Pink Cut-Out Sugar Cookies and A Bit About the Girl Behind the Cookie

Earlier this month, Andy graduated from F.I.U and after the ceremony, we went to Lincoln Road for some lunch. I had heard of Williams-Sonoma but I had never actually been in one until that day. When we walked in, I gasped.

Now, I'm the kinda girl who gets a kick out of buying 3 things. Clothes, school/office supplies (don't ask...), and any baking tools/accessories... especially if they're used for cutting and baking awesome cookies. I was looking through the racks when I stumbled upon these amazing cookie cutters. Okay, so the shapes aren't much to be overjoyed about, but that's not the point. The point is, the box comes with a bag filled with letters and a few sayings that can be placed into the cookie cutter in order to make customized sugar cookies with cute messages on them. It was exactly what I had been looking for since I wanted to personalize a few of my baked goods and send them off as Mothers Day gifts. However, that never ended up happening due to there not being enough time and supplies to complete the project. ( I was torn between getting the message cookie cutters or the Star Wars cookie cutters that I'd have kept for personal pleasure... Geeky? Hardly.)

Of course, I bought the practical cutters, and tested them out. Mind you... this was my first try... and I'm a bit corny.

Despite the fact that I may have pushed the cookie cutter a little lower than I should have, and the fact that I have never tried my hand at decorating cookies, the finished product didn't come out THAT bad, decoration wise. As for the taste, I will definitely use this recipe from now on. The taste is not overpoweringly sweet at all which happens to be th

e case with most sugar cookies, and when you add frosting for decoration, it doesn't leave you with a toothache. They were perfect. However, I added my secret weapon (my top secret vanilla), and a pinch of cinnamon and hazelnut for taste.

As for the baker, here are a few facts about myself:

-My name is Jessica, preferably Jess... Jessie for those who know me

very well which narrows that list down to just my family.

- Aquarius (2/12/87) Born in Queens, NY but currently living in South Florida (boo!)

-I love reading, writing, sleeping, video gaming, dancing (not professionally), baking, and singing in the shower...because I can....(definitely not professionally).

-I have two sisters (Janice and Lisa), a brother (Richie), and a niece (Samantha).

-I absolutely adore my family, though they may drive me insane more times than I can count and the same goes for my boyfriend, Andy, who, other than

my mother and Lisa, is my prime taste tester.

I would give a reason as to why I started this blog but I find it to be quite obvious. My love for baking + my passion for writing= This blog. As for the reason behind the name...

If you give a guy a cookie, chances are, he just might fall for you. I swear... it's true. Go ahead. Try it. I did. Look at what it brought me. The fruit of my labor ;)

Well, he didn't obviously fall for just the baked goods I can provide, but you catch my drift.

Williams-Sonoma Sugar Cookies:

(makes 18)

• 2 1/2 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks/185g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (250g) sugar
• Food coloring gel (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Over a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, slowly add the sugar and a few drops of food coloring gel and beat for 2 minutes, stopping the mixture occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, stopping the mixer once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stop the mixer and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until most of the flour has been absorbed. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 2 equal balls, Shape each into a disk and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 2 days. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/16 to 1/4 inch (4.5 to 6mm).

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dip cookie cutters into flour just before using and cut out shapes. Place on the baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out additional cookies. Refrigerate the cookies until firm 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. If baking more than one sheet at a time, switch the sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees halfway through baking.

Transfer the parchment sheets with cookies onto wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies directly onto the racks and let cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Chip Waffle Remedy

I love waffles. I love waffles more than I love pancakes. I love waffles just as much as I love cookies and that's saying something because I adore cookies.

But waffles with chocolate chips... that is a love that goes past anything else.

I wasn't doing so well the other morning and I needed something to cheer me up right away. Of course, I turned to baking.

Before I continue, let me explain a few things and get them out of the way so that we're all on the same page here.

