Baking Extravaganza

So it is the holiday season.  Each year, I always decide to bake something to give to my coworkers.  Well this year, I planned WAY in advance.  I wanted to bake a large variety of cookies this year since times are tough.  Homemade cookies can help take worries away for a minute or so.

Since I was baking a large variety of cookies, I had to plan all my baking time.  In the end, I could fit 7 types of cookies into a week.  I know it sounds INSANE.  It's a good thing I like to bake.  Wait, scratch that, LOVE to bake.

The plan is to bake: 

• peanut butter cookies
  
• gingerbread cookies
• choco-shortbread cookies
• choco-chip cookies
• peanut butter blossom cookies
• oatmeal-craisin cookies
• choco-peanut butter cookies
• mini apple crisps 

The list looks pretty intense.  First thing to be made, peanut butter cookies.  Something that is very simple for me.  The secret to making yummy peanut butter cookies is using Reece's creamy peanut butter.  I think more and more people are finding out this secret because I had a hard time finding it since I was running low.  


Instead of making the regular shaped peanut butter cookies where you press the dough with a fork, I use a cookie press.  Best investment.  Of course I chose the Christmas tree as one of the shapes for the peanut butter cookies.  The other kinda looks like a sakura (so Japanese of me).

Here's a picture of batch #1 of my baking extravaganza.


As the peanut butter cookies were cooling down, it was time to start the next batch of cookies.  Something a little more difficult and time consuming, gingerbread cookies.  I don't know about you, but I really like gingerbread cookies now.  When I was in elementary school, I remember not liking gingerbread for some reason.  Maybe I thought it was too spicy.


I don't make gingerbread people, instead I make Hello Kitty gingerbread (what can I say, I'm a fanatic).  This year, I decided to use the smaller Hello Kitty cookie cutter.  This way each person can have more, plus it can fit in the cookie tins that I bought this year.


Here's a picture of batch #2.


It's getting pretty late.  Took a short break from baking; meaning I went to sleep because I had minbu practice the next morning.  So all of Saturday, no baking :(


I had too many things that day.  Minbu practice in the morning, then errands to run, then mini odori practice in the evening.  I didn't get home until 11 PM.


So Sunday was a day of catching up.  First batch to make, choco-shortbread cookies.  This year I decided to play with Ghiradelli baker's chocolate and add them to some of the cookie batches.  The first experiment was with shortbread.  The cookie press I used makes them look like macaroons.  Trying to trick my coworkers, nothing is what it seems.


Next on the list is, choco-chip cookies.  While the shortbread cookies were baking I decided to prep for the choco-chip cookies.  So put together the chocolate chips, pecans, and walnuts (because I didn't have enough pecans).


Doesn't it look yummy ---->


Holy crap, who would have thought it would take half the day to make the entire batch of choco-chip cookies.  Each pair of cookie sheets took an hour to bake o_O


But the results are crispier cookies.  I also put the baker's chocolate into the dough.  So I guess these are choco-choco-chip cookies.


<-----Don't they look yummy.



After the madness of chocolate chip cookies, it was time to take a break.  Hey, people have to eat.  As tempting as it may sound, I didn't eat the cookies.  They are for my coworkers, so I can't have mine until I've packed their cookie tins.


After dinner, it was time for the next batch of cookies, peanut butter blossoms.  A couple of days before I unwrapped two packages of Hershey's Kisses (yay, how fun).  This year I couldn't find the ones that aren't wrapped.  Here's a picture of my hard labor. ---->


Here's a picture of batch #5.


Time to take another break, meaning SLEEP.  People have to work you know.  The house is starting to smell really good.  It's a mixture of all the cookies I've been baking.  So it smells like peanut butter, gingerbread, and chocolate at any given time.


Once I get home from Minyo practice on Monday, I decide that I should try and make some more cookies.  What a big mistake.  It was already after 10.  The first set that I put into the oven were a flop.  They stuck to the pan.  Oh well, I turned it into my granola for my yogurt for the next couple of days.


