Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

On Christmas Eve, I had a fun filled game night with my family. Well, they were playing games. I got sick a little before the holidays so I slept on the floor next to their Settlers of Catan game. Hahaha. I was trying to sleep but instead just dose in and out of sleep. They were so excited about the game. My family is so competitive so there was A LOT of yelling going on - mainly because of excitment. They actually just ended up playing one around of Settlers of Catan. I have the expansion set so seven people were able to play. When there is more people playing, the game is more challenging and last longer. Everyone ended up being tired from the first game so we just called it a night. I think that game took about two hours to play! I know.. pretty long right?! Haha. Well, before my family and our boyfriends started playing games, we had a food feast! I made guacamole and Turkey Basil Marinara with Brown Rice Spaghetti (I will post the recipe later on). My boyfriend made Salmon Ceviche which was delicious!! After that, we had desserts.

Photo credit to Tiffany Tay.
Tiffany Tay is a Las Vegas night/day club promoter @  The Light Night Club - Las Vegas. If you ever need to get on a guest list for any Las Vegas night/day club, please contact her via text @ (702) 513-1749 or message her on facebook.

We had chocolate chip cookies (recipe here) with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream!! Delicious!!! We went out and got ice cream at the store. I just wanted to share a picture of our delicious dessert!! For the ice cream sandwich, I used the same size cookie scooper as the one I used for the cookie to scoop the ice cream, so it fit perfectly. Scoop the ice cream and place it on one side of the cookie. Place the other half of the cookie on top and press down lightly. Voila, you have a perfect chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich!! :D

*** Note: Be sure to leave your ice cream out a little so it can soften.

Before we headed off to game night, I had hot pot with our family and friends. It was super fun. We decided to have Christmas Eve lunch instead of dinner. We ate a lot of food during hot pot. There were so many people, we needed three stoves to food everyone. We opened gifts during the day and it was a blast! I love seeing the reaction on my family's face when they open the gifts I give them. I always buy my gifts way ahead of time and put a lot of thought into it. I must say that it was a fun filled Christmas. I am excited for more family fun to come :)

Anyways.. Merry Christmas Everyone!!! <3

There was actually more gifts than this!! So much fun!! :)

My favorite kid in the world! I didn't get to play with him since I am sick. :(

Chewy Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't made a holiday post yet but I gotta stay that I am really excited. I know it may be hectic during the holidays with all the crazy shoppers and maybe some family drama. I have to say that I love the holidays though. I always get so excited when the Fall semester starts because I know the holidays are here! Thanksgiving, Christmas then New Years are all right around the corner. All my family members try to come back home. I notice that the older you get, the more busy your family gets. The best excuse to come back home to get together is, of course, the holidays.

The holidays is another reason to bake of course. I love when my family eats the food I am. I believe that food brings everyone together as well. Since there is technology and almost everyone has a smartphone, we also tend to share our happiness online with our social media friends.

For Christmas, I will be making these Chewy Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies I adapted from Chew Out Loud. Whenever I try a new recipe, I am always so excited about what my family will think. It especially makes me happy when they love what I make! After this chocolate chip post, I will be posted other recipes on my blog. The recipes are not traditional. We tend to do things a little different since we are Chinese American.

Recipe adapted from Chew Out Loud.

Yields: ~72 cookies

4.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Place the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl - set aside.

2 cups unsalted butter - room temperature
1 cups brown sugar - loosely packed (I used Organic Brown Sugar from Trader Joe's)
2 - 3.4 oz packages instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs - @ room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Cream the butter and brown sugar together until creamy and fluffy. Add packages of vanilla pudding - one at a time. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract. Mix until well-combined.

Using the dough hook attachment, slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Fold ingredients until fully incorporated. It may get a little messy since the mixing bowl will be pretty full. I suggest slowly adding the flour mixture so that it doesn't get everywhere.

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips)

Add the chocolate chips into the dough mixture. I ended up using about 3.5 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of 4 cups. You may also opt to mix in the chocolate chips with your hands.

The dough should look like the image below.

Cover the cookie dough mixture tightly and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour - I chilled mine for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 350 degree F while you are waiting for the cookie dough to chill.

Form the dough using a cookie scooper or form the dough by hand - about 1 inches. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 12 scoops of cookie dough per baking sheet and space them out evenly. Use a spatula to press down on the cookies a little.

Bake the cookies for 8-12 mins. Keep an eye on your first batch to determine the right amount of time for the cookies to bake - every oven is different. It took my oven 10 minutes to bake the cookies. The cookies are perfect when the edges look golden brown. Be sure to look for that in your first batch of cookies then set the timer accordingly. *Note: Cookies may seem underdone but will firm up as it cools.

Cool the cookies on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes then place them in an airtight container (I use the OXO 3-Piece Pop Round Canister Set).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE :)

Authentic Tiramisu

When I was younger, my parents did not allow me to drink coffee. The only thing we were allow to eat with coffee in it was tiramisu. From what I remember, we only started eating tiramisu when I was a teen. My uncle makes the best tiramisu. I guess I never really tried the ones in restaurants because I got homemade tiramisu. You can never go wrong with homemade especially if the cook used to work in a casino as a chef :) My uncle could always just look at the ingredients and know if the food tasted good or not. I started cooking and baking not too long ago. I still wonder how he does it though. I guess you just adapt some type of magical sense after years of cooking. Even so, he doesn't cook much now a days. My aunt is the one who does a lot of the cooking but yet everything is always "easy" for him to make.

