My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Chocolate chip cookes are like the best thing ever! Now I know I say that about all of my cookie recipes. But nothing beats good old fashioned chocolate cookies. Now the perfect kind of cookie for me is that thin crunchy cookie on the outside, but that chewy texture on the inside.

Perfect kind of cookie

If you like thin cookies then what you want to do is belt your butter completly before you mix it in with the sugar. If you like huge thick fluffy cookies then you want your butter just softened. And if you want medium sized cookies then melt your butter for thirty seconds. These cookies are so easy that they are really hard to mess up. And that sounds like a good recipe to me, right?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook: 11 minutes Total Time: 26 Minute

Makes about 40 cookies

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
  1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until blended.
  4. Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture to the bowl. Mix on medium just until the flour is mixed in, then turn the mixer to high speed for a few seconds to pull the dough together; it will be chunky.
  5. Add the chocolate chips and beat on high for about 5 seconds to thoroughly and quickly mix in the chips.
  6. Drop by large spoonfuls on the lined baking sheet; don’t flatten them. Bake until lightly browned on top, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on the pan on a rack for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  7. Store the cookies in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Adapted From Joanna Gaines

I would love to know your favorite kind of cookie in the comments below!

The All Of A Kind Family Series:Book Review

Here is another all time favorite book series. It is called, “All Of A Kind Family.” You may or may not have heard about this series before,but let me just tell you these are one of my favorite books. These books are meant for Middle Grade readers. I found out aboout this series through, ” The Read Aloud Revival Podcast. I absloutly love them! There are five books in the series.

What are these books about?

These books are about five girls named, Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charolatte, and Gertie. Oh and their little brother Charlie. There books about their lives growing up. And they are just very good, and entertaining. They are a jewish family, and they talk about the jewish traditaions, and jewish holidays.

Are these books funny?

Yes, they have some very funny parts in all of the books.

Did these books make me cry?

No. This kind of book is more funny, and sweet. Then a very sentimental book.

Would I read these books again?

Yes, I would read them again, and again.

Would I recommend these books to friends?

Yes!

Ella Of All-Of-A-Kind Family


My rating:

Four out of five.

Dairy Free Sugar Cookies

I have a neice who is alergic to dairy and penuts. It is so hard for me to find dairy free/penut free cookies for me to make for her. So when I found this great recipe online I new I had to share it.

I made these great cookies with my neices and younger brother this week. They had such a fun time helping me cut the dough into heart shapes, and sprinkle the homemade sprinkles on them. These cookies taste so good, and are so pretty as well. They are so easy to make, and they also take no time at all to whip up. They are just regular, great sugar cookies.

When I first made these I thought that I would taste the coconut it it. But suprisnly you don’t even taste it. I just love that there is just a little hint of almond in it, and just enough sugar. I actully used frosting from a can. We got it from aldi’s and I just like to use it when I am not in the mood to have to make homemade frosting. I also like that there is know dairy in it. If you want to make a homemade frosting or don’t have a canned one on hand. Then you can must likely look up a recipe online. Now about my sprinkles…I didin’t have any sprinkles on hand when I made these so I took granulated sugar and food coloring and diyed my sugar. it worked perfect. But you are deffently welcome to use regular sprinkles as well.

Dairy-Free Sugar Cookies

Yields 14 Cookies

An easy dairy-free sugar cookie, perfect for cut outs. Does not spread!

Ingredients

  1. 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  2. 3/8 tsp baking powder
  3. 1/4 tsp salt
  4. 1/4 tsp almond extract
  5. 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
  6. 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened not melted
  7. 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use non stick baking sheet.
  3. In a mixer bowl, cream together the coconut oil and sugar. The coconut oil should have similar texture to softened butter (see photo below).
  4. Once a smooth texture, add in the extract and egg. Mix until combined.
  5. In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
  6. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until everything is incorporated.
  7. Divide this into two sections, wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  8. Dust a rolling pin with powdered sugar (or use wax paper on top), roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.
  9. Mixture may seem a little dry compared to traditional, but just keep rolling it will bind and smooth together.
  10. Cut out into desired shapes, add to your baking pan. Pop in the refrigerator for about 10 additional minutes.
  11. Bake for 8-10 minutes until sides are very lightly golden brown. Middle should still be soft.
  12. Slowly using a spatula, work the cookie off the sheet and place on wire rack.
  13. Cool for at least 1 hour before icing.

I hope you enyjoy these cookies! If you tried making these I would love to see pictures in the comments below!

This recipe was adapted from Chemistry Cachet

Best Brownies Ever (Dairy Free Too)

I don’t know about you, but I love a good old brownie. My favorite kind of brownies are the fudgy, melt in your mouth kind. With that perfect texture, and chocolate goodness . Not to mention that impeccable sweet taste. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is! These brownies taste like they came right from the box. Not to mention they are dairy free as well. These are incredibly easy to make.

