The Return of the Baking Bug

     So I seemed to have been hit by the baking bug again - the upcoming Eid could have something to do with it.  Last year when the bug hit, I continued baking for months, almost coinciding with each of the local festivals.  It started with Eid in October, followed by Deepavali in November, then Christmas in December (that was the worst period; that scent of cinnamon and vanilla were just so tempting and I'm not even that keen on vanilla!) and finally ended at Chinese New Year in January! 

     Of course having such a reliable site like www.allrecipes.com didn't quite help. Those folks that contribute recipes to the site sure know how to cook! Lots of the recipes I'd tried from there were scrumptious and begged repetition. Hopefully this year the addiction won't last as long.  They aren't exactly weight-watchers friendly, if you know what I mean.

     I've always favoured trying out western recipes since they seem to be the no-fuss types. I've found that Malay recipes are often so tedious that I soon lose interest.  Of course, Mum's method of cooking (a bit of this, a dash of that) and her way of tutoring (giving me a list of verbal instructions and then leaving me in the kitchen, which then requires repeated confirmation and moving from the kitchen to wherever she's at, thus disrupting my momentum) aren't exactly conducive to my learning process. I'm one of those rare ones who work better when given proper measurements and written instructions.  Ironically enough, though I'm hardly the chef extraordinaire, the recipes I'd taken off the internet and tried have resulted favourably! But I digress...

     Today I was overly ambitious and decided to do three items, well maybe two considering that they were two different brownies and a cookie.  Nonetheless, I assure you that the efforts required was not lesser I started with the Chunky Cheesecake Brownie; made some for my grandma and sister-in-law, as well as one for the family. This recipe by Gina Brown is such a hit with my family and this would be my fourth time making it. It's definitely sinful!  I burnt it a little but it sure didn't detract from the deliciousness.  Mmmm mmm mmm mmm mmm!! Thank you Gina!

 

    I was toying with the idea of trying this new recipe by Christine called Coconut-Cornflakes Cookies. The instructions looked easy enough and it had such rave reviews. Besides, I love trying out new things if they are not too difficult to follow. But man oh man, what works in theory need not necessarily be the same in reality! It took me a while to get the hang of 'dropping' it onto the sheet. What the heck constitutes 'dropping' anyway?! My first attempts looked positively ghastly and I was worried that they wouldn't stick together but surprisingly they were rather solid after baking. Taste-wise, it's not too bad either, very candy-like. Yummy!

first batch

out of the oven, looked like tiny hash browns

     Fortunately, I wizened up and improvised on how to 'drop' them and I reckon the rest of the batches were better and of a condition suitable to present to guests, albeit marginally.

     I ended the night with Kandiee's Chewy Brownies.  I'd tried this perhaps twice before. It was popular with my family until it lost its placing to the Chunky Cheesecake Brownie - you've got to try the latter to understand why.  I followed some of the other reviewers' suggestions and decreased the amount of sugar while increasing the amount of cocoa. However, I'm not sure if I'd put in a tad too much cocoa coz darn it, it's sure looking like the underbelly of a gas tank! It was still gooey in between so I've put it in the fridge for the night - it was extremely late by the time I'd finished, already the wee hours of Thursday! - so that's my task for this eve, cutting brownies. Such a chore! Just gotta remember not to pop too much into my mouth instead of keeping them aside. LOL

     Now I've just gotta get through the day... What's the trick with getting through a work day with only two and a half hours of sleep, do you reckon?