Citrus Poppy Seed Short-bread Cookies

I was just in the mood for some short-bread cookies.  I had freeze some orange zest for use in baking in the future and this recipe definitely called for it.  This cookie is fragrant with butter and citrus and very crunchy.  I hope you would like this short-bread cookies.  It is not hard to make but the dough is crumbly so it can be hard to shape into a log.  Good luck!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

We all loved chocolate.  When thinking of what cookies to make, chocolate chocolate chip cookies came into mind.  I bought some Enjoy Life chocolate morsels when it was on sale last Christmas so it definitely came in handy when making this cookies.  I also used it in my Banana Chocolate Cake recipe that I posted awhile back.  It was so good my girls couldn't stop snacking on it.

Cream Cheese Cookies

I have some cream cheese that needed to be used so I was searching for a cream cheese cookies recipe and I found this recipe at GroupRecipes shared by trackwidow 8 years ago.  This cookie is crunchy and simply delicious.  The sweetness is just nice too, I would definitely make this recipe again.  Thank you trackwidow for sharing this wonderful cookies recipe.

I packed some of these delicious cookies to share with Edda's teacher too!  She said she loved this yummy cookies!  YES!!  :)

Matcha Cranberries Cookies

I created this matcha cranberries cookies with matcha icing on Sunday.  Sunday is my rest day and also a day for my girls and I to make cookies or cake.  I need to let them practice more so that they can improve their skills in all areas, such as rolling, cutting and icing.  Have to train them to become little helpers in the kitchen and be independent!

Sorry, I won't be sharing this recipe.  :P

Lemony Lemon Cookies (Crispy)

Teacher Appreciation Week was the first week of May and my girls wanted to make their teachers some homemade cookies.  So, I picked an easy recipe from my collection and let them made it themselves!  The above cookies were made by them, they did the whole thing and even made the lemon icing sugar and spread it themselves.

The shapes and thickness were not perfect but they did it all by themselves so I am very proud of them.  Evy knew how to make brownie too, I guess next time I can leave the baking to them huh?

This is a crispy lemony lemon cookie like the name implied and oh so irresistible!  Try it and feedback to me ya as this is a fool proof recipe that even my girls could make it.  Oh yeah, they did the washing too!  :)

Cranberries Oat Cookies

I wanted to show my appreciation to my manager on my last day of work and what's better way to show it by giving her a packet of my homemade cookies that were made with love?  I hope she will like my cookies as that's how I spread my love to others.  

I loved receiving homemade baked or food too as I know there were love and efforts put into making those.  Always being appreciative of others' effort is a value that I taught my girls, don't take things for granted.

These cookies are crunchy with the fragrant of butter mixed with vanilla, and oh so good!  It makes a great gift too as it holds well in shape when packaged.

4 Ingredients Cheese Crackers

I saw a friend shared this recipe on my Facebook page and decided to try it seeing how easy this recipe is.  I will try to make cookies for us instead of buying the store-bought non-GMO or Organic version if I can.  It will be a way to save cost and also nothing beat homemade.  We buy processed food out of convenient and it is just so easy to grab it on the shelves.  But non-GMO and Organic cookies or crackers are hardly no sale and it can be pricey if one is at a low income level who's trying to eat healthy.  So, the best bet is to make my own cookies and cakes.  Nothing beat the tender loving care ones put into preparing their food and/or bake for their family, especially with healthy ingredients in mind.

My verdict for this cheese cracker is it was really crispy and good when it was first out of the oven but not sure what happen but the cookie turned soft the next day for me.  So I had to re-bake it.

Easy 3 Ingredients Peanut Cookies

I saw this easy 3 ingredients peanut cookie recipe while looking at YouTube on another cookie recipe.  As you know, I am a fan of easy recipes, so of course this recipe caught my eyes and I just had to give it a try.  I made it easier by putting it in a food processor instead of stirring it by hand.  But however, if you don't have a food processor at home then by all mean, just stir it with a spatula in a bowl until a dough is formed.

This cookie is melt in the mouth type and very easy to make, do give it a try!

