March 2015

There are times that call for impressively stacked cakes with fluffy frostings, meticulous preparation methods and elaborate settings. There are other times that call for something more spontaneous, something simple and sweet to cap off a night and satisfy a craving.

For those times, there are these cookies!

Cookies can be sweet, round reminders to appreciate the simplest of pleasures. When I need to refocus on these little joys, I find it’s worth putting pen to paper, making a list and reminding myself to be grateful and content.

Slow down. Calm down. Inhale. Exhale. Bake. Share. Repeat.

From pen to paper, from paper to web, from frenzies to thoughtful focus, these are the joys I jotted down recently:

Puppy sighs.
Grape hyacinths and the first scents of spring.
The faded ink of aged journal entries.
The many places a camera can take you.
Discovering humility in the midsts of great talent. 
Observing and appreciating the growth of a friendship through so many phases of life.
Loving someone so much, my heart bursts at the seams!
Staying up too late petting Julep because she curled next to me in the most precious wheel, and no matter how much I snuggle her, it’s never enough.
Baking my roundest, softest, gooiest cookies to date!

Dogs and cookies. Cookies and dogs. This may be my new mantra for savoring the simple things in life!

Here’s to the chocolatey, gooey, round reminders!
-Quelcy

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cashew Cookies

About this Recipe: Made with Bob’s Red Mill organic whole wheat pastry flour, these cookies are so soft and chewy with big bites of cashews. I recommend a high quality, dark chocolate chip such as Guittard, which I recommend for their use of all natural, non-gmo ingredients. For the cashews, either chop them coarsely, or simply use your fingers to break them in half.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cashew Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups organic whole-wheat pastry flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) organic unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup organic raw cane sugar
1 cup packed organic light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs (organic/cage-free)

1 cup extra dark chocolate chips (such as Guittard 63% cacao)
1 cup cashews, very coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.

Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips and cashews.

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough, about 2 inches apart, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

 

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