Gingerbread Cookies

Nothing makes me happier than my food being appreciated. 

This week was the first time that I've baked for my classmates. I know it is a little bit late. I should have introduced my cooking way earlier. However the busy schedule and all the cramming did not give me a chance to bake for them. Since Christmas time is baking time for me, I wanted to bake them something this week, before the Christmas Break. So, I baked them these cookies. Lots of people were a little bit shy to taste gingerbread because of the word "ginger" in it. They said they didn't want. However when I opened the box, the smell of the cookies made them surrender. It was obvious that they couldn't resist. Many people asked for a second one however all of them were gone by the end of the second period. I also gave some to my teachers. Since most of them are American, I thought that they wouldn't like it because I was sure that they had the original and a way more delicious gingerbread bookie back at their homes. However all of my teachers liked them. One of my teachers even said that "This smells like my mom's cookies." 
I like giving these small treats to people. I know that they are waiting me to bake for them again. Be patient. I will eventually bake again. Sometime at least. Since the finals are ahead I cannot give any promises. But I am going to bake for you someday in the future again. 

Anyways, lets go back to the recipe. Almost every family has a gingerbread cookie or house baking rituals. However, this was my first time baking a gingerbread cookie. Before I decided to bake this recipe, I wanted to bake something different. And something special. I was bored of baking sugar cookies every year. As I said, I wasn't sure how the cookies were going to taste. However, the outcome was very good. They turned out to be yummier that I thought. I was really amazed with all the flavours; the ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves... 
When I was measuring from the recipe, I thought that the spices would be too much and the cookies might get to spicy. They were spicy but at the right level. It was perfect.

I like them when they are freshly baked, when you can still feel the warmth in your moth when you bite it. However it is also easy to pack and give as gifts. 

Winter is Coming/ It's Baking Time

I love winter. Don't you? Don't you just love like to wake up in a white morning where the rooftops, the trees, the cars and many more are covered with snow. That white blanket just makes me smile. Reading a book while wearing my fuzzy socks and drinking hot chocolate in front of the window while it is snowing outside makes me more than happy actually. 

Last Wednesday and Thursday it snowed heavily. I mean it snowed as if it would never stop. But the governorship did not cancel the school for a day. What a great idea to make an Istanbul-habitant to suffer. We were stuck in the Istanbul traffic for hours. I wished it was a snow day and I could have baked at home. (By the way we even prayed for snow at school as a class so that the school would be cancelled for a day because of the snow). When I finally arrived at school I completely changed my mind. The school was "beau-ti-ful". It is one of the rare times when I feel that I actually like my school. The view was great. It was a great place for a photographer. I  just tried to capture every branch of the tree, every rooftop and many other stuff. You can probably imagine how my camera roll looks like at the moment. Here are some photos (before all of the snow "war" happened) that I think you might enjoy: