Online Bake Sale for the Victims in The Philippines

Today’s post is a little different than my usual recipe and review posts.  This post is near and dear to my heart.  I hope you’ll take a moment to read through it.  I promise, I’ll keep it nice and short. 

I’m sure many of you heard the devastating news about the super typhoon, Haiyan, that hit Philippines on November 7, 2013.   Thousands were left homeless, injured, and many lost their lives and families.  You can read more about the updated news here on CNN.

My Blogger friend, Tina, from Pinay Cooking Corner is hosting an online bake sale to raise funding to aid the victims from the Haiyan typhoon.  Please click here to read the details about the bake sale and how you can help. 





To show my support for Tina's effort, I’ll also be donating 2 dozens of Mocha Hazelnut Biscotti for the bake sale  (see picture below).



I hope you can lend a helping hand too!  You don’t have to be a blogger to contribute.  You can simply donate your favorite baked goods, bid on an item (or two), or, simply help spread the news about the bake sale.  That would be tremendous help!   Please note that the pledges for baked goods will be accepted on Tina's blog until Nov. 22nd and the bake sale will be held on Nov. 25th, 2013.  So, please sign up as soon as possible!

This Thanksgiving, I have many many things that I’m thankful for.  But most importantly, I’m thankful that I’m fortunate enough that I have the ability to help out for those who are less fortunate and those who are in need.  I hope you’ll join force for this great cause.  Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and a Giveaway

Do good things come in small packages?  Oh yeah.  I couldn’t agree more.  Although I’m short, but no, I’m not talking about myself.  As I was searching for more cookie ideas to bake for this holiday season, I was munching on these Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies that I’ve just made.  They are tiny one-bite cookies that are packed with wonderful flavors with different texture in each layer.  But honestly, I can’t quite focus on searching for other cookies while indulging these Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies as the same time.  With a glass of milk, I wanted to take a nap instead of doing my “research”!  What a tough job that I have here.



Recently, I’ve received the OXO Mini Measuring Beaker Set and the Good Cookie Spatula (see pictures below) from the nice people at OXO.  They are nice not just because they sent me these awesome products to try out; but they are folks who also care about others who are in need.  Have you heard of the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer?  It’s a non-profit organization that focuses on helping kids with cancer to get the funding for better treatments.  Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was founded by OXOnians (OXO employees).  OXO encourages bloggers, bakers, and the like to participate in the Bake a Difference project.  For every donation or bake sale registered at www.cookiesforkidscancer.org that mentions OXO, they will match the funds up to $100,000! For more information, here’s the Cookie for Kids’ Cancer website.



So, what are you waiting for?  Spread the words and host a bake sale.  I think it’s a nice gesture to give back a little this Holiday season. 



I’ve always been a big fan for OXO’s products and designs.  This Mini Measuring Beaker Set didn’t disappoint me at all!  It’s so easy to measure small amount of ingredients, and I won’t spill them all over the place any more (especially when the mixer running, with one hand trying to pour the ingredient into the running machine, and the other hand holding the heavy camera trying to take a picture at the same time!)  You know this is how I roll when taking my pictorial pictures.  See, I’ve told you I have a tough job.   



The picture below shows the marshmallow already piped onto the cookies before dipping into the chocolate.  The marshmallow “kisses” are soft, light, and fluffy; sitting on top of the crunchy and crumbly cookies. hm…..    



After the mallow-topped cookies are dipped into the semi-sweet melted chocolate, they became perfect.  Perfectly addictive.  The semi-sweet chocolate coating gives these cookies a wonderful chocolaty flavor and a slight crunch when bite into them. 



What’s even better than these Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies?  How about a Giveaway?  Sounds great?  Here are the details of the giveaway. 

One uTry.it reader (with an U.S. mailing address, no P.O Box please) will win an OXO Mini Measuring Beaker Set and the Good Cookie Spatula, courtesy of OXO.  (I’ve told you they are nice people ) 

This Giveaway is now closed.  Winner will be announced shortly.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post to let me know what is your favorite Holiday cookie to make?  Dead line to enter is December 18, 2012 by mid-night PST.  Winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email and announced shortly after the giveaway is closed.  So, please make sure to include a valid email address so I can contact you if you won.   


Want extra chances to win?  Simply do any, or all, of the following (optional).  Just leave a separate comment of each action that you do.
1) Add uTry.it to your Google+ circle.  (See sidebar to the right)
2) “Like” uTry.it’s Facebook page.  Here’s the link.
3) “Like” OXO’s Facebook page.  Here’s the link.
4) Follow uTry.it on Twitter.  Here’s the link.
5) Follow OXO on Twitter.  Here’s the link.
6) Follow uTry.it on Pinterest.  Here’s the link.
7) Subscribe via email or RSS feed. (See sidebar to the right)

Good luck everyone and have fun baking!





Disclaimer:  I received an OXO Mini Measuring Beaker Set and a Good Cookie Spatula free of charge and I was not compensated in any other way.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review, or a review at all.  All opinions are my own.

Virtual Bake Sale Update

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated, placed a bid, and/or helped spread the words on the Virtual Bake Sale that benefits the Japan Earthquake victims.  We raised a total of $8269 in just one day, for all the baked goods sold in the auction.  So, thank you everyone!  For the rest of the details about the bake sale, please visit The Tomato Tart’s blog. 



On Monday, I shipped out two dozens of these Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies to the action winner.  The cookies should arrive today, I hope they stay intact in this lovely cookie tin.


This is such a beautiful cookie tin, just perfect for two dozens cookies.  Baked with love, from my kitchen to yours.  I packed some heart shape printed napkins on top of the cookies inside the tin so the cookies won’t move around during shipping.  Plus, the recipients can have some napkins to use while enjoying the cookies. 



I hope the winner and her family would enjoy these cookies as much as my family does. Thank you again!

Friendly Reminders

Just a quick note to remind you that the deadline to submit your entry to the Culinary Smackdown Battle—Cookie is 3/29/2011.  You still have 1 day left to submit your recipe if you haven’t done so.  The winner will be announced on 3/31/2011.  So, don’t forget to hop back here to check out the winner announcement.  The prizes for this contest are:

1) Giada De Larentiis Embroidered Apron – a $15 value



2) Home brand Potholder – a $5 value




Another reminder is the Virtual Bake Sale to benefit the Japan earthquake victims.  The auction for the bake sale will be held at The Tomato Tart’s Blog on 3/30/2011.  Please visit her blog to check out all the goodies available for the bake sale.




Thank you for stopping by today and have a wonderful week ahead.