all about cookies

Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies Take 2…and Cinnamon Bun Cookies

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

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!

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!!!

Retro Flavours, with a modern twist!

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Yet another rainy weekend in Sydney – which has both pros and cons!   When it rains, there’s more time to bake which isn’t a bad thing.  I now split it over two days – dough on Saturday and baking on Sunday.  I’m not sure if it makes it more or less time consuming but it’s working so far!

This week’s cookies definitely have a very American, very soda fountain, almost 1950s-esque vibe.   Two recipes are from Christina Tosi’s All About Cookies…and again one is from Chat GPT.

Christina Tosi’s cookies are some of my favourites- this week’s are Sugar Sugar Cookies and Nana Nilla Cookies. 


The Sugar Sugar Cookies are SWEET.  Like too sweet.  Thomas liked them but he’s 8.  And he loves sugar.  They’re sugar cookies with sugar sprinkles and white chocolate chips.  Like I said, sugar on  top of sugar, flavoured by sugar, sweetened with sugar, sprinkled with sugar.  But kind of fun, because of the coloured sugar on top and in them.

The other cookies, the Nana Nilla Cookies, are basically banana pudding cookies.  Banana pudding is yummy, but not sure I love it in cookie form.  Still, I had planned to bake them for ages (ever since I bought Nilla wafers earlier in the year) but hadn’t done it yet.  I’m not sure how well liked they’ll be I’m glad I did them.

The last flavour is actually one of my favourite cookies I’ve ever baked.  It’s Cherry Coke flavour.  Cherry Coke is my absolute favorite soft drink.  I LOVE it and used to have one every day growing up!  I know it’s not for everyone but it’s MY personal favourite- so I asked ChatGPT to create a recipe for Cherry Coke Cookies….. And of course, like any faithful and loyal friend, it did.  And they’re not bad!  I went offscript and added a bit of actual cherry coke to the batter, which possibly made them too wet.  The good news is that I can ask ChatGPT to tweak the recipe to include the liquid for next time.  

ChatGPT called it a “ fun and nostalgic recipe that captures the flavor of Cherry Coke — fizzy cola sweetness, tart cherries, rich vanilla, and a hint of spice — all in a chewy cookie.  Inspired by notes of: Cherry (obviously), Cola (vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, a hint of citrus), Slight fizziness or bite. This recipe mirrors those with cherries, vanilla, soft brown sugar (for caramel tones), a dash of cinnamon and optional cola glaze.”

I didn’t do the optional cola glaze but everything else (except the extra Cherry Coke dash) I followed exactly!

And to be honest, I LOVE Them.  Not everyone will love these, but these are for me.  Even if no one else likes them,  I do.   They’re a perfect blend of nostalgia, and my favourite flavours.  They have a great depth of flavour from the almond, cinnamon, and chocolate, but also a nice sweet cherry pop from the maraschino cherries.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

So that’s the cookies for this week.  It’s going to be a big week.  We just celebrated our wedding anniversary, we have an interview for a high school, and my project at work is entering its final phases.  Lots happening!

Back into it!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

I can’t believe it’s February already- January flew by in a flurry of fun- and a lot of tennis! The United Cup in Sydney, AO in Melbourne, and the quickest trip to the US ever (that also included two tennis lessons). It was the best way to cap off my months of Funemployment. And unbelievably- and quite sadly, I go back to work TOMORROW!

It’s been over 4 months of fun, and it ends tomorrow. Not only am I back at work, but I’m back into an actual office 2-3 days a week for the first time in 5 years. Needless to say, I am NOT ok.

I’ve learned so much over these past few months and above all, I’ve developed a LOVE of baking cookies. No matter how busy the work-life juggle gets, I hope I will continue to bake now that I’m back at work. We’ll see but I’m hopeful!

Last week, I baked two versions of Christina Tosi’s Chipless Chocolate Chip Cookies- Chipless and Chipful. She calls them her Chipless Wonders and they were excellent both with Chips (Chipful) and without (Chipless).

This week, I’m baking Christina Tosi’s Ritz Cracker Cookies and a version of Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies from Trejo’s Tacos Cookbook.

And yes, I am obsessed with Christina Tosi and her All About Cookies Cookbook after receiving it as a gift for Christmas. Full disclosure: It was a gift to me, from me. Her cookies and recipes are amazing. She is a next level genius, I’m only sad that some/many of her quirky ingredients are based on US ingredients but I LOVE everything I’ve made from her so far. These cookies are no exception. On paper, they’re bonkers, but so so so delicious when you taste them!

I also love Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies. I made some with marshmallows ages ago that The Runner loves. He was quite disappointed that these are not those, but they’re still pretty good!

So that’s it for this week- wish me luck for my first day!!