#if i had a nickel for every time i started sharing a recipe by sending a link and then realizing i made changes to half of the recipe and

[lokilysolbitch]

:0 can you tell me about your earl grey cookies?

y e s a b s o l u t e l y

tbh you could also probably just take any chocolate chip recipe you like and add like a tablespoon of finely ground earl grey in with the flour, but heres my obnoxiously personalized way of making them.

okay so its a variant of this one lavender earl grey cookie recipe mixed with my preference in chocolate chip cookies. i also bake like those grandma's who tell you to add "jus enough" of certain ingredients🧍and i havent made this in a while and ive never made a gf/egg free/dairy free version yet so ill do my best to describe all the changes i made. im gonna copy and paste the unchanged ingredient list and then describe what i do differently

2 ¼ cups (9.5 ounces or 270 grams) all-purpose flour

▢ 1 Tablespoon finely ground Earl Grey tea (from 3 tea bags or 4 teaspoons loose leaf tea)

▢ ½ teaspoon culinary-grade lavender, finely ground

▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder

▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda

▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt

▢ 1 ¼ cup (8.80 ounces or 250 grams) granulated sugar

▢ 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

▢ 1 large egg

▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Garnish

▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

▢ blue cornflower petals

Flour: sometimes i have to adjust the amount of flour in cookie recipes especially bc people measure flour differently when it comes to cup measurements, so i might have changed this? if youre picky about cookie textures like me, i recommend adding about a cup at a time and mixing it in a bit enough to where theres not giant pockets/piles of flour but not fully mixed, and if its still sticky or soft, definitely add more flour, but if its the texture of like, a scoop ice cream you just got from baskin robbins, where it can generally hold its shape without crumbling apart, its good. if its crumbly and wont hold together theres too much flour, and you can add ~a bit (like a teaspoon-a tablespoon but it varies) of butter/oil to fix this but just know if you use flour w gluten, over mixing cookie dough makes the dough stretchier and the end texture slightly bready? it still tastes good to me that way, but be aware. it might take a few times baking it to know how much flour to add. every recipe measures flour differently and they dont tell you that (also i swear some recipes just set people up to fail with the amount of flour they say to add) but if you know the texture you want from chocolate chip cookies, go for that.

the earl grey: i keep this measurement the same

the lavender: i take this out just because i usually dont want it in my cookie, but its optional

baking powder: i keep this measurement the same

baking soda: i keep this measurement the same

the salt: i eyeball this based off of if i used salted or unsalted butter

the granulated sugar: i switch all of this to brown sugar, this is what turns it from a sugar cookie to more of a chocolate chip cookie taste. tbh with every choc. chip cookie recipe instead of the white and brown sugar mix i make it all brown sugar. the darker the brown sugar the more choc. chippier it tastes. also, the darker the brown sugar the longer the cookies stay soft. but i just used a like, a medium brown sugar they had in bulk at my grocery store

the butter: if i ever didnt feel like letting it get to room temperature, i stuck it in the microwave for ~30 seconds or to where half of it melted and half of it didnt, and then i mixed it until the two temperatures of butter combined to make it soft and slightly warm/room temperature. this might have changed the texture in some sort of way idk. like i said i bake like someomes grandma, not a trained chef

the egg: i used an egg for this one

the vanilla extract: i eyeballed this but you dont have to

the garnishes: i dont use the cornflower petals, i think i used to sprinkle a bit on white sugar on top though? maybe

Extra Ingredient- The Chocolate Chips: i also eyeballed this. i actually dont like too many chocolate chips in my cookies (im talking like i want ~5 choc. chips in each cookie. probably less. ive added them in by hand before) so i cant give a good general measurement . you really gotts follow your heart when it comes to chocolate chips, but you can also look at a choc. chip recipe, and if the amount of butter is similar in both that recipe and this earl grey one, then the amount of choc. chips may match well with these. i also mix in chocolate chips right before i add the flour but thats just a me thing bc i hate mixing them in when the dough is play dough-y texture

so the revised ingredients are:

2 ¼ cups (9.5 ounces or 270 grams) (or jus enough) all-purpose flour

▢ 1 Tablespoon finely ground Earl Grey tea (from 3 tea bags or 4 teaspoons loose leaf tea)

▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder

▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda

▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or jus enough)

