I am on the road….to recovery AND to Costco!

 

I haven’t run in over a week and it seems like forever since I’ve posted about exercise, so I am taking one last day to rest up, and then I am exchanging sick posts for active ones. Much more exciting : )

 

 

Speaking of exciting…you HAVE to make this Gingerbread recipe and then the next day you HAVE to turn into Gingerbread French Toast.

 

 

It was the perfect combination of spicy bread and ooey gooey breakfast.  I’m not sure that there is any other way to start the day!

 

 

I don’t know how you make your French toast, but this morning I quickly scrambled together 2 eggs, 1/4 cup almond milk, tons of cinnamon, and a dash of vanilla. Then dunked in each slice and fried them up on the skillet.

 

 

Topped with some syrup and a few blackberries.  The BOY and I ate our breakfast standing in the kitchen we liked it so much!

 

These past few days, I have had some extra down time, so I have been catching up on all of my favorite blogs.  It seems that this has been the year of the cookie!  Okay, maybe not officially, but as I read through everyone’s End of Year Recipe Wrap Up, there seem to be a lot, and I mean A LOT, of mouth watering cookie recipes and pictures out there.

 

 

These posts are dangerous because they make you want to drop everything you are doing to go preheat your oven.  That’s exactly what happened when I was reading through Sally’s Post.

 

 

Luckily, I have tons of leftover baking ingredients scattered throughout my house including the driedcranberries and white chocolate chunks I used in these cookies.

 

 

A few things I learned while baking these cookies…

 

 

Number 1- Adding cornstarch to all purpose flour creates cake flour, and cake flour makes for fluffy cookies!

 

 

Number 2-Chilling the dough is important!

 

 

Number 3-There is a difference between light and dark brown sugar when baking cookies.  Sally recommends using dark brown sugar in these cookies!

 

 

These were great lessons to learn!  Not only because I made these soft, beautiful, and delicious cookies, but because they will help with many cookie successes in the new year.

 

 

Packed full of bright cranberries and white chocolate chunks, these cookies make a great hostess gift for your New Year’s party!

 

I have definitely baked up my fair share of cookies this year, here are a few of my favorites:

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Double Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Oatmeal Scotchies

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Mint-Thins

 

 

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

From Sally’s Baking Addiction

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup dried cranberries

 

Directions

Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in white chocolate chips & dried cranberries. Chill dough (covered) for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Drop balls of dough (1.5 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet OR used a standard-sized cookie scoop. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do NOT cook them longer than 9 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack.

 

 

What are you baking this weekend?