Suddenly people from all corners of the home come out of hiding and follow their noses to the source of their mutual adoration. Like hounds who've caught the trail of prey, noses to the ground, tails wagging.

In the course of the next few days, hours, or in some cases minutes, the cookies are greedily devoured. No crumb is safe, no chocolate chip left behind. Gradually the batch is thinned out, the plumpest cookies picked off one by one like lambs to the slaughter. What was once twelve becomes eight, then six, then four and finally one. One lonely cookie sits in what now seems like an immense jar. Once stuffed with its brothers and sisters, the jar is now empty save one survivor.

Days pass and there it remains. The relief of being spared the all too recent massacre wears off and he's left wondering why he wasn't chosen. Was he too small? Was he over-baked? Was he lacking in chocolate or cranberries? No, this isn't fourth grade kickball.

No one wants the last cookie because no one can bear to put an end to the deliciousness. No one wants to be the one responsible for depriving the others of all that sugar and love. Once the last cookie is reduced to crumbs you know it will never fill that void inside when you crave another and realize that's it.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Source: My imagination.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 eggs
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cup oats
3/4 cup cranberries
3/4 cup white chocolate chips










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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the edge of the knife. Add the vanilla seeds and eggs then mix until they're just barely blended.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then combine it into the butter mixture. Lastly fold in the oats, cranberries and chocolate chips until you have a thick luscious dough.

For each cookie, scoop a heaping tbsp of dough and roll it into a ball. Bake them for about 10 minutes until they turn a light golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

There are way too many different kinds of flour out there. All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, almond flour, bread flour, rice flour, self-rising flour, semolina flour, buckwheat flour, and, of course, cake flour.

Cake flour is just a bleached soft wheat flour with a high starch content and low protein. It is best suited for delicate baked goods like cakes and pastries because it creates a light fluffy texture and tender crumb.

When you're down to the crunch on your daughter's birthday cake, don't panic when you read cake flour in the ingredients. Before you rush out to the store for yet another bag of flour to cram in your pantry, here's a quick and easy substitute.

All you'll need is...

Bleached all purpose flour
Corn starch.

To make 1 cup of cake flour measure 2 tbsp of corn starch into a 1 cup measuring cup. Level it off the rest of the way with the bleached all purpose flour. Just make sure to whisk it thoroughly before adding it to the wet ingredients. Keep it on hand for when the occasion calls for it or make it as needed.

Aaaand done.

Crisis averted. Wasn't that easy?

Despite my tainted past with tea, over the years I have acquired a handsome collection of tea related things. Tea towels, tea cups, saucers, tea spoons, cream and sugar sets, cute napkins. It got me thinking, maybe I like tea after all.

I was going to give tea another chance. Maybe we could get reacquainted and become fast friends. I'm sure we just got off on the wrong foot. Perhaps it was high time for some high tea.

I had it in my head I was going to throw tea parties with all my civilized tiny hat wearing buddies. We were going to sit in my dining room all prim and proper with our ankles delicately crossed. We were going to sip fancy earl grey and chamomile out of dainty pink cups with our pinkies out. We were going to gossip and giggle and nibble on petit fours.

I mean what better place to show off my Royal Wedding worthy feather fascinator right?

Alas it was not meant to be. Tea and I just don't get along. I made the face again. It wasn't pretty.

There is one part of tea time I think we can all agree is the very best part. The treats. The tiny individual cakes, the gooey squares, the cute cookies, the powdery truffles, the glazed tarts. Because if you take away the tea isn't a tea party just a swanky buffet?

And none of that roast beef and shrimp crap. The good stuff. The end of the buffet we all save ourselves for. Let's all just admit it. You might have stuffed yourself with more than your money's worth, but you just can't refuse that spread of sugary bliss on top of everything. Even if it means that you don't feel physically capable of eating another bite for at least another week.

Here's my contribution to tea time. The best part. The star. The crowd pleaser. The treat. Cardamom Clementine Cookies. They're light and airy with the floral scent of cardamom and the subtle brightness of citrus. I'm guessing they'd go well with a steaming cup of chai tea, but I'm certainly no expert. You'll have to let me know!

