C is for Cookie

One of Brad's favourite cookies are these light and thin over sized cookies. When I was living at Mums, she really liked them too, so did her husband. A full tin would be gone in a couple of days.  Just as well these cookies are super simple to make.

I once posted about a big batch of cookies, and Mariah questioned me asking if twenty seven cookies was generally a big batch for me, as it wasn't for her. But these suckers are big!

I usually make these with a combo of choc chips and smashed up chocolate melts in both milk and white varieties. Today I only had choc chips in the cupboard, so I rolled with that. Normally they'd be called Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies. But today, in my house they're just Giant Choc Chip Cookies.

Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies



2 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla

225g soft Butter, cubed.

1 C Sugar

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1 Egg (at room temp)

1 Egg white (at room temp)

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

1 C (or more) of a mix of your favourite chocolate chips/chunks/drops



Sieve dry ingredients in to a 1 Litre measuring jug. Whisk together.

Beat Butter and Both Sugars, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and cinnamon and beat until combined.

Add dry ingredients, in two batches, beating on low speed.

Add Chocolate and stir in with a wooden spoon.



Take heaped dessert spoons full of the dough and shape in to balls. Place dough balls on a lined oven tray, and press down slightly with hands.



Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 12 minutes.

"Candle In the Wind"

I love candles. I especially love scented candles. I am now at the point where cheap scented candles (thank-you The Warehouse) just will not cut it. I've also heard a little bit about the nasty chemicals which are mainly found in the cheaper candles. So recently I've been on the lookout for some delicious scented candles, of the tad more luxurious calibre. Here are a few which I like.

Pomegranate and Raspberry Scented Candle - The Body Shop 

Price: $40

Burn time: 40 hours

Ingredients: Made of responsibly sourced palm oil, paraffin free (no yucky chemicals) with an unbleached cotton wick.

Smells Like: Deliciousness. I love the fruity and fresh smell of this candle. It almost smells like a really delicious fruity candy. Would be perfect for Spring/Summer.

Where you can buy it: Check here for a store closest to you, or if you're outside of NZ, you can buy online.

Verdict: 40 hours is quite a long time, but in comparison to other candles in the same price range, the burning time is half of it's competitors. Not great value.

Love Candle - Ecoya

Price: $53.25

Burn Time: 60 hours 

Ingredients: Hand poured natural soy wax. Presented in a Sorrento jar with velvet
drawstring bag & gift box. 

Smells Like: Sexiness! The scent of the Love Candle is noted as Pink Champagne. It is a beautiful warm, almost spicy smelling. It has notes of blackcurrant and blood orange, but it's not too overwhelming. 

Where you can buy it: at Ecoya online, or check here for local stockists.  

The verdict: A really beautiful smell. Not sure if I'd be too keen to have it as an everyday scent as it is quite sexy smelling. It is the most expensive of the bunch, add that to it's lack of versatility, I probably wont be saving my pennies up for this one.

Tahaa -Vanilla Caramel Triple Scented Candle - Glasshouse Fragrances 

Price: $49.90 

Burn time: 80 hours 

Ingredients: Made in Australia using Non-toxic, food grade wax. Double wick for even burning. Also comes in a re-usable glass jar, with lid (to use as a snuffer). 

Smells Like: You crawled inside a caramel sundae. I could subtly smell this candle as I was walking down Lambton Quay. I followed the delicious warm smell of caramel to Peter Alexander, where I discovered these candles. The smell of this candle is incredibly inviting and not overpowering or too sweet, as some vanilla candles can be. If you have a stockist near you, go in and smell this baby! 

Where you can buy it: Peter Alexander Stores nationwide or Click here for other stockists both in NZ and international. 

The verdict: The shop assistant said she had bought this candle, and that she hadn't
started burning it yet, because the smell was amazing, from just having
it in her room. For 80 hours burn time, compared to the Body Shop's candle, it is quite good value. My favourite of the bunch. Start the saving.

Thank-you

On Friday night over on Facebook, a friend and I were discussing baking. Well, piping bags and nozzles to be precise. Johanna, from One Girl's Thoughts on Life, piped (teeheehee) in and said she had some of the new brand that she didn't need and asked if I would like them. I said I would. She said she would drop them off Saturday. I said that I'd swap her some cupcakes but that would have to be next week as I was busy over the weekend. She said that was fine. We made a deal.



I arrived home today to find this waiting for me.

