SmallStepsLittleSeeds

I was delighted to find Maria Cookies during our recent gro cery shopping at Walmart. They reminded me of how much I enjoyed having the Chocolate Cookie Cak e slices that I used to buy at a particular seller around 4 years ago at ap proximately $0 .25 for a mere 1.5" x 1.5" rough ly sized pi ece . That itty bitty piece was of course never enough for me... so, I'd end up buy ing... (we ll, I'll try and save  myself from my husband finding out where all that excess jelly belly of mine came from) .   Well , seeing these cookie s at the isle reminded me that I missed tasting them and I had to try making t his dess e rt at home. These Chocolate Cookie Cake are fondly known as 'Kek Batik' / 'Batik Cake' in Sout h East Asia and the Maria Cookies picture d here are known there as Marie Biscuit and they come in various brands.     This dessert does not require baking , it's really easy , and fast to make .  In a bowl, s na...

Who doesn't love the comfort of chocolate cake ?  E specially one that is moist and stays moist even a few days after it is baked.  You can choose to top it up with your favorite icing or just have it as it is. We, love it just the way it is ! You don't need fancy baking equipment . I bake d this just with basic hand utensils . First ly, combine all the dry ingredients toge ther. Ensure to sieve flour, cocoa powder (w e use natural, unsweete ned cocoa - 100% cacao) , baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Next, add eggs, olive oil, and milk into the dry mixture . Mix well. Add in vanilla extract and mix again. Add 1 cup of hot water into the mixture, mix well and pour into a prepared baking pan . You will notice the bat ter become thin. I use a non-stick 9 "x9" pan and line it with foil. The foil helps me with easy clean up . Bake at 350 ° F in a pre-heated o ven for 35 to 45 minutes or once toot hpick test is done and it comes o...

With thanksgiving day just around the corner, I thought of making a simple dessert that didn't require baking. Something simple, yet delicious that we could bring over to our friend's place for a little gathering. I thought something chocolaty will be a safe bet. I went through our pantry items to see what I could put together to make a decent dessert. I decided to use oats, cocoa powder, condensed milk, cashew nuts, and some maple syrup for flavoring. Yup, just five ingredients and no baking required! (you'll require a refrigerator to set the mixture though). I used unsweetened cocoa powder to give it a nice and mild chocolate taste when mixed in with the sweetened condensed milk. Just use a fork to mix the cocoa powder into the condensed milk until it is smooth without any clumps of cocoa. Once the mixture is smooth, add in oats and cashew nuts (alternating them, few scoops at a time). I used quick cook oats and added them in dry. The ca...