Soft, Not-Too-Sweet Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have always loved baking chocolate chip cookies. It was the first recipe I ever memorized, which was simply because I made them so often growing up. My Mom and I had this deal where if I was willing to mix up the dough, she'd bake them, every time. By the time the dough was done, all I wanted to do was eat them - not bake them! And the thought of mixing up the dough would often keep my Mom from making them at all. So, clearly it was a win win system we came up with!

Since I've had the basic Nestle Tollhouse recipe memorized since 7th grade, I often try changing different things here and there. Different chocolate, less sugar, added oatmeal, mixed nuts, etc. But my recent switch-up to the recipe has been my favorite so far - bread flour. It makes the cookies extra soft, but not undercooked. In my personal opinion, they're freakin' amazing. But don't take my word for it. I guessssss you'll just have to make an entire batch for yourself and find out.  Bummer... 😉 So here you have it - my bread flour, less sugar, dark chocolate chip cookie recipe!

SOFT, NOT-TOO-SWEET DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

• 2 sticks of butter (room temperature -- soft)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 c. bread flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2-3 cups good quality dark chocolate chips
• chopped walnuts, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°

In a large mixing bowl, combine soft (not melted) butter, sugars and vanilla well. Scrape down the edges of your bowl and add one of the eggs. Beat well. Repeat with second egg.

Mix 2 cups of the bread flour into the dough. Place the remaining 1/4 cup of flour in a small bowl, or larger measuring cup, and add your baking soda and salt to the flour. Mix together. Then mix this flour-salt-baking soda mixture into your dough!

Add chocolate chips (and nuts, if you want) to your dough and mix well.

I love using a cookie scoop. You can find them at most stores, or you could totally get one on Amazon. I highly suggest you get one!

Using your scoop, fill a parchment lined baking sheet with dough. I am able to fit a perfect dozen on my cookie sheet, which I love.

Place sheet into preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. For my oven, its 9 minutes on the dot. Yours may differ. Also, set your timer. You don't want to burn these!

As you wait the 8-10 long minutes for the cookies to be done, go do something productive. Otherwise you'll just stand in the kitchen and eat the dough. Not that I know that from experience or anything.

DING! Your timer is done. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on an elevated baking rack. Bake the remaining dough until you've scraped the mixing bowl clean!

Then grab a few while they're still warm and dig in. Share with your neighbors. Freeze some (once totally cooled) to eat another day. Take some to work. Or eat them all yourself.  😂 I mean, you do you. Enjoy!

A Salty Snack You Can Make In 20 Minutes | Kale Chips

Kale chips are my go-to salty snack. I do like potato chips and all, but they're not really "my thing." My thing is handfuls of chocolate chips and almonds at 11pm, but that is neither here nor there.

I remember the first time I ever heard about kale. I can picture myself sitting in my parent's living room, probably wearing butterfly clips or something equally as cool in my hair, watching The Oprah Winfrey Show. And all she could talk about was kale. Kale smoothies, kale chips, kale salads, kale face masks. Apparently kale is the cooler, and much chewier, cousin of lettuce. Or at least that was my take away from the episode.

The first time I ate kale chips was at an outdoor party and they were not impressive seeing that being left outside on the picnic table they'd become limp and chewy. Mmm, no thank you. However, sometime last year I stopped in at my sister-in-law's house to borrow baby clothes, and she had just pulled a tray of kale chips out of her oven. All three of her kids were waiting, wide-eyed in anticipation, for the tray to cool down and the go-ahead to dig in. And I figured, if these three kids are that excited about baked lettuce, I should give it another try. They were delicious!!

Turns out there is a trick or two in order for them to bake into crispy, salty, perfection. So grab a bunch of kale the next time you're at market, and in 20 minutes or less you can be chowing down on your guilt-free handfuls of "chips", even at 11 pm. 

SEA SALTED KALE CHIPS

• Medium sized bunch of Kale

• Olive Oil

• Sea Salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut, or tear, away the kale from the stem. Do your best to tear the kale into similar sized pieces, so they will bake more evenly! Place all pieces into a large mixing bowl, drizzle with oil, and toss.

Before you place the "chips" onto your baking sheet, be sure to rub the oil into each piece, front and back, with your fingers. It really doesn't take that long, and will make such a difference in the crispness of your chips.

Salt lightly. (You can always add more later!) Place tray into a preheated 300° oven. Bake for 10 (+/-) minutes. The edges of the kale will start to look brown and cripsy, and since it's only a 300° oven, I'll often (carrrrrefully!!) reach in to touch one of the pieces and see if it feels crisp, before removing the tray from the heat.

If needed, fill up another tray and repeat the process until you've roasted all of your kale. Store in an airtight container, or bag, for a few days - that is if you don't eat them all immediately. When they're slightly cooled out of the oven is when they're the best!

3 Ways to Devil Your Eggs

I didn't always like deviled eggs. But at some point last year I gave them a try, under the reasoning that "Hey. If I can birth a child, I should be able to eat a hardboiled egg." The "if I can birth a child" path of reasoning has actually gotten me to try a lot of things in the last year - and not just food! So, way to go June!

I am not a picky eater by any means. But something about the assumed texture of a deviled egg always weirded me out. Anyway, fast forward to today and I make deviled eggs at least once a month. Every week I get a fresh dozen of eggs from my Mom's chickens and devil-em-up! 

