Friday, November 16, 2007

Cookie Mania & an important cause!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

This post is lacking recipes & I'm lacking motivation to wade through New York photos & food notes, but one thing it's definitely not lacking is COOKIES!

I've never considered myself a cookie person. Sure, cookies are tasty & as a child I consumed them in mass quantities, but these days if I'm going to be naughty, I tend to go all out & reach for decadent cakes. I've been recipe testing for Kelly & Garrick who have an upcoming cookie cookbook & with all the cookies hanging out around the house, the tide may be changing!

I love how quickly a batch of cookies can be thrown together, not to mention, they're portable, easy to share, & people love them! Ryan has been taking various desserts to work & the cookies never last long. I think there's a nostalgic feeling people get from biting into a homemade cookie; hooray, you're a kid again! Cookies are versatile as well, a decorated sugar cookie is a canvas for so many options, it's insane!

Some of the cookies I've made so far are Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bakes, Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins or Chocolate Chips, Amazingly Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodles, & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip! These have all been tester recipes, but I've been checking out various cookbooks for other options, especially with the holidays coming up. Let's face it; the holidays are meant for cookies!

So, what's my favorite cookie? Right now it's SNICKERDOODLES! I thought I'd be all about chocolate, but the cinnamon sugary soft & chewy 'doodle has a hold on me. The recipe from Kelly & Garrick's book is phenomenal & will be a staple in my house hold for years to come!

***

On a serious note, I'm currently volunteering for Californians for Humane Farms. Better conditions are needed for the farm animals that provide to our nation, they should be able to lie down, turn around freely, stand, & fully extend their limbs with ease in their enclosures, which is not currently the case.
The Humane Society, Farm Sanctuary, & many SPCA chapters are working together to move this initiative to the ballot for next year. We have to gather 650,000 signatures from California registered voters! If you're registered to vote in California, I urge you to sign the petition, consider circulating a petition in your area, post about this on your blog or myspace, & do whatever you can to help these animals. Please visit www.HumaneCalifornia.org to learn more about this exciting ballot initiative for farm animals!
www.humanecalifornia.org

34 comments:

Victoria E said...

Drool! Lots of luck to them on putting their cookie book together. If you need any taste testers (especially ones that aren't veggies), let me know and my boyfriend and I (I'm a veggie, he's not) would be happy to help out.

On another note, I signed the petition for humane California farms at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market a few Saturdays ago :)

Teresa said...

All the cookies look great! Now you've gotta try the super charge me cookies from Eat Drink and Be Vegan!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

I wish I was californian so I could help. but instead I will ogle your cookie pictures and drooooool.... :D

Anonymous said...

Those are some pretty awesome cookies!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh my goodness how lucky are you to be recipe-testing for Kelly & Garrick!! I LOVE the display of scrumptious goodies on their Vegan Cookies blog, and cannot WAIT for their cookbook to come out (is there are date set yet, for publishing/distribution??)

I'm signing that petition right now - thank you for spreading the word about such an important issue.

Anonymous said...

Talk about a baking spree, this is one amazing spread! And I agree 100%- Snickerdoodles rock!

Sam said...

I love cookies. My only problem is when I make cookies, I tend to eat them all... Which is why I don't make them often... Yours look so tempting!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

dang look at all them cookies!

Becka Robinson said...

Those look delicious! I'm gonna have to try out some of the vegan cookie's recipes! Thanks for sharing!

aTxVegn said...

I can't wait for a vegan cookie book! Everything you made turned out super. I like to bake cookies because you can test them before you give them away, unlike cakes or pies.

Anonymous said...

Would you believe I've never had a snickerdoodle? I'm going to have to do some research on them now. I love anything cinnamony (as a matter of fact, I usually double or triple the amount of cinnamon that recipes call for).

julie hasson said...

Your cookies look so good! I haven't had a snickerdoodle in ages. Yum! When is their book coming out?

If only you lived further north ;-)

Anonymous said...

Everything looks awesome, melisser!
Yay for cookies!

(As for a publishing date, I wish we knew! But we're making progress!)

Vegan_Noodle said...

Cookies are a must for the holiday season. Lucky you getting to test some new recipes!!

Ashasarala said...

Mmmm I love cookies! I don't think there is a single cookie recipe I wouldn't love!

Unfortunately, I am not a resident in Cali, but I'm sending positive thoughts. Somethings definitely gotta change.

Gigi said...

[Drool]you are baking machine girl! when do you sleep? everything looks so yummy.

TB said...

Where did you get your sugar cookie recipe and HOW ON EARTH did you get the frosting to look so beautiful and perfect??? Tell me all your secrets! ;)

Alexis said...

I can't wait for that book, I love cookies...especially snickerdoodles. And I've been on the lookout for a good vegan snickerdoodle recipe!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

If I lived in Cali, I'd sign the petition in an instant. Good for you for helping!!!

Can I have a cookie now? ;o)

Jo said...

I just came across your blog- I absolutely love it! Bookmarked and will visit back often.
Take care.
Jo

the little one said...

Thanks for the information! I just went and signed up to help get signatures. Thanks so much for volunteering for this important effort!

Anonymous said...

lovely cookies! i sent out the info to my friends in cali, too!

Rage And Love said...

Wow all those little cookies look absolutely awesome!!!

Kumudha said...

Delicious cookies!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Victoria- I'm so glad you signed the petition!

Teresa- I *so* need ED&BV!

Liz- I'm glad you'd like to help. If you have any friends in CA, email them!

veggiegirl- They don't have a projected release date, but it's going to be a great book!

Sam- I have the same problem! I try to send them to work with my husband, so I can't eat too many.

theppvegan- I know, right?!

MissMrs- Vegan cookies rock! They're easy to make & totally tasty.

aTxVegn- I never thought about the testing aspect! I love that since I'm a bit of a perfectionist with my baked goods.

VivaciousV- MAKE THEM! If you love cinnamon, I think you'll love these. I'm guilty of tripling cinnamon amounts as well.

julie- Thank you! I'm not sure when the book comes out, but I'll keep everyone posted! I wish I lived further north, I'd share cookies with you any day!

Vegan_Noodle- Totally! That was my exact thought, although it's looking like I may have nowhere to bake since I'll be on the road a lot for the Holidays.

Gigi- I'll sleep when I'm dead!

Emmie, Hannah, Kelly, Ashasarala - Thank you!

Rage And Love said...

Awww! Thanks sweety!

I added you to my list of bloggies!!!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

textual bulldog- The recipe is from the upcoming cookie book by Kelly & Garrick. The frsoting I made was thick enough that I could decorate with a small offset spatula!

Alexis- It'll be great! Mmm, snickerdoodles!

CCVegan- You can definitely have a cookie!

Jo- Thank you so much!

thelittleone- That is SO awesome! Thank you so much.

stonielove- Thanks SO much!

Rage and Love, Kumudha- Thank you!

robotslingshot said...

I'm glad you had a nice trip to our fair city. Next time, check out Angelica Kitchen, it's my favorite!

Paula

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Thanks Paula! I have to say, due to Peter Berley's comments in Time Out (http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/restaurants-bars/22722/3-questions-forpeter-berley) I don't want to support his business. It's unfortunate he finds it OK to insult his customer base.

Catherine said...

What frosting/technique do you use for your cookies? They're so smooth in comparison to mine!

the little one said...

Just wanted to let you know that I got my signature pages in the mail yesterday and am now on the job! Will be a signature gathering maniac. Okay, maybe not a maniac because then no one will want to come near me ;)

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Cat- I use an offset spatula & just push the frosting around. It has a thick enough consistency, it won't just slide off.

thelittleone- YAY! That is SO awesome. It's such a good cause. If you need tips on petitioning, email me! Don't forget to read everything too, there's a lot of stupid rules to follow.

Anonymous said...

Cheap Brand Jeans ShopMen Jeans - True Religion Jeans, Women JeansGUCCI Jeans, Levi's Jeans, D&G Jeans, RED MONKEY Jeans, Cheap JeansArmani Jeans, Diesel Jeans, Ed hardy Jeans, Evisu Jeans, Jack&Jones Jeans...Bon March¨¦Chaussure PumaChaussure Sports Shop:baskets pumaChaussure Puma Femme,Chaussure Puma Homme,Chaussure Nike Femme,Chaussure Nike homme,chaussures nikeChaussure Sport et plus. Livraison Rapide.s