Coming Soon

Here's a sneak peek at some upcoming blog posts.

Starting in November I'll be writing a series of three posts about sending care packages. There will be ideas for sending goodies to loved ones over the holiday season and for military care packages, some big batch recipes, desert safe recipes and creative package ideas. 

Sticking with the holiday/gifts-from-the-kitchen theme, I'll also be reviewing the book Desserts in Jars by Shaina Olmanson, talking about treat packaging and giving tips and recipes for holiday cookies swaps. In December, look for a special post about my cookie swap party, and a recipe for Christmas Morning Breakfast Cookies along with some other tips for breakfast on the big day.

And don't forget to stay tuned for some Halloween goodies and Foodie PenPal reveal day at the end of the month!

Thanks for reading!

Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle

I love experimenting with cookies. I also love fall flavours, so coming up with these cookies made for a fun afternoon. Not only are they tasty, they're really easy.

They start with butter, apple jelly and powdered sugar.

Next, spices are added.

Then some flour. The dough is formed into a disk and chilled.

 

The chilled dough is rolled out and cut into rounds.

The rounds are topped with apple slices and baked.

Once baked, the cookies are drizzled with caramel made from melted caramels and cream.

 

  
Apple Shortbread with Caramel Drizzle
3/4  c  butter, softened
1/4  c  apple jelly (or apple butter or applesauce, whatever you have on hand will work)
1/2  c  confectioners' sugar 
1      t   vanilla
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
2     c  flour
24       Kraft caramels
1     T  half and half cream

Cream butter, apple jam and sugar. Beat in spices and vanilla. Stir in flour in two additions. Form dough into a disk and chill until firm (about 2 hours).
Roll dough out to 1/8" thick. Cut into rounds about the size of an apple. Top each cookie with a thinly sliced round of apple. Bake at 350F on parchment lined sheets for about 15 minutes or until cookies are golden.
Melt caramels and cream in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir smooth. Drizzle onto baked cookies.

Perfect for Fall...Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans

I love Fall. It's absolutely my favourite time of year. The air is crisp, everything smells better, the leaves turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. Yes, I know it gets chilly, but who wants to turn the oven on when it's eighty degrees outside? So in honour of my favourite time of year and the best baking weather you could ask for, here's a recipe for shortbread cookies made with a bit of pumpkin and aromatic spices, and rolled in chopped pecans.

First cream butter, pumpkin and sugar.

 

Then add spices and vanilla.

Add flour.

After the dough chills a bit, form it into balls and garnish with chopped nuts.

Bake and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread with Chopped Pecans 
2/3  c  butter, softened
1/3  c  pumpkin puree
1/2  t   vanilla
1/2  c  confectioners sugar
1/4  t  cinnamon
1/8  t  nutmeg
1/8  t  all spice
pinch of ginger
2      c  flour
            chopped pecans, for garnish

Cream butter, pumpkin puree and sugar. Beat in vanilla and spices. Add flour in two additions, mixing gently. Do not over mix or your cookies will be tough.
Chill the dough briefly (30 to 60 minutes should do it). Roll dough into 1 inch balls and garnish with chopped pecans (you can either sprinkle a few on top of each ball if you don't like your cookies super nutty, or roll the ball in the nuts to cover completely).
Bake at 350F on parchment lined baking sheets for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden brown.

September Foodie PenPals!

Each month Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean  pairs up foodies who sign up to exchange little packages of goodies. This was my second month participating. I received an amazing box from Jill.

Two of my favourite things in this package were Jill's sweet handwritten note and a recipe for vegetarian sausage. I'm so excited to try it!

Also in the package were:
Hemp Hearts
Sea Salt Roasted Almonds - so good I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a plain old almond again
Gluten Free Pretzels - yum, yum, yum, yum!
Pomegranate Mint Gum - at first I thought this might be a bit weird, but it's actually really good. At first you get a deliciously fruity taste that turns into a refreshingly minty gum. Tasty!
Abba Zaba Bars - that's right, I said bars. I know there's only one in the picture, but there were actually two in the box. If you send me something that combines taffy and peanut butter you should expect that some won't make it to the photo shoot :)


Thanks, Jill! Your package was so perfect I'd swear you know me :)


Want to know more about Foodie Pen Pals? Here are the basics, straight from Lindsay herself:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

Canada's Baking and Sweets Show

This weekend Canada's Baking and Sweets Show is at the International Centre! It runs until Sunday, so you still have time to make a tasty trip over to check it out. There are lots of places for you to purchase supplies to make your own yummy things and TONS of sweet shops selling their goodies and giving out coupons and free samples (tip: don't eat lunch before you go!). This year the show even has a pet bakery! Of course, I had to buy something to spoil the doggy from Boomer's Pet Treats. Doggy absolutely loved everything I bought him (and everything was reasonably priced, too). His favourites were the apple cinnamon cookies and this lollipop.

He'll be getting more of these for his birthday :) Don't have a dog? They make cat and horse treats, too! I have one very finicky feline and three who will eat anything and everything, so I'll try some of their cat treats and let you know what they think.

The show also hosts cake competitions. Here are a couple entries in the Christmas cakes category. Don't you just love Snoopy and Woodstock?

Nestled among all the other tables was this amazing Fall sweet table by the talented people behind the show Sugar Stars.

 

See you at the Baking and Sweets show again next year!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

As promised, here's the recipe for my delicious Chocolate Chip Shortbread! These are incredibly easy, super quick, and yummy.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
1         c     butter, softened
1/2     c     powdered sugar
2         t     vanilla (really, really good vanilla is always best)
2         c     flour
3/4    c     semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour (be gentle - if you overwork it your cookies will be tough instead of deliciously flaky). Mix in chocolate chips.
Roll dough into balls and bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until the bottoms are beautifully golden.

 

August Foodie Penpals

Thanks to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean, I'm a Foodie Pen Pal! Each month, Lindsay pairs up foodies who sign up to exchange little packages of goodies. This was my first month participating. I received an amazing box from Trina, whose delicious and beautiful creations you can check out at Will Cook for Shoes. The package had quinoa (I see lots of yummy breakfast quinoa in my future!), hemp hearts, coconut sugar (so excited to try it!), and the best white chocolate I've ever had. Ever. 

Thanks, Trina! You made my day :)

 Want to know more about Foodie Pen Pals? Here are the basics, straight from Lindsay herself:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.