About two weeks ago I moved into a pretty swanky place in Taipei after an arduous search (Thanks, Eric!) To my surprise this place had an actual oven. You cannot believe how ecstatic I was when I first saw it because as many of you know, REAL ovens are like a rare, mythical beast in Taiwan. Sure, people here have little toaster ovens, but what I’m talking about is something bigger and something I’m much more used to. Growing up in the U.S., I was taught to bake by my late great Grandma Quimby and my Grandma Sharon, and was used to a life where every home had an oven.

CookingWithCrispy_OvenBehold, the mythical beast: the oven!

After coming to Taiwan I had to change my habits when it came to cooking because I no longer had the convenience of an oven and the ability to bake anything. Any time I went back home to the states to visit (which has only been twice thus far), I would spend that time with my family in the kitchen. To me, home is in the kitchen and in the food you prepare. There is a comforting feeling of bringing simple ingredients together to form amazing dishes, and in all honesty, cooking is probably one of my favorite things to do aside from my other hobbies (painting, photography and toy collecting–expect a blog post about that sometime and where to find some of the best shops in Taipei).

Anyway, now that I have a proper oven I think I’d like to share some cooking tips and recipes with you all (and of course you can bake these recipes in your toaster oven if you don’t have a big oven!). The first thing I actually baked in my oven: eggless cookies! I wanted to bake something for my friends and some people in the office, and since some suffer from allergies I had to find an allergen-free recipe. I had never baked eggless cookies, so it’s a first for me. Surprisingly it’s a cinch and the cookies turned out A-OK!

First up, let me introduce you to my cooking buddy, Danboard:

Cooking With Crispy Danboard

 

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

CookingWithCrispy_ChocolateChipCookiesBeautyShot

    Pre-heat oven to 350°F or 180°C 

    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
    1/4 granulated sugar
    1/4 cup sugar
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 Tablespoons milk
    1/2 cup chocolate chips
    1/2 cup mini or medium sized marshmallows (cut into fourths) (This ingredient is optional)

    Makes about 24 cookies

  • First take your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) and mix them together in a bowl and set them aside.

    • CookingWithCrispy_BakingSoda

  • Next put your softened butter in a bowl and use a whisk or fork and mix it till it’s smooth and creamy.

    • CookingWithCrispy_Butter

  • Then add both granulated sugar and brown sugar to the butter and mix till it’s fluffy.

    • CookingWithCrispy_WetIngredients

  • Add vanilla and milk and mix until incorporated.

    • CookingWithCrispy_Vanilla

  • Add flour mixture and mix well until it becomes a dough.
  • Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows (optional). If the dough looks too soft and sticky, add a little more flour or chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

    • CookingWithCrispy_ChocolateMarshmallows

    CookingWithCrispy_CookieDough

  • Now form the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. (I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper so the cookies are less likely to stick to the pan.)

    • CookingWithCrispy_FirstBatch

  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
  • Take them out of the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan just for a few minutes before moving them to a rack or other surface for cooling.

    • CookingWithCrispy_ChocolateChipCookiesTa-da!  You’re done!  Now sit back and enjoy with a cold glass of milk!