Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I'm not much of an ice-cream fan (gasp!), but if I do choose to indulge, it's always cookie dough ice-cream, or something equally chunky and sinful.  When I was a kid, I could have eaten an entire batch of raw cookie-dough, and enjoyed it more than the baked version.

Two weeks ago it was my boyfriend's and my two good friend's birthdays.  So I hosted one big party and BBQ to celebrate their births.  I wanted the cupcakes to be epic taste-wise, because I knew I was short on decorating time.  Remember those days when I used to spend hours rolling out fondant, or painting with icing?  I need to stop slacking and get back to that!

Anyway, the cookie-dough cupcakes turned out amazing, and ended up being my personal favourite.  I'll have to ask my regular party-goers to find out the consensus as to which is the best tasting.  However, I'm sure many of them won't remember.

 The cookie dough cupcakes were easy to make!  I simply used my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe, as well as my favourite belgian chocolate cupcake recipe.  I took the cookie dough, rolled them into 1 1/2" balls, and froze them for two hours, then plopped them into the centre of my unbaked chocolate cupcake.  I baked the cupcakes for my regular baking time, and because the cookies were baked from being frozen, it means that they were still soft and gooey, and cookie-dough like in the centre of the cupcake. YUM, I'm drooling right now.

When they were done, they had some serious weight to them.  A tray of cupcakes weighed about 5lbs.

The finished product- and decorating-wise they TOTALLY look like something that came out of my Easy-Bake Oven. Taste better though, and the rolled-fondant letters are slightly more sophisticated.

Delicious cookie dough crater in the centre.

The birthday girls and boy.  Sarah, Mario and Hannah.

JB Takes the Pancake!

You're not a cupcake.


Has all the same qualities as a JB cupcake, only it's much flatter. My mumsies, Jeanie, was visiting me in Toronto for the weekend from New Brunswick. It also happens to be the weekend before her birthday. So in her honour, I held a brunch in my condo with a few friends. I made these delicious red velvet pancakes with a cream cheese drizzle, sprinkled with blueberries, and of course topped with a Tinkerbell. My mother has a strange fascination with this itty-bitty character. And no, it was not my mom's twelfth birthday.

Of course, these pancakes are best served with mimosas!


Happy birthday, mumsies!!

Panda Watch!

Each time I watch Anchorman, a set of various emotions are stirred up. The most recent time was no exception. I absolutely fell in love with Lin-Wong the panda. The movie inspired me, as it often does, to research these cute and cuddly creatures.

While I knew that these lovable creatures were obviously endangered, it saddened me deeply to find out that there are approximately only 1,600 roaming the earth. It appalled me to find out that bamboo, their main source for food and shelter, is becoming very scarce because humans like us are moving into the bamboo forests.

While there are various options for us to help this cause, I decided to help by building my own pack of pandas.


Unfortunately, we will be back to where we started soon, as these pandas will be eaten.



For more information on the threatened state of these adorable balls of fur, check out the San Diego Zoo website, and be sure to watch the cutest video ever of a panda birthday party!