Oh, Mommy is tired. I've yawned about fifty times today. Once I start I can't seem to stop. Andy and Amelia are sitting on his skateboard and riding around the dining room. The house is covered in toys and books and blankets (so that makes it a bit difficult). The rain whips and the wind is whistling outside — last night, lightning and thunder! I missed them, because I was sleeping at 9:15 p.m. But still: stormy few days here, lots of inside stuff, very small house. The weather finally turned, and we have rain and rumpus.
I made a little painting on Sunday morning. Later we all went to the art supply store to get more paints and stickers and stuff. When I was finished with the little painting (which includes stickers:) I was excited because I thought it reminded me a lot of The Color Kittens, which we read almost every night. It's funny how these little books and their characters become such a part of your life. Our days and nights have a lot of books in them. They don't get photographed that much but they should, because I so don't want to forget them in the context of our sticker-covered, draw-on-your-face, pink-painted, Golden Book–filled days. I just don't ever have a camera when we're snuggled. "'Oh Angelina,'" I read, with great mama-drama, "'your dancing is nothing but a — '" "Nuisance!" yells delighted Amelia, not really able to pronounce the word, and not really knowing what it means, but maybe she does. Same with "arabesque." I'm amazed at the words it appears she understands. There are others. I need to think of them. I need to write this stuff down, and take some pictures of our little books. They're so good. I love these days.
I make the WORST chocolate chip cookies. Recipe straight off the bag, and they suck in a different way every single time, time after time, year after year. I make pretty decent broccoli and bow ties. But who can't do that. That's all Ina. Maybe I should see if she has a chocolate-chip cookie recipe. I can't imagine she does not.
Suddenly obsessed with making a toy boat we can actually float on the casting pond this summer, and having a portrait painted of Amelia (any recommendations, let me know?). Isn't it weird how you just get these ideas all of a sudden and then they're all you can think of, when you're daydreaming? When you have time to think of these things? I feel like I have a different idea about something or other every week.
Her squishy-yummy pink cardigan is here. :)
But tired or not, how lovely to be "Mommy" to that little round-bellied girl!
Love the Valentine's Amelia is making! And the skating photos remind me of my elementary school days when we would have Skateland (in Southern California) to ourselves on special nights. :)
That's one of my favorite recipes and I make it often. I wonder if your butter is too soft when you make the cookies? I know that's one thing which can make them spread out too much. I'm sure they tasted great anyway. My daughter can actually do a (clumsy) arabesque now at six years old, in her third year of ballet, and it's silly and heartwarming all at once.
The recipe off the bag is iffy for me too. And you get such different results from refrigerating the dough before it goes in the oven. It just doesn't make sense to me.
I did find a killer cookie recipe but they are for cowboy cookies which have everything in the: oatmeal, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut.
They are Laura Bush's recipe so if you want to try them, search for that. They are really kind of a meal in a cookie with all the things in them.
Me too on the cookies. Mine started to get better when I started using stick butter. But I came to realize that I don't really like homemade chocolate chip cookies ( I know, I know, what kind of person am I? ) so it doesn't really matter anyway :) Angelina was one of my third daughter's favorites. Keep reading :)
Shan
oh so many things to comment on this post! first, google buffalo chip cookies. they are the BEST cc cookies ever in the whole entire world. the recipe i have makes 10,0000000 cookies but they are divine...they have cornflakes in them which makes them at once crunchy and chewy....i could eat 10. oh how i love that you are painting with amelia...lucky ducks will get those cute valentines! GET THE PORTRAIT DONE. you will never be sorry. when the little farmers were 3 and 6, i had one done of them in their overalls our in the pasture...cows in the background, pulling a red wagon. it is my favorite personal belonging. truly. it looks just like them which is tricky as i've seen pretty portraits that don't look like the children. the artist said it's best to wait till they are 3+ and their faces have taken on their personality. whatever the reason, this is the object i will drag out the front door if our house ever catches fire...perish the thought, but it's my most treasured thing ever. amelia will make a beautiful painting!
I have great luck with Smitten Kitchen's crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies.
