A Hanukkah Party!

Told you I'd be back... and I am with a bang.   My hubby and I decided to host our first big family party in the new house.  We weren't quite ready for Thanksgiving, but a Hanukkah brunch seemed like more our speed for our first event.  It was a typical Jewish feast, tons of bagels, lox, latkes, kugel... and I had to put a cookie queen twist on it of course. 

Wondering what this is?  Well, my family loves games.  Especially cookie games.  The whole reason I got into baking and decorating sugar cookies is because of my family's annual "Chanukah Cookie Contest.'  We would all submit a batch of cookies, and we even had "judge's" who rated the cookies based on taste, creativity etc.  Yup.  We were serious about our contest.  This year, since I was hosting, I decided to kick it up a notch.  Each person had a cookie to represent them.  Guests had to fill out a sheet to figure out which cookie was theirs!

The game was a hit.  The hungry guests forgot about all the brunch food in order to play the game before they ate (not the plan!)  And they all won... their own cookies haha.  

And as for gifts, I whipped up a few extra Chanukah cookies for everyone to take home. 

 Phew!  It took three nights straight of serious cookie baking... and I think I reached a new level of my "quest." 

Here are some close ups of the game cookies.  

Happy Hanukkah!

Back At It! My Move To Suburbia.

I am back!!  It has been a long EIGHT month stretch since my last post!  I can't believe it.  It's been an extremely busy time for me and I've made a lot of changes in my life.  The biggest one is that I am no longer a city girl.  My hubby and I have made the huge decision to move on to suburbia... Bloomfield, New Jersey.  We are still close enough that we can travel to the city every day if we want to (or have to in my case, as I make the hour and a half commute to and from work), but can enjoy our cute colonial on our nice quiet street.

One of the things I was most excited for in our new home was our new kitchen... and brand new confectioner's oven.  I knew it would be a place I'll be spending a lot of time.

So following this hiatus, with the help my brand new KitchenAid mixer (thanks Justin!), I am officially ready to get back at it!

  

....Although I have to confess. I did bake while on my hiatus.  Right after we moved, our extremely friendly neighbors had us over for a BBQ.  I decided it would be a perfect time to show off my baking skills by bringing her some fall themed sugar cookies:

Cute right?  And then she tells me she's a pastry chef and proceeds to show me the homemade mint ice cream she made using the mint from her yard, along with a few different types of amazing pastries she just "whipped up."  Ha.  I'd been schooled.  But their 3 year old seemed to love my "cute" cookies.   HAHA.  Looks like my quest is not over!

And just to create a little suspense... I'm in the middle of a project that has the potential to be my greatest yet! 

Unbelieveable Passover Brownies

Happy Passover!!  Last year, I posted a recipe for "Unbelieveable Brownies" that are kosher for passover.  This recipe is so delicious (and easy!) that decided it would be worth posting again this year.  They will be sure to make your eight days a bit easier.  I just finished my batch for the Sedar tonight.  Hope you enjoy yours!

Unbelievable Passover Brownies

Nonstick cooking spray
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 cup potato starch
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)


Preheat oven to 350

Spray an 11 by 7 inch brownie pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth.  Add the oil and salt.  Mix.  Sprinkle in the cocoa powder and mix to make the batter chocolatey.  Add the potato starch and mix to combine.  Scrape down the sides with a spatula.  Stir in the chocolate chips if using.

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Allow to cool before serving.

*I just have one note to mention.  Usually when I bake, I bake for the minimum time it says on the recipe because my oven is pretty hot and my husband likes things soft.  On this recipe, I put the brownies back in the oven at least three times.  After I baked them a little longer than the recommended time, they came out perfect.  

Not the prettiest, but they sure are tasty!

Bridal Shower Sugar Cookies

Just want to start my post with a special shout out to an extraordinary couple. Jodi and Jason, can't wait to celebrate your wedding in just three months!!!

 

Hahaha!  Great pic of these two!

Anyway, when Jodi's sister came up with the idea to have each of the bridesmaids make a themed basket for a 'Chinese Auction' at Jodi's bridal shower, I thought it was an awesome idea.  There was a happy hour basket, a mani-pedi basket, a movie night basket, and a few others.  I thought of my basket in about 3 seconds of course.... the cookie basket.

 

Took a trip to Sur La Table for these super cute cookie cutters.  That store has a great selection!

