Superstitions and the best cookies I ever made. Seriously.

Hello!

Happy Friday!

source

You know, I didn’t even realize until yesterday that today was Friday the 13th.

It’s a good thing I’m not superstitious!

Hell, I’ve even owned a black cat before!

Yeah, Midnight’s totally hanging out in my old doll house. Catzilla!

I ain’t skeered.

Actually, 13 is kind of my lucky number.

Weird, right?

Well, when I was a kid, I played softball for many years in a community league.

My dad coached, my mom was team mom, my sister also played.

I played outfield and 2nd base.

The year I wore #13, I hit 5 home runs.

Like, out of the park home runs.

Like, I made it home before they made it to the ball home runs.

Yeah.

It was pretty awesome.

And then next year, I had a different number and no home runs. 😦

Do you know what I just realized? (I mean, besides the fact that it’s Friday the 13th)

My marathon counter shows 30 days until the marathon.

30 DAYS!!!!!

I really feel like I should go for a run!

Except today’s a rest day.

I’ve got 16 miles on the books for tomorrow.

Um.

And it’s supposed to rain.

Um.

Did I mention it’s cold?

*sigh*

We’ll see how that goes. I absolutely CANNOT miss any long runs from this point forward.

OH! And, I’m officially running Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in May with Carla!

Whoop!

I sure do love running with her. 🙂

So, getting broken in Mississippi is not an option. NOT.

I made the most amazing cookies on Wednesday!

Yesterday, I was dealing with getting my car fixed otherwise I would have told you about them then.

But, they’re totally worth the wait!

I’d LOVE to take credit for the recipe but, alas, someone else is the genius.

Story of my life.

Michelle at the Brown Eyed Baker is the genius.

I mean, really.

Peanut butter.

Oatmeal.

Chocolate Chips.

All in ONE amazing cookie.

You have to make them.

You MUST make them.

You must try not to eat them all in one day.

Question: What Christmas traditions does your family have?

We go out for “breakfast for dinner” on Christmas eve. New town, new place – hopefully, we find one! Gotta keep our tradition alive!

– jennifer

Hip, Hip Hooray! It’s National Chocolate Chip Day!

Today is all about the chip – the chocolate chip. 🙂 Now, that’s a day to celebrate for sure! Chocolate chips are, most certainly, a very important part of many a baked good and even sone non-baked items like chilis.

Chocolate chips are also an integral part of growing up. How many times do you remember watching your (*insert family member here) make cookies or even offering to help just so you could help lick the bowl? Licking chocolate chip cookie dough straight from the spoon while smelling freshly baking cookies was like heaven to me! Seriously, it didn’t get any better than that!

Here’s a little chocolate chip trivia for you. Do you know the who, what, where, when and why of Tollhouse cookies? Well, in the 1930s, an incredibly smart woman named Ruth Graves Wakefield was making cookies for her guests at her Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. She ran out of baker’s chocolate and decided to use some semi-sweet chips instead. And the legendary cookie was born! Did you know that 25% off all cookies baked in the U.S. are chocolate chip?  (Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that number were higher – chocolate chip cookies rule.)
   *information from punchbowl.com

Cookies!

This recipe comes from the Cook This, Not That cookbooks. Know what that means? It’s lighter and lower in fat than regular chocolate chip cookies! Win!

This recipe only makes about a dozen cookies but they are large and chock full of dark chocolately goodness. If you want to mix it up, you could certainly sub in milk or white chocolate chips or even peanut butter chips. Or both! Feel free to throw in a handful of walnuts or pecans and boost the heart-healthy fats. Another win! Can’t you just smell them? You know you want one. 🙂

What’s your favorite baking memory from when you were a kid?
What’s your favorite cookie?

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 12 cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy. Stir in eggs and vanilla until well incorporated. Add the baking soda, salt, and flour and mix until the dough comes together, being careful not to overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop the dough onto a baking sheet in balls about 3 tablespoons in size, leaving at least 3 inches between cookies.

4. Bake until the edges are golden and the middles are just barely set. Remove from the sheet, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt (if using) and cool on a wire rack.

Per cookie:
190 calories, 8g fat (5g saturated), 16g sugars

– jennifer

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cookies

So, it’s a rainy holiday Monday and, since I’m stuck inside, what better way to pass the time than by making some cookies?! Thankfully, it was lovely this morning and I was able to get my run in before the cold and rain started. We’ve got a cold front pushing this way and we’re supposed to have a 30 degree difference between temperatures last night and tonight. Phew! I better make sure we’re loaded up on Vitamin C because that’s a cold-inducing temperature change! Of course, we need something sinfully delicious to snack on while those cold breezes blow outside and it seemed the perfect day to make a recipe I recently found on one of my favorite blogs – Sweetpea’s Kitchen.  Reese’s peanut butter cups chopped up and baked in a chocolate chocolate chip brownie cookie?  Are you kidding me?!  It’s no wonder I couldn’t make it past a week without making some!  Seriously, my husband tried one and immediately decided that we (being me and Things 1 and 2) should not eat any and that he would do his duty as man of the house and eat them all up for us.  He also said they tasted like “love and biscuits.”   Ha!  Now, that’s a rave review if I ever heard one. 😀

Now, you may have noticed the words “brownie” and “cookie” in the title.  Yep.  I’ve turned a brownie into a cookie.  It’s quite possibly the most amazing thing ever.  The result is a dense, decadent brownie-like cookie chock full of chocolate and peanut buttery goodness.  Wait,  you haven’t started making these yet?  Seriously, you MUST. MAKE. THESE!  NOW!  Don’t forget to pour yourself a glass of milk. 🙂

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels, divided

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cups Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter, 1 1/2 cups semisweet chips and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly; set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until combined.  Add flour mixture; beating well.  Add chocolate mixture and beat until combined.  Stir in remaining 1/2 cups semisweet chips and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

3. Drop dough by 2 tablespoonfuls, spacing 2 inches apart, onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are dry and the centers appear cracked, about 9-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through cooking.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes.  Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.