van stapele

Happy 2025!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Happy 2025- I hope this year is precedented and uneventful for everyone– although I already have a feeling that this won’t be the case.  

New Year, New Cookies?  Nope.  Same cookies actually.  This week I made two cookies I’ve made before- but only one that I’ve written about.  Both are from Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar Life Cookbook.  Her Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Rice Krispies- or Rice Bubbles here in OZ!)  and The Greta Sugar Cookie Bars (with festive New Years Sprinkles!)  My friend, Jinx, was back in Amsterdam and brought back more Van Stapele cookies for me…. Honestly, they’re so good.    I need to both savour them and eat them before they go stale.  The paradox of having something you truly love but don’t have often.

The Greta Sugar Cookie Bars (minus one piece)

In other exciting news, we FINALLY bought an air fryer- and we’ve used it nearly every day we’ve owned it so far.   Mostly for french fries but I’m on the look out for air fryer recipes to try!  

So yeah, 2025 will be the year of the air fryer and the cookie- not sure about cookies in the air fryer but I’m sure we’ll try it at some point!

Oh and we also made Sushi! Because sometimes we cook things that aren’t cookies and we really loved our trip to Japan last year !

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Or at least that’s the theme for cookies this week.  This week I’m attempting to recreate Van Stapele’s infamous white chocolate stuffed chocolate cookies and Canva’s famous (at least at Canva) Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Canva’s cookies are baked by the Hungry Squirrel but I”m trying Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  

Van Stapele’s cookies are what kicked off the cookie baking the last few weeks.  They’re an Amsterdam based Cookie Bakery or Koekmakarij and they make one cookie. One type of cookie. Chocolate stuffed with white chocolate. And they’re amazing. This bakery sells 2000 cookies a day. 2000! And they’re famous, like writing a case study about them famous.

I mean, I’m considering a trip to Amsterdam just to try them fresh and warm from the source.  I’m mildly obsessed by them.  I think it has something to do with the chocolate they use– or maybe there’s a secret spice. I’m not sure but I’m working on them. I don’t think I’ve nailed them yet, but this week’s cookies were pretty good.

In fact, both sets of cookies this week were well liked. I mean, most people who have eaten them haven’t tried the originals, so it’s hard to know. Canva’s cookies are/were honestly legendary.  Delicious.  Chocolatey.  Salty.  Yum.  Universally liked and coveted.  Smitten Kitchen’s cookies are good- maybe not quite Canva cookie level yet.  But I’m working on it!

C is for Cookie…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment


“Today, me will live in the moment, unless it is unpleasant. In which case me will eat a cookie.”

 – Cookie Monster

So I’ve been on a cookie baking binge over the past few weeks- or maybe even months. Actually, I can trace it back to July.

My friend, Jinx (not her actual real name, but her real pole name) went to Europe and brought back THE best cookie I’ve ever tasted in my life. It’s from Van Stapele, a bakery in Amsterdam, that only does one thing. These cookies. And they’re life changing. They’re also, unfortunately, only in Amsterdam. So, I did what any normal obsessed person would do and googled the recipe.

Of course, being a world famous cookie house, it wasn’t online. But there were loads of copycats which gave me plenty of fodder for my re-creation attempts.

Now, a smart, conscientious blogger would have made careful notes about what she baked, how it turned out and where the recipe came from. But that’s not me so please don’t ask which recipe was the best. (From memory, it was these or these but don’t quote me.).

I trialled a couple of different recipes before moving on to OTHER cookies. Chocolate Chip, Compost, Playdate, Snoop Dogg’s PB Chocolate Chip Cookies (Thomas was NOT a fan), Oatmeal raisin (by request), Mexican icebox, Coconut Sugar (bland!) and then I found them.

After weeks of searching, I’ve found the perfect cookie.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies from the NY Times.

I’m obsessed. I’ve made one batch this week, and because they are amazing I have a second bath ready to bake for tomorrow. These cookies are amazing.

I have to make a second batch, because I’ve gotten into a bit of a pattern. The people in my life now expect that I’ll turn up places with cookies. Tuesday at the gym, Wednesday nights at Pole Class. All of this cookie trialling has led to a lot of cookies. Far more than three people can eat, so I share them. And they must be better than ok, beacuse now people look forward to them, request flavours and are generally, a bit disappointed when I run out of cookies and they don’t get one. So, I’m making two batches of these- and also starting a list (or at least trying to be better) to record my cookie exploits.

So, join me on my baking journey!