Baking is somewhat of a challenge these days. And when I do have an opportunity, I can’t pick any ol’ recipe that I’ve had my eyes on–I need to consider time and effort as well. After all, I have an adorable little 4-month-old daughter who is my first priority on the weekends!
But lord knows I do enjoy a good homemade treat from time to time (as does Michael), so we make it work every few weeks or so. Last weekend, we had plans to go to my mom’s for dinner on Sunday, so I wanted to make some cookies for dessert.
Enter these salted double chocolate chip cookies. If you like salt, and if you like the combination between salty and sweet, this one’s for you.
The original recipe calls for chocolate chunks mixed in the batter, but I was trying to simplify as much as possible so instead of chopping up semisweet chocolate, I used semisweet chocolate chips instead. As you can imagine, that change certainly didn’t do any harm.
As Annie suggests, after the first day or so, these are better enjoyed after a quick zap in the microwave–I found 20-25 seconds worked best, but it will depend on your individual microwave, so be conservative to start. :)
Salted Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
– 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
– 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
– 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/2 tsp. baking powder
– 3/4 tsp. fleur de sel (sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
– 2 large eggs, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Combine the 8 ounces chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, and heat until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. (Alternatively, heat in the microwave in 25-second intervals, stirring in between.) In another mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 4-5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the melted chocolate mixture, blending until incorporated. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart.
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the cookies are just slightly soft in the center and crackly on top, about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with additional salt and let cool on the baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
If you’ve been reading a while, you know that we’ve been on several vacations in the two-and-a-half years we’ve been married. (And we are tremendously thankful to have been able to take these trips.)
It started with our honeymoon to Hawaii. It was during that trip that we realized that we really enjoyed traveling together and that we could be smart with our money and travel, all at the same time. It’s all about priorities, and travel has become a priority for us.
After Hawaii, we went to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Then we went to Las Vegas, Nevada.
And Seattle, Washington.
And Victoria, British Columbia.
And San Francisco, California.
Then Chicago, Illinois.
And San Antonio, Texas.
Also Austin, Texas.
Then Key West, Florida.
And Miami, Florida.
And who could forget the mess of a trip that was Montreal, Quebec?
(Oh, and we have our annual trips to the Pocono Mountains, but those cost us nothing and therefore don’t really count.)
It is at this point that I need to point out that Montreal was in JUNE. We haven’t been anywhere since June, and as a result, we are dying to go somewhere. We can’t wait to turn Nora into a little traveler.
We’ve been debating where to go on our first family vacation, and we just could not commit. But–I’m happy to say–we finally did it. We booked flights and we are going. All THREE of us.
In May, we are heading to Las Vegas! Yes, with a baby. No, we’re not crazy. We’re not actually staying in Las Vegas, you see.
We’re flying into Las Vegas, but then we are hitting the road. Our real destinations involve nature. Lots and lots of nature. Beautiful nature.
Over the course of a week, we will explore…
Zion National Park in Utah
(Photo Credit: www.zionponderosa.com)Bryce Canyon in Utah
(Photo Credit: www.leavinglasvegascampervans.com)…and, of course, the Grand Canyon.
(Photo Credit: www.nps.gov)We.can’t.wait.
One of our issues is that we really, really wanted to make it over to Arches National Park, too, but couldn’t swing it given our limited time for this trip. Some day!
We haven’t booked much yet in terms of accommodations, and haven’t made any concrete plans about what to do/what to see in each park, so if any of you happen to have suggestions, feel free to throw them our way.
In the meantime, we are counting down the days!
I greatly appreciate blog comments. (What blogger doesn’t?)
But, you know, for a while now, something has been bothering me. (Don’t worry. It has nothing to do with any of you.)
I am not a fan of Blogger’s default comment system. It’s annoying. I like to respond to a lot of your comments, especially when you all ask questions. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if I was able to do so directly under the appropriate comment/question?
I’m wondering if there is some kind of plug-in out there that I can install into my HTML coding to make comments work better here on Heather Drive. I’ve heard of a few in passing (Disqus?), but that completely takes the Blogger system out of the equation, I believe. I know a lot of people like to comment through their Blogger accounts, so I’d love something that still allows people to do that, but offers me more functionality, making for a better exchange of ideas.
Anyone know of anything like this? Any good (or bad) experiences with other commenting systems on other blogs you read?
We took my sister-in-law out to dinner tonight, to treat her before she goes back to college on Monday. We went to a restaurant with a ton of TVs so we could watch playoff football.
Nora was enthralled with the place.
At home, we generally keep the TV off during most of her awake hours, because if we didn’t, she’d be staring at it ALL.THE.TIME. But there was no keeping her from looking at them in the restaurant tonight, and hey, they kept her entertained and quiet. (Well, along with the menu. I officially have a baby who likes to grab hold of things. She loved that menu.)
Shortly after our food was served, Michael took Nora so that I would be able to eat more easily. She sat in his lap for a minute, fussed a little, then turned her face into his arm, and promptly passed out cold. Like this:
She was totally out. Could not be stirred. And she stayed sleeping like that, too. Silly girl.
It used to be that I watched a lot of television shows. With the exception of Saturdays, there was at least one show I would watch (or at least record) on the lineup for each night of the week.
Then we had Nora. I’ve given up a lot of TV since Nora was born.
There were shows that I was getting bored with anyway, and once we had Nora, it wasn’t worth wasting the time on them anymore. My television “commitments” were pared down to a select few–House, Top Chef, and Grey’s Anatomy. That’s it.
I’ve been watching all of the same shows for years now. I guess that’s part of the reason it was so easy to give up most of them, as it’s really the same shit over and over. I haven’t taken on anything new in forever, and haven’t really been interested in doing so, even as people rave over all of their new favorites.
One night, Michael and I settled in to watch a movie we rented (I can’t even tell you what it was), and the usual promos came on. Movie promo after movie promo, blah blah blah. But then an extended preview came on for a television show–I was officially introduced to Modern Family.
I had heard people talking about this show, but people talk about a lot of shows. I’ve tuned into some of the ones that are supposed to be the absolute best, and I’ve always been disappointed. So I never gave Modern Family much of a thought–until this promo I just happened to see before a movie, that is.
I laughed so hard at the few minutes of clips from the show, I knew I had to start watching. I started DVRing the new episodes shortly after the second season began, and I have to say, I *LOVE* this show. I look forward to the new episodes every week. We’ve also been renting the first season discs through Netflix, so we’ve been enjoying those episodes as well.
So what makes the show so great? Well, for starters, I can’t name a character I don’t like. The entire ensemble was perfectly cast, from Ed O’Neill to Ty Burrell to Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen. I love them all.
The show is brilliantly written. The writers pull things from their real lives and make them hilarious. It’s not always laugh-out-loud, pee-your-pants funny, though. Sometimes, I chuckle or shake my head at the comedy, but there are times when I’ll find a scene so funny that I’ll catch myself laughing about it days later. For example, Mitchell calling 9-1-1 in a panic. When the operator answers, “9-1-1, what is your emergency?” he replies, “We locked our baby in the car!! People are judging us.”
You have to see it for yourself, I swear. And give yourself more than one episode to fall in love. I think I watched two or three before I started to really appreciate it all.
For those of you who already watch… Any favorite episodes, scenes, or quotes you want to share?
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