▢ 1 ¼ cup (8.80 ounces or 250 grams) brown sugar

▢ 1 cup (8 ounces or 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

▢ 1 large egg

▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

enough chocolate chips

white sugar to garnish

Instructions based off how i personally do it, bc i usually ignore recipe instructions for cookies:

preheat to 350 degrees F

i start with the earl grey, by getting them out of the teabags/measuring them if its loose leaf, and i try to break them down using a mortar and pestle. if u have something to grind them really fine without that much effort, thats better to use lol. i just only have the mortar n pestle rn 🧍

cream the butter and sugar. uhhh. im usually using a spatula for this. i just hate using mixers bc thats somehow more tedious for me

add the egg and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture, im also mixing this with a spatula. everything im mixing is with a spatula or a fork if i really couldnt find a spatula

this is where i would add the chocolate chips, but you can add them at the end

okay, heres the fucky flour part. so. i add the first cup of flour, (or all the flour if i know how much to add), and then before i mix that in, i pour the earl grey, salt, baking soda, and baking powder on top of the flour pile, mix it in the flour a bit, and then i mix that pile of flour in. and i add more flour as needed, about 3/4ths of the next cup if its still super sticky (which it will likely be after just one cup), and when it looks like its getting close to the right texture i add 1/4th cup at a time until its right. when youre at what you expect to be the last bit of flour, mix until just combined

Okay this part involves another of my personal habits. i roll the dough into balls as one does. and then i smoosh them down so theyre more hocky puck shaped (maybe about a centimeter tall?). i just like how they bake more evenly this way.

this is where i would add a bit of white sugar on top to garnish. or you could roll the dough balls in a plate of white sugar before smooshing them. for a little pizzazz

Bake for ~12-14 minutes. when the edges are starting to turn a bit gold/light brown/a little darker than the rest of the cookie (it depends on how dark the dough was initially), theyre done to my personal standards, but some people like undercooked cookies and some like them crispier. i like them fully cooked and soft. one of my tricks is when i take them out, i immediately push at the edge of a cookie with my nail or a knife or something, and if it gives then it undercooked, but if its stiff its probably done. my other thing i do is after letting it cool for 20 minutes (bc theyre still cooking after youve taken them out), i take one and break it in half. (not cutting it in half.) if it looks like cookie dough texture in the middle still (like dense and smushy, especially if i press my finger on the inside of it and it looks exxactly like cookie dough that way) its underdone but if its fluffy and i can see crumbs, its done. tbh its hard to see when its somewhere in the middle. also if when you take a cookie out the oven and you see a wet looking spot in the center, its definitely underdone. i do one cookie for the first batch just to get the bake time right. ALSO. if u have to do a lot of batches, like ~4-5 or more, you might need to lower time by a minute by around that fourth or fifth batch. I just find that my cookies get a little more overdone when i use the same time for too many batches? this has happened w like three or four different ovens for me. tbh it really doesnt matter that much, im just very particular about cookie done-ness

sometimes, every now and then, and this can happen regardless of how experienced you are, you will check the cookies, add a minute to the timer, and sit back down. and some force within you will have you taking the cookies out before the timer goes off. you will barely realise it happened. in the back of your head you will simply think "alright, time to take the cookies out" and youll just take them out. and theyll be perfectly done. the timer will go off a little later and youll think "????? oh right the cookie timer. wait. but i already-- why did i--??????"

honestly at this point i think its the same ancestors who tell me when ive added enough seasoning to something bc it has never failed. if you feel in your bones that theyre done, theyre done

the end !! very simple dimple process we got here :D i used to eat these with tea sometimes

[voyagehole9-blog]

Family Friday (vol. 89): Ringing in 2019!

I cannot believe it was November 30th that I last posted a Family Friday! Time really does fly, doesn’t it?

The holidays were good! I had a bit of anxiety going into them because we had lots of travel planned. That is, after we canceled out trip to Cancun (don’t feel too bad for me, we just booked a 9 night stay in MAUI for our 10th anniversary this spring!!!). Piper also came down with what I have to assume was the flu. She had 103 degree temps for 2 days and was a little limp noodle for 3+ days. She recovered just in time for Christmas, though!

Christmas Eve I worked a half day, reported home to throw everything in the car, and headed 2 1/2 hours to my cousin’s house. We did a whirlwind Christmas Eve there before driving back home and doing the whole Santa thing. The girls were sound asleep when we arrived home, but good thing mom and dad remembered Santa’s cookies (and cocoa, not milk…thanks to the lady at checkout one day. UGH) and the carrots for the reindeer. Santa even left a handwritten note telling the girls they needed to be good in order for Santa to come again next year. In the morning, they first had to finish up Santa’s cookies (guess he wasn’t all that hungry after a very filling Christmas Eve) and only after all the sugar was gone could they then moved on to gifts. The highlight was the “rainbow watch” that Santa was lucky enough to score on Amazon. Because really, where does one find a RAINBOW watch? The elves were stumped. We really did keep it simple this year: watch, sled, Shimmer & Shine dolls, a game/puzzle each, toothbrush, and Contigo kids water bottles because they disappear only every other second. It won’t be long before we’re upping the ante on the holidays so we enjoyed keeping it at a minimum. Oh, and for now, two of everything. Keeping the peace as we learn the intricacies of sharing.