 

 

 

The cookie basket was a huge hit.  After the winner was chosen, the whole party wanted to get in on them!

And here's another pic of the beautiful couple:

Baby Naming Cookies

Just a quick update from my cooking selling adventure.  After giving it some serious thought, I have decided to hold off on selling on a regular schedule for now.  It's something I'd still consider for the future, but I'm just not ready to make any sort of real commitment yet.  I think I still have a lot to learn anyway.  (Definitely not opposed to selling a batch here or there though if you are interested!)

Now back to baking!   I just had a great request for a batch of sugar cookies.

 

Can you guess what it was for?

             

 

Still wondering?  My sister and brother in law threw a beautiful 'Baby Naming' Party to celebrate the birth of their new baby girl, Shayna.  Thanks for a great party guys!  Hope you liked the cookies!

  

Even though she can't eat them yet, I'm sure Shayna appreciated them :)

 

Could she be any cuter???

Just a quick update:  Sold 1 cookie :(

BUT

I may begin a more steady commitment by offering personalized batches of cookies for kid's birthday parties (listed on a brochure for the place).  I just need a name for my cookie company.  Cookie Queen is already taken.  Anyone have an idea for me?

Snowflakes for Sale

So I finally got my first real opportunity to sell my work.  My neighbor owns a children's specialty store right down the block, and after tasting and loving my Amazeballs, she offered to put my cookies up on her front counter!  What an awesome opportunity.  Today was Martin Luther King Day, and according to my neighbor, one of the busiest days in her store (since kids have off from school).  It was the perfect time to put a batch at her counter.  I ran to Michaels to get some packaging materials, then I made a delicious batch winter-themed snowflakes (using the same recipe as the Chanukah sugar cookies, since they got such rave reviews). 

The cookies were put right up at the front counter along with a sign that said "Want a personalized batch of cookies for your next party?  Contact jessicagoldbergcookies@gmail.com ."

Well... I regret to inform you that after being out ALL day, not one cookie sold and I have gotten no emails :(     My neighbor swears that the cookies got a lot of "oohs and ahhs" and said it's worth another shot tomorrow.  She said the store was so busy that people were crazed, and that was the reason that no one bought them.  I think she was just being nice, but we'll see what happens.  Stay tuned for another post.

Amazeballs trials

Trying out some new flavors for my amazeballs:

Birthday Cake (cookie dough with sprinkles, dipped in icing)



Peanut Butter Cookie (cookie dough with reese's pieces, dipped in peanut butter)



Chocolate chip cookie dough (cookie dough with chocolate chips, dipped in chocolate)



Which one is YOUR fav?

Amazeballs Take Two

Here is a second batch of Amazeballs I made for my husband's holiday work party.  The stick says "pwtv" which stands for Power Women TV, the company he's working with right now.  They tasted great, now I need to perfect the look.. particularly the top.  I'll be making these again soon.

Happy Chanukah

This post is a big one for me because it marks my first official year of writing this blog!  The first cookies I ever posted were Chanukah swirl cookies that I baked when going to my parents house to celebrate last year.  This year, my family came to my tiny apartment to celebrate the occasion.  I always forget how small my place is until there are 9 adults, 2 kids, and a dog running around.  It was definitely crowded, but I think the space (or lack there of) made the occasion more intimate and fun!  Anyway, it was no big shock that I'd be baking cookies.  After all, one of the reasons I got into baking is because of the "cookie contests" that my family has held over previous Chanukahs.  The rest of my family stopped competing a few years back, but I just kept on going... 

I don't have a story about the baking of these cookies, as everything went pretty smoothly.  Because of the intricacy of each cookie, they did take a number of hours (and over 3 nights) to make.  I made the icing with confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, and egg whites this time around, and a lot of my taste testers gave it rave reviews.  I think I'm finally getting this icing thing down!  Anyway, here are some pictures:

Amazeballs

I went to Florida for Thanksgiving this year, but I still found time to sneak in a little baking... ok technically I guess I can't call it baking because I didn't use my oven for this recipe, I used my freezer.  I made "Amazeballs" (named by my husband after he fell in love with them), for a Pre-Thanksgiving work Pot Luck.  They were chocolate chip cookie dough truffles with Reese's Pieces.

Now, based on the name and sound of this naughty-little-snack, you'd think that this was a quick and easy and successful experience right?  Wrong.

