Do you remember when you started drinking coffee?  Did you start young or a little later?

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you remember your first baking experience?  Did you make cookies?  Or brownies?  Or something more complex than those?  I remember baking cookies for the first time and totally being clueless that there is such a thing as 'over mixing'.  Over mixing is never a good thing; we must all remember that.  But unfortunately for me, I sure did mix the cookie dough quite vigorously.  Let's just say those cookies weren't the easiest/most pleasant to bite into.

Cinnamon Rolls, The Quick & Easy

I have only worked with yeast twice; first time ever, for this pull apart and on these raisin rolls last.  Both instances resulted in unpleasantly tough bread and really I was already put off from trying any other recipe that involves yeast.

But I love cinnamon rolls and bread in general.

And I really, really, REALLY want to make them at home.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yes, I know... another post about bananas.  

But!

Hazelnut Cocoa Chocolate Chip Brownies

Where my 'I'd rather stay at home than (insert whatever it is that you'd rather not be doing)' buddies at?!

Funfetti Birthday Cake

A happy birthday to you if today happens to be the day you came into the world xx years ago!  If it has already passed, still, happy birthday, gal/pal!

So...what was your birthday cake for this year?  Did you have a pro make it? Or did you DIY?

Because I did. 😎

(This is going to be a long post! You've been warned!)

Carrot Cake Cookies

A rant of sorts is what you'll be reading from the jump. 😬

Double Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

...and a variety of sprinkles on the top for aesthetic purposes only (let's be real here).

So, hello.  Here I am again, unable to start a blog post despite doing this blogging thing for years now.

Nutty Dark Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries

Before I bake anything, I write down the recipe on a notebook first and then triple check if I have copied everything.  Not gonna lie but I'm guilty of skipping an ingredient or procedure when I was just starting with baking.  But truth be told the same thing still happens to me to this day!

Have you ever caught yourself missing an ingredient when you've already placed everything in the oven?

I know.  Such a catastrophe, right?  I baked a banana cake once...and forgot about the sugar.

Hummingbird Muffins

Hummingbird.  What comes to mind when you hear that word?  It may sound weird that I'm asking such question.  To the regular citizen of the planet, hummingbird = those cute, little birds.  And Flit.  You know, as in Flit?  One half of Pocahontas' loyal ally (the other half being Meeko)?  Yep.  Flit is a hummingbird!

But to home bakers everywhere, hummingbird = a baked, edible treasure.  I first encountered this version of hummingbird inside The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.  

Banana Cinnamon and Walnut Pancakes

Back in college, I would religiously sit in front of my vanity and put on makeup.  I would try my very best (keyword here is try) to wake up a couple hours before classes.  Like I'd just be wearing a shirt, jeans and sandals but damn was my eye liner on fleek!  Unfortunately, I've lost the touch; I cannot seem to draw even, sharp lines anymore and you bet I am frustrated.

This post has nothing to do with makeup though.  I just wanted to share because all those YouTube makeup tutorials I've been watching make long for that era in my life (lol) when I could do a perfect cat eye, no sweat and anxiety felt and retouch needed.

Pancakes!

Mocha Cheesecake Brownies

It all started with a block of cream cheese.  

The original plan was to make bibingka and sprinkle the cream cheese all over it.  But a banana leaf needed for lining the pan was always forgotten and never made an appearance in our household.  Days turned to a week and I started to crave for something really chocolaty.

And bibingka is definitely not chocolaty!

Toasted Walnut Banana Cake

But in simpler words: banana cake.  My lola Vita's banana cake.  I only named this one like so because it sounds fancier than just 'banana cake'.

And if it sounds more interesting, you'll most likely not ignore yet another banana recipe.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes + Caramelized Bananas

I love breakfast food, yes.  But as much as I adore the whole breakfast concept, I'm not really too keen on waking up early.  Oh I still remember the mornings when I would willingly wake up at dawn and prepare for training.  Yep!  I once dreamt of becoming a pro athlete, too, you know.

A couple (more than a couple, actually) years has passed and I've yet to get that waking-up-early habit back.  But my love for everything breakfast stayed with me.

But you and I and everybody know that breakfast can be enjoyed any time of the day!  Right? Or damn right!?!

