'No-fuss cookies' archive

Mango and cashew nut bars

A simple baking project that even an amateur baker like me cannot possibly mess up. The recipe is a handwritten notation in a Lawyer’s Diary circa 1991 that I converted into a recipe notebook. The diary was issued by the law firm where I was working at the time. Why it became a recipes notebook should give you an idea about how bored I was with law practice. Anyway, that was ages ago. Since most of the recipes in that diary I copied from a notebook of my sister-in-law, Susan, I think I can safely say that I got this from her.

Chocolate fudge brownies

They’re not cake-y nor bread-y. They’re fudge-y. You can have them plain but I like a little crunch in my brownies so I stirred in some sliced almonds. And, instead of melted chocolate for the topping, I opted for chocolate morsels. White chocolate morsels and chopped nuts would have looked better for the topping but I didn’t have white chocolate morsels and I totally forgot that I had some walnuts in the pantry. Next time. These brownies are so decadently good that they really deserve a “next time”.

Tri-level brownies

After three consecutive baking disasters, I finally came up with a winner. These tri-level brownies are exactly what the name says they are — brownies with three distinct layers.

The crust is made of oatmeal, flour, sugar and butter. The middle layer is a fudgy cookie, achieved by underbaking. The top layer consists of coarsely chopped walnuts over which a simple chocolate frosting is poured.

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

It is possible that it really is a good recipe but I made mistakes and, hence, the cookies didn’t turn out they way I like my cookies — crisp outside and chewy inside. Perhaps, if I had let the butter soften a bit more before creaming it, or if I had creamed the butter and sugar longer, things would have been different. Not that the cookies tasted bad. Oh no, they were delicious. It was the texture that disappointed me. The batter did not spread so I didn’t have those thin, thin cookies that seem to melt the moment they touch the lips…

Chocolate-kissed muesli cookies

Muesli (pronounced myoos-lee), a mixture of unrolled oats, dried fruit and nuts, is generally considered a high-fiber healthy breakfast cereal. If you add butter and sugar to muesli to make cookies, does it make the jump from health food to junk food? What if you reduce the recommended amount of sugar and butter, and add applesauce to make up for the reduced sweetness and liquid? Finally, what if you top the cookies with Hershey’s kisses? Junk food? Actually, the pleasure of eating the cookies was more satisfying than the answers to those questions.

Chocolate crinkles

I promised to post this yesterday but my DSL connection had been going bananas. According to customer service, the repairs following the Taiwan earthquake have not yet been completed. Talk about slow service. Slow repairs, slow internet connection.
Anyway, I baked these chocolate crinkle cookies the other day. See, my kids love chocolate crinkles. When we [...]

Oatmeal cookies and a cookie fest

This morning, we were at the kids’ school for the annual Family Day. Unlike last year when most of the activities centered around games, the highlight of this year’s affair was a program and a cookie fest. So, I spent the greater part of yesterday afternoon baking our contribution to the cookie fest. I made [...]

Pili nut butterscotch brownies

Until about two weeks ago, I used to bake butterscotch brownies using boxed brownie mixes. The Maya brand, in particular, is reasonably priced and it’s all just a matter of adding eggs, water, oil and mixing them all together. Not that ready mixes taste bad or anything but one has to progress somehow, right? So, [...]

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House On A Hill

Amateur baker

• Lemon squares
• Sam’s butterscotch brownies
• Oatmeal cookies and a cookie fest
• Vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
• Chocolate fudge brownies
• Mini-custard pie with coconut cream
• (Something like) tiramisu
• Self-frosting peanut butter cupcakes
• Scones with preserved seedless plums
• Banana walnut cake

Oh, so sweet!

• Midnight snack: crepes, bananas and guava jelly
• Choco-mocha-cinnamon pudding
• Refrigerator cake
• Green tea and rambutan dessert
• Mango and jelly (jango) dessert
• Mango custard
• Chocolate-pinipig balls inspired by Magnolia’s pinipig crunch
• Mango Royale
• Christmas jello
• Peaches and cream