I knew when that happened, I needed to rest.  I put the rest of the dough into the refrigerator.  I will continue tomorrow.  After work on Tuesday, I had to buy some parchment paper.  How can it be so hard to find something like that.  Apparently Wal-Mart on Maui doesn't stock on parchment paper.  Why?


Time to take another stab at these oatmeal-craisin cookies.  That's right craisin.  I think craisins are much more tastier than raisins.  They are more tart than raisins and have more flavor.  I don't know if my coworkers could tell the difference.  Maybe I'll go ask, if I remember to.


Here's a picture of batch #6. ------>




While the oatmeal-craisin cookies cooled, it was time to prep the next batch of cookies, choco-peanut butter cookies.  I didn't know how these were going to turn out.  I used the last of baker's chocolate.  The dough looked really interesting.  For some reason the chocolate melted into the peanut butter.  The other batches didn't do that.  Maybe it's the peanut butter oil.


For this batch peanut butter cookies, I decided to use the cut-out that looked like a wreath (keeping to the spirit of Christmas).  But it smelled so good.  Chocolate + peanut butter = heaven.




The last thing on the list is mini apple crisps.  It's not a cookie.  I guess you can say it's like a bar.  It's almost like eating dutch apple pie.  I haven't made these before.  My mom makes these all the time during the holidays, so I decided to take a stab at it.  Instead of cutting them into bars, I used a mini-muffin tin to make individual servings.


I think they turned out pretty good, considering it was my first time.



Time to put everything together.  Have to put together 12 tins of cookies o_O

After one week of mayhem, it was time for another week.  That's right, New Year's baking.  Another week of no sleep, here I go!


Since graduating from college, I seem to have more freedom with time and thinking.  That can be a good and bad thing at the same time.  When it comes to things like this, I think I over-think and overdo things.  But it is something that I choose to do.


The list for New Year's:

• furikake mix
• baked manju
• mini an crisps
• tri-color mochi (chichidango)

Of course, I choose to start with the easiest thing I know how to do, furikake mix.  Even though it takes an hour a batch, it's still simple to make.


<-----After two hours of baking here's the end result.


I think Mr. M&M is happy.




After putting away the furikake mix it was time for SLEEP.  Tomorrow I will do another batch, or two.

Next on the list, baked manju.  I didn't wanna bother with making the dough so I called on my good friend to help.  His name Mr. Pillsbury.  It's what Sandra Lee would do.  I was in a time crunch and had to improvise.  It still comes out yummy!  You be the judge.  Doesn't the picture look like baked manju?


Plus I used can koshi-an.  No time to make koshi-an from scratch.  Mums is such a time saver.




Onto the next batch since I'm short on time.  Mini an crisps.  It's very similar to the apple crisps I made just I use koshi-an instead of apple filling.


I think these came out better than the apple crisps.  Or it could be that I love azuki beans.  It's weird that I didn't really care for it when I was little, but now in my 20's I love it.




No time to rest.  Time to start the next batch.  It's my signature Japanese sweet that my coworkers look forward to every year, tri-color mochi (chichidango).  This takes so long because it has to cool overnight.


I accidentally fell asleep while the last batch was baking (oops).  It was only in for an extra couple of minutes.  No big deal.  But I knew I was really tired.  Time to go to work while the mochi cools down.


Here's the result of two hours of baking and 12 hours cooling down. ----->


Time to cut these two up!






Time put everything together.  What's in the box?!?!

Time for another round of baking mochi.  This time it's for family not coworkers.






It cannot be New Year's without some andagi, especially if you're an Okinawan!  I know it's not baked but it's still a Japanese sweet.






Happy New Year everyone!  I finally get to rest from all this baking!  Next time will be Valentine's Day because it is also Chinese New Year.  Now that is going to be an interesting day.