Churros

Truth be told, the only reason I took the plunge and made churros was because our oven is in bad shape.

Like it still has power and heats up but the temperature dial is broken.  I know I could just get an oven thermometer but ehh!  Plus, I also wanted to know how churros made from scratch differ or be similar to the ones we buy.

Simple, Egg-free Pancakes

Recently, I've been turning to the Web for answers.  For emergencies such as 'AHH! We're out of *whatever ingredient and whatever possible substitute there could be* but I want *whatever the end product of said missing ingredient/sub + other stuff would have been* now!'...or something.

I know you're saying the easiest solution would be to just go to the market and restock.

Red Velvet + White Chocolate Cookies

It's perfectly understandable for little kids to get really excited when they receive something, right?  I think the same applies to adults, too!  Please don't burst out laughing but my goodness even I couldn't believe how happy and excited I was when I got two glorious kilos of flour.  Like I smiled one wide smile, buddy!  In my mind I was doing a happy dance and then stopped because 'Abigail, it's just flour, stop'.  

And then I remembered this adorable scene from Stranger Than Fiction where Harold gave Ana flours instead of flowers (get it?!):

Source: http://caffeinated-much.tumblr.com/post/49928250894/the-sweetest-moment

100 points to Harold for being a cutie pie and practical at the same time!  Please, I know you'd be excited to receive bags of flour, too, if you love to bake!

Matcha Crinkle Cookies

I knew right away that matcha will be a favorite after my first bite of my first ever matcha-flavored food.  It was a humble yet glorious lil muffin and its insides were softly tinged green (!!!).  Since then whenever I see 'matcha' on a blog, Pinterest, tumblr and everywhere else, I just go nuts and seconds later, I'll be reading up on that blog post and bookmarking it after.

I even bought freaking soy milk just so I could make iced matcha latte!  Have you ever tried making iced matcha latte?  Without a bamboo whisk? Which I didn't know was called that prior to reading up on homemade matcha lattes.  

Oh well!

Easy Peasy Coffee Pancakes!

Have you ever eaten dinner way past dinnertime?  I remember a friend saying they usually eat late in the evening.  My family, on the other hand, we try to eat dinner before it gets too late.  How about yours?

But this one night, I found myself deciding between two pancake recipes...and it was already 10pm.  I thought I already had myself convinced that I'd just go to bed instead.  Who was I kidding?  I must have spent 15 minutes trying to fight the emerging want to eat!

Eh...I gave in.

One-Layer Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Do you ever get the sudden urge to bake?

I sure do! But most of the time when I get that sudden burst of energy to do so, I'm almost always out of one or two ingredients.  So whatever recipe I already had in mind, I end up choosing another.  Something where the ingredient list meets whatever contents are in our pantry and fridge.

Salted Double Chocolate Caramel Cookie

Since Adele's 'Hello' came out, I can't help the strong urge to start every post with "hello, it's me".  So...

Hello, it's me.  With no copyright or infringement whatever intended.  I love you, Adele! Keep on blessing us with more heart-wrenching, emotion-busting anthems that we all will sing along to for years and years.

Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

These cinnamon raisin rolls?  

They were meant to be knots.

Brown Butter and Honey Pistachio Blondies

Let's start this post by me telling you, dear gal/pal, that I made these blondies* the moment I got out of bed.  Actually before I got out of bed I had to debate with myself (who doesn't!?) if I should get up now or in 10 or 30 minutes...

So there I was in the kitchen, in my PJs, socks and crazy bed hair and not yet fueled by coffee, making quite a noise as I gather the ingredients needed for this recipe.

Banana Chocolate Cake

Have you ever paid attention to recipes on boxes of flour and sugar?  On the containers of cocoa powder?   On the cartons of cream?  No?  Yes?  My answer?  I usually don't.  I usually just throw the box and not even glance on whatever was printed on the back.

I can be such a real recipe snob.

But it's never too late to change all that!

Taisan (Filipino Chiffon Cake)

Ever been to a Goldilocks store?  You most probably have seen a loaf enveloped in a golden crust, topped with butter, sugar and cheese.  You most probably caved in and bought one.  Or two.  You most probably couldn't wait til you get home and enjoy a slice or even finish the entire thing.

