Happy Halloween

I will post later with all the recipes and reflections on this, but here are some images of all the baked stuff I made this weekend – my last big bake, I do believe. I set it all up in the office and feel very… free.

Getting the big Halloween bake all set up in the office

Very basic Halloween decorations

How will I organize this??

Pumpkin-stuffed snickerdoodle recipe

White chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe

Chocolate mint cookie recipe

Coconut cream bar recipes

Ready for their close-up: Coconut cream bar cookies

Chocolate chip cashew cookies – same recipe as the white chocolate macadamia cookies, only throw in chocolate chips and cashews instead of white chocolate and macadamia nuts

Lemon pistachio bar cookies

Mini pecan pie recipe… also these got some rave reviews

M&M cookies… same recipe as the white chocolate macadamia cookies

Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips – same recipe as the chocolate mint cookies but with peanut butter chips instead of mint

Ginger cookies with pumpkin spice chips recipe

Table 1 of 2: Getting rid of ingredients cookies rather than the Halloween-themed goods

The Halloween-themed spread

Chocolate cupcakes (which happen to be vegan – not by design, just coincidence) with grey vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream

Witch finger shortbread cookie recipe… they freak everyone out

Same as chocolate cupcakes with a couple teaspoons of instant espresso added to the mix. And of course the tombstone cookies.

Chocolate truffles: Very easy to make

Lemon meringue cupcakes – recipe

Welcome to the crime scene: Vanilla cupcakes with cherry “blood” filling and candy knives recipe

Coconut dark chocolate bites recipe: I toasted the coconut and blitzed it in a food processor, which is not indicated in the recipe. I think it works better this way

Close-up: Candy corn cupcakes

The full spread: Halloween baking 2017

Happy Halloween 2017

June – near Midsummer break – bake

The latest bake … did not grab pictures of everything but most of the recipes are linked below.

M&M cookies and white chocolate macadamia cookies

Gluten-free/”paleo” brownies

Cranberry-pistachio biscotti

Ginger cookies with pumpkin spice kiss candies

Cherry oat bars

Faux thin mint cookies

Vanilla cupcakes stuffed with Raffaello candy, vanilla frosting

Cookies and cream cupcakes

Banana-oat cupcakes stuffed with Smil, frosted with caramel Swiss meringue buttercream

Brown sugar cupcakes injected with maple syrup, maple Swiss buttercream and candied bacon

Crack pie with M&Ms

Chocolate truffles: Perfect simplicity

As I set up the vast spread of baked stuff on Monday, I was quite shocked to see that all the chocolate truffles I brought were gone in about 15 minutes. I am sure I have brought them before, and no one ever seemed interested in them. As I discussed with someone last night, though, sometimes when confronted with too much choice, the most basic things stand out most. Or the most chocolatey things. Sometimes, like in retail and merchandising, placement is key. I don’t know how to explain the rapid disappearance of the chocolate truffles. But I can explain how ridiculously bloody easy they are to make.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
18 ounces chocolate chips (511 grams of chocolate of your choice; I used milk chocolate)
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (generally one standard-sized can)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stuff to roll truffles in (I used plain, unsweetened cocoa powder, but you could use powdered sugar or sprinkles or whatever you prefer)

On the stovetop in a saucepan (or in a double boiler), with burner on low, melt chocolate with the sweetened condensed milk. (I do this in a glass bowl over boiling water so that I can just transfer the bowl to the fridge for the chilling part.)

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Chill 2 hours, shape into small balls and roll in topping. Place on a platter or in small paper cups (like cupcake cups) for candy. Chill again until just before ready to serve.

See? Really, really simple.

“Nothing clings to you like laughter…” – Full list of 2013 holiday baking

I started off today in the office exchanging messages on Facebook with a colleague who was on a bus – it was unintentionally stalker-like to see her progress as her public transport made its way to different parts of the city, and I could track her, thinking, “Oh, she must have stopped responding because she is walking up the path to the office now…”. In any case, our conversation started the day off on the right foot because it sparked laughter. And, as Robyn Hitchcock sings, “Nothing clings to you like laughter…“. Too true.

I also noted that the 24 kinds of baked goods that I brought to the office yesterday – the logistical nightmare that that was – has been reduced and fits nicely on two long tables instead of three. Progress!

Christmas 2013 spread – three full tables

The final list of stuff baked and brought along with links to recipes (where they exist – some I was making for the first time so will post in new posts in the coming days)…

COCONUT-MACADAMIA COOKIES

CHRISTMAS M&M COOKIES (I know this links to a white chocolate macadamia cookie recipe, but I have been using it for M&M cookies for a while – prefer it to the one I used to use. Just eliminate the macadamia and white chocolate and put M&Ms in instead!)

VANILLA ORANGE ALMOND BISCOTTI

CRANBERRY PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

TART CHERRY & PINE NUT BISCOTTI

GINGERBREAD

THUMBPRINTS (WALNUTS & CHERRY)

RUSSIAN TEA CAKES (ALMOND)

SHORTBREAD

CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

SNICKERDOODLES

RASPBERRY OAT BARS

PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES