Cinnamon sugar cookies

Earlier this week, I mentioned Big Oven, a collection of recipes contributed by fellow foodies. One recipe in particular caught my eye: Mrs Fields' cinnamon sugar cookies. I followed the ingredients and instructions almost exactly, but tinkered with different cooking temperatures and times.

When I followed the recipe at 300 F and baked them for 18 minutes the cookies turned out very cakey.  According to the recipe photos, it's supposed to be cakey, but I' m not a fan of cakey cookies (haha).

So I started to tinker.  I baked the second batch at 350 F for 12 minutes - the texture was a little harder, but not quite there.  So I reviewed the recipe again.  

The recipe calls for 2 eggs - which is a lot. This most likely contributed to the cake-like texture. I think I'll try baking with 1 egg next time.

Overall, it's a tasty cookie, and one that I would make again.

Hangover foods

As I write this post, I am waiting for the butter to soften so that I can bake cinnamon butter sugar cookies - a recipe from Big Oven. A friend recently shared this site with me, and I'm eager to check it out. Said friend is also nursing a bit of a hangover (me too, but that's another story), which got me thinking about the best hangover foods.

Personally, I'm a fan of greasy foods, like bacon, eggs and something made from potatoes. A burger could be good too. Throw in some coffee, a couple of Advil and half a dozen glasses of water, and I'll be ready to rejoin the human race. But I know hangover remedies can vary from person-to person. Greasy breakfasts seem to be the norm, but I know some folks who like soup, congee, and even oatmeal (I love oatmeal, but the thought of oatmeal when hungover is well...disgusting).

I remember being at breakfast once and seeing a friend of mine eat a baked tomato with cheese. I'm not a fan of baked tomatoes on a good day, and when I saw that while hungover...ugh...let's just say I made a beeline for the bacon.

What are your hangover remedies?  I'd love to hear from you - feel free to Tweet or add to the comments section! Thanks in advance!

T&T Chinese gourmet bun festival

I love Chinese buns. Not the Westernized kinds (though those can be good too), but the traditional Chinese buns - white dough stuffed with delicious fillings - sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury (I personally prefer preserved vegetables with pork and ginger).  But sweet can be good too.

I was at T&T Supermarket today and saw an impressive and beautiful display of Chinese buns, or bao.  The display is part of their Chinese Gourmet Bun Festival. I recognized many of the baos, but there was definitely one that caught my eye: the pumpkin bun. 

Shaped to look like pumpkins, and filled with pureed pumpkin, I was definitely intrigued. (Pumpkins aren't native to Chinese cuisine, so it's always interesting to me when I see this item on Chinese menus). But I do have to admit that the biggest motivation to me buying the bun was the way it looked (yes, I too can be shallow when it comes to food).  

Lucky for me, the bun was tasty. The pureed pumpkin was mixed with...I'm not sure what...perhaps a lotus paste, and it was GOOD. The bun was freshly steamed and hot to the touch (I basically burnt myself on the first bite!)  The texture of the bun was a good balance of softness and elastickiness (yes, I just made that word up).  

There were lots of other buns available to eat, but since I am watching my waste line, I only ate one.  But I do urge you to try the buns - I'm not sure how long the festival runs, but it's definitely something to try before it's gone. (Note: the dried vegetable and pork buns looked yummy too).

Kitchen tool: cookie dough scoop

It's probably not surprising to you when I say I spend a lot of time thinking about food. What might be surprising is that I also spend a lot of time thinking about the tools I use to cook my food.

My latest purchase is a cookie dough scoop from Crate and Barrel Canada.  (BTW, I heart Crate and Barrel).

I've always ever rolled my cookies by hand, eyeballing each one at a time to try and make sure everything was the same size. It's not a tough job, but it is a looooong one.

The cookie dough scoop makes things MUCH MUCH easier.  Ah...to actually have cookies from bowl to pan to oven in 15 minutes...it's a beautiful thing.

A cookie dough scoop looks and works like an ice cream scoop - though I wouldn't use it as an ice cream scoop as the spring isn't meant to handle something as dense as ice cream. Nor would I ever subject my scoop to anything other than what it is meant for: cookie dough.  

Using the scoop helps ensure the cookies are the same size, and it helps keep your hands clean. The best part  is that it's fast - instead of spending 30 minutes rolling cookie dough, it only takes 10 minutes.

Advice from this cookie maker: at $14.95, the scoop is worth every penny. 

Glammed up burgers

Ah, the hamburger...a delicious ground beef patty, layered with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and onions, and placed between a soft, white bun. Yum. Meat, veggies and carbs - perfection.

Or so I thought until I recently visited the Gourmet Burger Co. You walk in, and what you have to do is simple: follow the steps outlined for you on the chalk board - your options of what to put on your custom burger are laid out. And if you're up for a side, you have a choice of a number of things to choose from, ranging from onion rings to sweet potato fries (I had regular fries with vinegar).

I went at lunch with a girlfriend on a Friday afternoon...let's just say this is one place where you truly have to wait for your food.  Each burger is cooked after you place your order, so rest-assured, you're not getting anything from a heating tray (no offense to McDonald's or other fast-food restaurants...there are often times where I would absolutely kill for a Big Mac or a McChicken, but that's a post for another day).

In fact, in took nearly 15 minutes for me to get my order - which was fine with me, since I had a place to sit, but for others, it would've been a long wait. I also had a side order of fries (it WAS Friday afterall).

The verdict? Absolutely amazing. The burger was perfectly cooked and not oily (I find burgers are either dry or too oily) at all. I had lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms on my burger. Even the bun was perfectly soft and fragrant (no stale bread here). And the fries? Fresh cut and made from real potatoes.

(By the way, some of my readers know that I am also a fan of Craft Burger. In terms of a difference between Craft Burger or the Gourmet Burger Co. I have to say there isn't much of a difference, in terms of pricing, taste and popularity. Both produce an extremely delicious burger.)

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.