Coffee can help you down all that goodness.  They are a perfect pair, believe me.

And that's what we're making today, folks!  Taisan a la Goldi's!

Lemon Graham Squares

When I think of graham crackers, images of gooey and ultra sweet s'mores come to mind.  Immediately.  Like there's nothing else to think of other than that, right?  But what if you aren't feeling s'mores at the moment?

I know.  Strange.

But when you do feel unfeeling s'mores, gather the lemons life (or your local market) may give you!  This one right here is going to be good.  Real good!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

The original plan was to make mini cakes.  Mini Black Forest cakes, that is.  I looked for recipes on the Web and there are a lot.  Some range from doable to 'oh dear maybe next time' complicated.  Some use store-bought cherry pie filling while some cook up their own.  Some use liquors while others leave it out.  Some use only this kind of cherries while some use that kind of cherries...and so on!

It seems everyone has their own way of making Black Forest cake and whatever works for them, great!  Right?

Coffee and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I could have gone the usual route and baked a regular chocolate chip cookie.  But why would I do that, right?  Most especially when there's a huge ass bottle of instant dark roast coffee in the pantry!

So I looked for a recipe where it is used and found one!

Whipped Chocolate Buttercream and Chocolate Cupcakes for two!

I have a scenario for you:  Your best friend of more than a decade (and counting) subtly hinted that she'd like for you to make her birthday cake on her birthday (of course).  And you, being the wonderful friend that you are, may have said yes or pretended not to hear but really, you're already planning what flavor and design you'll be doing with the upcoming birthday girl's request.

Let's skip to a couple of weeks and into the day.  The birthday.  The day you'll be 'surprising' your best pal with cake.

Funfetti Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you also have those days when you want to bake something?  Like you don't know what yet aside from it has to be fuss-free.  Ridiculously delicious but easy because it could be too hot in your kitchen or it's already quite late in the evening.

But you just have to bake something!

Cassava Cake

I never ever thought I'd be able to make cassava cake in my life.  Ever.  But here we are and we're about to talk about it.

How would I describe cassava cake to someone who has never tried it?

Double Chocolate Doughnut Muffin

V-day is fast approaching and I'm bringing you a wonderful idea and an incident that will make any baker weep.  Let's start with the sad bit first, shall we? :)

I went to the mall, headed to the baking section just looking around with no intention of buying anything and then...there I saw a neat stack of this special kind of pan.

'What pan?' A doughnut pan.  

Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Coffee Blondies

2 days into the month of all things sappy, I bring you something sweet yet packs a different kind of punch.

Oh, coffee!

Triple Chocolate Espresso Cookies

...actually the proper name for these should be 'quadruple chocolate espresso cookies'.  Why I didn't name them so?  Ehh...  Let's just go with 'triple chocolate' and pretend it's the truth.

Got half an hour or more to spare?

Matcha Chocolate Cupcakes

It amazes me when I see somebody eat a cupcake and they don't get any frosting on their nose.  Or all over their face.  Like excuse you, kind soul, but how much magic did it cost so you could enjoy cupcakes out in public and not unconsciously smear frosting all over your face?

But of course if there's a fork to aid you, then this whole cupcake eating business will probably be less messy.  Probably.

Mocha Hazelnut Streusel Loaf

If you grew up or stayed for sometime in the PH, you may or may not have had a slice of Goldilocks' mocha cake.  Yes, it's the one with the mega buttery frosting and the mega delicious coffee-flavored chiffon.

This little babe of a loaf right here tastes pretty close to that.

Dare I say that this, even without frosting, tastes better?

Birthday Cake Blondies

First things first... Happy New Year!  And yes, I'm fully aware that it has been 4 days since we welcomed 2016.  But here I am with my very first post for the year!

A question or three, though: Have you seen the movie "Howl's Moving Castle"?  Would you like to meet a scarecrow named 'Turniphead'?  But most importantly, Howl.  Doesn't he look adorable with this hair color?

Should I stop talking about the movie and start with what this post is really about?

Yeah, I think I should.  Just don't annoy Calcifer too much.  Okay, I'll stop for real now!