 

You are such a sweet lady Johanna and I love your blog too. Thank-you so much for a lovely surprise, you made my day. 

Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you.

Cupcakes shall be on there way soon. 

X

"Every day, I'm Shuffling"

So it's essay time again. You know what that means...I've tuned in to the procrastination station.



Here are some things that I have Googled, over the past week, when I am procrastinating from completing assignments.



"How to pronounce L'OCCITANE"



"How long does Coconut Milk last?"



"What the hell is Primogeniture?"



"OPI Mermaid Tears"



"Nutritional information for reduced cream"



"Swarovski Nirvana Ring"



"Engagement gift ideas"



"Flood icing"



"Photo wall ideas"



"Badgley Mischka Shoes"



"Flash Diffuser for Canon EOS 1000D"



"Hugh Hefner's Fiancee cheating with Dr Phil's son"





Why do I do this? In the time that I've Googled all these bits of mostly useless information, I could have written an entire post...or better yet completed some of my many assignments.

Imagine being a Kennedy

I got a few guesses and a few emails telling me to hurry up with the reveal.



I WAS Jacqueline Kennedy. Well actually we both were Kennedy's. It was a bit of a fail on Brads part. When we were standing apart people looked at him and said "I don't get your costume". But with our powers combined!

Some more pics from the party...

Pocketful of Sunshine

The lotto powerball jackpot sits at thirty two MILLION dollars this week.

On the train ride to uni last week I sat and day dreamed about what I would do with the money.



Of course I dream of helping charities, travelling, designer shoes etc., etc.



But this dream was more about what I would like to do day-to-day.



I'd open my own Cupcakery. I sat on the train and thought about all the different flavours I'd bake in my shop.







Today, my friends Ren and George and I made three of them.

 

 Lemon Meringue Pie...

Coconut Ice...

Cookies and Cream...

Topped with a mini Oreo...

Doesn't that Lemon Meringue number just look like a pocketful of sunshine?

What would you do with THAT much money?

Road to Morocco

Ok, so this is not one of my recipes. I stole adapted it from a good friend. And it is amazingly delicious and twice as easy. I don't have a photo of the dish, but to be honest she ain't a looker. But trust me, if you like Moroccan flavours, you should love this tasty dinner. You can make this in your slow-cooker or in a standard casserole dish in the oven. 



Moroccan Chicken Casserole



Ingredients:

4 Skinless,boneless Chicken Breasts

1 Medium Onion

1 TBSP ground Coriander

1 TBSP ground Cumin

1 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

2 cloves fresh Garlic

400g (or near enough) Can of Chickpeas.

410g (or near enough) Can of Apricots in natural juice

1 1/2 chicken stock cubes

Plain flour for dusting the meat\

1 TBSP Butter





 Drain your chickpeas and rinse them well. Set aside.



Add a couple of tablespoons of flour to a zip lock bag with the chicken.
Close Bag and shake to coat meat.

Using a little oil of your choice, lightly brown the chicken breasts on each side.

Set chicken aside in a crock pot or casserole dish.

In a clean pan, using a TBSP butter, sweat out the diced onion.
Add all of the spices, chopped garlic and the drained chickpeas to the onion.

Stir to coat peas with spices.

Pour chickpea and spice mix over the chicken.

Drain Apricots, reserving the juice.  Use the juice and extra hot water to makeup the stock to one and a half cups.

Pour Apricots and stock over the chicken and chickpeas.


Bake covered on 185 degrees Celsius for an hour or in the crock pot for 7-8 hours on low.





This is great with couscous and a salad.

For the colder months (and for those who have partners/flatties/husbands that don't like couscous) I always serve it with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes.



For your Garlic Mash just add a peeled clove of garlic for every two serves of potatoes to the pot when you put the raw spuds in. Once boiled, drain and be careful not to tip the cloves out. Leave the boiled cloves in the pot when you mash 'em up as you usually do - de-lish!

Guess Who

Brad & I attended a Birthday Party over the weekend. Actually it was a double-Birthday. A guy that I work with turned thirty, and so did his wife. It was a dress-up party, and seeing as we were celebrating two thirtieths, appropriately (and awesomely) the theme was 1960's.



Can you tell, by the close-ups, who I went dressed as?

Take a guess by leavin' some comment lovin'. Come on it's pretty easy!





P.S: If you do actually know, because I told you, or you were there, then...Ssshh!