Rainbow Cookies

Hi There! 

So uh, how long has it been since I've posted? Almost 3 months??? Yikes, sorry! Starting fourth year of college doesn't exactly entail too much free time to bake or blog, ya know? 

It's usually more like this: drink drink drink class sleep drink eat sleep class drink drink drink sleep drink drink eat... Catch my drift? I also live in a house of 10 girls. Ten. Two (and a half) bathrooms. That just screeeams drama. and dirtiness. (Is that a word?)  We even have a cleaning lady that comes every two weeks and it's still disgusting. At the beginning of the year, we had this really bad gnat problem, where like a bijillion of them would hover around the kitchen and trash can. You basically had to plug your mouth and nose when you walked into the kitchen unless you wanted extra protein that day. Did I mention my room is right across from the kitchen? Ummmmmmm, ya. You're probs really grossed out right now.

So with aforementioned situation, you can imagine how much baking/cooking I've done since school started. 

[0] <-- this much. Actually, I lie. I DID bake one time, when we were sequestered to our house all day thanks to hurricane Irene. We drank about 12938 bottles of wine, oodles of cheese and crackers, and then....I made cookies. Keep in mind I'm in unfamiliar territory over here! The stove is electric (I think?). It has creepy coils that heat up. And the oven has this little light that turns on when you set the oven temperature and then the light turns off when it reaches that temp. At least, I know that's how it works now. At the time, I thought the oven kept shutting off every time the light went off so I kept cranking up the temperature so the light would turn back on. #fail. The cookies were fat but crispy. Weird texture. At least now I know how the oven works.

Anyway, I probably sadly won't have too many recipes to share until I go home for Christmas break, BUT I did go home last weekend for our Fall Break. What a treat! It's starting to get chilly up in here in VA, so I was definitely looking forward to laying out and getting tan. And eating delicious foods. And baking! I told my sister that it was vital to my being that we bake. 

I didn't have too much time at home so despite the hundreds of recipes I have bookmarked, I went straight to my most-trusted blogger, Jessica, for a fool-proof yummy recipe. These bad boys have been calling my name ever since she made them back in July. I love that they're colorful They're just so happy! And you will definitely be happy after eating them. They're gooey and chewy and right out of the oven, melt in your mouth. Aaand they stay soft. Don't you hate when cookies get hard and stale the very next day? Like sorry, I can't eat 18 cookies in one sitting. I mean...I could, but then I might feel sick after. Maybe.

Jessica made these cookies gigantic and baked them a funny way [she rolled a big dough ball, ripped it in half, and placed them on top of each other]. I did some of mine like this and others just regular but either way, they still taste fantastic! 

Enjoy!

Rainbow Cookies

Recipe from How Sweet Eats

Makes 18-20 cookies, depending on size

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of salted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup m&m’s (or something else that you love)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they are combined (and look like the first picture above). Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. I even used my hands to help at one point. Fold in the m&m’s.

Divide the dough how you choose. Shape each portion into a ball with your hands then pull each ball into two equal pieces. Turn each half so that the rough side of the half (what used to be the inside of the ball) faces upwards and then squish both halves together. Place the dough rough-side up on a baking sheets. If you’re doing large cookies, I’d leave about 2 inches in between each.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (large cookies) or 8-12 minutes (small cookies) or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be soft and puffy. Do not over bake. 

Let cool completely then dig in!

Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies

Listen, people. Things have been really busy around here.

I get up around 11, I think about what I want for breakfast for about 30 minutes...the Great Debate ya know? Do I wanna go the savory route and eat eggs (omelet?) and toast? Or do I wanna do sweet, and have pancakes or cereal & berries? These are the kind of monumental issues I'm facing this summer.

Anyways so after breakfast, I water the plants. I might go to the gym. Yesterday I did a boxing class. I thought it was gonna be like kickboxing...ya know some kicks here and there...a couple jabs...standard run of the mill aerobic stuff. I was really surprised when I walked in and the (kinda hot, also jacked) instructor handed me boxing gloves. And then taught me how to hit him. I highly suggest taking these types of classes if you were just broken up with. Or have a lot unsolved issues. Preeeetty good.

And since I torched all those cals, I figured I would reward myself with a hearty serving of these brown sugar blueberry cookies that I saw on this blog a couple days ago. If you like food even with a little inkling of your being, you need to check her blog out. The stuff she makes is absolutely deliiiicious and her pictures make you want to pick the food out of the screen.

That batter up there? Yeah it tastes like a blueberry muffin. After I took this pic, I ate that spoon (sorry Chrstner). Don't judge me - you know you want to eat it too. They puff up after they bake and they're just so fluffy! They get super big and thick. Just how I like my cookies. And some people would say my men too.

Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies 

from Jessica at How Sweet It Is

makes 12-15+ cookies

1 stick butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk (I used Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)

3/4 cup fresh blueberries (or you could use frozen too if you don't have fresh)

If you want to add chocolate chips, we can be best friends.

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon with the mixer on low speed. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Fold in blueberries gently with a spatula – it is okay if they break a bit. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls or scoop out with an ice cream scooper. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Devour.  

These also freeze really well! So, if you're unlike me and can't finish the whole batch, pop them in the freezer and then when you want them, BAM! Fresh blueberry cookies. In your belly. Yum.