Crisp Citrus Cookies

This Crisp Citrus Cookie is really easy to make by using a food processor.  This is requested by Evy and also I wanted to test out the new cookie cutters that I bought from Amazon.  I think I scored this cookie cutters pretty cheap at Amazon, each pair cost less than $2 each, but I can't remember the specific amount.  Since it was shipped from China, it took awhile to arrive but I can't complain since the shipping was free. If you are in the US and want this kind of cookie cutters, you can buy it via Amazon.  They have a lot of different characters to choose from as well.

Red Bean Pastry Rolls

A friend shared a link to this recipe via Facebook and it interested me because I had a pack of red bean paste that needed to be used and this recipe looked easy.  I simplified the recipe further by using a food processor and with a ready made red bean paste, this was really easy to make. 

The pastry was crispy on the day it was baked and not as crispy day 2 onwards.  However, it was still a delicious treat.  A change from the usual CNY cookies!

Delicious Tropical Gluten Free Cookies

This is a little different from my Gluten Free Almond Flaxseed Cookies as I added some tropical feel to it.  I added dried pineapple and dried mango.  You can substitute that with chocolate chips, dried cranberries or raisins.

This tropical cookie is crispy and slightly soft in the middle on the first day.  On the next day, it turns soft and chewy but still delicious.  My younger girl said this cookie doesn't look pretty but tastes delicious.  ;-) Oh well, it looks pretty nutty and healthy (nutrients from almond, flaxseed and coconut) to me, and it is gluten free.  If you try it, remember to feedback to me ya!  I want to know whether you like my creation.

Citrusy Biscotti with Dried Cranberries, Chocolate Chips and Coconut

This recipe is adapted from my previous Tropical Biscotti Recipe. It is so delicious and I wonder why I only make biscotti during the Christmas holidays.   It is not difficult to make at all, you only need a hand whisk and then a spatula before using your hand to knead the dough.  The only troublesome part is you have to double or triple bake it.  I bake mine three times because I like it brown on all sides.

I already perfected this recipe the last time, even I go back to my old recipe to make biscotti, so you can rest ensure that it will turn out good, not hard rock that you couldn't even bite into it.  It is so good that you can eat it just like that or dip it in your coffee.  I received compliments on my biscotti every time I give it away.

Wishing all of you a very Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!!  It is a long holidays break for the kids, I guess I should start on a new Korean drama marathon.  *wink*

Crunchy Pumpkin Spiced Cookies

I finally succeeded in making a better, crispier and crunchy pumpkin cookies than my previous attempt.  Since I don't use canola oil now, I have to find a substitute for it.  I can't use peanut oil because I mostly make this as gift besides our own consumption.  You know, have to be careful about peanut allergy these days.  I don't want to use my extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil because they are expensive.  So, I left with butter, butter is what our grandma used in the old days anyway before cheaper oil replaced it in baking.  Anyway, today we know that butter is a good fat and it would not raise your cholesterol level by eating it in moderation.  So, I am not afraid of butter anymore and have been using it to substitute my older recipes that called for canola oil.  As for my Chinese New Year cookie recipes, I will either use peanut oil or butter as the substitute.

This is so crunchy and delicious!  You just have to make it to believe it!  Now I learned the trick, I have to shape it thin and bake it until it's slightly brown to make it crunchy.  As you can see above, I make it for teachers at school and I hope they like this little crunchy pumpkin spiced cookie!  :-)

If you make this, please do feedback to me ya! 

Gluten Free Almond Flaxseed Coconut Cookies

What to do with the almond meal in my refrigerator that I got from making almond milk right?  I wanted to make a gluten free cookie but it also has to be healthy and delicious.  So, I had to play with what I have in my pantry and freezer and came out with this idea and combination.  Luckily this cookie turned out delicious so that I would be able to share the recipe with you all.  It would be a keeper for me as well as I would definitely make this again!

This would make such a great gift to those healthy conscious or gluten free teachers at school!!   Christmas is approaching and this cookie will serve well to the gluten free guests or as a gift to your gluten free friends and relatives.

Soft, chewy and packed with goodness!  Not to say yummilicious!!  Sooo good, you got to try it and feedback to me ya!  And if you do a blog post, remember to link back to my original recipe and credit me, that would be much appreciated.   It's a joy to share the recipe that I created and I love reading feedback but I also want to be credited for my effort. *wink*

Lemon Sables and Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Valentine's Day in advance!  I am killing two birds with one stone here by incorporating one of my Chinese New Year cookies into a Valentine's day cookie!  I am posting this early just in case someone might want to make this for his/her valentine.