Cardamom Clementine Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Source: My imagination.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp clementine zest
1 tbsp clementine juice
2 eggs
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar









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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the clementine zest, juice and eggs then mix until they're just blended.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Add it to the butter mixture and combine it well.

Separate the dough into 2 even balls and wrap one in plastic wrap to save it from drying out before you need it. On a floured surface, roll out the unwrapped dough ball. Using a medium round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Dip the flat bottom of a glass in the reserved sugar then very lightly press the sugar into each cookie. A little tip to get the sugar to stick to the glass, first press the glass into the unused cookie dough. Bake them for about 7 - 10 minutes until the edges start to turn a light golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Have you missed me? I've sure missed you! I hope that you all enjoyed your holidays. I am happy to report that I have thoroughly enjoyed mine. It was filled with turkey, hugs, warm pie, smiles, presents, twinkle lights, shopping bags and even a few epiphanies.

Remember when I said that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up? Well now I do! I realized that I've always known, but I tried to convince myself otherwise. I thought about it in depth these last couple of months and I have decided that, without a shadow of a doubt, I want to be a writer.

This scary sort of clarity washed over me the instant I made up my mind. There's nothing more frightening than knowing exactly what you want in life and not being able to achieve it. This fear was accompanied by another feeling. Determination. The only way to be certain of failure is to avoid trying altogether. I'm going to try. When it comes to dreams you have to try your best.

I used to lock myself in my bedroom when I was an angst-filled teenager and scribble in stacks of spiral ringed notebooks. I pulled story after story, character after character out of my imagination and brought them to life on the page. I was certain then that I wanted to be a writer, but somewhere along the road I'd forgotten.

Where does Hot Polka Dot fit into all that? Well you see, there's more to me than just flowery words, metaphors and similes. There's also a lot of demerara sugar, sewing needles, light metres, paint brushes, and needle-nose pliers rattling around in my brain. I've realized that Hot Polka Dot is about exploring all the facets to myself. It's about self-expression and self-growth.

Just the fact that you all find it enjoyable and come back for more is so very flattering. I am so thankful for all your support and all the wonderful friends I've made here.

On that note I have a super cute post over on my new favourite blog, Fiesta Résistance. I show you how easy it is to make your own napkins with mitered corners like that adorable pink one up there. Perfect for adding some texture to your food photography, jazzing up your dinner table or giving as a thoughtful and creative housewarming gift. Check it out!

I have so much passion and so many interests that it gets spread a little thin. I love baking, cooking, writing, photography, jewelry making, sewing and crafting to name a few. The problem is that I don't know how to prioritize that list. I don't know what I love most and, ultimately, what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.

I have appreciated all your comments and support thus far, but I feel as though I am maintaining this blog for others and not for myself. I am a firm believer that it's important to do what makes you happy in life. I have made too many wrong turns to give up on that now. I just need some time to decide exactly what it is that makes me happy.

I feel as though I use the blog as a shield to protect me from following my dreams and consequently failing or even succeeding. I stay distracted and busy myself with cookies and buttercream so I don't have to face the fact that I'm floundering. I am a huge procrastinator and I don't want to resent the blog for keeping me from what I really want.

Life can be scary. I am exactly where I want to be physically, emotionally and romantically, but not professionally. I need to find balance.

When I come back there will be some big changes with Hot Polka Dot. I have some avenues I need to explore and some experiments to make. I don't want you to worry. It's all very exciting! I expect some of you won't stick around to find out, but I hope that most of you will be patient and wait to see what comes next.

Thank you all for your understanding and support! I look forward to talking with you again after the break!

Mind over matter. Power of suggestion. The force.

Whatever you want to call it, that's what I've been wrestling with for the past week. Everyone around me is aching and couching and sneezing. The odds are kind of stacked against me here. I'd have to be some sort of guru of meditation with a fistful of mental placebos to resist all that.

I'm not. I'm not made of midi-chlorians. I'm made of squishy flesh and achy bones.

