✿✿ Sakura Sakura ✿✿

My parents were here visiting several weeks ago, and I made these almond spritz cookies for them to take to my brother up north. It was right around cherry blossom season, so I made them shaped like ✿ . The cookies came out light and buttery, with just a hint of almond to them. They tasted a lot like the Danish butter cookies I grew up eating in Hong Kong. You know, the ones that are packaged in the royal blue tin can (藍罐曲奇). I hope my brother enjoyed them as much as we did, and I wonder if he shared them with his friends.

Tea Time with Boris

Shirley's Green Tea Cookies
Originally uploaded by hermanau

These matcha (green tea) cookies are perfect for a lazy afternoon, or just munched on throughout the day, like Herman does. The recipe was adapted from Lovescool. After the first try of following the recipe exactly, I forgo the granulated sugar coating and added a little more butter to make these, and they came out just right. The amount of matcha to add does highly depend on the brand you use.

By the way, the teddy bear shape is cute huh? I splurged on a bunch of cookie cutters at Tokyu Hands when we were in Japan last Fall. These cookies were made using Boris the Bear cookie cutter from the Miffy set. You know Boris, Miffy's friend.

Chocolate Coated Orange Madeleines

Shirley's Chocolate dipped Madeline Cookies
Originally uploaded by hermanau

This was my 2nd attempt at making madeleines, and they finally turned out right, with a moist cake-like center, and a nice contrast of flavors between the dark chocolate and orange zest.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread
Originally uploaded by hermanau

Made these buttery treats for Herman to take to a photography seminar he was attending, so that he had something to snack on.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Shirley's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Originally uploaded by hermanau

Made these several weeks back to share with friends and coworkers.

Gooey Chocolate Cookies

Shirley's Gooey Chocolate Cookies
Originally uploaded by hermanau

I have decided to start blogging again, and from now it is going to be about all things baking (well with an occasional entry about my latest food adventure, I am sure.) I LOVE to bake. And if I really want to open a bakery someday, I would like this blog to document the steps I take to realizing this dream.

So I have been on a cookie kick lately, and I made these gooey chocolate cookies today. The recipe called for semisweet chocolate, but I used bittersweet chocolate instead, and I added a splash of espresso coffee to accent the rich chocolate flavor. These cookies were covered with a layer of powdered sugar before baking, giving it the crackled sugar coating. These cookies are crisp on the outside with a soft and fudge-like center. Only thing is, I do wish they would rise a little higher and not spread so much. I will need to work on that next time.