Author: stephzuniga

It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year….

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…nope not Christmas.  Thanksgiving.  

Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of all time of the whole year.  It’s not typically celebrated in Australia, but I love celebrating it.  This year is no different.  We (I) am hosting a Thanksgiving Potluck for a few American friends.  I’m doing the turkey and corn casserole (and mash potatoes)everyone is bringing side dishes so it should be quite the feast.  

I mean Thanksgiving is the purest holiday I can think of.  Every family does it differently, there’s no need for gifts, and everyone can celebrate it.  It’s truly an opportunity to come together and hang out and eat.  What could be better!!!???!!

It’s great to see it gradually seep into Australian life– mainly through Americans but it’s seeping in nonetheless.  I’m doing my part to spread it.  This week’s cookies are Pumpkin Chocolate Chip because, well, Thanksgiving.

What else is happening? Still enjoying my spring/summer break!   We are gearing up for Christmas and the big birthday in a few weeks.  I can’t believe my baby is turning 9!  And on that topic, we went out for a family dinner the other night at Ms G’s and I was MOST impressed!  He ate everything we ordered and loved every bit of it.  We didn’t even order special “kid” things and he even tried (multiple bites) of the steak tartare.  I was shocked and also quite pleased and impressed.

Also, I caught up with some girlfriends for brunch at Theeca and we tried Savoury Chocolate toast.  I didn’t know what to expect- sourdough, chocolate mousse, olive oil, sea salt.  Ummmm, possibly the best thing I’ve EVER eaten for breakfast.  Seriously, life changing in the best way possible.

This has been a weekend of excellent eating.  Not going to lie- from the Thanksgiving Pie Bake off on Friday, to trying the new burger place on Friday night to Ms Gs last night and breakfast this morning at Theeca.  It’s been a weekend full of good food and great friends– no better way to kick off Thanksgiving week!

The quickest year ever

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I don’t know if it’s all the cookies or if time is actually moving faster, but this has been the quickest year ever.  It’s November- NOVEMBER!!!  I forgot to write last week because despite not working, I’ve actually been SUPER busy.   Last week, I made the Gojuchang Cookies again and also Playdate Cookies from Dinner: A love story which I’m sure I’ve made before too.

I was in Melbourne on Tuesday for a fun fun fun secret squirrel day involving Millionaire Hot Seat (Say Less, Steph, SAY LESS!)  There were cookies involved and trivia and a stop at Higher Ground in Melbourne- a place that’s usually my favorite cafe in Melbourne, however it left me SUPER disappointed this time around.   I had a Miso Ham and Cheese toastie that was WAY overpriced and very average…. So now I”m looking for a new favourite Melbourne Cafe.  Any ideas???

We also had a very cute food experience- Le Petit Chef at the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay. It was very fun, very cute, very unique.

I’ve also been poling, pickleballing and tennis playing but the super exciting thing is that it’s November, which means Thanksgiving.  It absolutely does NOT mean that Christmas is 5 weeks away.  ABSOLUTELY NOT ready for Christmas.  But, Thanksgiving, yes please!!!

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and fall and pumpkins, I made Pumpkin Spice Latte cookies.

Full disclosure, I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin spice lattes.  I had one once and it was meh.  But I do LOVE pumpkin spice and often will season sweet potatoes with pumpkin spice and occasionally will put it into my ground coffee before I brew it.

What I do love is everything Thanksgiving, it’s the best holiday and one that doesn’t get nearly enough air time in Australia.  Maybe the next two weeks of pumpkin theme cookies will help.  Maybe not but I’ll enjoy it.

I also made Chocolate Sprinkle Birthday Cookies from Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar Kids Only Book.

Ok and since it is close to Christmas, it’s time to make my Christmas cookbook wishlist. What’s going to be on it this year?? Could I possibly find room for yet another Cookie Cookbook??? Only time (and Santa) will tell!

Wish me luck for another big week!

 

Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies Take 2…and Cinnamon Bun Cookies

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This week we’ve revisited an old favourite and are trying a new favorite!

The old favorites are the Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies from Jenny Rosenstrach’s “Dinner: A love story” cookbook.  I’ve always really liked this cookbook- it’s full of easy and tasty recipes that are great for families.  I’ve had it for years now– in fact, even before I was married or a mom.  She has a great blog, (Dinner: A Love Story) too which I follow.   It now leans more plant forward but it’s really good.   I’ve made these cookies before and they’re yum!  Spicy, chocolatey and very easy.

I also tried Christina Tosi’s Cinnamon Bun Cookies from her All About Cookies cookbook.  I love all of her cookies, and these are no exception!  They’re not quite as easy to make (because you have to stuff them with cream cheese) but they are tasty!  They’re small batch- maybe only 10-12 per batch but they were excellent.  So tasty and moist.

I’m also on the hunt for Thanksgiving cookies.  I have a couple of cans of Libby’s pumpkin to use, and probably won’t be making any pies with it– so why not make cookies?????  I’m kind of getting Deja Vu from last year– I think I wanted to make Thanksgiving cookies last year too!   Hopefully this year, I find some crowd pleasing pumpkin cookies- or maybe ChatGPT can help to invent some!

I’m not working at the moment but spending a lot of time working on myself- specifically the physical activities I love pole dancing, gym tennis- and tomorrow I try pickleball for the first time! I’m very excited!

They’re spicy…I like it.

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I’m in week 2 of my spring break and I’m leaning into it a bit.  It’s a bit of a weird break but it’s good.

I’m enjoying the downtime and getting a bit done too.  The best thing about having time off is Monday morning pole classes.  I’m feeling really fit, healthy, and a bit sore but it’s great starting my week with 2 hours of exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise. 

The only downside, they don’t get cookies.  I’ve thought about it but I haven’t brought them into the cookie circle.  Is that bad?  Monday nights and Wednesday nights get cookies, but I’m just not sure I have it in me.  Luckily, very few Monday morning people also do Monday or Wednesday nights so maybe ignorance is bliss for them?

Not sure.  I do feel slightly guilty though about not including them in the cookie fold.

This week’s cookies are amazing – Gochujang Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sarah Keiffer’s 100 Cookies.  Both are incredible but the Gochujangs are next level.  They’re not spicy but they have a tinge of heat to them which makes them really nice.  They’re less spicy than some of the other chilli chocolate ones I’ve made, but they have a lovely warmth to them.  Big Fan!  I am secretly paranoid that one of the cookies will be a full on spice bomb with ALL the chilli heat in one cookie, but it hasn’t happened yet! 

And the brown butter chocolate chip ones are really good too.  I’ve finally learned to brown butter without fear.   I mean, there’s the constant fear of going too far and the butter burning, but also the fear of not going far enough and just having butter.  But this brown butter was perfect.  And the cookies were delicious!

So that’s a good metaphor for life right now, kind of being in limbo but being good-ish.  The cookies, like life, are just spicy enough to be interesting but not blowing me away.  There’s lots of exciting things are the horizon over the next few weeks, but for now, we’re just mellowing and waiting!

Oh…. and I got Crocs. Only 4 years late to the Croc party, but I’m in the Croc gang.

Hello October, Hello (and goodbye) Dublin

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I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of October- this year is flying by and we’re already in the midst of the -Ber months! 

The last month has been AMAZING.  I finished my role and delivered a great strategy, went to an amazing leadership conference, had the best time in Dublin, and had Thomas’s first Communion- and once again I have a bit of free time which means, more COOKIES!

First of all, Dublin.

I’m super lucky that I feel absolutely at home in three places around the world- Washington, Sydney, and Dublin.  Despite never actually living there, it’s a place that feels so familiar and so easy for me.  I have best friends there and really close friends, and it’s a place that always fills my cup.  So much so, that I would love to move there one day.  I don’t know if it will ever happen, but when I make a list of pros and cons, the list of pros is VERY long and the list of cons is VERY short.  (The weather and actually moving anywhere is stressful!)  But it was a fabulous trip, with fabulous people and I loved every moment of it! I know Ireland isn’t known for it’s food but honestly, the butter, bread and the seafood chowder are all next level! Irish butter- so good! I could go on about it for hours!