However. If I were a Jedi I wouldn't bother with curbing the common cold or not looking silly when I sneeze. I'd have way more fun. I would wave my hand casually yet deliberately and tell you how much you need this Maple Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Bread. Struck by a sudden delicious idea, you would calmly rise from your seat, gather the ingredients and make yourself one awesome snack. You'd slice off piece by piece savouring the full flavour of pumpkin, the punch of spices and the sweet, buttery crunch of the streusel topping until it was all gone. At which point you would feel the need to bake yourself another and another and another... Do or do not. There is no try.

Hey... Maybe I am a Jedi!

Maple Pecan Streusel Pumpkin Bread

Source: My imagination.

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/4 cup pecans, chopped







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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Butter a 9 inch loaf pan then fit a piece of parchment paper inside the pan with a little overhang to grasp easily. Set it aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, maple syrup, egg and oil. Add the dry ingredients and blend until it's just combined.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and pumpkin pie spice then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles pea sized chunks. Toss it with the chopped pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

Bake it for 30 – 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for about 5 – 10 minutes before lifting it out using the parchment paper overhang to cool completely on a rack. Slice and enjoy!

When I saw some photos of cookies like these floating around on Pinterest I knew I had to try them out with my amazing whipped shortbread recipe. For those of you that have never had whipped shortbread, first of all you must know that I pity you, and second of all you should know that it's like the cookie equivalent of cotton candy. Have you ever honestly had a melt-in-your-mouth cookie? Well you're about to, my friends. No more doorstop shortbread for you! Or chewing come to think of it.

So, getting back to my love of candy corn... These adorable cookies are not only shaped like my favourite candy, but actually have the audacity to perch themselves on sticks thus increasing their cuteness threefold. Everyone knows food is cuter on sticks right?

Ok, let's review.

Candy corn = yum.
Whipped shortbread = life changing.
Sticks = cute.

Now that we know there's a method to my madness, why not bake up some yummy-life-changing-cute-on-a-stick? You know you want to.

Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Source: Adapted from my family recipe.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cup flour
Orange food colouring
Yellow food colouring

Lollipop sticks










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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter, powdered sugar and corn starch until there are no lumps. Mix in the vanilla extract, add the flour and whip it on high until it's creamy and fluffy. You can't really over-whip it so don't worry.

Divide the dough into thirds. Add a few drops of the yellow food colouring to one and the orange to the second. Mix each until there are no streaks and the colour is consistent. Wrap each third in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for about 30 minutes to stiffen the dough.

Between sheets of wax paper roll out or pat by hand each third into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Peel the wax paper off and stack the rolled dough on top of each other starting with white, then orange then yellow. With a sharp knife cut a 1/4 inch strip off the laminated dough and set it on it's side so the stripes are facing up. Slice triangles out of the dough and place them on the parchment paper. To bake the cookies on sticks, carefully slide the lollipop stick horizontally into the point of each triangle without piercing either side of the dough. Bake them for about 10 – 12 minutes then transfer them to a cookie rack. Enjoy!

PS: Make sure not to discard the ugly edges of the dough because they can be made into pretty marbled cookies like these! Just briefly roll the bits into balls and press them into discs before baking.

This weekend our house will be invaded by a handful of twelve year old girls hopped on on handfuls of sugar. Sugar that I will be providing in abundance. Sugar that I will be encouraging the consumption of. Sugar laid out in pretty packaging on pretty platters and in pretty bowls.

Let's not forget this was all my idea. I claim full responsibility for any resulting cavities, scraped knees, overturned soda bottles, pumpkin carving injuries and popped eardrums.

I'm the sort of person that has the tendency to get a little carried away. Being creatively inclined I am all too familiar with the frustrating feeling that comes from imagination not matching up with reality. I have to remember I have a big imagination. This time I wanted to get it right. This time I wanted to throw an awesome party for Sable. This time I wanted her friends to talk about it for years to come.

So yeah, we pulled out all the stops. Fog machine, strobe light, spooky sounds CD, bubbling cauldron, dessert table, pumpkin carving, talking crows, ghost stories... The works!