Once you make these brownies once, you will want to make them again, and again. If you want to get these brownies the first try then here are a few tips to help you. 1. You want to make sure you mix the eggs first before you mix them with the rest of the ingredients. 2. You want to make sure you use the correct size pan because otherwise they will be to thin, or to thick. Trust me I have tryed using different size pans before and it does not work. 3. Make sure a knife comes out clean in the middle before you take them out of the pan.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes Yeilds: 16 Total Time:50 Minutes

DESCRIPTION

Fudgy Brownies that are also dairy free.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1/2 cup of dairy free chocolate chips*

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 360 F. Line an 8 inch square baking tin with baking or parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add olive oil, vanilla and sugars and mix briefly.
  3. In a separate bowl, add eggs and whisk with a fork for approximately 30 seconds or until combined.
  4. Add eggs to sugar mixture, along with cocoa powder, flour and chocolate chips. Gently mix with a spoon or spatula to combine. Pour into prepared tin.
  5. Bake for approximately 28-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly before removing from pan. They will firm up as they cool. Serve with ice cream or cream.

Adapted from Sweetest Menu

Book Review: The Green Ember Series

“You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you’ve lost a friend.” -Paul Sweeney

Here is another must read book for young middle grade readers. This series is another one of my favorites. As you know I love reading, reading is my life. I have read “The Green Ember Series” at least four times in the last two years. I can’t beileve how good they are, when I got them two years I was a little hesitant to read them. Just because I was stuck in a a series for a really long time then, and I could not stop re-reading it. But when I started reading these books I could not put them down, they where just that good. I have met many children who have read these books and loved them.

This Series are about two bunnies named Heather, and Picket. It’s a story about them having to “Bare The Flame,” and having to fight the birds of pray. It may sound that these books are for boys only, but girls would love these books just as much. The books have lots of action in it for boys, but there’s also love, and family in these books as well. They are perfect books for any kid. I would recomend middle aged readers and up. I have a description for each book below.

The Green Ember description:

” Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.

Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.

Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand? “

Ember Falls description:

“The stage is set. It’s war. Morbin Blackhawk, slaver and tyrant, threatens to destroy the rabbit resistance forever. Heather and Picket are two young rabbits improbably thrust into pivotal roles.

The fragile alliance forged around the young heir seems certain to fail. Can Heather and Picket help rescue the cause from a certain, sudden defeat? “

My Place Beside You 

My Blood For Yours 

Till The Green… Ember Falls

Ember Rises Description:
“A harrowing adventure inside enemy territory. Heather and Picket are plunged into the darkness of Morbin’s shadow, fighting to bear the flame of the cause and light the way for rabbitkind’s upright insurrection. “

I really hope you enyjoyed this book review, I hope you check these books out! Thanks for stopping by!

Best Lemon Macaron Recipe

I am in love with macarons. Just that sweet lemon buttercream frosting, and that airy lemon shell, awwww so good! I was a little nervous making these at first just because they are so delicate to make. It actually took me three tries to make these bad boys. Don’t be discouraged by me saying that, they are totally worth it. Practice makes perfect, right? I just can’t believe how good these are. My whole family tried them and are in love with them. The best part is that the shells are dairy free! I have a four year old niece who is allergic to dairy and so when she knew she could have the shells, she was so happy! They taste just as good without the buttercream frosting. P.S. If you can have dairy then go with the filling as well.

What is a macaron? “A macaron is a small round cake with a meringue-like consistency, made with egg whites, sugar, and powdered almonds and consisting of two halves sandwiching a creamy filling.” Why are these so hard to make? Because they are tiny cookies and they are very delicate. They are hard to make, that’s why it took me three tries to get them just right. They also take along time to make them. You are probably thinking that these are too tough to make. Do not worry, with a little practice and patience, you too can whip up a batch of these cookies!

A few tips: It is so important that when whipping up a batch of these that the weather is on your side. Now you may be thinking that’s crazy talk, but it’s true. You really need to to make sure that it is not hot outside, or raining. It totally makes a difference. Another thing is to make sure that your egg whites are at room temperature. Make sure you let your shells sit for at least half an hour. Your batter needs to be thick, but runny, think lava-like consistency. If you over mix them your cookies won’t turn out, and spread too much. If you under mix then it will be too thick.

