Wedding Cookies

Sweet Sunday Yummy Lit Review:
Wedding Cookies

JJ (my brother and new sister-in-law) were married July 21st.  I, being the family baker, was in charge of helping create the wedding guests' gifts.  I spent one day making over 170 cookies, and another day presenting them on china plates which were designed for the couple in E's factory.  Here are a few pictures of the gifts in the making:

Cut out cookies with lemon icing and chocolate peanut-butter cookie duo were made by the dozens that day.  You can find the recipes here:

Cut Outs
Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cookie Duo

The cookies were later wrapped up in cellophane, tied with ribbons, and presented to guests... but alas, I have no pictures until the professional photographer sends his along.

Liebster Blog Award

Earlier this month I was nominated for the "Liebster Blog Award" by Aspen at Confessions of an Inner Aspen.  Check out her site if you have not already - it is truly lovely!

I haven't heard of this blogging award before, so here are its details:

Winners answer 11 questions provided by whoever tagged you, provide 11 facts about themselves, and choose 11 followers to bestow the award upon, so long as they have 200 followers or less.  

They sure do make you work for this award!  I have been majorly stuck on time this month (lots of wedding prep for JJ) and would find it really difficult to select 11 blogs under normal circumstances... which is why I have not yet responded to this nomination.

I would like to thank Aspen for nominating me.  However, I won't be nominating a further 11 blogs nor will I list 11 facts about myself due to time constraints.  But, in honour of the award and Aspen's kind choice to include me on her blog list, answers to her 11 questions follow....

Why Men Love Bitches

Argov's Why Men Love Bitches is one of those non-fiction, self-help-y books that circles of female friends often pass around.  I remember my friend recommended it to me years ago. If I must guess it was around early 2007 when she burst into my workplace claiming that I had to read this book... it was just that good.  And, with  a title like its own, I clearly remember the first day it was introduced to me.

But, what was all the fuss about?

Argov claims that women all-too-often become dependent and much too obliging to the men they date.  Argov suggests that men will have fun with the gals who are that way... but they won't keep them.  Who do men fall in love with?  Bitches.  Not the girl who gives everything up, but the girl who stands her ground, is independent, and has respect for her body and mind.

The Shadow of the Wind

Carlos Ruiz Zafron's The Shadow of the Wind is a hypnotizing tale of the impact of literature on both readers and writers.  Zafron's work is written with the air of a suspenseful mystery, adventure, and romance tale. 

Zafron tells the story of Daniel, a young boy who locates The Shadow of the Wind, a fictional novel in Zafron's story which is purportedly written by Julian Carax and had been long-forgotten in a labyrinth library titled the 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books' during the 1940s.  The mystery begins when people in his city, Barcelona, discover that Daniel has this book and seek to remove it from his possession.  Zafron chronicles the life of Daniel, as he slowly grows into adolescence and adulthood, and begins to learn the secrets of Julian Carax.  Daniel soon finds that the author is similar to himself in more than one way.  Eventually the plot thickens to a race of time and wit and will culminate in a very climatic conclusion.

Sweet Sunday's Yummy Lit Review: Chocolate Crackles

 Sweet Sunday's Yummy Lit Review: 

Chocolate Crackles

Decadent.  Rich.  Gorgeous.... and not too sweet. 
Oh my goodness, these cookies are so, so, so delicious!

I have always wanted to try Martha Stewart's Chocolate Crackles recipe.  Dark, chocolatey-brown cookies with a white layer of confectioners sugar are hard to resist.  Really hard.  I decided earlier this week that it was finally time for me to beat my no-baking rut and try this cookies on for size.

The recipe for these bad boys can be found here.   The recipe is also located in Stewart's (2008) Cookies book (that's what I used).