Secondly, Cookies.

Now that my contract has finished and my next one is TBC – I should find out this week!  I have time on my hands which is both weird and familiar.  Weird because I feel like the last 8 months have been go go go, and familiar because, well it’s like last year but without the mental anguish of being made redundant.  Plus, I’m far more into cookies than I was last year.  I can’t believe it’s been over a year that I’ve been baking every week.  Part of me wants to branch out and do something new, the other part of me has really painted myself into the cookie corner.  It’s expected now and it’s hard to disappoint people.  Plus, I’m not taking requests…. Which is really where I’m coming unstuck!

So this week, because I supposedly have “time” on my hands- even though I feel super busy!  I”ve baked nearly every day.  

Monday was Brown Butter Nilla Wafers from Christina Tosi’s All About Cookies Book.

Tuesday was Potato Chip Sandies- also from Christina Tosi and I also had to start on my request for the week- Apple Crumble Cookies from Andy Cooks.  These are A LOT of work but I’m looking forward to them!  Yesterday I made the dough and apple topping, tomorrow I need to make the crumble and bake them.  A lot of work but I think they will be yummy!

Next week I’ll likely do brown butter chocolate chip cookies– stay tuned!!!

September? Already??

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Time goes so fast.  So, so fast.

I would say that I can’t believe it’s already September but in truth, I can’t believe it’s already 2025.  Granted, this is not the 2025 that I would have ordered.  It feels more like the 2025 that Marty McFly went back to in Back to the Future 2 after Biff stole the Sports Almanac than reality, but yet, here we are September 2025.   

And things are…well, to be honest the vibes are off.  I mean on a global, universal level, the vibes aren’t great but even on a micro level, things are a bit funky.  Not in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way, but just in a meh way.

I mean, I feel like September vibes are always weird anyway- it’s one of those odd months with a lot of birthdays (not mine) but also no other holidays.  It’s too warm to be winter, but too cold for summer.  It’s getting close to holidays but too early to decorate for anything, it’s too far into the year for a new start (except for school if you’re up north), but too early in the year to switch off.   

But here we are….on Earth, Wind and Fire Day (the 21st of September).  And because there are so many birthdays this month, I made Birthday Cookies from Christina Tosi’s Kids Only Cookbook.  I want to try to make a cookie cake for Thomas’ birthday in December, but that might be another week!

So here’s to better vibes for the rest of the month and to birthdays and cookies of course!

A quick one!

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This week’s cookies are the Brownie Cookies from 100 Cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. After last week, I was thinking about how much I love Reece’s peanut butter cups and the chocolate/peanut butter flavour combination. I mean I’m quite picky when it comes to chocolate, and Reece’s peanut butter cups are among my favorite chocolates ever!

I thought about making cookies stuffed with peanut butter cups but thought that these would be a fun compromise!!

Happy Father’s Day!

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Happy Aussie Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.  It’s been an action packed Father’s Day but also quite a normal Sunday.  It’s funny, the longer you spend as a parent, the less significant Mother’s Day and Father’s Day become.  It was still gorgeous to see how excited Thomas was to give his Dad the gifts he had picked out at the Father’s Day stall at school… and to hear why he picked them.  It’s amazing to watch him become a fully formed person.  I couldn’t be prouder of the person he’s becoming.  

We only have so many Father’s Days when he’s an actual kid.  He’s nearly 9- closer to being a moody teenager that we have to convince to eat with us  than the cranky toddler in a high chair that we’re trying to distract long enough for us to enjoy a meal in public.  We saw both ends of the spectrum at lunch today– and it was a reminder to me to enjoy every stage and age.

Not just as a Mom but as a person.  Nothing lasts forever.  It’s nearly been a year since I was made redundant and who knows what the next year will bring.  

For now, I’m enjoying the cookie phase.  Even on busy Sundays when it seems like there is so much to do, I love this phase of my life.  It feels good to do something for other people not because I have to, but because I want to.  It feels good to be appreciated. It feels good to spark a moment of joy for someone else.  And it feels good to do something so totally frivolous as baking cookies.  The world is full of so much awfulness, that doing something to brighten other people’s day feels nice.  I’m not sure if I’ll do this forever but for now, it’s nice.  

