Chocolate Chip Button Cookies

 

I love these cookies because they are simple and delicious and have an appealing look to them. They are somewhat healthier than other chocolate chip recipes because they're not too sweet and are made with whole wheat flour.They're charming because they're small but tall little cookies and if they're done right they'll crack open slightly during baking giving them a somewhat 'old fashioned' look. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Before baking, leave the butter out to soften. After the butter has softened, stir it together with the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, vanilla and olive oil and stir the mixture until it's runny. Next add the flour and the baking soda and then stir in the chips.

Place the bowl of dough into the fridge for at least one hour to allow it to cool and thicken. Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Once an hour has passed and the dough is cold and firm to the touch, use a spoon to scoop out small amounts and then use your hands to roll the dough into balls about the size of chestnuts. Place the balls on an ungreased 12" X 18"baking sheet (making approximately 3 rows of 4.) Put the baking sheet into the fridge and cool for 5-10 minutes. 

Place the baking sheet in the oven on the second to highest rack setting for 9 minutes, and then remove and let cool. Do not put dough into the oven that is runny or sticky because it will cause your cookie to 'pancake' during baking and possibly burn the edges. The drastic change in temperature during the baking of cooled dough allows the cookie to set in a bubbly round shape and develop a slightly cracked open surface.

Tips:

• Place balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet so that the side with the most chocolate chips is face up. This will make the cookies look great after they're done.
• If any edges of the cookies are burnt or overcooked, gently trim them down using a spatula or a butter knife.
• Make sure to store these cookies in a sealed container otherwise they will dry out and lose flavor.

For Julia: A Bridal Shower in the Garden

These are a few pictures from the bridal shower I threw in July, 2010 for one of my best friends. We were so lucky that it turned out to be one of the most gorgeous days of the year! Since the party was going to be held in an garden in Oak Bay I set out to incorporate floral patterns, summer colours and elements of nature like the paper butterflies and wooden birds pictured below. This event was so much fun to put together because the theme was colourful, summery and civilized, and it was fantastic to be able to do something like this for my friend to celebrate before she got hitched!

  

Pictured above is the assembly line of invitations for the event on my dining room table, being guarded carefully by our cat Potato!

Here's a closer look at the invitations and paper butterflies I made. I used the butterfly template from the Martha Stewart website. 

Here's a shot of the table under the tent before more food and snacks were brought out. My mother in law Billie baked these delicious crunchy cheese crackers.

These were so pretty!

I couldn't believe how we lucked out on the weather! It was a good thing we had this tent otherwise the guests would have cooked!

Here are the lantern decorations I made. The great thing about these is that they are reusable. For example, they were used to decorate the couple's rehearsal dinner as well!

The large oak trees in the yard provided just enough shade on the hot day for a friendly game of croquet!

 

Here's the gifts for the bride, brought to the shower by her guests. These ladies sure knew how to gift wrap beautifully! 

These goody bags were fun to make and to give! I put together crisp white paper bags filled with fresh red cherries for guests.

         

The mini-cupcakes pictured above were from Crumsby's Bakery. If you are ever in the Estevan Village in Victoria or are planing an event, consider trying these beautiful and delicious little creations.

The photos in the banner were of the bride and the groom!