Cookies and a Wish for Warmth

It's getting colder and colder in Canada, and I'm wishing and wishing for summer to come. Oh how I long for the days where the sun sets at nine in the evening, and the light that fills my room is golden! Ahh, those days are my favourite. But I digress - today's post will be on something simple, whimsy, and absolutely delicious. Cookies.

Do you have a favourite cookie? I love shortbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and those buttery Hong Kong style cookies. That said, I'm very picky about each one. My shortbread cookies must never be too sweet or too hard - I love the ones that are buttery and crumble into a sandy texture in my mouth. I refuse to eat chocolate chip cookies that are not chewy or warm, and I turn my nose at Hong Kong style cookies that are chocolate flavoured. For some odd reason, those never taste right - perhaps it is because I'm picky about chocolate too...

Anyway, I would like to share with you a cookie recipe given to me by one of my closest friends. I first tasted her cookies about a year ago and I was absolutely hooked. I'm not quite sure which category this cookie fits into, but I suppose with its buttery and crumbly texture, and the list of ingredients, it is a type of shortbread cookie..The picture below are a batch of the cookies given to me a week ago by my friend...They disappeared two days later. ;)

Recipe

Ingredients 

100 grams of butter

25 grams of icing sugar

75 grams of low gluten flour (All purpose flour works fine too!)

25 grams of cornstarch

Materials

Pastry bag 

Pastry tip

Parchment paper

Baking sheet

Instructions

1. Soften the butter using either a microwave or letting the butter sit out in room temperature. 

2. Combine softened butter with the icing sugar using an electric whisk or by hand. 

3. Sift cornstarch and flour together before combining it with the icing sugar and butter mixture. 

4. Once the mixture has been combined thoroughly, place the batter into the pastry bag fitted with a flowered pastry tip. Pipe out circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

5. Place the piped out cookies into the oven at 350°F (180°C) for twelve minutes or until golden brown. 

6. Once cookies are ready, take them out of the oven and let them rest for at least eight minutes. 

Sunsets, Snow, Sushi, and School!

It's been a while since I've made a post, but I suppose that is because I haven't been in the blogging mood. Nonetheless, here is a post, albeit a very short and quick one. Here are some assorted photos from Instagram.  (username is Charlslotte if you want to follow!)

Captured the shot above before heading to school. The weather was beautiful that day! Gorgeous, golden, sunlight - just the way I like it. 

Took this photo on my way to a ski resort. The farm is pretty and all, but do you know what is sad? There is no snow in the picture. There has been so little snow in Canada this winter. Fortunately, there was enough at the ski resort for some decent snowboarding.

Yum. Sushi! Not the best sushi out there, (Bought it at a supermarket and left it in the fridge overnight.) but it was still good.  One can never go wrong with Japanese food!

Last but not least, some photos from when I went snowboarding! After getting off the ski lift, the most picturesque scene awaited my friends and I. My photos of the sunset definitely do not do it justice. A bright red sun in a pink tinted sky was slowly inching down to meet the quilt of snow covered valleys. The scene took my breath away.

And that's about it! I'll be going to a winter festival tomorrow, so look forward to pictures of that! <3

Food !

Although exams were over last week, I haven't been able to find the time to post because I had a jam packed full weekend. On the Wednesday after exams, I went to Go For Tea with a couple of my friends. We each ordered our own cake and a drink. I got a peach tea, which was amazing. It was extremely aromatic - I could smell the scent of peaches in the air even though I didn't have the cup to my lips. The fact that it was served in an adorable, almost vintage-like tea maker made the experience even more wonderful!

The cake list consisted mostly of cheesecakes, which I love. That said, I wasn't in the mood for any that day, so I ordered a Tiramisu instead. It was pretty good for a tea shop that didn't specialize in cakes. The marscapone was light, and the coffee sponge (They weren't lady fingers, unfortunately.) flavourful and airy. They were generous with the cocoa powder too. My friends ordered a cheesecake, albeit different kinds. If I remember correctly, the one on the right below is an orange lemon cheesecake , while the one on the left is a chocolate brownie cheesecake. I stole a small bite from them both, and my goodness - it was delicious. Not as good as the one from Ruelo, (A review I will save for a later date.) but they came close. The orange lemon cheesecake was extremely light, just the way I like my cheesecakes. The citrus and cheese flavours married each other perfectly, and there was something refreshing about it. As for the brownie cheesecake, although it was slightly heavier, it was still pretty good. The cheesecake was made perfectly - not too cheesy and not to sweet. My fork slid easily into the cake, and the bite I took was wonderful. Cheesecake with a scent of chocolate. While the citrus cheesecake was refreshing, the brownie cheesecake warmed my heart.

For some odd reason, I don't remember what I did on Thursday. On Friday however, some close friends of mine and I headed to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) again. There is something that I love about museums - perhaps it is the refined and educated aura, or maybe it's just because I'm a bit history dork. Who knows? Anyway, we spent the day in the Roman Empire section and the European Movements exhibition. I had fun - those are my favourite exhibits in the whole museum. The museum was surprisingly crowded - there were school groups and families everywhere!

After a couple of hours browsing through the collections ROM offered, my friends and I hit the streets for something sweet. We originally planned to visit Nadege Patisserie, but the walk was too long. In the end, we decided to get some frozen yogurt instead. I mean, what better time to have frozen yogurt than in winter? You won't have to worry about it melting!

Lychee and mango frozen yogurt with mango and lychee bobas.

My week ended with even more food. On Saturday it was Korean BBQ, and Sunday was sushi night at home!

Until next time!