We couldn't agree more!
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SEA SALT & ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Happy Valentine's Day!
Saturday mornings are my favorite. Not just because I don't have to go to work (I actually love work...)! Why then, you ask? There is an amazing yoga class at 10:30. Literally amazing. It's challenging, inspiring, and just really, really fun. Lately it's been filling up, but today was absolutely insane! I'm talking 2" max between mats. I actually expected there to be fewer people than usual since it's Valentine's Day, but apparently I'm not the only one who would rather spend their Valentine's Day morning at yoga than anywhere else! The instructor had a great message for us to carry with us throughout and beyond our practice: love yourself. It doesn't matter if you are single, married, divorced- those adjectives are irrelevant, the message is the same. You have to love yourself before you can love others. You have to love yourself before you can genuinely acknowledge faults and make positive changes in your mentality and behavior. You have to love yourself to be truly happy.
This is the first year I haven't hand-delivered cards and baked goods to all of my friends so I'm a little bummed, but I figured I would still post what I would have given to all of my valentines. I did send out cards to close friends and family to show that I was still thinking of them, but unfortunately only my current housemates and lab mates got to enjoy these amazing cookies. And since you have to love yourself to love others... I definitely ate some too;) These cookies really are the most flavorful chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten. The sea salt on top and the espresso powder mixed into the dough taste amazing with the chocolate! Just try it- you'll see! They crisp up quite a bit after cooling, so make sure to eat one on it's way out of the oven so you get to have a taste while the center is still completely soft and gooey! I usually don't like crisp cookies unless they're shortbread, but the crisp edges of these cookies are actually a great addition to this cookie. Plus, then you can dunk in milk later which makes the experience even more amazing:) Alternatively, if you want that gooey center to remain after cooling, you can make larger cookies and increase the baking time to 15-20 minutes.
sea salt & espresso chocolate chip cookies
3 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I'm not going to stop you from putting in more though, and probably would encourage it!)
Saturday mornings are my favorite. Not just because I don't have to go to work (I actually love work...)! Why then, you ask? There is an amazing yoga class at 10:30. Literally amazing. It's challenging, inspiring, and just really, really fun. Lately it's been filling up, but today was absolutely insane! I'm talking 2" max between mats. I actually expected there to be fewer people than usual since it's Valentine's Day, but apparently I'm not the only one who would rather spend their Valentine's Day morning at yoga than anywhere else! The instructor had a great message for us to carry with us throughout and beyond our practice: love yourself. It doesn't matter if you are single, married, divorced- those adjectives are irrelevant, the message is the same. You have to love yourself before you can love others. You have to love yourself before you can genuinely acknowledge faults and make positive changes in your mentality and behavior. You have to love yourself to be truly happy.
This is the first year I haven't hand-delivered cards and baked goods to all of my friends so I'm a little bummed, but I figured I would still post what I would have given to all of my valentines. I did send out cards to close friends and family to show that I was still thinking of them, but unfortunately only my current housemates and lab mates got to enjoy these amazing cookies. And since you have to love yourself to love others... I definitely ate some too;) These cookies really are the most flavorful chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten. The sea salt on top and the espresso powder mixed into the dough taste amazing with the chocolate! Just try it- you'll see! They crisp up quite a bit after cooling, so make sure to eat one on it's way out of the oven so you get to have a taste while the center is still completely soft and gooey! I usually don't like crisp cookies unless they're shortbread, but the crisp edges of these cookies are actually a great addition to this cookie. Plus, then you can dunk in milk later which makes the experience even more amazing:) Alternatively, if you want that gooey center to remain after cooling, you can make larger cookies and increase the baking time to 15-20 minutes.
sea salt & espresso chocolate chip cookies
3 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I'm not going to stop you from putting in more though, and probably would encourage it!)
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking
powder, salt, and instant espresso powder into a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and the sugars
together until very light, about five minutes. It may seem like a long time,
but the texture is fantastic if you whip it for that long! Add eggs, one at a
time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to
low, add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a
nonstick baking mat. Scoop dough to about 1-1 1/4" round and place on
cookie sheet. Bake for about 7 minutes until they start to melt and sprinkle with sea salt. Then bake for about 5-7 more minutes until golden brown but still soft. Alternatively, if you want a gooey center, you can double the size of the dough and bake for 15-20 minutes, sprinkling with sea salt half way. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto
another rack to cool a bit more before storing (or devouring!).
VALENTINE'S DAY BREAKFAST IDEA: RASPBERRY RICOTTA PANCAKES
I once stayed at a bed and breakfast with my mom while she was traveling for work, probably my junior year of high school... so 6 years ago? I remember being amazed at the concept of a B&B- this beautiful mansion used to be someone's home? They give you gourmet breakfasts for free?! And you can have tea in the afternoon? It sounded like a fairy tale to me! Don't ask me how, but I can still remember what they served for breakfast the first morning: steel cut oats, bread pudding, and raspberry ricotta pancakes. And they were amazing pancakes. So light and fluffy, but so flavorful and rich! I even remember sneaking a pancake (ok... it might have been two or three) out the door with us when we left for the day! Since then, I've always wanted to try making raspberry ricotta pancakes. I had some ricotta left over from another recipe, so I figured I'd finally give it a try! Plus, they make for a perfect Valentine's Day post- what better way to start the day with your partner than with yummy pancakes?! I was going to just plop some raspberries in the batter like usual, but then I realized how much greater it would be if the raspberry flavor permeated the entire pancake. So I ended up smashing the berries and mixing them into the batter! I think I prefer it this way because I'm also a fan of consistent textures in things like this, but if you'd rather leave the berries whole, go right ahead!
