MUSKOKA

so i experienced my second round of the cottage life this week in port carling, muskoka. the cottage was located right on lake rosseau where apparently a few celebrities & athletes have cottages, but no sightings. i did see deer though! even a baby deer! it was the closest i have ever come to one without it running away from me. instead this doe starred at me for a few seconds then proceeded to lick it's butt as i tried to get a picture. i am kind of in love with these creatures and wanted to take one home as a new pet. errrrrr.. would that be weird or would i just be a modern day audrey hepburn? ok fine, i'll stick to wanting a pet fox instead. i also finished a knitting project i started back in february, my first blanket! maybe it shouldn't have taken five months to complete, but i finished it and that is all that matters! then i saw a zillion gorgeous pendleton blankets in one of the downtown shops [sigh]. the best. aside from deer sightings, we shopped, we ate bbq, we kayaked, we built a bench & watched movies. all in all a good relaxing week. the only thing i won't miss is the millions of bugs that seemed to be attracted to me the most, i felt like pig pen from charlie brown. now i am back in my own kitchen & can't wait to get baking.

xo

COOKIES & CREAM COOKIES

it's finally cookie inception day on the blog! the results: successful. what is cookie inception you may ask? well it's a cookie inside a cookie, which resulted in a cookies and cream cookie. i am not a huge fan of oreos by themselves, but mash them into cookie dough and i am sold. i have tried stuffing the entire oreo in a chocolate chip cookie in the past, and while it was pretty damn good i think crushing them taste hella better. as my cottage days come to an end today, i can't wait to show you all the photos i took & tell you all about the trip! but for now i leave you with this recipe.

LEVEL: very modest

ingredients

• 3.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup raw sugar (white sugar will work too)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 18 oreos, crushed

directions

• preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• in the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter, brown sugar and raw sugar until light and fluffy.
• add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla.
• in a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. * add flour mixture to wet ingredients slowly.
• once all the dry ingredients are evenly incorporated stir in crushed oreos.
• wrap in cling and let dough rest in the fridge for minimum an hour, but for best results over night.
• once dough is rested, roll into desired cookie size and bake for 8-12 minutes (once edges just slightly brown)
• let cool & enjoy!

CHOCOLATE TWIST BREAD

chocolate twist bread? chocolate babka? whatever, it's pretty so here it is! i am writing this from the cottage, where wifi is non existent & cell phone reception is weak.. can't wait to see how much in data i went over (also don't mind the spelling errors about to happen, let's just blame it on auto correct). my week has been spent eating, kayaking and wood working. before heading up north i pre-made a bunch of goodies to pack (& for my blog friends). this babka twist bread is one of them! it has been adapted from pastry affair & it is delicious. it looks ten times harder then it actually is, but if you can make a cinnamon bun you can make these. if you can't make a cinnamon bun well.... ok back to the dock!

LEVEL: somewhat modest

ingredients

for the dough

• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of sea salt

for the filling

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1.5 tablespoons dutch cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• alternative option: shaved chocolate

directions

• for the bread: melt butter & mix with warm milk. add sugar, egg, yeast, vanilla & salt.
• with a stand mixer using the dough hook add the flour 1 cup at a time until dough comes together.
• knead dough for 5 minutes, until it becomes smooth & elastic.
• form dough into a ball & let rest (covered) for a couple hours or until dough doubles in size.
• for the filling: melt butter, cocoa powder, sugar & vanilla together in a bowl until well combined.
• roll out dough to a .5 cm thin rectangle (this process is similar to making cinnamon buns).
• spread filling evenly & tightly roll the dough.
• slice the roll in half length wise (it won't fall apart, i promise) so all the layers are visible.
• twist the two halves together & pinch in the ends.
• shape into a round cast iron pan & let rise again as you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the dough is cooled throughout.