sugar, oh honey honey

Due to my work/gym schedule, most of the cooking and/or baking happens on the weekend. One weekend I was craving something sweet. What exactly I was craving were Chris's moms butter cookies but those were long gone from the Christmas holiday. I stumbled upon a recipe for chewy sugar cookies by milk & mode and had everything I needed already in the apartment so it was a win-win situation. Needless to say, these cookies did not last very long. The sweet, salty taste was addicting. I laid in bed on Sunday reading and popping these suckers into my mouth one after another. Re-posting the recipe below as a bookmark for myself and in hopes that some of you will try it out. Trust the recipe, do not bake more than 10 mins… they are plenty baked and are chewy and delightful. Enjoy!

Chewy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 cup light brown sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 large egg 

1 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup turbinado sugar, or coarse sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugars for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Continue beating for another minute. Scrape bowl again.

Add vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Add egg. Beat for 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl. Add flour, salt and baking soda. Beat 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl and beat for another minute.

Make small balls of dough to be dotted with course sugar. I skipped the course sugar and used rainbow sprinkles instead. Do not press the balls down. This will ensure a chewy middle. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, turning and reversing pans midway through baking. Resist the urge to bake your cookies longer, or they won’t be chewy. The tops don’t get much color, but the bottoms will be nicely golden.

Place pans on cooling racks. When cool, store cookies in air-tight containers.

p.s. this is quite humorous coming after the +8 post ;)

coffee courting

The 14th of February is approaching whether you like it or not. Last year I was semi-single and not expecting much on the day. I made small heart pins for some of my co-workers to help spread some love around. I was surprised when I asked a few people and they said no! That they were against any sort of Valentines Day celebrating… it never occurred to me to take such a strong stance. Nevertheless, those who accepted the heart pin wore it around and I think it made them feel just a little bit fuzzy that day.

I said "semi-single" did you catch that? I was crushing big time but it was a bit difficult having that we worked about 10 feet from each other. My day usually began with Chris and I going to Starbucks to get our coffee and to spend a few minutes being flirty (he) and giddy (me). We were very conscious to not bringing any sort of relationship into the workplace so that morning coffee was sometimes the only time of the day where I could blush and not be embarrassed or feel that I had a dozen eyes on me. On Valentines Day I came into work expecting for the normal routine when I saw that my drink was already on my desk. My heart sunk into my butt.

So if you're in a relationship or not come the 14th, do something nice for someone you know. Even if it's a friendly gesture. Who knows in a years time what that could turn into.

my only mister

I have a very meaningful relationship with Mr. Coffee. He's reliable, satisfying, consistent and uncomplicated. While I love my weekend routine of coffee brewing at home, I also look forward to trying new coffee shops here and there. My absolute favorite coffee shop is Saint's Cafe in State College, Pennsylvania. While in school and on a typical college budget, I would pick up an extra table (I was a waitress) or skip on a pizza slice (at 2 am) so that I could afford my coffee habit. I can't explain how a simple latte at this place would instantly snap me into bliss. Even now traveling back to State College, one sip takes me back to football weekends, crisp fall air and carefree afternoons. Below you'll find my 4 favorite coffee shops and menu choices. Happy Brewing.

Saint's Cafe
Vanilla chai latte with soy milk & a lemon poppyseed muffin
123 West Beaver Avenue, State College, Pennsylvania

Café Grumpy
Hot apple cider & a chocolate cupcake
224 West 20th Street, New York, New York

Jupiter Outpost Cafe
Pumpkin spice coffee
1139 West Fulton Market, Chicago, Illinois

La Maison du Macaron (previously Madeleine Patisserie)
Café au lait & blueberry macaron (but really any flavor, I love them all)
132 West 23rd Street, New York, New York

espressing my love

I pour my heart out for espresso machines. I love coffee, lattes, teas, espresso, the works. But the expensive of an espresso machine and the wariness of not knowing how to use one was keeping me from indulging in my favorite bad habit. That was until, I met Bialetti. Staying in Chicago last weekend was full of coffee shop stops and many, many pots of coffee shared between me and my best friend. I was eying the strange little contraption on the stove until the news broke, it was an espresso maker. That was the same moment I feel in love. Her kind boyfriend showed me how it worked and voilà! perfect espresso. My sole goal is to pick one up this weekend and to scout some espresso cups, can't wait!