Very Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my all-time favorite recipe for cookies. I don't even care that it is made with whole grains. It is that yummy. My family agrees. I like that you don't have to bring the butter to room temperature - it makes the whole thing go faster and allows me to make cookies spontaneously. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Good to the Grain

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry Mix:
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Wet Mix:
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 c dark brown sugar
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (especially if using big chunks of chocolate). Can butter the sheets instead.
2. Sift dry ingredients together.
3. Mix together butter and sugars in stand mixer, just until butter and sugars are blended. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add the four mixture on low until barely combined. Add the chocolate all at once (I add some chopped nuts too at this point).
4. Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons onto baking sheet about 3 inches apart (6 to a sheet).
5. Bake cookies for 16-20 minutes, rotating half way through, until they are evenly browned. Transfer cookies on parchment to cool on the counter. Cook the rest of the cookies.

And did you see that Amy posted her cheat sheet for her favorite recipes? She posts them on her fridge so she doesn't have to look them up each time. I think that is brilliant! And I've made a bunch of these and they are yummy. For real. Go make the chocolate cake right now. You will not be disappointed.

Disappointed

I am a big John Mayer fan. I think he is so talented and have enjoyed following his career. But when I saw his latest interview with Playboy, I was really disappointed. I mean, really? My heart sunk on so many levels. Thinking about all the kids that idolize him, about the grip that porn has on his life, and how sad things are generally for youngin's trying to hook up. This article in NY Magazine communicates how I feel about this issue eloquently.

Spring is here

I am loving the longer days and the sun shining through the trees in the evenings. Kids playing outside and happy. It makes me so thankful to live where we are. We had a great Easter weekend - Sabrina had a birthday and we got to hang out with both sides of the family.

This is the digital scrapbook page I pulled together to remember Easter. My first digital spread all by myself! I used an Ali Edwards template to help make it easier and I'm hoping it'll go faster next time.

Now I need to work out a new process and work flow for processing my pictures. I would like to be able to import the pictures, review them and mark my favorites and tag them, then edit the pictures I like if they need it, and then share them with my friends and family or print them at Costco.  There has to be a more efficient way to do that. I like how iPhoto organizes the photos, but don't like how they make another copy. I think I'll download Picassa to organize and tag the photos, Photoshop to edit the pictures, and then pull them into iPhoto to facilitate sharing.

Make something cool: Felt toolbox

I love felt. And this project is adorable!  Tutorial is here.