Lemon Macarons

Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 15 Minutes Yeilds: 15

ngredients

  • 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 3/4 Cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 2 Large Egg Whites room temperature
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 6 drops yellow food colouring

For the Filling

  • 3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Butter Softened
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, make sure you have no extra on the sides. Set aside.
  2. Mix together the almond flour, powdered sugar and zest in a medium bowl. Whisk together until smooth and set aside.
  3. With a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites in a large metal bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and food colouring and whisk until well incorporated, being careful not to over-whisk.
  4. Fold in the almond mixture with a flexible spatula, one spoonful at a time by repeatedly scraping around the bowl and moving towards the middle. Be careful not to overmix. The batter is just right when it runs off your spatula slowly but consistently. If it gets as thin as pancake batter you have mixed it way too much.
  5. Transfer the batter to your piping bag, and holding the bag vertically, pipe the batter into little circles about 1.5 inches wide.
  6. Rest your macaron shells, uncovered, in a dry, cool place for 20-40 minutes. The batter will become dull as the shells form a “skin”. Do not skip this step.
  7. Heat your oven to 275 degrees F*. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until the shells have formed “feet” and the tops have set. Allow to cool on sheet for 15-20 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. For the filling, cream the butter then whisk in the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract until smooth.
  9. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe frosting onto the flat side of one of the macarons and sandwich with another. Enjoy!

This Recipe was Adapted from Frugal Mom

Trimtastic Mostess Cupcakes

I know I post alot of healthy posts, but I love baking, and eating healthy! My goal when baking things that are healthy are to make them taste almost the same as the non healthy things that we so easily consume. These cupcakes are from “Trim Healthy Mama.” If You have seen my last post then you will see that this recipe was from THM( Trim Healthy Mama) as well.

These cupcakes use ingredients from THM’s website but if you don’t have them then you can easily replace them! So in this recipe it calls for Baking Blend. What is Baking Blend? Baking blend is a mix of oat fiber, cocount flour, flax meal, collegen, and gluccie. If you don’t have Baking Blend then you can easily make it yourself. Another thing, there is gentle sweet in this recipe but you are welcome to Xylitol. This may seem weird to you, but there is pumpkin puree in this recipe. Don’t worry you don’t even taste it!

My entire family loves these cupcakes. I just love that these are sugar free, and they taste just like regular mostess cupcakes! They do take a little bit of work to make, but it is deffently worth it. If you know about THM and do the plan then you will probaly know that these cupcakes are in S meal. If you have not heard about THM until now then you are probaly wondering,” What on earth is an S meal? In S meal is when there are more fats then carbs. What the heck does that mean? I will have a link about THM below if you would like to check it out.

Trimtastic Mostess Cupcakes

Yeilds: 12 Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time : 15-20 Min

Ingrediants

Coconut Oil Cooking Spray

1 Cup of Canned Pure Pumpkin Puree

4 Large Eggs

1/2 Stick of butter

3/4 Cup Baking Blend

3/4 Cup of Gentle Sweet

1/8 Teaspoon of Pure Stevia Extract Powder

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon of Baking pwder

2 Pinches of Salt

1/4 Cup of Unsweetned Cocoa Powder

For The Whipped Cream Filling

1 1/4 Teaspoons Gelatin

1 Tablespoon Cool WaterPlus 2 Tablespoons just off the Boil Water

3/4 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon of Gentle Sweet (or Xylitol)

For The Ganache Topping

1/4 Cup THM Chocolate chips (or another sugar free Chocolate Chip)

1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream

2 Pinches of Salt

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cups in a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray them with coconut oil cooking spray. Put a glass bowl and metel beater of an electric mixer in your freezer to chil.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, baking blend, gentle sweet, stevia, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder until smooth.
  3. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tins and let them cool.
  4. Meanwhile, make the whipped cream filling. Put the gelatin in a little cup, cover with the cool water, stir to dissolve, then add the boiled water. Transfer to the fridge so it can cool down. Put the cream and sweetener in the chilled bowl and whip until gentle peeks form. Once the gellatin mix has cooled to room tempeture, pour it into the whipped cream while beeting. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
  5. Make the ganache. Melt the chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, slowly whisk in the heavy cream and salt until smooth. Remove from the heat.
  6. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use an apple corer and push it down into the middle of each cupcakes, or you can use a knife and cut a hole in the the middle of the cupcakes. Fill the hole with the whipped cream mixture up to the top, then ice over with the ganache. You can decorate the top of the cupcakes with leftover whipped cream by putting some in a zippy bagie, cutting the corner, and squirting it on. Enjoy!

Adapted from Trim Healthy mama

Here are so links mentioned today.

