CHRISTMAS COOKING: FESTIVE CUPCAKES

Hey girls,

I have another Christmas cooking recipe for you and that is festive cupcakes!! I am just using my basic chocolate cupcake recipe so I'm going to be mainly giving decorating ideas but if you want a recipe on how to make actual cupcakes you can click here.

I made two different designs!! One is based on candy canes so everything is white and red. The other is based on santa and christmas trees and they are white, red and green :) Keep reading to find out how to make these!!

The first set of wrappers I used for my santa/christmas tree design and they were really inexpensive from Target for about $3! The second set of wrappers I used for my candy cane design and they were purchased here.

The candy cane sprinkles are peppermint flavoured and scented, they can be purchased here. The stuff in the red bag is sanding sugar and can be purchased here. The red and green christmas tree sprinkles can be purchased here.

These really adorable santa and christmas tree cupcake picks were from Target for no more than $3!

Glace cherries are so delicious and I had to incllude them somehow so I found the perfect place for them on top of the frosting on the candy cane design.

The frosting I used on all of the cupcakes was from the brand Cake Mate which I am in love with!! Saves so much time not having to make my own and they have a heap of amazing flavours :)

I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate to achieve the perfect balance of richness.

Of course I was accompanied by my beautiful sister and my lovely brother who decorated their own cupcakes (as shown above) and yes they are each holding different cupcakes, they just decided to design theirs exactly the same as eachothers haha :)

Oh and you may notice in the photo below that the candy cane cupcake design has some little green sprinkles also, this is because I ended up adding some green sprinkles from my sprinkle rack!

I hope you all have a lovely time baking yummy Christmas treats during this magical season!



CHRISTMAS COOKING: COOKIES

Hey girls,
I am going to share with you a super easy way to make usual choc chip cookies festive and the perfect treat for christmas!

All your going to need to make delicious cookies is a normal cookie recipe! You can make any flavour of cookie, even cakes or gingerbread but if you want to make choc chip cookies then use the ingredients provided!

Ingredients

150g softened butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1/2 cup dark chocolate bits

1/2 cup milk chocolate bits

Something else that your going to need are cookie cutters! The cutters I am using are a glove, star, gingerbread man and fat gingerbread man.

You can find cookie cutters EVERYWHERE but I have mine from when I bought a sprinkles rack from Target. You can try homewares shops, your local grocery store and really anywhere but if all else fails you can look online :)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick paper. Beat 150g softened butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and well combined. Beat in 1 egg.

2. Stir in 1 3/4 cups plain flour in two batches. Stir in 1/2 cup dark choc bits and 1/2 cup milk choc bits until evenly distributed. Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on the lined trays. Press down slightly.

3. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until light golden and cooked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

So that is it!! A super easy way to make a boring cookie festive and perfect for christmas. Super simple!! I hope this gave you a little cooking inspiration for the holidays :)





MY TOP 10 FAVOURITE THINGS TO EAT!

These foods are sweet/savoury, meals/snacks that make my life so much yummier and I would be lost without! I eat all of these foods on a super regular basis because they are my favourite and I seriously can't imagine not being able to eat these things!!!

Mangoes: I love them so much especially in Summer when it's really hot and they are really cold and sweet!

Burger and chips: believe it or not there are some healthy versions of this meal out there but to be honest I prefer McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and Nandos for mine. 

Vietnamese Spring Rolls: I love how healthy I feel whenever I eat these! There is so much salad and it's such a light meal so you feel great after. 

Macaroons: I have a slight obsession over Macaroons, it's quite sad really. If you read this blog you probably know that I do make my own only I prefer the taste of ones from a proper bakery. My favourite flavours are pistachio, chocolate and coconut. 

Chicken Curry: I love all chicken curries including Indian butter chicken curries but especially Japanese chicken curry. In Australia there is a Japanese take away place where they sell proper Japanese meals called Hanaichi and I legit eat there about 4 times a week because they make the best Chicken Curry and have the most delicious roux. 

Sushi: I could probably live on sushi if I tried! I love it so much; the rice, the seaweed, the vegetables, the mayonnaise..everything.


Edamame: Another Japanese food (you can probably tell how much I love Japanese). This vegetable is the creator of the Soy bean which is what tofu is made out of (which I love also) and a great source of protein.


Bagels: McDonalds has the most amazing bagels available around breakfast time which is where my main love for bagels comes from but i also love bagel chips and mini bagels which you can get from the supermarket.


Cookie Dough: I think I would be so depressed without cookie dough. It's not just that I love cookie dough but I also love cookie dough flavoured anything from Kit-Kat Bars to ice creams, cakes and pretzels. I am the type of person where cookies never eventuate because I eat all the dough as soon as I make it. On occasion, I am known to exceed physical cookie dough eating limits and feel super sick after eating way too much. Although, I never learn and continue to come right back to this delicious sweet treat, I think it's my only true food love!! I'm actually getting so hungry just looking at the picture...mmmm


Crepes: I love crepes wether they be sweet or savoury. I adore mushroom savoury crepes and chocolate cookie dough sweet ones.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNE

This is something a little bit different to what i usually put on here but i decided to begin showing a more diverse range of foods. Jordy's Cooking Spot has kind of turned into Jordy's Dessert Spot where all i make is desserts!! So in celebrating savoury foods, i wanted to show you guys something i love making...vegetarian lasagne! I'm not in any way a vegetarian; however, i appreciate meatless versions of traditional dishes. So here is the recipe which my mum came up with and turns out deliciously amazing everytime.

Step 1. There are a couple of things you have to prepare before you start assembling the actual lasagne. The items we prepare now will become the basis of what our lasagne layers are filled with.

 a.) The vegetables: Slice up pumpkin, eggplant and onion so that you can sauteé them. Leave them on until 3/4 way cooked.

 b.) The white sauce: You can always buy a bottle of white sauce but i prefer making my own. All you need if flour, butter, salt, pepper and cream. Mix all these in a saucepan until boil.

 c.) The tomato sauce: I picked up a bottle for convenience because i don't know how to make my own tomato sauce.

Step 2. Now that you have all your ingredients prepared, you can begin assembling the lasagne

Layer 1- Spread both oil and tomato sauce on the bottom of the lasagne dish.

Layer 2- Add a layer of pasta sheets. The pasta sheets may not fit perfectly so feel free to overlap and break of pieces where necessary.

Layer 3- On top of that pasta sheet put a large quantity of the white sauce. Cover with pasta sheets.

Layer 4- This is a vegetable layer where you put your eggplant, pumpking and onion.

Layer 5- Cover with pasta sheets.

Layer 6- Another layer where you place your vegetables.

Layer 7- This layer is where you mix your tomato sauce with feta cheese. Cover with pasta sheets.

 Layer 8- A layer of white sauce and finish with cheese.

I hope this recipe works out really well for you, i find that it always tastes delicious!