A bunch of good stuff

Lately I am finding less and less time for blogging. *sad* Besides packing for the move, I have to keep my kids entertained during this school holiday rather then shoving them in front of the TV. And knowing the fact that I will not be able to bake as often as I can once I moved doesn't make my mood any merrier even though the holiday season is around the corner. :-P Nevertheless, I tell myself I am going to make the best out of what I have now and enjoy every single bit of it before it ends. :-) So that sort of explains the named of my post. Even though I can't blog as often, I try to consolidate a bunch my baking and post it up when I get the opportunity. So what do I have? A birthday cake, some Christmas cookies & an apple pie. The birthday cake is for a dear friend whom I was lucky to know which have helped me in many ways. :) Then I baked some cookies for a group of girlfriends since we used to have this cookie exchange thing last year. But due to everyone's busy schedule, we decided to just dine out this year. ;P But I made them some simple cookies anyhow. :) The apple pie? Well, my elder daughter loves apple pie and she has been asking me since we were on our last vacation. :D

Actually I felt kind of bad I did not do a good job with this birthday cake. *sigh* Wish there was a little more time and more ingredients which I did not find the time to buy. :-P I know, I have to do better then just excuses. Anyway, I still managed to baked up this simple butter cake using a flower mould in time for her birthday on Friday. I placed fresh whipped cream and blueberry filling in the middle and tinted whipped cream and some simple buttercream as the deco on the outside. As you can see I did not do a good job my piping, still can see tiny gaps in between. :( And since it's a gift for my friend, I did not get a chance to taste the cake or even take any pictures of a slice either. :-P Anyway, hope she has a wonderful and joyful birthday with her family. ;)
Since I was meeting up with a group of friends for dinner, I decided to grab the opportunity to bake some cookies for them. Actually this is Florence's recipe, Wheatgerm Cranberry cookies. Honestly, these cookies taste great! I just regret I did not double the recipe! So I had only a few to share with all my friends. *sorry ladies* No worries, since I still have wheatgerm and cranberries, so I can whip up more of these yummy cookies this week. :) Sometimes it feels like striking jack pot when I find tasty and yet healthy recipes like this which I know I will make it over and over again. Can't wait to try it out yourself? Head over to Do What I Like blog to check it out.

Since the cookies are already so good on it's own, I did not think it need anymore decorations or icing on it. So I merely used some Christmas cutters to make it look a little more festive. :) BTW, I did not follow the step which the dough was refrigerated for 2hrs before baking. The dough wasn't sticky, so I merely roll and cut, . :)

The last item on the list is an apple pie. It's not everyday you see kids loving apple pie. My elder daughter would choose apple pie over ice cream...yes she likes it that much. :-P And since she has been asking for it, I figured why not since I already has some apples siting in the fridge. My daughter even helped me cut out and decorate the mini flowers on top of the pie. :)

Actually I made an apple pie just last month, but using Granny Smith. This time I used Fuji instead which my girl said she likes it better. :) Sweeter the better I guess. :)

A look at the inside which I didn't deliver the previous time. :) The apples were still slight crisp and not too watery on the inside, which goes really well with the slight savory pie crust. :) My daughter actually ate 2 slices of this everyday after or between meals! :) So glad she likes it so much....probably will have to make it again next week! :-P Interested to try it out, please go ahead to the above link and check out the recipe. Have fun guys and have a great week ahead!