Trim Healthy Mama https://trimhealthymama.com/

Gentle Sweet https://store.trimhealthymama.com/product/gentle-sweet-xylitol-erythritol-stevia-ground-blend-16oz-bag/

Baking Blend https://store.trimhealthymama.com/product/gluten-free-baking-blend-16oz-bag/

Healthy Hot Cocoa

I love hot chocolate, it is so nice to have after you play in the snow, or when you come home from work, or even when you just want something chocolatey. Regular hot chocolate is so good, but it also has a lot of sugar.

If you don’t want all of that sugar in your body then try out this recipe. This recipe was from a healthy eating plan called “Trim Healthy Mama,” I’m sure that many of you have heard of it. The sweetner I’m using for this recipe is a sweetener from Trim Healthy Mama, called Gentle sweet. We usally buy this sweetner from their website, it costs about $10 for a sixteen ounce bag. If you don’t have this sweetner, or don’t want to buy it, then a good substitute would be xylitol, you would still put in the same amount.

I know some of you are thinking would this hot chocolate taste any good without sugar? It tastes just as good, if not better. My entire family loves this hot chocolate. Another thing is that there is only six ingredients in it!

Healthy Hot Chocolate

Yeilds:1 16 oz. Cup Prep Time: 2 min. Cook time: 3 min. Total Time: 5 Min.

3/4 Cup of Water

3/4 Cup of Nut Milk (your choice)

1 Tsp. of Heavy Cream

1 Heaping Tsp. of Cocoa Powder

3 Tsp. of Gentle Sweet ( or xylitol)

2 pinches of salt

put all the ingredients in in a sausepan and heat for about 3 minutes. Enjoy!

This Recipe is from Trim Healthy Mama

Here is the link if you are interested in buying the Gentle Sweet. https://store.trimhealthymama.com/product/gentle-sweet-xylitol-erythritol-stevia-ground-blend-16oz-bag/

Here is the link if you would like to check out Trim Healthy Mama. https://trimhealthymama.com/

The beautiful mug I used for this post is from a company called “Well Watered Woman,” check it out. https://shop.wellwateredwomen.com/products/bless-the-lord-mug

Chewy Gingersnap Cookies

Hi! I’m so excited that it is almost March, and March means spring! Although, here in Minnesota I don’t think we will be seeing any spring for awhile. So what’s better to do when there is three feet of snow on the ground? Bake cookies of course! I love cookies, so as I continue going through this blog journey you will probably be seeing me post a lot of cookie recipes.

These gingersnap cookies are so delicious, and easy. There is just a bit of spice in it, but not to much. Now to me gingersnap cookie batter does not taste good, probably because of the molasses. I made these cookies with my friend last Saturday, and they were so good!

Chewy Gingersnap Cookies

Yields: 40 Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 9 min Total Time: 24 min

3 1/2 Cups of Flour

2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda

2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Glove

3/4 Cup of Butter ( salted or unsalted)

2 Cups of Sugar

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup of Molasses

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1/2 Cup of Sugar ( for rolling)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves – Set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment beat the butter and 2 cups of sugar on medium speed until fluffy, scrape the sides as needed. 
  4. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture beating on high until well mixed after each one.
  5. While mixer is going add in the molasses and vanilla. Continue to beat until mixed.
  6. Mix in the flour mixture until well combined.
  7. Line 2 large baking pans with parchment paper.
  8. Take 1/2 a cup of sugar and put in a separate bowl. 
  9. Take about a teaspoon size of batter and roll into a small ball. 
  10. Roll the ball in the sugar to coat.
  11. Place on the parchment paper spaced at least 2 inches apart. – Do Not Flatten.
  12. Bake for 9 minutes, remove and cool on a rack.
  13. To keep cookies chewy, put in a closed container once they are cooled. Enjoy!

Adapted from The Kitchen Magpie Farm

8 Things You Might Not Know About Me

  1. My favorite season is fall.

I love fall, crisp leaves, hot coffee, pumpkin pie, there’s nothing cozier than fall.

2. My favorite color is purple

I’m a lover of all things purple, I have always loved purple and I probably always will.

3. My favorite type of food is Indian food

I love spice, and spicy food. Indian food is really, really spicy, and it also has so many flavors. It is so good.

4. I have 1 sister, 2 brothers, 1 sister in-law, 1 brother in-law, 3 nieces, and 1 nephew

Yes, I have a big family, but I love it. They all come over to our house every Sunday for a family day.

5. Some books I’m reading right now are, The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Four Story Mistake by Elisabeth Enright.

6. My favorite singer/song writer is JJ Heller

JJ Headshot small.jpg

7. My favorite holiday is Christmas

I love Christmas time, presents, family time, and best of all the birth of Jesus Christ.

8. My favorite thing to drink is definitely coffee

I love coffee, I’m only 12 so its probably not great that I drink coffee almost every day. But oh well, I am a coffee lover now.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and learning 8 new things about me!

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