Experimentation in the kitchen - Sugar cookie time!

So this is the new project I'm on which has been in my head for a while now but I seem to always not have the energy to put what I think into action, until this week! I just seem to take so long to do things which annoys me as I like to do things properly and I can only do this when my head and body are in sync which is hard to do at the moment =[ My fault to blame entirely!

All of my miraculous ideas seem to seem so much more amazing in my head then when I come to put it into practice?? Does anyone else find this at all or is it just me? I seemed quite isolated and lonely whilst trying to proceed with my baking in question - just me and my mind to rely on; making me sort of question why I started this project in the first place - but I just love to create things, it's just a shame I am often left cooped up in a world of my own. Often left with just me and sometimes my TV in the background which eventually grinds my gears after a while as the same old daytime TV is heard.

Anyway, so the main aim of this was to practice, practice, practice! I have never iced cookies before and I really have found pinterest and blogger inspiring to be shown how to do things properly in order to create something (almost) perfect! So with all this inspiration in place I scrabbled through Google to provide me with images to use as a template for me to cut around with a scalpel from the sugar cookie dough. 

Here is precisely where I found my ideas running wild as I begin to think of all the possibilities which included 'Children in need', 'Mental health organisations', 'Tea related items', 'Birds', and many many more...

As this week on the 15th Feb 2013 is 'Children in need' day I felt it was only right to create some sort of pudsey cookie. And so using items recommended on blogs such as squeezy bottles and baking the cookie in the oven on low to allow the icing to dry, here is the final outcome of days of hard work to say the least! haha   

Pudsey bear 2013 Charity cookies - Show us your spots!!

 Next, if there is anything I get to do in this little bubble of a life of mine I really hope that one day I could do my bit for a good cause. One especially close to my heart are all those organisations which help to raise awareness and support those with mental illnesses. To be honest, I don't know where I would be without there support and understanding. In the midst of my eating disorder, I would do anything to avoid such help given to me, but now after a long 8 years of my life being absorbed in the eating disorder and becoming so tired of its tedious ways, I understand now that these people are here to help me, not be my enemy! I am therefore inspired recently to develop a range of cookies in hope to perhaps both raise awareness and raise money to donate to various organisations; including the hospital ward I have been attending which do so much good for people with eating disorders yet unfortunately do not get enough funding to help provide the care which is necessary. 
So here is my first attempt...

Helping to raise awareness of mental illness

 I have always loved birds and the variety that's out there; from the wise old owl to the peaceful swan and so I decided to give various icing techniques a go, oh and including a busy bumble bee to in a way represent 'me' as a 'bee' =]

A range of birdies... and a bumble bee!

I noticed recently too that there is recurring news articles on the nation remembering all of those who gave their lives to serve in the war as it comes to remembrance Sunday on the 10th November 2013. Again, one way of showing my support to the British legion would not only to wear a poppy in pride, but to also design a cookie in aid to support them and perhaps again raise money and awareness. I also got inspired to make some angel wing cookies which were able to be hooked onto a mug or teacup and use my new heart cookie cutters =] 

Poppies, angel wings and love hearts

Then here are just some ones I created to learn from.

Cutlery - with ED relations

Intricate designs - good to use a food pen before icing

Elemental cookies

Fox face using a star cookie cutter

Tea bag shapes dipped into chocolate to serve with a cup of tea

 

And here they are all together ...

Thank you for reading this post of my creations as you are the only people to have seen them apart from my nearest and dearest mother, brother and father; I did not have the confidence to go and sell any in the end =[
Your visit has been much appreciated =]

Really Lovely Oatmeal cacao nib cookies with chia seeds! - My first vegan baking attempt - HIT!

Lovely healthy Oatmeal cookie!

Made Six Cookies

Hey hey good looking, What you got cooking...

Oh my! Well I would love to say I created this wonderful recipe all by myself but I have to admit that I did not! It was a recipe I had only stumbled upon whilst browsing on pinterest and the photography of the cookies was so beautiful I just had to try them!

Oatmeal Cacao nib cookies with chia seeds - ~adapted from cooking malangery 

I chose to half the original recipe as I just wanted to try them out. In addition, I didn't have any hemp seeds available so I omitted them from the original recipe - but I was quite excited that this recipe gave me an excuse to try baking with flaxseeds! =]

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Tbsp corn starch
1 1/2 Tbsp water, cold
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cups Plain organic flour
1/2 cup jumbo rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 Tbsp flax seeds
1/2 cup chocolate cacao nibs

Quoted Healthy Fact of Chia Seeds: 
"Long recognized as an excellent source of nutrition and energy, hemp foods have been used by humans for over 12,000 years all around the world, and continue to be one of the top-rated superfoods."

Method

1. Heat your oven to 180'C.

2. In a large bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla.

3. In a separate small bowl combine the ground flax seed, corn starch, and water (or soy milk). The corn starch will want to get kind of clumpy. Stir it up a bit to keep that from happening. 

4. Then add the vinegar, let it sit for just a second or two and pour it into the peanut butter mixture. Stir well.

5. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: 
flour, oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined. 

6. Add the chia seeds and give the dry ingredients another little stir.

7. Now stir together the dry and the wet ingredients. If the mixture seems a little bit too dry, feel free to add another tablespoon of water (or soy milk). Then add the Cacao nibs and stir everything one last time.

8. Make 1 – 1 1/2 inch balls (I used a ice cream scoop for ease) and placed them an inch or so apart on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. 

9. Bake anywhere from 10 – 12 minutes depending on your desired crunchiness. (Due to the size of my cookie dough I left mine to brown in the oven for ~ 20-25 mins.

"Note: The cookies come out of the oven on the puffy side, but just wait a minute or so and they’ll deflate. After they cooled they were the perfect cookies – crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside." --> Oh how these were a success =]

I packaged them all up with labels and ready for the family to try when they came home.
My mum had one before she went running training due to the goodness of the chia seeds and she could not believe they were vegan!
"They taste so good Bee!" - She took one with her for her friend who had text her later on that night to say "OMG those cookies are amazing!"
I'd say that's good for my first try of vegan baking =]