On Christmas Day, my parents and brother reported to Michigan for a day of homemade cinnamon rolls, appetizers, and lounging around. A little gift opening, too, of course. My crew didn’t get up until well past 9am and so albeit a very busy morning for me, I had cinnamon rolls rising and all my appetizers prepped by the time they sauntered down. I think next year (at 5 and 3-years-old) it will REALLY get exciting. Piper sure does love saying “Christmas!” every time she sees Christmas lights or a Christmas tree. This includes every evergreen tree we see. I really do think 2 is the most perfect age. Don’t get me started on how every coin (penny, quarter, nickel, fake coin, whatever) is a “wishing coin”. She recalls the ONE time at least 7-8 months ago we threw a penny into a wishing well. She’s just the cutest. Shea, on the other hand, while absolutely adorable, questions EVERYTHING. I realize this is part of development and is age-appropriate and so I dig deep for all of my patience. The girl is just incessant with the talking and questions. She’s basically a miniature version of me and so naturally that just doesn’t always jive 🙂

The evening of Christmas we packed up and headed to my in-laws for 5 days. We got to see my sister-in-law who was in from Seattle and got in some visits with friends, cousin time, an Illini game, a little bit of shopping, plenty of eating, and fortunately, plenty of sleep and exercise. The midwest temperatures have been glorious!

We got back last Sunday and I returned to work on Monday. I wasn’t really planning to work a full day, but I definitely did. My leadership cohort is wrapping up next month and I’ve got some catching up to do. I present to the health system’s senior leadership team in just over a month and obviously I want to showcase all that my project entailed. With New Years Day off, it was a weird mid-week break before returning to our regularly scheduled program of daycare and work on Wednesday. We got in a groove just in time for the weekend and so here we are. I think we’re all ready for a return to normalcy – you know, reasonable bedtimes, waking before 8am, brushing teeth before noon, eating vegetables…the whole bit!

In case you didn’t read or see, Mark got me a Peloton for Christmas! It was most unexpected and it gets installed on Monday. It is JUST the thing I need to get back in the groove of morning workouts. I was at the gym this week and holy heck was it BUSY. I just can’t. The gym in January makes me nuts. I’m very excited to retreat to my basement with my new bike and really get into some lasting morning workout routines. It is forever a struggle of mine even though evening workouts are straight up TORTURE.

I got 2 new cookbooks (1 as a gift and 1 as a gift for myself – oops) and I’m thoroughly enjoying both. I’ve chosen some killer recipes and have some happy campers over here.

My FitBit died yesterday and I’m so annoyed. I got a Versa in late August and in the past week the battery started draining about 3-4x faster than it had been and than it should be. I called FitBit and they were wonderful, providing directions on next steps to perform a battery life test. I was in the process of recharging after it died completely, as instructed, and now it is totally unresponsive. I called FitBit back last night and they are sending a new one. Still, I’m annoyed. Mark teased that I might as well not move until it comes because I won’t get “my steps” (what a terd), but it’s just the concept. And admittedly, I’m so accustomed to text alerts and calls coming to my watch that I feel a little lost without it. Oh, technology. What insignificant problems you present!

Our podcast is going SO well! So well in that we finally have a groove and we’re loving it. If you haven’t checked it out, please do! It’s called the Dietitians Dish. We’d also love if you’d review our podcast after listening. We welcome any episode topic requests or questions – feel free to email those or post here as a comment! I always love to hear what people want to hear about. ‘Cause lord knows Gina and I could make a podcast about nearly anything and have a blast in the process. She’s my new Saturday morning coffee date in the basement as we record podcast episodes.

I’m also thinking about writing a blog post devoted to how we started our podcast. It might save someone a LOT of time and energy. Plus, it’d be podcasting for dummies because we are such novices on the tech side…but have so much nutrition, food, mom, and girl stuff we want to talk about. I can’t wait to see where 2019 takes our little podcast!

Date night tonight – better get to looking presentable. Have a super first weekend of 2019!

Be well,

Source: https://preventionrd.com/2019/01/family-friday-vol-89-ringing-in-2019/