-I don't have just one designated kitchen that I use to bake. I have two. I bounce back from my mom's apartment and Andy's place. (Andy=the boyfriend).

-I USED to bake the easy way, from the box, but I've long since traded in those pieces of cardboard for my own creations from scratch. However, when I am pressed for time or feeling lazy, I do the unthinkable and bake from the box. Sue me...

Alright, so I was up earlier than Andy, (we had a long night of dancing and a few too many drinks), and I was feeling a bit down in the dumps. Other than baking, chocolate really does know how to cheer a girl up which is when I decided I'd make chocolate chip waffles.

Like I mentioned earlier, I always try to avoid using boxed recipes, but we were out of sugar, and I really wanted to make something so I used a pack of Classique Fare Belgian Waffle Mix. All you have to do is add milk and butter. Of course, I threw in my secret weapon (special vanilla imported from a top secret place), and a handful or so of chocolate chips. I mixed them all together, poured the batter onto the waffle maker, and in no time I had the waffles I needed to brighten my day.

I love toasty waffles. I was originally going to make two just for myself but I ended up making more since sharing is caring and poor Andy had a hectic week at work. I figured both of us could use a little pick me up. Needless to say, they helped in their own way. The melted chocolate inside the toasty deliciousness of the waffle was just perfect. We had two left over which we saved for the next day and ate them with chocolate syrup as a snack. I typically use regular maple syrup for them but I figured I'd live a little.

When I do make pancakes from scratch though, I use this recipe which I tweaked a bit here and there. It's honestly better than the boxed recipe. Til next time :)

Chocolate Chip Waffles:

(serves 2)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Handful of chocolate chips (really, it all depends on how much you want in the waffles)
• 
  
• Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add milk, eggs and oil; add vanilla and chocolate chips; mix well.
2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

Bake from what you know....

I was 16 when I first fell in love. I was young, inexperienced, and completely naive. I also had the misconception that if I threw everything in at the beginning, everything would turn out alright.

Boy... was I wrong or what?

With every failure, however, came a lesson. Every time something went wrong, I'd pick myself right back up and try again because how else do we become good at things? I learned from my own mistakes and bettered myself for the next time, and eventually, I became pretty good at baking.

What? Did you honestly think I would dedicate a whole entire blog to my first time falling for a guy? Please. I wouldn't waste my time.

I first fell in love with baking when I was 16, and my love for it has only increased as the years pass by. It started off slow. My mother used to bake Dominican cakes for a living back when I was younger. I had never tried baking on my own but I would always watch my mother spend hours perfecting a cake that would just be crumbs the next day and I'd wonder why she would even waste her time. It baffled me because she seemed content as she baked. She sang songs, and not once did I hear her complain about the mess, or the amount of eggs being used or how long it takes to bake whatever it was she was baking. She was happy and it wasn't until I cracked open my first box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake that I knew why baking held such magic over people.

It's hard to explain, but for me, it's an escape. Yes, I may be in between jobs at the moment and I may have a lot of free time on my hands, but life deals you crumby hands sometimes, and you have no choice but to go with it no matter how stressful it may be. Sometimes, an escape is needed. That's what baking is to me. I know that if I look at a list of ingredients and I follow the recipe word for word, in the end, I'm getting exactly what I put in the work for. I know that if I set out to make chocolate chip cookies, by the time I follow the last instruction, I'll have a batch of chocolate chip cookies. There are no complications. No mysteries. No worries. All I have to do is follow a set of instructions and I get exactly what I want. I can even alter it a bit to my liking and I'll still get what I want.

Wouldn't life be a lot better if things were always like this? ... at least to some extent.

But life isn't as easy as that and so it's up to us to make the most of it in whatever way we can which is why I bake. It is a passion of mine that I hope to pursue someday and share with the rest of the world because it really does bring a smile to a bakers face when their creations are enjoyed. Eating makes people happy. I can bake. My goods + people willing to eat them= Happiness. That's what it's all for in the end, isn't it?