Easy Gay Oven

The cookies continue, but the inspiration does not…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

For the first time this week, I really struggled with what to bake. I knew I was going to bake this week, because, well, of course I was but I struggled with inspiration. Jinx had sent me a recipe from EasyGayOven which looked great on Instagram but sadly the recipe itself wasn’t online. Well, it was but for a fee. I love cookbooks but I’M NOT A FAN of paying for yet another subscription that I’ll use once and then forget all about! I tried searching for similar recipes but nothing was quite right– I looked at quite a few- it came down to this one for Coconut Chocolate Chip Mango Cookies and this one for Macadamia, Mango, and White Chocolate Cookies. So I improvised…. I used this recipe(-ish) for Macadamia, Mango, and White Chocolate cookies– but not exactly since I took out the macadamias and added more mango– actually dried mango and freeze-dried mango. I’m honestly not sure how they’ve turned out. I don’t love white chocolate and I tinkered around with the recipe a bit, so not sure it’s my best work. I’m wary of putting nuts in cookies- firstly, I hate nuts, and secondly, I don’t want to accidentally kill anyone who has a nut allergy. I think I’m just hypervigilant after being a parent for 8 years and hearing NO NUTS at all times. So, I try to avoid them in cookies…

I was also going to make Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies from the NY Times. But…. I panicked. I re-read the recipe and realised they were gluten free and dairy free and wasn’t sure I wanted to go down the route of two controversial cookies this week. Gluten free and dairy free isn’t for everyone, and who knows what these bootleg mango cookies will be like….

So I played it safe- I went with Mocha Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Cookies: The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk. I’ve never done these cookies before but his recipes are always winners. So I thought they would be safe!

But it was a bit alarming. It’s my first cookie-related doubt/lack of inspiration. Normally I’m super excited to bake each week and it feels like a labour of love. This week, it just felt hard. I’m hoping it doesn’t show in the cookies, but these were more of a struggle than usual.

What I REALLY want to do is crack the recipe for Milkman’s OG Cookies. We had them in Gold Coast Airport last week on the way home and they’re good!!! But they’re different- thicker and slightly cakier??? than most cookies… I might need to order some and experiment to get them right!!

In the meantime, send inspirational cookie vibes…. and maybe some ideas for next week!

I take requests now…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

This week I’m making THREE cookies! Yikes! Three Cookies means I’ve spent all morning baking, cleaning, baking, washing dishes and then washing more dishes. And by washing dishes, I mean packing and unpacking the dishwasher– which is the same as washing dishes to me.

I can make three cookies this morning because the boys are at a tennis tournament, and so I’ve been left to my own devices… and I had a cookie request. A cookie request for a cookie that is NOT appealing to me at all. Black Sesame Earl Grey Cookies. The idea of Black Sesame Tahini in a cookie is blah- I don’t like tahini or hummus or nuts or nut adjacent things. And I hate Earl Grey tea. So combining the two in cookie form is completely unappealing. But Jinx, the same friend that kicked off the cookie frenzy almost 12 months ago with a cookie from Amsterdam, sent me a recipe and because she’s brought back cookies for me EVERY time she goes to Amsterdam, I couldn’t say no. So I’m making Black Sesame Earl Grey Cookies. And because they are COMPLETELY unappealing to me personally, I’m also making a modified version of David Leibovitz’s Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies. The modification is that they’re not sitting for 12 hours or overnight. I’m also making Chocolate Shake and French Fry Cookies from Christina Tosi’s Bake Club.

I’m quite excited by the Bake Club cookies. They look a bit weird but I think the concept will be yummy! The salted tahini– not sure about- it’s the tahini. But we’ll see… Hopefully Jinx will like the Black Sesame cookies, the gym and pole crew will like the Chocolate Chip cookies (they’re VERY highly rated by the New York Times), and hopefully TomTom and The Runner will enjoy the Chocolate Shake and French Fry Cookies. I’m not baking next weekend since The Runner is running up in Queensland, but I’m already thinking of our next baking adventure– thanks to the stash of leftover Easter Eggs I’m FINALLY getting around to emptying out of the Easter bucket. Stay tuned!