Dark Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Baking makes me giddy. Or perhaps it’s the promise of sugar consumption. Either way, it’s euphoric. And I like the look of bliss that passes on people’s faces when they bite into the baked goodies. 

Image from the theoatmeal.com

The way I see it, food brings people together. It goes something like this:

“I love food!”
“OMG so do I!”
“Then let’s eat!”

At this point I imagine a gigantic feast spontaneously appearing in front of person1 and person2, which prompts them to immediately start stuffing their faces.

Squirrels and chipmunks are just amazing at stuffing their faces. I can only wish to reach their level one day.

I heart cookies. I could eat 9 cookies and still easily convince myself that I’ve barely eaten 4, and that I can at least eat 2 (think 4) more. To follow my logic, just half the amount you've eaten (rounding down naturally) to get the actual amount. I doublethink.

Anyway, cookies are a sort of guiltless guilty pleasure… better not look too closely at that statement.

Today’s cookie recipe is not one for subtle flavors. Nope, not one bit.  It’s consists of chocolate, chocolate, more chocolate, and peanut butter; All in a compact little package. Tiny but mighty I like to say.

I had a blast passing these around. They were explosive. They were the bomb. They went out with a bang. (hehe see what I did there?)

And now… The recipe! I got it from bakerella.com specifically here.

Dark Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter slightly softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 oz. dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or for the temperature-challenged, around 180 degrees C)
2. In a small bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt using a wire whisk and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix until combined.
6. Stir in dark chocolate chips.
7. Roll cookie dough into 1-1/4 inch balls.
8. Place on parchment paper covered baking sheet.
9. Bake 10 minutes.
10. Place on cookie rack to cool.

Makes about 30 2-inch cookies

Happy Baking!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Hey look! I’m a geek!

This really shouldn't come as a surprise, but I effin adore books. It’s an obsession… Perhaps, even to the point of being unhealthy. But that is of no consequence! My obsession gives me food for thought, and isn't the worst thing to obsess about. I mean, fangirling over a book, it is preferable to fangirling over a new pop star or actor. People are dull when you compare them to books. That’s just the way it is for me.

Synopsis: 
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is Post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends, and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group. Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

 One of the most fantastically emotional books I've read so far is The Fault in Our Stars. It’s so  beautifully written, I have no complaints. And I’ll keep the review free of spoilers, just because I’m feeling altruistic today. I am… a saint.

First off, LOOK AT THE COVER. The Cover of a book plays a bigger part than necessary in my rating of it. Call it a pet peeve if you want. It’s just enormously important to me. And that cover is so great, I would have read the book without all the high ratings and positive reviews to motivate me.

   

I've only read two of John Green’s books: this one and Looking for Alaska. But I did see some of the similarities others pointed out; but instead of hating them, I loved them. So John Green has his own trademark humor that is a constant fixture in all his books. So his characters and their personalities are quite similar. So he likes to write about road trips. So what? If you like THAT brand of humor, THOSE types of characters, and HIS plots, why should it bother you to get to read your absolute fill of them? I’d be sorely disappointed if a John Green book didn't include the intelligent humor I’m used to.

Augustus Waters - The Fault In Our Stars

Teenagers in real life don’t really talk the way Green’s characters talk. The subjects and opinions expressed are not usual for teenagers. Meeting a 16-year-old like that would be downright miraculous. That having been said, I actually did enjoyed reading about them because in YA, this doesn't happen much. Characters should be realistic and believable in most cases and for most people. But as you can tell, I’d forgive this book just about anything. I forgave it for breaking my heart. I’d forgive it if it gave me a paper cut. I’d forgive grammar mistakes, editing inconsistencies, or anything else (not that I noticed any, mind you).  I’d forgive it if it demanded my first born child.

Augustus Water - The Fault In Our Stars

Even if a book makes you unbearably sad, the fact that it actually elicited such strong emotions from you makes it a good book. A strong book. Something worth reading.  And I tell you, around the end of it, this book had me bawling like a child. Sobbing like a baby. Basically being a total girl about it.  And that’s not even an understatement. Do I usually cry while reading a book? Not really. Was this book an earth-shattering exception to that? Definitely.  I loved the characters so much; they just burrowed into my heart and built a nest. What I really want to do is give them all a big hug. Find Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac and squeeze the ever-loving life out of them. I feel like I've gone through this emotional roller coaster with them, like we've been through something significant together. I know it’s ridiculous, but like I mentioned before, I’m a geek that way.

All in all, I’d recommend this book to any fan of YA who wouldn't mind shedding some tears in the name of reading something awesome. Also it’s advisable that that person hadn't read or watched the cancer subject to death (hehe pun intended).

A full FIVE STARS from me on this one.

Happy reading! 

Brownies, You Will Be Missed

It’s good to laugh at yourself, healthy. What good does it do to let your mistakes consume you and make you feel stupid or inferior? Mistakes are something to learn from, not dwell on forever.  So I've decided to write a story every time I fail at something and post it here;  An outlet in humor.  I can guarantee that my stories will not be useless whining, but funny. And so I write my first story:

I do so enjoy baking, it’s my one of my favorite hobbies. Imagine my family’s delight at that when all of them compete for the title of the sweetest tooth in the country. We should display a trophy in the house somewhere. Other people brag about their various sports trophies and medals and whatnots. We, on the other hand, would brag about our face-stuffing awards and achievements. That’s just the way of my people.

The other day, I decided to bake brownies. Oh how I love the chewy gooey goodness! I was going to pack some with me to school, and have my friends devour them the next day. Needless to say, I was giddy with excitement. i went through the whole process of mixing and baking them, followed the recipe to the letter. But the way this story ends will break your heart.

Unfortunately, the results were less than favorable. I burnt the brownies horrendously. And it wasn't even because I forgot them in the oven! I used what I previously thought was a baking sheet, but which apparently turned out to be the heat-resisting equivalent of sandwich paper. The bottom half of my precious brownies were burnt into a charcoal-resembling lump, while the top half was underdone.

The mistake was so stupid -I just didn’t check the label- but my silly mistake cost a bunch of brownies their lives. Let’s have a moment of silence in their memory. May the baking gods rest their beautiful brownie souls.

… You will be missed, Brownies…

It wasn't all bad though. My family was surprisingly undeterred! They just went ahead and ate the top half. No one can ever claim we waste chocolate in this house.