A Pop of Red

Fruit Salad Cookies | No eggs, sugar, flour, or milk!

Posted on March 6, 2015 by A Pop of Red

Over the past two weeks I have been sharing some pictures on my Instagram page including these two:

You see, I have been experimenting with this random recipe idea that popped into my head. I always saw bread and cakes and bars made without any traditional baking base ingredients but never any cookies. Or none that I found to be very tasty. So I set out to make my own.

After seeing some overripe bananas and some unused applesauce in my kitchen I had an AHA moment! FRUIT SALAD…cookies. Yes, fruit salad cookies.

I wanted to create a cookie that focused on fruits and so I set out to experimenting and I am pretty happy with the result (taste tested by a colleague of course)! These cookies are egg free, milk free, flour free, butter and oil free, AND SUGAR FREE!

You see, apple sauce and bananas both can substitute 1:1 for oils and sugar. So I figured why not combine the two into a base for a cookie knocking off two typical ingredients right there in favour of my fruit salad theme. The egg and flour are usually needed for structure but by using oats in the batter I negated the need for either of those. In fact, DO NOT use flour in these cookies! I learned the hard way that using flour in a fruit based recipe tends to lead to a rubbery dough due to the structure of the gluten.

When I introduced the first version of this cookie to one of my colleagues (the taste tester for this recipe since he was so enthusiastic about my blog) it was the rubbery version but he said the taste was all there. Fruit salad cookies pack a lot of flavour because they take the flavour right from the fruit! After tweaking the recipe I came back to him with two new versions and he narrowed it down to the final version you can see below.

Now I will have to bake a batch to bring to the rest of my coworkers now that the recipe is perfected. Who knows, maybe they will go over as well as the chocolate chip cookies, just with a healthy twist!

If you are ready to change it up in the kitchen, use the recipe below to make your own Fruit Salad Cookies.

Fruit Salad Cookies

1 banana, ripe and mashed
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
2 cups oats
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or almonds work best)
¼ cup strawberries, finely diced (optional)

Combine banana and apples sauce until banana is thoroughly mashed.
Add the cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, salt and honey. Stir to combine.
Fold in the oats until a dough is formed. You may need to slightly adjust the amount of oats, just be sure that your dough is no longer sticky, sticky dough will not cook as well.
Finally, stir in your cranberries and chopped nuts.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week (may be able to get more time out of it, I am still testing this).

Let me know what you think of the cookies and be sure to comment below with any twists you added to these already fruity cookies!

Posted in Foodie Friday | Tagged Breakfast, Food, Foodie Friday, Health, Healthy, Recipe | 2 Comments

The Craft Challenge 2015 – Introduction

Posted on March 2, 2015 by A Pop of Red

I have news! Big news for me as a blogger and entertaining news for you as a reader! I have started a blog collaboration to bring you new and exciting craft content. What is it? Well, let me introduce you to…

The Craft Challenge will be a place for participating bloggers to share their craft and DIY ideas related to a particular theme decided each month. Each blogger will link to the other’s posts so you can see some awesome ideas! The posts will go up on each blog on the last Monday of each month starting on March 30^th.

Wondering what the themes are? Well, for March the theme will be Crafting with Yarn. We have two more themes lined up and are currently deciding on more, but if you have any suggestions be sure to post your ideas in the comments or mention them on social media using the hashtag #CraftChallenge.

I think that is enough information about The Craft Challenge now so let me introduce to you the other bloggers involved.

Megan of Make Something Mondays

Megan blogs at her craft and DIY blog: makesomethingmondays.wordpress.com. There she shares everything from drawings, to crafts, and DIYs. Why call it making on Mondays? To make that tough little day a little brighter!

Erika of Eclectic Enchantments

Erika is the blogger at eclecticenchantments.co.uk where she shares everything related to crafts, vintage and beauty. She has a lot of passion and a lot to share! I am hoping we will get to see some of her wire wrapping skills during this challenge.

And we are welcoming other bloggers too!
If you are interesting in joining The Craft Challenge as a blogger,
send a message to for more information!

Posted in Craft Challenge, Make It Monday | Tagged Craft, DIY, Make It Monday | 3 Comments

Hearty Chili with Bacon

Posted on February 13, 2015 by A Pop of Red

Hearty Chili with Bacon Recipe

As I mentioned last post, I have visitors coming this weekend. Second weekend in a row with visitors, how nice! I enjoy the company but I also have to make sure to do some planning to ensure everyone will have food since usually I only serve two people. It is times like these that I go to the crockpot.

Slow cookers – or crockpots – are wonderful tools to help you cook while doing numerous other activities. Prep the food the night before, mix into the crockpot in the morning, go about the rest of your day, and come home to a perfectly cooked meal. It is an amazing feeling, the only thing better is to have someone else cook for you!

crock pot chili

So for my guests this weekend I am making hearty chili with bacon.

