Christmas Cookies

 

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has had a great holiday so far! I'm sorry I haven't gotten to posting anything new for the past couple of weeks. I've been overwhelmingly busy with a new project. I'm looking forward to sharing with everyone- keep an eye out for Sunday's post!

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It's a great time of celebration, family, and remembrance. We got to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner at my dad's house with our annual Christmas hot pot. After dinner, we got to enjoy eggnog, cookies, and drinks. My little (4 and 5 year old) siblings set aside some cookies for Santa- although I feel like they probably wanted to eat them for themselves.

I don't blame my siblings for reaching for and grabbing extra cookies for themselves. These cookies are delicious! They're not too sweet, crispy on the edges, and soft and chewy in the center. The flake salt on top is the perfect touch. It brings out the sweetness of the chocolate, all while contrasting with a lovely salty flavor. I love toll house cookies, but I'd probably have to choose these delicious treats over them. The gooey chocolate and little bit of saltiness just can't be beat!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 18 cookies)
1 stick Butter, Softened
2 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 oz Dark Chocolate
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 3/4 cup Flour
Flake Sea Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream butter, sugar, honey, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla extract and incorporate well.
4. Chop up dark chocolate into bite-size chunks. Add into the batter.
5. Add the salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix until combined into a dough. Do not overmix the dough to keep a soft texture.
6. Scoop the dough onto a sheet pan, about 2 inches apart. You should scoop about 2 tbsp of dough for each cookie.
7. Sprinkle some flake sea salt over the top of each cookie.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly, then serve.

Who doesn't want to eat chocolate chip cookies on Christmas Day? (I'm sure Santa loves them). The best part about these cookies, is that the chocolate doesn't harden for a while. Chocolate chips are made to keep their shape, but the chunks in this cookie stay untempered. Using real chocolate will give you a yummy, gooey cookie that pairs perfectly with a cold glass of milk!

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? I love getting to spend time with family, sharing food and creating memories.

Classic Banana Bread

To celebrate my birthday last weekend, I had some friends over to play games and relax. We played fun minute-to-win it style games (basically absurd and unusual games with household objects). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the party... For one of the games, we hung bananas from our waist and pelvic-thrusted oranges onto paper plates using the banana. It was as strange as it sounds... The bananas weren't really great for peeling and eating, since they got bruised along the way. Luckily, the peels didn't break, so they were perfect for smashing up into banana bread! 

My mom always used to make banana bread for my school teachers around the end of the school year when I was growing up. Thanks to the party, I had some bananas lying around, so what better use than banana bread!

Classic Banana Bread (makes 2 large loaves)
2 sticks Butter
1.5 cup Brown Sugar, packed
.5 cup Sugar
8 Eggs
1 tbsp Baking Soda
1.5 Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2.5 cup Flour
8 Bananas

3 tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 2 large loaf pans by spraying them well with baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy.
3. Once aerated, add eggs gradually and mix until smooth.
4. Add dry ingredients, and then mix very slowly until incorporated.
5. Peel bananas, and smash with your hands into the mix.
6. After the bananas are dispersed throughout the batter, pour the mix into the prepared loaf pans.
7. In a bowl, place sugar and flour together.
8. Cut butter into small pieces, and use your hands to make a crumble.
9. Once the mixture becomes sandy, sprinkle a generous layer over each of the loaves.
10. Place the loaf pans onto a baking sheet to catch any drips.
11. Bake for about 1.5 hours, until the centers are fully baked. Test this using a toothpick or knife and poking a hole into the bread. It should come out clean.
12. Allow the bread to cool completely before removing from the pan. 

This is a simple, delicious recipe. It's not too sweet, and the crumble adds a nice texture. You can also add nuts, chocolate chips, or whatever else you desire to the batter for even more variety. I like to keep my banana bread classic, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of honey on a hot day!