Baked goods make the best gifts.

Last week I was visited by the postie-fairy and it felt like gifts were showering down from the heavens. I may possibly be exaggerating a little, but it's been an exhausting few weeks--I've had to revisit my honours thesis from 3 years ago and edit the hell out of it because it's being published as a monograph (aka, a little book). That was a fairly draining exercise, so I was elated to come home from uni one afternoon to find not one but TWO parcels sitting on my doorstep. One was a nerdy anthropology book, a gift from a friend. The other was not one but TWO kinds of cookies from Iron Chef Amy.

Snickerdoodles and Choc Chip Cookies. It's been so long since I've had a snickerdoodle, so these were a delicious blast from the past. Andy had never eaten one, and he astutely pointed out that they taste a little like donuts. The choc chips were chewy and molasses-y and just how I like them. I won't disclose just how quickly we ate these, since it's a little embarrassing. And now I have Amy's address for stalking returning the favour.

I also gifted myself a slightly healthier snack--pumpkin spice bread. I sort of followed the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking but the main difference was that I used all pumpkin puree instead of apple sauce, and I added dried mixed fruit. As soon as this cooled I sliced it and froze it, so it's the gift that keeps on giving. Whenever Andy or I feel like a snack we just take a slice out of the freezer and 20 minutes later it's as fresh as new.
My final recent baking project was a gift for someone else. One of Andy's office-mates generously fed Nacho Cat for us while we went away over the weekend. Coincedentally, Saturday was also her birthday. So to say thanks, and happy birthday, I baked her a batch off Raspberry Chocolate Blondie Bars from Vegan with a Vengeance. My favourite part about this recipe is that it makes enough to share, so we took a few with us on our road trip (ooh, I'll tell you more about that soon).Now I'm off to bake some more cookies to send down to Andy's oldest brother in Sydney, who has requested a batch. Maybe it will be vegan cookies, rather than vegan cupcakes, which eventually take over the world...