raspberry ricotta pancakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10-15 raspberries
Butter or oil to coat the pan
Combine the ricotta, buttermilk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture, stirring only until just combined. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the batter. Smash the raspberries in a small bowl, then swirl into the pancake batter. Heat a wide pan over medium heat. Melt a little butter (or you can use oil) to coat the pan before pouring batter from a 1/3 cup measure onto the pan. Let the pancakes cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown before flipping and cooking for another 2 minutes. The pancakes should puff very nicely upon flipping- just watch! I find it super thrilling:) Serve immediately with maple syrup or you can keep the pancakes warm by turning the oven to 250 degrees for three minutes, turning it off, and placing the pancakes in the warm oven on a cookie sheet until you're ready to serve.
raspberry ricotta pancakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10-15 raspberries
Butter or oil to coat the pan
Combine the ricotta, buttermilk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture, stirring only until just combined. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the batter. Smash the raspberries in a small bowl, then swirl into the pancake batter. Heat a wide pan over medium heat. Melt a little butter (or you can use oil) to coat the pan before pouring batter from a 1/3 cup measure onto the pan. Let the pancakes cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown before flipping and cooking for another 2 minutes. The pancakes should puff very nicely upon flipping- just watch! I find it super thrilling:) Serve immediately with maple syrup or you can keep the pancakes warm by turning the oven to 250 degrees for three minutes, turning it off, and placing the pancakes in the warm oven on a cookie sheet until you're ready to serve.
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES
Some days you crave chocolate and some days you crave A LOT of chocolate. Today was one of those days. I'm usually a standard chocolate chip cookie kind of girl, but what the heck... It's Friday! This recipe for double chocolate chip cookies will not disappoint. I also decided to throw some crushed up candy cane on top (I mean, peppermint and double chocolate... I live for it!).
This chewy, delicious double chocolate peppermint cookie recipe (modified from Martha Stewarts version) is the perfect staple for those "gotta have chocolate" kind of days!
double chocolate peppermint cookies
ingredients:
2 cups
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
crushed peppermint
directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° Whisk the the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350° Whisk the the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together, and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, I recommend 5 minutes- you'll love the texture. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined, then slowly add in the flour mixture. I usually like to stir it in with a spoon first before using the mixer. Add the chocolate chips, and stir until just combined.
Then put the dough into the fridge for at least an hour.
Scoop cookies out onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Put crushed candy cane on top and lightly press down before the cookies cool and set.
Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!
BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP
Oh man. I ate so much of this last night! I think we finished this before the Super Bowl even started! But we couldn't resist?! It was warm and cheesy! But actually- this might be the most amazing tailgate food I've ever eaten. I've been craving it for a few months now, but I knew I had to wait until I was with a crowd so that I wouldn't eat the entire thing myself. It's possible though! If you haven't had this dip, make it! Just maybe wait until March Madness or something when you have a crew to help you out! I think it's best with tortilla chips (may as go all out, right?!) but it's also really great with carrots and peppers!
buffalo chicken dip
2 chicken breasts
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup Franks Original Hot Sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup blue cheese
3/4 cup shredded triple cheese, plus more for sprinkling
First, cook the chicken. You can do this any way you want: roasting, sautéing, poaching, frying, baking, you name it. Whatever works for you! But, I'll tell you what I did:) And it was sooooo good! Heat a sauté pan over medium and drizzle with olive oil. Flatten the chicken breasts with the back of a chef's knife, then season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken breasts for two minutes until browned on one side, then flip to the other side. Lower the heat to low, cover, and let sit for ten minutes. Then turn off the heat and let sit for ten more minutes with the lid on. Now you can shred the chicken using two forks! While the chicken is cooking, you can combine the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan. Turn to low to melt the cheese and stir to combine. Then add the shredded chicken, transfer to a small casserole dish, and sprinkle with shredded triple cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the dip bubbles around the edges.
buffalo chicken dip
2 chicken breasts
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup Franks Original Hot Sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup blue cheese
3/4 cup shredded triple cheese, plus more for sprinkling
First, cook the chicken. You can do this any way you want: roasting, sautéing, poaching, frying, baking, you name it. Whatever works for you! But, I'll tell you what I did:) And it was sooooo good! Heat a sauté pan over medium and drizzle with olive oil. Flatten the chicken breasts with the back of a chef's knife, then season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken breasts for two minutes until browned on one side, then flip to the other side. Lower the heat to low, cover, and let sit for ten minutes. Then turn off the heat and let sit for ten more minutes with the lid on. Now you can shred the chicken using two forks! While the chicken is cooking, you can combine the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan. Turn to low to melt the cheese and stir to combine. Then add the shredded chicken, transfer to a small casserole dish, and sprinkle with shredded triple cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the dip bubbles around the edges.
BLOOM THAT!
Our favorite SF Flower start up has made its way to Los Angeles. Angelenos rejoooooice!
BloomThat sends awesome flowers on demand. Want to thank someone asap? BloomThat has you covered. Met the girl of your dreams? BloomThat will get flowers to her door in the next hour. And the best part is that these arrangements are really beautiful. Not your run of the mill, order online and hope it's not cheesy kind of arrangement!
We are so excited we can hardly stand it! Ordering some for ourselves right now... I mean, who doesn't deserve amazing flowers on a Monday morning?!
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