I have been looking forever for a recipe similar to my Uncle's recipe and I finally found one! I guess I could have just asked my uncle for the recipe but that's not how he cooks. He cooks by just tasting the food, not measuring. On the other hand, I like to have measurements for the most part, especially for baking. I remember actually asking him for the tiramisu recipe and he ended up just making two big trays of tiramisu. This is why I decided to look for a recipe online. I found one that was similar to the recipe he makes.

It was my first time making tiramisu and it didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would. Turned out to be very moist and I loved the strong coffee taste! :)

Recipe adapted from Key Ingredient, shared by rosabela 

Makes: 9x14 inch rectangular pan or two smaller containers - I would suggest using a container with a lid so that you can store the tiramisu in the fridge.

You can make your coffee or buy it. I bought my coffee at Starbucks since I don't have a coffee maker. Set coffee aside to cool.

~2 cups of strong espresso - cooled at room temperature

Separate the egg white and egg yolk. I don't have two stand mixer bowls so I usually just use regular mixing bowls. Put the egg whites in the stand mixer bowl and the egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form - transfer to another bowl and set aside. Wash your stand mixer bowl then add the egg yolks and sugar. Beat the mixture until it is creamy. Be sure to beat the egg yolks well or they will end up with an egg-like taste. Add mascarpone cheese to the egg yolk mix and combined until there are no lumps. Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone/egg yolk mixture with a rubber spatula.

5 small eggs/4 large eggs
3 to 5 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
16 oz mascarpone cheese - sold 8 oz each at Walmart

Below is how your egg whites should look when they are stiff peaks.

Dip the ladyfingers in espresso (try not to over soak the ladyfingers) and lay them into a pan. You may choose to leave a space between the ladyfingers or place them close together. My uncle who makes Tiramisu usually places them together so that is my preference. Pour the mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers and spread evenly. For each layer, change the rotation of the ladyfingers.

2 boxes of Trader Joe's soft ladyfingers - sold only during the holiday season
- You can also use a different brand of ladyfingers.

Refrigerated for 4 hours minimum but overnight for best results. Sprinkle with cocoa when served.

~2 tbsp cocoa powder - optional

Oatmeal Cookie Butter White Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

Hi everyone!!

Welcome to my first blog post EVER. I hope you enjoy the recipes that I have adapted from other websites. I will also be posting some of my simple healthy recipes later on.

Over the past two years, I have looked at hundreds of blogs. I always wanted to create my own but I have a difficult time writing down my thoughts. I still thought it was a good idea anyways to create a blog to share the little changes I make in the recipes I find.

Baking helps me relieve stress but at the same time, it gives me stress. Isn't that a little ironic? I love to bake. I enjoy the happiness my baking brings to my family. At the same time though, I am always stress about my baking because I want my family to enjoy my baking. I guess I just need to learn that I can't impress everyone and just love what I do.

I shop at Trader Joe's every week and sometimes I end up going there at least three days. I know it's a little ridiculous but I always end up forgetting something or thinking of something new I want to make. I also hear people talk about cookie butter all the time. One day while I was at check out, I saw a jar of cookie butter. I decided it was time to try it. When I got home though, I looked at the ingredients and realized that cookie butter was extremely UNHEALTHY. I couldn't get myself to eat cookie butter alone. I hopped onto Pinterest and found a recipe that incorporated cookie butter. I could spend HOURS on Pinterest looking at recipes that I probably never end up making. I enjoy it anyways.

Recipe adapted from The Cookin' Chemist.

Yields: about 46 cookies w/sliced almonds, 49 cookies w/o sliced almonds (when use 1 tablespoon cookie scooper)

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Combined the following ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt (a little more than a pinch)

In a stand mixer bowl, slice the stick of butter into small pieces. Combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (the mixture should look like the image below).

Add the egg and vanilla; mix until well incorporated. Add the cookie butter; mix until combined. Add the flour mixture (This is when the mixture starts to smell AMAZING).

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter - at room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar - packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's

Add the ingredients below using a rubber spatula. You mix the oats in the stand mixer to make it easier.  

1.5 cups of old-fashion instant oats
1 cup of white chocolate chips - you may also use milk chocolate chips instead
1/2 cup of sliced almonds - optional

The mixture should look like the image below when all ingredients are combined. The batch of cookies below do not contain sliced almonds. 

After all the ingredients are mixed together, use a 1 tablespoon cookie scooper to form the cookie dough. I find that using a cookie scooper is way easier to form the dough and it keeps your hands clean. :) Place the each scoop on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mats. I usually place 12 scoops of cookies per baking sheet and use two baking sheets to alternate.  

Bake the cookies for  8-10 minutes depending on your oven. I find that my cookies bake best in 9 minutes. Using a spatula, move the cookies onto a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool and enjoy :) 

Note: Keep the cookies in an airtight tupperware to ensure freshness.