Brown sugar, you are the bane of my existence.

After posting some of my previous recipe experiences, some of you reached out to me with ways to soften brown sugar that had turned hard.  They were all great ideas, but most of them require at least a few hours of waiting in order for the brown sugar to soften.  When I decide to bake something, it is usually last minute, and I usually can't wait to get started.  So one fast idea stuck out in my head:  Put the brown sugar in the microwave.  Bingo.  One short step and my problem would be solved.

Fifteen seconds in the microwave.  I noticed just the tiniest difference, but I could tell it was working.  Fifteen more seconds.  A little more.  Thirty seconds in the microwave...  It was changing ever so slowly.  Being the impatient cook that I am, I came up with the brilliant idea to stick it in for five minutes while I ran down to Duane Reade to pick up a last minute ingredient.

You guessed it, when I came back up, the brown sugar had exploded.  Wait, it gets better.  I had put the brown sugar in a plastic bowl.  Why did I do that do you ask?  I'd call it a blonde moment, but since I'm no longer blonde I can't even use that excuse.  Anyway, this is what the microwave looked like:

Sad right?  That pile on the bottom was not just the brown sugar.  Nope, it was the bowl too.

After the brown sugar debacle, it was smooth sailing.  An easy mixing of ingredients and a fun fondue project.  And guess what, my husband said it was the best thing I ever 'baked' for him and I didn't even touch the oven.  It'll be our little secret.

Here is the recipe, I HIGHLY recommend it:

http://www.bakerella.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-truffles/

Thank you Bakerella !

Hurricane Sandy Cookies

I hope that everyone stays safe during these next few hours and days as we wait for the hurricane to pass.  This natural disaster will be truly historic, and something that we talk about for a long time to come.  Little did we know that when Good Sandy decided to reinvent herself for Danny Zuko that Bad Sandy would cause this much damage!  Ok that's my only corny joke....

As horrible as this storm is, there are some small perks and silver linings.... like having a little vacation from work and some time to spend with friends.  I took advantage of my time off by having a little 'hurricane party' with some of my favs at my apartment!

Ok, really there were 7 friends (and 3 dogs) at this event.  We all enjoyed a 'family' potluck dinner so I contributed with my now staple dessert: sugar cookies.  I chose umbrellas for obvious reasons.  I used an umbrella cookie cutter from my 'cookie cutters throughout the year' pack.  This one was meant for April, but it seemed much more fitting to use it for this!.  It took some maneuvering to transfer the cut out dough to the cookie sheet (mainly the handles), but with addition of some flour to the dough, they held together a lot easier.

I wanted to give the cookies a fall flavor, so I added a touch of cinnamon and a splash of apple cider to my standard cookie recipe.  I added a little cinnamon to the icing as well.  It didn't affect the consistency of either recipe, and the taste was not overpowering at all, just a hint of fall.  They were quite good.

Skull Cookies

I've been reluctant to write a post because over the summer I baked these beautiful watermelon cookies and I cannot find the pictures for them.  That's what I get for waiting to write a post on them.  Well just know they came out adorable and delicious.  If I find the pictures I'll complete that post.

Moving on I guess...

Happy October!!  I needed some serious baking inspiration after those hectic summer months.  When a couple of my friends and I decided to have a dinner party, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  It was quite the serious dinner party: a salad to start, followed by penne alla vodka served on our fancy plates, paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by some loose tea and.. my freshly baked dessert.  What was the dessert you ask?  Fancy Skull Sugar Cookies of course!

Why Skulls you ask?  My reason was two-fold.  First of all, it was the beginning of October and that means Halloween season... which I love.  Enough said.

Second, my guests at the dinner party just started their own jewelry line, Guilty Jean.  Their concept is a mix between feminine beauty, rugged masculinity, spirituality, and goth inspired punk.    [ Shameless plug : Go to their website and check them out!  http://www.guiltyjean.com/ ]  Anyway,
the majority of the pieces they feature include skulls so I wanted to make something to show my support.

I tried a new low fat recipe for the sugar cookies and needless to say, I'm not going to copy and paste that recipe to this blog.  They tasted like chalk.  I just need to stick to the original recipe... full of butter, fat, and yummy goodness.

The good news is, the cookies looked awesome.  I used Color Writer Markers to make the faces.  It was ridiculously easy to do.