Sables is a classic French's butter cookies originating in Normandy France.  The texture is crisp, sandy and crumbly with the fragrant of butter.  For my lemon sables, it is fragrant with lemon of course but it still has the buttery taste in it.  I think it looks sweet for Valentine's day, what do you think?

* I am also submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover* 

Peanut Butter Oat Squares

When I saw this recipe at Go Bold with Butter, I wanted to try it.  The reason being it has rolled oats and some of my favorite ingredients in there.  Not sure what happen but mine came out looking different from their photo.  Nevertheless, it is still crispy and crumbly like they described.  I think it would taste even better with chocolate chips, flax seeds and possibly walnuts in it.  I would probably play with the recipe when I make it again.

* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover*  Well, a change from the traditional Chinese New Year cookies!  Actually it is quite similar to the cornflakes cookies without flour except this one uses oats.  So, I think instead of bar squares, you can also do it in a pretty mini paper cups.

Congo Bars

I was given some cookie bars during the holidays that left me with a favorable impression as it was really delicious.  I had no idea what it was nor I have tasted it before, so I went online to look for a cookie bar recipe that resembled the cookie that I had.  I found the picture of Congo Bars looked similar and decided to give it a try.  Later, I realized that this Congo Bar actually resembled Blondie very much as they both make with similar ingredients.  And Congo Bar is actually another variation of Blondie.  I might give Blondie a try in the future.  For this, the only difference I changed was I used cashew nuts instead of walnuts or pecans.  The taste was fairly closed and I am happy with the result.

The above picture is how I wrapped the cookie bars.  I used red and white tissue papers, cut them out and wrapped the cookie bars like wrapping a candy and put them in a decorative zipper bag.  You can also wrap it in foil first and then cover with a solid color cellophane paper and pack them in a decorative box as gift.

Crispy Pumpkin Cookies

Yeah!  I did it!  I managed to create a crispy pumpkin cookies!!!  Two years ago, I tried my hand on soft pumpkin cookies which I didn't really like as I preferred my cookies to be crisp and tasted like cookies instead of cake.  I told myself that I was going to experiment and come out with a crispy cookie recipe but never really gotten to do it.  So, this year I took on the challenge and happy to announce that I created a delicious crispy pumpkin cookies that we all liked and easy to make.

As you know, my recipe got to be easy to whip up.  And this recipe only required a hand whisk!!  What a plus right for busy mom or for someone who just want to make cookies fast with minimally washing required.  I added the dried cranberries just because I have about 1/2 cup left and I wanted to finish it.  You can omit it or use raisins or chocolate chips, it's up to you!

Your house will smell like pumpkin and spices when you bake these cookies.  My girls totally loved this and said it tasted like pumpkin.  I think the cinnamon and cloves paired really well to bring up the full flavor of this cookie.  Warning:  It is hard to resist, so self-control needed in eating these cookies!

Whole Wheat Fruit Cake Mix Cookies

I am making my own cookies and bread for my family.  This is one of the cookies that I made for my girls.  My girls like this a lot and this is my second batch.  I will probably keep making this until I finish the container of the fruit cake mix that I have.  This recipe is almost the same as my whole wheat and oats cookies recipe except I added the fruit cake mix and needs minor adjustment.  Very easy, no mixer required.  Just a bowl, a hand held whisk and a spatula.

This cookie is crispy with a chewy bite from the fruit cake mix.  While baking with the fruit cake mix, I learned that you shouldn't over bake your cookie or else the fruit cake mix will become hard instead of chewy. 

If you have a container of fruit cake mix some where, why not give this recipe a try?

Fruit Cake Mix Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I made this heart shape fruit cake mix cookies for this Valentine's day!  Also took this opportunity to wish all my readers a fun and happy Valentine's day celebration.  This cookie came about when I was shopping at my local supermarket and spotted the fruit cake mix was on clearance for 99 cent for a 16oz tub.  The 8 oz cherries an pineapple was on clearance for 49 cent.  How could I pass it out?  I used about half of the fruit cake mix to make this cookie and the other half I am planning to make a cake.

For the above cookies, I rolled it out and cut it with a cookie cutter.  The rest, I shaped into logs and placed in my freezer for future craving.