EGG PEELING TIP: Use OLD eggs. I never use eggs that are less than a week old. They'll be impossible to peel if you just got them. So plan ahead with your purchases and give them a week or two in the fridge before you boil them. You'll thank yourself!

Today I'm sharing three different deviled recipes with you - the classic way my Grandma made them, the way I make them with a little hot sauce, and a healthier option with avocados.. and bacon. So, scratch that healthier idea.

I hope you'll give one, if not all, of these a try!

CLASSIC EGGS: Like my Grandma made them.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Hard boiled eggs
• 1/4 c. mayo
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Cracked pepper to taste
• Paprika for garnish
• Flowers for garnish ( *Do not eat the flowers unless you know they're edible!)

PICNIC EGGS: Like I make them, with little hot sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Hard boiled eggs
• 1/4 c. mayo
• 1-2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Dash of hot sauce (Texas Pete's if you got it!)
• Salt + Pepper to taste

AVOCADO EGGS: With bacon. because, why not?

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Hard boiled eggs
• Half of a ripe avocado
• 1/2 tsp Chili powder (or more, if you want!)
• Salt + Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Hard boil your eggs. If you have a tried and true method - great! Use it! Otherwise, here is how I do mine. Place all eggs single layer on the bottom of a large pot. Fill pot with cool water one inch above your eggs. I always use my middle knuckle as a guide when filling my pot. This way, if I feel they're over or under cooked, I always know I've started with the same amount of water every time and can adjust elsewhere to make them better next time! // Also, note June being super cute... reading her books at the counter while I work - which lasted about 4 minutes.

Place pot onto the stove and bring to a rolling boil. Once your water is boiling, turn off the burner, cover with lid and set timer for 12 minutes. (If in the future you feel they were too soft or overcooked, adjust your timer by a minute or so until you get it just right!)

Just before you timer sounds, fill a large bowl with really cold water and ice. You'll place your eggs into the ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Remove your fully cooked eggs from the hot water and place them into the ice bath. Once you have all of them in the water, reach back in and, one at a time, crack them a little bit. Place back in ice water. The cold water will seep into the cracks and make your eggs even easier to peel! If the warm eggs melt all your ice, no worries. Just continue to run cold water into the bowl for a few minutes.

Peel your eggs. (Save the eggshells for your compost pile!) Carefully, with one smooth and slow motion, slice your eggs in half. Dump the yolks into a separate bowl. Now you're ready for the fun part!

You won't necessarily be making three batches like I did. Instead, choose your recipe from above and make one large batch! Smash and mix and smash and mix! Now you're ready to fill them. I normally just use a spoon, but if you'd like to transfer your filling to a ziplock back (and cut off the corner), or into a piping bag - go ahead!

Top with appropriate garnish and eat up! If you won't be eating them right away, place into a container lined with folded paper towels and refrigerate. It's common for deviled eggs to "sweat" in the fridge, which can make them kinda soggy in a day or two. The paper towels will absorb the extra moisture and keep them fresh much longer! Change the paper towels every other day if you haven't already devoured them by then. Enjoy!

Sea Salt Brownie Cookies

Brace yourselves. These cookies are about to become a new staple in your life. Like, every-single-day-life. They're called brownie cookies and that's definitely accurate. The dough is very thick and sticky and the first time you make them you'll be thinking to yourself "this can't possibly be right," but I assure you, it is!

I took a batch of these cookies to my nephew's 1st birthday party recently, where one guest pulled me aside and with wide eyes exclaimed "I don't know what heaven taste's like. BUT I'm pretty sure IT'S THIS" as she chomped through her second cookie. 😂

The ingredients are quite simple and I'd bet you have most of them in your pantry already. I personally eat A LOT of olive oil - I use it on and for everything - so the fact that this recipe doesn't have any butter, but has olive oil instead, makes me so happy. Top it all off with sea salt and I'M IN.

SEA SALT BROWNIE COOKIES

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs (preferably free range!)
• 3/4 c. flour
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder (natural)
• sprinkle of sea salt (+ more for tops of cookies)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (semi-sweet)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl with hand mixer, or your stand mixer, combine olive oil and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add flour, cocoa and salt - combine well. At this point your dough should look like a dark brownie mix, just super thick! In a separate dish, dissolve the teaspoon of baking soda into the tablespoon of hot water. Then add the "baking soda water" and vanilla to the mixing bowl and combine well. Finally, fold in your chocolate chips!

Refrigerate dough for a least 1 hour - or overnight. You need it to really "set up", so you can scoop it onto your cookie sheet with a cookie scoop.

Once dough has chilled an hour or more, preheat your oven to 350. Remove dough from the fridge and scoop onto your cookie sheet with a cookie scoop. My cookie scoop is rather small, (about the size of a golf ball, or a bit smaller) which worked perfectly for these. I also prefer to bake all of  my cookies on parchment paper, but it's not necessary if you don't have any. The dough will be very sticky. I had to run my scoop under hot water a time or two, between baking the batches, to help everything scoop more easily. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt before placing in the oven.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet. Transfer to a plate, or directly to your mouth, only once cooled! They'll be beautifully gooey inside, like a brownie, but a bit crisp on the outside like a cookie. It's the best of both worlds.

The next time I make these I plan to add walnuts. Or macadamia nuts. Mmm.. let me rephrase that - tomorrow when I make these, I plan to add nuts. Enjoy!