My first experience with this recipe was almost two years ago when my friend Johnna sent me the most incredible box of cookies.  I was so surprised because not only were they chocolate chip, they were decorated! And to top it off, they were amazingly good!

The only problem was, she sent them to me on the very first day of one of my MANY diets.  So to  keep myself from eating them all I shared them with my friend Lori.

Since then, she has been begging me to make more.  When we got together to make cookies for our friend Jessica's baby shower, I decided it was probably about time.  Poor Lori ONLY had to wait two years =)

Lucky for me, when Johnna sent my cookies, she sent me the recipe, {She's sweet like that}  and she also mentioned that she had found it in the Sugarbakers’ Cookie Cutter Cookbook.  I was so impressed with this recipe, I decided to buy it!  It was worth the money. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to bake cookies. 

I feel like I should mention, it’s not the book you’re looking for if it's pictures you want to see. That aspect is actually pretty LAME.  However, it contains SEVERAL recipes, and so far, all of them that I have tried have been wonderful!

Sugarbakers’ Chocolate Mini-Chip Cookies


1 c unsalted butter

⅓c granulated sugar

½ c light-brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ c all-purpose flour {I think they got a little overzealous with the flour...try 2 cups first, and work your way up}

½ tsp salt

1 ½ c semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips



Cream together the butter and sugars. To that add the vanilla and egg yolk. Sift together the flour and salt, and add it one cup at a time until completely incorporated. Then, BY HAND fold in the chocolate chips. You can do it with your mixer, but it might break them up, so I would really just do it the old fashioned way =)


While you wait for the oven to warm, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least thirty minutes. When it is chilled, roll out cookies on lightly floured parchment and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.

 

It's been a week where the letter B has dominated. yes it's only Tuesday but it's been very busy
Firstly B for baby. The week began with the wonderful and much anticipated news that I became a proud auntie again, coincidentally to a baby whose name actually begins with B. I can't wait to cuddle kidnap my new nephew because even though texted photos are great NOTHING beats a tender cuddle with a newborn baby.
Part B was meeting the gorgeous and talented Belle Bijoux and becoming the proud owner of a new bag. It's PINK people. P.I.N.K. No more black for me for a while. And given its size I suspect this bag will be dominating my landscape for some time to come.

It meant a great night out with a couple of my besties and the sheer thrill of sipping wine and cooing over bags for the better part of a Monday evening. Which given I managed to skip the dinner, bathtime, bedtime routine made the day infinitely more exciting.
I also met up with the talented Alecia Hancock whose name does not begin with B but I've loved her blog for a while and it's so worth a visit.
In addition to all these events there was a birthday for my husband which involved catching up with some wonderful friends.
And an interview/meeting which proved quite interesting and indicates that 2011 is going to be a pretty busy one for me. But I think I knew that would be the case anyway. Whenever it feels like I'm getting overwhelmed I remember my parents mantra growing up: "Family First." No, not a political movement but the knowledge that the family unit comes in the forefront of everything else. And so while I strive for balance I'm looking forward to the thrill of the unknown at the same time.
At least this role is a subject close to my heart. Fine food.
Yes I know.
It's AWESOME.
All this and it's only Tuesday.
What have you been up to this week?

I blinked and the little room was full. It was like magic. Black magic.
We'd spent the afternoon in this small room. My husband, my mother, me and you.
Except you hadn't arrived yet.
By then you were 14 days overdue. You had quite rightly decided this wasn't a world you particularly wanted to come into, and following the horror of our family's bereavement those two weeks prior, I can't say I blamed you.
My labor had commenced sporadically on the Wednesday and it was now Sunday afternoon.
I'd finally caved and asked for an epidural, and our afternoon's entertainment was watching your heart-rate as I contracted on the monitor.
Except for when it stopped.
Then it wasn't fun anymore.
Initially we were a bit confused.
Maybe the monitor wasn't working?
My husband went out to ask a midwife about it.
She came in and watched it with us.
Another contraction.
As soon as it started your heart-rate dropped off the monitor.
And then I blinked.
Suddenly there were at least ten people in the room talking in urgent, hushed tones.
I remember the doctor saying I needed a c-section now.
I remember obediently parroting the lines I'd had in my Childbirth Trust classes: "Do I really need to have a c-section?"
You would probably die if I didn't.
Decision made.
In the operating theatre a nurse scolded me for interrupting her tv show. It was a cliffhanger on Coronation Street apparently. I apologised over and over for inconveniencing her.
The anaesthetist asked me if I was anxious and did I need something to calm me down?
Let's see.
'My aunt and godmother just died, my own baby could die, anxiety doesn't even begin to cover it.'
I said none of this.
I nodded and said: "Yes please."
And so it began.
You were lifted, quiet and silent out of my womb.
You were tangled in a knot of cords.
You were a mottled red and blue.
The room was so busy but the silence was deafening.
And then you arched your little head, gave a shrill cry and arced a perfect jet of urine all over the surgeon delivering you.
And everyone in the room laughed and laughed.
My boy,
never conforming, always challenging the status quo.
7 years on,
I'm so proud of you for getting here.
Happy Birthday.