Cookieventure # 5: Christmas Giveaways: Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Every year, we give small gifts to our friends, and colleagues like planners, pens, notepads, etc. But this year, we've decided to give out something more personal - home-made cookies and cupcakes.

Earlier this week, we dropped by my favorite store, Limcon, to buy a few ingredients and materials. We were able to buy, a pack of mini cups, plastic pouches, cupcake boxes, mini cupcake tray, confectioner's sugar, and other ingredients used in the previous post for only Php 747.50.

The cupcakes that we made are the same ones as did before (found here: http://mycookietasticdiary.blogspot.com/2013/10/cookieventure-2-chocolate-cupcakes-with.html), except that we used smaller cups to achieve a bite size version. We also used yellow coloring to give color to our frosting, and added sprinkles for color (it is after all the colorful holidays).

Happy Holidays!

So sorry for being MIA in the past month, but I hope to be back and baking in the coming year. I am an accountant by profession, so do expect for my absence in the coming month as year-end usually takes more effort than usual, but don't fret as I will be back soon! :)

For now, I just want to greet all of you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year ahead! Hope 2014 will bring more happiness and love to us all.

PS: I will be sharing to you some of the yummy treats we made this holiday.

Cookieventure # 4: Christmas Feast: Cheesecake, Cookies and Cupcakes

Since it's the holidays, and the most wonderful time of the year, the kitchen calls yet again. So for today's blog, I will share with you what I made for the family and our guests this festive season.

To start off, I will share with you what I made for the family. They requested the usual favorite, Blueberry Cheesecake, and then I decided to add a few more treats for the guests which are Cookies and Cupcakes. But, lower down your expectations a bit as these cookies and cupcakes are store-bought (Cheat day). Hahaha!

For the Blueberry Cheesecake, we'll need the usual ingredients and make the same as previously shared in the previous blog: http://mycookietasticdiary.blogspot.com/2013/10/cookieventure-3-blueberry-cheesecake.html.

Give A Hand: Let Us All Help

Just last month, Bohol was greatly affected by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake destroying historical churches, and also roads and livelihood for some of our countrymen.

But when you think we had enough, before last week ended, our country faced another disaster. We were hit by one of the strongest typhoons mankind had ever seen - Haiyan (Yolanda as locally known). Haiyan was said to have hit a Category 5 level, simply because it is already the worst Category level that could be given to a typhoon. Roads are impassable, electricity are down, and worst part is that hundreds of our fellow Filipinos in the Visayas region had passed or is greatly injured.

They are in NEED OF OUR HELP, and I know we can ALL help one way or another. So let us do our fair share, and reach out.

Read: Baking as a Happy Pill

Just moments ago, I came across this article in Yahoo! talking about how baking helps people who are going through a rough time, and I just could  not resist myself from sharing. This is just a good simple read.

The Independent in the UK reports that baking could emerge "as a form of pill-less Prozac," at least according to John Whaite, last year's winner of the hit UK television series "The Great British Bake Off." In a report issued Monday for Real Bread Campaign, a nonprofit organization promoting artisan baking, Whaite calls for more people "suffering from mental health issues, or who are simply going through a tough time, to get the chance to try their hand at baking real bread to see how it could help them." - an excerpt from the article "Can Baking Make You Happy".

Source: http://ph.she.yahoo.com/baking-happy-122920401.html