And, of course, I couldn't forget the classic Witch Finger Cookies. I'm sure you've seen them before. It's nothing new, but I make them every year and I thought it was time to share them with you. Mine are a bit different. A little less blood and gore and more delicious almond flavour.

Just a little something to make the perfect Halloween party even better!

Almond Witch Finger Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Source: Adapted from my family recipe.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp almond extract
3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Blanched almonds for garnish

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper then set them aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add the egg, corn syrup and almond extract then beat it until it's combined well.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour and salt then add it to the butter mixture and mix it well.

Scoop a heaping tbsp of dough for each cookie and roll them into cylinders. Create knuckle shapes by rolling the cylinder lightly between two fingers then use a knife to make wrinkles on the knuckles. Taper one end slightly and lightly press an almond into it to form the fingernail.

Bake them for 10 minutes until the edges turn a light brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

You ever had one of those days?

Maybe you put your underwear on inside out. Maybe you just couldn't wait for the dryer to be done and you had to rush out of the house wearing a half damp sweater. Maybe it rained all day and the humidity made your hair interminably frizzy. Maybe you stepped in a puddle and ruined your new suede shoes. Maybe you thought your favourite show was on at 9 but really it was on at 8 and you missed it. Then maybe at the end of it all, when you just want to curl up in bed and sleep away the bad, you realize you left the sheets in the washer.

There there. Tomorrow will be different.

Maybe tomorrow you'll make these deliciously easy, fantastically tasty Sugar and Spice Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. Maybe the world will suddenly be a different place. Maybe the house will smell like pie. Maybe the rain will clear and your shoes will dry. Maybe you'll catch a repeat of that episode you missed. Maybe you'll have something to idly munch on between your clean sheets and your favourite book. Life is good again.

I say maybe because I'm not going to presume to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. It's your life. It's up to you of course. If you want frizzy hair, damp clothes and puddle shoes then far be it from me to tell you otherwise. On the other hand, if you like rainbows, pie smells and snacks in bed, then yes, yes you should make these. And quickly. Before it's too late!

Sugar And Spice Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Source: My imagination.

2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice













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Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Toss the pumpkin seeds in the melted butter, sugar and pumpkin pie spice until they're coated thoroughly. Spread them out in an even layer and toast them for about 45 minutes turning them a few times in the process. You'll know they're done when they're golden brown and crunchy. Enjoy!

I have been told that Pumpkin Pie baked with real pumpkin puree is far superior to the canned pumpkin puree. Since I'm pretty new to the whole Pumpkin Pie experience I thought I'd test that theory. Making pumpkin puree was pretty easy so I thought it was worth sharing with everyone.

First you have to get yourself a sugar or pie pumpkin. They're the smaller ones anywhere between the size of a five pin bowling ball to a ten pin bowling ball. They're usually darker than a jack-o-lantern pumpkin with more pronounced ridges and a straighter stem.

You might think that you can just buy a smaller jack-o-lantern pumpkin and bake it up just fine. True, you could, but you'd get the best results with a pie pumpkin. Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are grown for their thin flesh and stringy insides to make them easier to carve. Pie pumpkins are grown for their thick flesh and taste for best results in baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Snap off the stem and, with a large sharp knife, slice it in half vertically. With a spoon scoop out the insides of each half to expose the hard dense flesh. Lay the halves on the baking sheet so the outer skin is facing up and bake them for about 45 – 60 minutes depending on the size of your pumpkin.

You'll know they're done when you can pierce the skin with a fork without much resistance. Flip them over to expose the flesh and let them cool to a temperature that makes them comfortable to handle.

With a spoon scoop out the flesh and discard the tough skin. In a food processor blend the pumpkin flesh until it's a smooth consistency free of any lumps. To remove any excess water strain the puree in cheesecloth for a few hours. You'll be left with rich thick pumpkin puree worthy of any recipe you want to add it to. There you go! Easy as... ahem... pie!

And make sure not to throw away all those glorious pumpkin seeds! I'll show you what you can do with them soon.