Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 orange, optional (I don't use this when I make these)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I don't include this when I make these)

Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 375*F. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper (I use parchment paper). Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugars. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and orange zest, beating well to blend.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients, beating well to blend. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Using a tablespoon scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 18 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheets five minutes before transferring to racks to cool.

The great thing about these cookies is that they don't spread out while they're baking. They maintain their shape and come out nice an fluffy!




This recipe also calls for a glaze, but I'm usually too lazy to make it. But if you want to give it a try, here's the recipe for the glaze.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps
1. Stir together the sugar, milk and vanilla until the glaze is smooth.
2. Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze and put back on the racks to set, or drizzle the glaze over the cookies.

Enjoy!

Day Seven: A Photo That Makes My Heart Melt

This little brown baby makes my heart melt because it was Kevin at six weeks old! The boy tans really well. I love this photo because it looks like he's giggling in this picture and he still has the same big smile and beautiful green eyes to this day. I also love it because it helps me imagine how cute our kids will be some day! And I cant get over his little feet and toes. He was such a cute kid.

Day Six: 20 Of My Favorite Things

1. Children

2. Our dog, Kahlua

3. Sushi

4. Spending time with Kevin

5. Visiting family

6. Hearing about ghost stories

7. Cleaning (weird, I know)

8. Finding really great Bible verses

9. Reading

10. Laughing until my stomach hurts and my eyes water

11. Wearing scarves

12. People with a good sense of humor

13. Spending time with girlfriends

14. CHAMPAGNE!

15. Imagining what it would be like to have a baby of our own

16. Taking care of Kevin when he's sick

17. Glee

18. Dancing

19. Reading blogs ;)

20. Eating breakfast

Cleaning, Recycling and Baking

That's pretty much what my weekend consisted of. On Saturday, I spent the majority of the day cleaning out the closet in our office and the closet in the spare bedroom (which is my closet). It took me three hours to clean out my closet. Kinda sad. I ended up taking a lot of clothes out of my closet that don't need to be hung and I folded them and put them in the dresser we have in the spare room. I seriously wonder about myself sometimes. We've lived in this house for almost two years now, and the whole time I've been complaining about not having enough drawer space. And whatayaknow? This dresser has been in our house the whole time and I never once thought to actually use it - considering its been EMPTY this whole time!





I also finally got around to hanging all my long necklaces. They've been spending time in a drawer for the past couple years; all tangled and unhappy. Now I can actually see which ones I have and accessorize a little more. You're probably thinking it's kind of weird that I have them hanging at the bottom of my closet, but I really have no other place to hang them. So there. ;)



On Sunday I baked Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I must say ... I out-did myself this time. They are. so. good! I really suggest you try them out. They're easy to make and they don't take too long. I'll post the recipe tomorrow. I sent Kevin to work with some, and I also brought some to work for my co-workers today. They've been getting lots of raves. Just sayin'!

Sunday I had a lot of energy for some reason, and I recycled a couple picture frames. The first one was this really cheap one I had hiding in a closet. So I took out the picture, and re-typed this poem, printed it, framed it and hung it on Kevin's side of the bed. Our bedroom is pretty plain (as far as pictures on the wall go) so this adds a little something extra. Still kind of plain though, in my opinion.



I also recycled this other picture frame I had laying around. It was originally green, but I gave it a quick sanding, painted it with some black craft paint, let it dry, then sanded it a little again to give it kind of an antique look, and to also have some of the green show through. Then I framed this subway art! I think it turned out really cute. I'll be hanging it in our front bathroom once I decorate it for Christmas. The decorations in the bathroom are a light blue with some light greens and reds thrown in, so it will work perfectly. If any of you end up doing something with this subway art, let me know. I'd love to see what you came up with!






Hope you all had a great weekend!

Day Five: My Favorite Quote

I'm not really a quote type of person, but there is one that I really like. It's actually a really long quote and you could maybe just consider it a poem; but either way it's my favorite. I saw this quote hanging up in Kevin's room back in college. His brother also had it in his room. Their grandfather, Joe, gave it to them and to this day they still display it. I can definitely relate to these words, as I'm sure most everyone can as well.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit -
Rest if you must, but don't ever quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
-Author Unknown

Day Four: My Favorite Book

This is a toughy because I LOVE to read and I'm not sure I can pick just one. If I had to choose just one, the book that comes to mind over and over again is Ender's Game. I know. So lame because is Sci-Fi but it's really good! It has great characters, an awesome story line and it's exciting! I've actually read it three times. Don't laugh. Ha!




Now that I've admitted to being a complete nerd, here are other books that I love, love, love!

My Grandma Ruth gave me this to read and I loved it!

Amazing read!

Currently reading this for the second time!

Can't leave these addictions out!

So freaking scary!

Bawled my eyes out.

More Subway Art!

Okay my friends, I found another free subway art - and this is just in time for Christmas!

I was searching on Goo.gle for free downloadable subway art and came across this beauty...

{Photo courtesy of Mod Podge Rocks!}

I found it at Mod Podge Rocks!. Read through the post and you'll see a link that says "Download 16x20xmassubart" and it'll take you to this subway art and you can print it. It also has a free download for the banner!

If you remember the post I did about the last subway art I hung, it's super easy to find a way to display these. They could also make a great (and cheap) Christmas gift for someone.

Have fun!