Baking Cookies

Happy Thursday everyone! Yikes, how is it Thursday already? This week is sure flying by. Even though this is a hectic week for me, it is nice to take a few moments for myself and just forget about the deadlines and the looming to-do list. You know, so I don't go completely crazy. Yesterday I decided to spend my lunch hour baking cookies, just because. Well actually I did it because we were out of cookies at my house and I am a firm believer that a house should never be cookie-free. 

To fix the cookie situation, I got to work making these Sea Salt Nutella Sugar Cookies, recipe via Cookin' Canuck, which I have actually made before. My family made them at Easter and they were a huge hit. I had to scrape around for ingredients a bit this time so they turned out differently than the first batch but they are still delicious. It's hard to go wrong with Nutella.

My version definitely isn't the most beautiful looking but who cares when your cookie is yummy right? These cookies are definitely crowd pleasers. I think it's that mix of salty and sweet. Dessert brilliance!

What are some of your favorite types of cookies? My ultimate favorite is snickerdoodle but these might be a close second.

When you have a busy schedule, what kind of things to you do to give yourself a little break? 

Back From Thanksgiving, Goals Accomplished

Hi everyone!  I'm excited to be back today after the busy holiday last week (Thanksgiving if you are here in the US) and my lack of blogging.  Because this weekend was big for retail (Black Friday) I was swamped with work at Anthropologie.  I didn't do much shopping of my own, I am not one for the crazy hustle and bustle of holiday shopping.  Are you?  Did you find any great deals?  

But the time I got to spend appreciating the holiday and my family was just perfect.  We had a very small gathering this year at my house because some of our Arizona family was unable to come.  We missed them dearly but my holiday was just lovely and I wouldn't change anything about it.  My brother brought his girlfriend along and it was so nice to get and spend more quality time with her.  We took a walk together (with Scout) and talked about art, being creative, our futures...it was such an inspiring walk.  We all helped my Mom in the kitchen throughout the day, we snuggled under comfy sweaters and sat by a fire outside, had a yummy dinner, chatted, and finally ended the night watching one of my favorite movies Rear Window.  Simple and easy but perfect.

Another reason why the day was such a success was because I officially completed one of my Twelve by 2012 goals...I made an apple pie!  Well actually my brother, his girlfriend, and I all worked on the pie together but that made it way more fun.  The recipe is actually called an apple tart but it was basically a pie with an open top.  The recipe I followed was this one from Sprinkle Bakes.  This tart is hailed as the 'easiest ever' and I can say, it was a pretty simple recipe, even when you make your own dough like we did.  We were so excited making it because it was a first-time pie for all three of us.  It seemed like a ton of butter going into the pie in the beginning (we felt like we were doing some Paula Deen cooking) but in the end it didn't taste overly buttery.  It turned out so good...perfect warm {or cold} with a little vanilla ice cream.  It tasted so fresh, the apples were still crisp and had so much flavor.  I am so proud of my little pie and also finally accomplishing one of my goals.  I'll soon be accomplishing a few more so I guess I'm on a role now.

The messier the work station, the better the pie...this must be cooking law right?

Look at all that butter!  A lot is even hidden from view in this shot and of course a bunch went into the dough itself.

I guess I didn't take any post-baking shots with my camera but that is because we were too busy eating it and marveling at how delicious it was.  It was a beautiful golden brown.  I am very tempted to bake a second one (because the first one is gone) so maybe then I can try snapping a few shots of the completed pie.

And finally, just a few shots of our Thanksgiving.  My family, Mom and brother and I, on the right getting ready to eat.  I love this picture even though we are out of focus.  I am so thankful for these two people, my family.

If you celebrated Thanksgiving, how was your holiday?  Did you make anything spectacular?  Did you travel near or far?  But most importantly, did you spend it with the ones you love?  I hope you all did dear readers.