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/03/crispy-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It makes a large batch but we always manage to eat them all within a couple days.
http://savorysweetlife.com/2009/10/alices-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/
OMGoodness!! The Color Kittens was my most favorite book in the whole wide world when I was little (in the 60's!)!!!! My mom, who was a teacher and an art major in college, would get out the watercolors and we would mix colors and paint pictures while we read the book. You are making such wonderful memories for Miss Mimi <3
The New York Times best chocolate chip cookies. Google them. Your mind will be blown.
My 3 year old and I just made the choc chip cookies from One Bowl Baking and they were terrific. I am a desultory baker at best and they turned out so well. Thick and chewy with crisp exteriors. Seemed too dry in dough form but baked up beautifully. Plus used melted butter so you don't have to plan ahead.
These are my fave. They are amazing: http://www.boastfulbaker.com/2010/01/05/seeking-the-holy-grail/
I too made the same type cc cookies until either I use the recipe on the back of Ghiradelli Bittersweet chips or this recipe which is our new favorite. Secret I think is melted butter and egg amount.
2 cups plus 2 T AP flour 1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 t baking soda 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 t salt 1 large egg plus 1 lg. yolk
12 T unsalted butter-melted 2 t vanilla extract
and cooled 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake @ 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. SO GOOD! Best of luck--Ann Midkiff
I've found the trick to be extra vanilla and brown sugar and at least 1/2 c extra flour. Recently I've been adding 1 tsp cornstarch to the dry ingredients for a soft baked,chewy cookie. Practice makes perfect. :)
Oh, I love visiting your world, so beautiful!
Hey, with those cookies - just add a bit more flour next time and try rolling them into balls then squashing flat and leave extra space between them - you'll get a neater cookie. Your food always looks fantastic but I think everyone has something in their fail department!
Cheers - Joolz xx
I use the recipe given to me by my OB, back when I was expecting my first ... the same as the one on the bag, with the following adjustments:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2t vanilla
You also need to make sure you don't get the butter too soft before starting, or they spread too much.
Angelina as in Angelina Ballerina? Oh how we loved those books. We still have Angelina and Alice soft dolls with an extensive wardrobe, along with the books of course, tucked away in a cupboard for the next generation.
I love the look of your cookies, I don't much like neat and tidy ones, the big misshapen yummy ones are always so much more homey in my opinion.
Oatmeal. Add some to the recipe. It gives the cookies a little substance. You should be able to find an online recipe. I've been using oatmeal in my choc chip cookies for years. A recipe of my mother's, but I think it is not unique.
Your photos and commentary are so lovely.
Oh, Oaks Park! Where I grew up skating…haven't thought about it in years & years. Also grew up on the golden books & read them with the boys, grandma had a set of tiny ones that felt like treasures. I gave up on getting the cookies right long ago, fortunately, the man didn't. He claims it's all in the timing & turning of the tray part way through.
I make choc chip cookies that end up like that also. I think It has to do,with the amount of humidity in the air or something like that. Sometimes they are perfect and others not. But, they all get eaten, no matter how awful they look. Try adding more flour if the first batch spreads too much. Sometimes it helps,
have a look at this:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/285767538831627194/
it's a "what's wrong with my cookie" chart-just FYI, all the time I lived in OR it was iffy for me to get CC cookies to "work."
I finally started to leave OUT the baking soda-we were at 3000' elevation so right on the edge of high altitude/etc. That seemed to work for me :)
PS-my son does portraits from photos.
His link is here if you'd like to have a look!
https://www.facebook.com/MfrancoArt
I took one look at that dough and knew they'd come out just like that ;) I think the biggest problem with the recipe off the bag is that the dough ends up too wet and they sort of melt and spread. You could try adding 1/4 flour or so and see if that holds them up a bit.
Oooor there is always the America's Test Kitchen recipe. So good! http://foodsciencesecrets.com/?p=1452
The Color Kittens was my favorite growing up, as well! (I grew up in the 80s). Thanks so much for the sweet reminder. And your painting is perfect.
I make the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the bag ,but only 1/2 the butter--works beautifully every time.
Another change to the recipe is to make the recipe as written with the only change being to substitute the white flour for whole wheat flour (yes, all 2 1/4 cups)--with this recipe I always put it in a 9x13 pan and make bars-they are not too heavy--delicious!
Golden Books were given to me by the boatload when I was little because I was an only child for a brief (golden) time in my life. Color Kittens, yes! I too supplied the missing words when my parents hesitated. I am so glad you, Andy and Amelia are having this experience. It will be golden for all of you.