at the end of this post!

Most importantly though you can use the brie to make this:

 

I know Bradley Cooper, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki and myself, of course -- would all really enjoy dipping this beautifully baked savoury pastry in creamy melty brie cheese topped with baked apples, walnuts and cranberries. 

They would all be like "omg this is so good marry me" and I would all be like "ahhh yeahhhh all those hours of netflix and chilling by myself with ice cream is finally paying offfff". 

 

I can't imagine how that WOULDN'T be accurate. 

  

I was not sure AT ALL what I would be making until 2 seconds before.

I was inspired to making something fitting for fall that can be shared with some close friends or family all gathered around a smorgasbord of food.

The piece de resistance, of course, this baked brie. Is it pie? Is it pastry? What's inside!?

But first a drizzle of honey (or maple syrup)...

AND THEN THE FUN SPILLETH OUT!

 

Slice, scoop, dip, smear. This can be eaten any way you want to and it tastes great ALL ways.

I sliced into it right out of the oven and tore tiny pieces off of the pastry and eagerly searched for the perfect bite. Pastry, brie, cranberry, apple, walnut.


BOOM!


This will complete your life. It will make Bradley Cooper your husband. 

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Muffins

Oh boy oh boy.

Muffins. Are. Legit.


Fluffy, moist and basically a naked cupcake that we somehow justify to ourselves as breakfast food even though a naked cupcake we KNOW would NOT be a breakfast food BUT because they are so damn delicious we just let it slide.



And these...are...oh LORD.


SO GOOD.


If you missed my sky-high Snickerdoodle Muffins then..I feel bad for you, son. But if I may suggest another option, it's THIS one:

I usually push muffins aside. I think in my mind, they are one of those delicious thing that you know is horrible for you and doesn't provide that much satisfaction. As a young person who was always dieting..I never really had muffins except for a few random times when I was younger maybe.


Well.

What a fool, was I.

Muffins are as healthy or unhealthy as you make them. And realistically the ones you get at the bakeries and coffee shops are 2-3 times the size as the ones you make at home!

Plus you cannot buy THESE at the coffee shop.


Sorry, Tim.

Pumpkin is a great ingredient for retaining moisture. And these muffins are moist. But not in a yucky-I-don't-like-the-word-moist-get-these-away-way.



In a DELICIOUS-OMG-IM-EATING-TEN-HUNDRED...way.

In my mind these are a wonderful treat with coffee after a brisk night walk, the perfect start to a Sunday morning and the ideal breakfast treat with family after thanksgiving.


Gotta use that canned pumpkin up, right?!



I know you can't really tell in the photo but...trust me. VERY satisfying. And I highly suggest having them fresh out of the oven when the chocolate chips are melty and glorious.

Pumpkin Pie Protein Squares

 

There is something so incredibly special about pumpkin pie.


And no, I don't mean in the basic b**** way. Although, rock on my basic warriors -- because that's a great reason to love pumpkin, too!


Last year my life was in a different place. I had a bit more time to blog and allow my pumpkin head to  be filled with wonderful ideas like pumpkin cheesecake bars, pumpkin scones, pumpkin brownies, pumpkin pie muffin top cookies, and my grandfather's (and mine!) favourite -- pumpkin pie.


This year my life has been more of a scramble. As I try and sort out some of my business stuff and, of course, go to work every day and try to get some me time (aka going to the gym for an hour if I am lucky!). I found myself screaming "OH LORD ALMIGHTY IS IT OCTOBER?! IS THIS REAL LIFE!?!?"


Yes.


Yes it is.


So if your year has been like mine, which, let's be real -- we live in a world where MORE is MORE and too much is never enough -- then maybe you don't have time for pie.


Maybe picking up a box of Halloween candy BEFORE Halloween would actually be the biggest *win* you've had in a while.


I hear you, brotha/sista man/woman. I hear you.

For the pumpkin pie lovers, protein savvy, the health conscious and the people who are just there for the free food --- I present to you....

Pumpkin PIE protein squares.



Oh yes.

No one understands the importance of pie more than I do. Really. From rolling out the dough to patiently waiting for it to cool -- to slicing a piece with a dollop of whipped cream teetering gently over the edges. It's what I live for.


But as time escapes me -- I need all the satisfaction but without the fuss.

I think these bars are incredibly versatile, too. Dessert, snack, breakfast -- you name it. This bar is good for it. Not only that but the pumpkin helps retain moisture keeping these bars DELICIOUS for up to a week! Not that they will last you, mind you.

Once you see how easy they are -- you won't be able to resist ;)