This week, I baked a request and an anti-request (is that even a thing?).  Dylan, my gym’s manager, requested Dark Dark Chocolate Cookies with sea salt.  And Stella, from pole, requested Peanut Butter Cookies- because she’s training for a pole comp and hates peanut butter cookies and doesn’t want to be tempted to eat them!  

Both cookies have come from my 100 Cookies Cookbook.  I tweaked her Triple Chocolate Pan Banging Chocolate Cookies by adding sea salt flakes.  I also made the Peanut Butter Cookies.  I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies myself but these are ok.  I don’t mind them but they’re not my favorite.  Hopefully they’re peanut buttery enough to turn Stella off and hopefully Dylan likes the dark dark chocolate.  

The house smells amazing…

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And I think our oven is running hot.

And this is what separates me from an actual baker.  An actual baker pays attention and takes out the trays before they burn.  I am still a bit uncertain so even though I think the cookies are overbaking, I still follow directions.  What can I say, I’m a rule follower!

The last two weeks, the cookies have been a bit over done and I’m not sure why.  I think it’s the oven– but maybe it’s me.  Who knows?

What I do know is that this week’s cookies made the house smell delightful!  I mean seriously good.  Like I would buy a candle that smells like this good.

I think it’s the raspberry.  Fresh raspberry mixed with vanilla, sugar, and all the other cookie smells.  Wow.

All I can think is how lucky is Thomas to grow up in a house that smells like baked goods.  It is divine!

This week, I used two new-ish cookbooks- Sally’s Cookie Addiction and Some of My Best Friends are Cookies.  I also had a request- Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies.  I’m very much open to requests these days since I want to branch out beyond what I like.  I haven’t had one yet, but I’m SO glad I made them.  The smell alone was worth it!  The other two cookies I made were Chocolate Chip- since there are thousands of chocolate chip cookie recipes all claiming to be the best, and Giant M&M cookies.  

Actually I haven’t taste tested any yet and judging by The Runner’s reaction, they’re not standouts this week.  We’ll see what everyone thinks but I think they look over done but smell AMAZING!

Anyway, this weeks’ cookies!

Don’t trust the internet

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We all know by now not to trust a thing you see, hear or read on the internet.

It’s also no secret that I’m a Marketer’s dream.  I am super brand loyal and very susceptible to advertising.  So when someone’s internet blog says, “this is the perfect chocolate chip cookie”, I say, “let’s try it!” 

Well, I tried it…and it’s not that great.

I like the Vanilla Bean Blog.  I’ve baked her cookies before- and I’ve bought her cookbook, 100 Cookies.  So I trust her.  So I was super excited when I got the email this week saying she had created the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie, I was keen to try it. 

Everybody loves chocolate chip cookies.  I mean, everyone loves cookies but everyone loves chocolate chip cookies.

Last week’s Kitchen Sink Cookies were a hit- one of the top 10 cookies I’ve made apparently.  But they can be divisive.  Anything outside of the standard, comforting chocolate chip cookies can cause… feelings.  So no matter how crazy a recipe I make each week, I like to also make one comforting, plain-sh, normal cookie.  

And because everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, everyone also has a favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  There are SO many out there.  Even the 100 Cookies cookbook has like 5 different recipes for them.  So what was meant to make these so good?  

Not sure.  But they weren’t great.  I ran out of vanilla and substituted a teaspoon of bourbon, I increased the recipe from 20 cookies to 32 so maybe it didn’t quite scale well.  Whatever it was they are/were disappointing.  Not an outright fail but not great.

Luckily, I always make at least two types.  The second batch is Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies- which were excellent.  They look good too.   They are dark, velvety, rich and coffee adjacent.  They’re gorgeous. I love them. I think they will be a hit.

The chocolate chip ones… not so much- but we’ll see. People are always surprising. But one thing I know, we can’t trust everything we see on the internet.