Mid-January Glimpse: Cookies, Lilly, Basketball, Zumba
Catch a glimpse into our life, post-LaLa visit & before our next big family cheer competition trip!
*Green-light-o-rama everywhere I drove last Tuesday! So thankful for God clearing my way! #smallfavors #bigjoy
*So glad I hoofed it back from teaching Zumba in the city to make it for volunteering at Annelise's school Eureka science program:
*I was so furious Thursday, I wanted to crawl out of my skin. (Y'all, pray for the relationship with my Zumba boss in the city. I don't want to bother with another venting post re: this here, but there are more things being ignored & not appropriately communicated.) ...But I refused to let those irritations completely ruin my day. I chose joy & focused on the positives: my actual Zumba class rocked, we all got to rest with no obligations (rare!) that night, I got bubble tea, it was 83°F & warm in the futurecast, and I wore shorts & my new pink shell Lilly Pulitzer Essie top that I got in the After Party Sale the week before - all 4 of my sale items arrived last Tuesday:
*Speaking of Lilly, on Friday I picked up the pants I had altered at the tailor when my mom was here. They were size XXS linen beach pants - yes, I know I'm not an XXS, but they were the ONLY item left in my dream print (rare with so much purple!) in last August's sale, & I was praying they'd work, or I'd sell them. They totally fit in the legs (wide & flowy) & in the waist (super stretch material), but it was just the inseam that was ridiculously short. (At the risk of TMI: they induced camel toe. :-O :-P) The tailor took the fabric she cut off from hemming them, cut off the stretchy top band, and stitched in that extra fabric to add a couple inches of length at the top! It's AMAZING!!! It looks like they were designed that way, and now they fit GREAT! My new fave pants:
*Will asked to turn on the radio Saturday morning to get pumped up on the literally 3-minute drive to his basketball game. "Eye of the Tiger" was just starting on the 80's-today channel, & we all ROCKED OUT!!! Apparently it was a good omen: Will's Longhorns won, again! Fast start, but got down by 1 at the half...and then roared back in control: 32-22 final. Will scored 2 points & had 4 fouls = par for his course. :-P ;-) 2-0 victory doughnuts:
*We slept blissfully through all the tornado warnings Monday AM, I went to Yin yoga & bubble tea with Annelise, took both kids to get new jeans (they grow too fast!!!), baked AMAZING Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies, took down our Christmas tree (judge away! yes, it was still up, & no, I didn't care! :-P) and finished the night with BEAST MODE parent cheer!!!
Those cookies, y'all...
Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies
These rich and fudgy chocolate cookies have a spicy kick!
Yield: 18-20 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or as much as you want)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped dark chocolate chili bars (more than 1 but less than 2 full candy bars, like: Trader Joe's Fireworks Bar, Lindt Excellence Chili Chocolate, Moser Roth Chili Chocolate Bars from Aldi, etc.)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3) With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
4) Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the chili chocolate chunks. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
*Green-light-o-rama everywhere I drove last Tuesday! So thankful for God clearing my way! #smallfavors #bigjoy
*So glad I hoofed it back from teaching Zumba in the city to make it for volunteering at Annelise's school Eureka science program:
*I was so furious Thursday, I wanted to crawl out of my skin. (Y'all, pray for the relationship with my Zumba boss in the city. I don't want to bother with another venting post re: this here, but there are more things being ignored & not appropriately communicated.) ...But I refused to let those irritations completely ruin my day. I chose joy & focused on the positives: my actual Zumba class rocked, we all got to rest with no obligations (rare!) that night, I got bubble tea, it was 83°F & warm in the futurecast, and I wore shorts & my new pink shell Lilly Pulitzer Essie top that I got in the After Party Sale the week before - all 4 of my sale items arrived last Tuesday:
*Speaking of Lilly, on Friday I picked up the pants I had altered at the tailor when my mom was here. They were size XXS linen beach pants - yes, I know I'm not an XXS, but they were the ONLY item left in my dream print (rare with so much purple!) in last August's sale, & I was praying they'd work, or I'd sell them. They totally fit in the legs (wide & flowy) & in the waist (super stretch material), but it was just the inseam that was ridiculously short. (At the risk of TMI: they induced camel toe. :-O :-P) The tailor took the fabric she cut off from hemming them, cut off the stretchy top band, and stitched in that extra fabric to add a couple inches of length at the top! It's AMAZING!!! It looks like they were designed that way, and now they fit GREAT! My new fave pants:
*Will asked to turn on the radio Saturday morning to get pumped up on the literally 3-minute drive to his basketball game. "Eye of the Tiger" was just starting on the 80's-today channel, & we all ROCKED OUT!!! Apparently it was a good omen: Will's Longhorns won, again! Fast start, but got down by 1 at the half...and then roared back in control: 32-22 final. Will scored 2 points & had 4 fouls = par for his course. :-P ;-) 2-0 victory doughnuts:
*We slept blissfully through all the tornado warnings Monday AM, I went to Yin yoga & bubble tea with Annelise, took both kids to get new jeans (they grow too fast!!!), baked AMAZING Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies, took down our Christmas tree (judge away! yes, it was still up, & no, I didn't care! :-P) and finished the night with BEAST MODE parent cheer!!!
Those cookies, y'all...
Dark Chocolate Chili Cookies
These rich and fudgy chocolate cookies have a spicy kick!
Yield: 18-20 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or as much as you want)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped dark chocolate chili bars (more than 1 but less than 2 full candy bars, like: Trader Joe's Fireworks Bar, Lindt Excellence Chili Chocolate, Moser Roth Chili Chocolate Bars from Aldi, etc.)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3) With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
4) Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the chili chocolate chunks. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Those cookies look amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the way you chose to be joyful in a stressful situation!
I just wish I had a batch of those cookies on a plate in front of me right now! And yes, I said a "batch" since we're not judging ;)
ReplyDeleteThose are some pretty Lilly patterns! Glad the alterations worked out well!!
Full disclosure: we've made two more batches of those cookies in the last few days! :-D
ReplyDelete