Now when I think chili, I think ground beef, onion and green peppers, lots of beans, and spicy tomato sauce. Nothing too fancy. But trust me when I say, add a little bacon and it will go a long way!

Make your chili even better with bacon

I started adding bacon to my chili after I went to cook chili one day but didn’t have enough ground beef. So I subbed in some cooked bacon. My husband and I loved it! Now it is a must have every time we make chili, which is quite often since my husband likes both bacon and the chili so much.

Anyways, without further ado, let’s tell you how to make your own hearty chili with bacon. All you need is:

How to make hearty chili with bacon 1lb Ground Beef, cooked
6-8 Strips Bacon, cooked
1 Onion, medium, roughly chopped
½ Green Pepper, roughly chopped
1 Can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ Cans Plain Tomato Sauce
½ Cup Water
1 tbsp Paprika
½ tbsp Black Pepper, ground
½ tbsp Spice of Choice (I use oregano)
2-3 Cloves of Garlic (optional)

Combine all meats and vegetables in a lightly oiled crockpot and stir to combine. Add sauce, water and spices. Stir until thoroughly combined. Set on low for 6-8 hours. Stir before serving.

And that is all there really is to it. If you do the prep the night before, this recipe becomes a matter of dumping stuff in a pot, super convenient.

Of course, since this is a meal I am serving to guests I try to make some dessert food as well. This time around I made chocolate brownies with walnuts from Living the Lovely. You can find the recipe for them here.

Living the Lovely - One Bowl Brownies

Anyways, that was my day. Making chili and brownies all for my guests.
Do you do anything special before guests arrive? Tell me in the comments!

Hearty chili with bacon

One bowl brownies with walnuts

Posted in Foodie Friday | Tagged BACON, Food, Foodie Friday, Recipe | Leave a comment

Ottawa Winterlude and My Awesome Weekend

Posted on February 12, 2015 by A Pop of Red

Rideau Canal on a Winter Day This past weekend, one of my aunts surprised me with a visit! My weekend turned from a no-plans bore, to a day packed with fun. While I didn’t get many pictures during the day, I can at least let you in on some shots I took at Winterlude!

We started with a tour of the Royal Canadian Mint which was far more interesting than I expected. Made all the better because a young boy let his curiosity show by asking many questions. The questions were well thought out and it made me happy to see someone so young interested in coinage. I used to collect coins (still have my collection in fact) and appreciate the work behind each coin so I am glad to see his interest peaked as well.

Family outing snow sculpture

Then it was off to the Byward Market where we stopped for lunch/dinner at one of my old University days haunts: Zak’s Diner. Zak’s is an oldie’s style diner that has become quite popular. It has all-day breakfast and the most amazing milkshakes in flavours you have to taste to believe! I ended up having French toast with runny eggs while my aunt went for dinner with a BBQ burger. We split a giant mint chocolate shake…YUM! No room for dessert but if you ever go, give the Betty’s Rocky Road Brownie Sundae a try. BE PREPARED FOR A SUGAR RUSH!

Late night Beavertails

Next stop: Beavertails in the market. My aunt, and her friend she was travelling, had never had a beavertail before so we made a stop so they could give these Ottawa treats a try. I believe the only words they said for the next five minutes were “oh,” “yum,” “uh,” and otherwise they ate in silence. Note: I didn’t have a beavertail! As much as I love them, I did not get a craving while we were there, still the remnants of that January challenge I think!

Locks on the Corktown Footbridge

Then it was to Winterlude, specifically the ice sculptures in Confederation Park. I will not be sharing every sculpture here though if you want a detailed look, mention it in the comments and I can post a gallery of the photos if there is interest!

Anyways, this first shot is of the sculpture sponsored by the Philippines which is one of my favorites for sure! It is actually three sculptures together that show a scene. The lantern in the foreground is shining on the crossed hands which would make a shadow puppet eagle, made more beautiful by the sculptors. This idea was so unique that I fell in love with it!

Philippines Ice Sculpture at Winterlude

Next, the winning sculpture this year. While not my favorite overall design, I can definitely understand why this one took the cake. The ice rope would be so difficult to create and some of the other technical bits show the prowess of these designers and sculptors.

Winterlude Winning Ice Sculpture

Near the end of the ice sculpture line up was this beautiful garden scene reminiscent of Japanese gardens. With intricate wall designs, a blossoming tree, cobblestone path and a sitting bench, this scene just beckoned me to relax a while. Hmmm, maybe I should go to Japan! Haha.

Garden scene made of ice

This last one struck close to my heart. My grandfather was a fantasy person, specifically a dragon person, and he passed that love of imagination and dream worlds onto me. This image of a girl pulling a toy dragon to meet the “real” thing just struck a chord with me. My imaginative young self would see dragons and gargoyles everywhere! I was always dreaming of dragons.

Dreaming of Dragons at Ottawa Winterlude

Thank my aunt to her and those we met up with. This was one of the best weekends I have had in recent memory. I really hope we can get together and have another little adventure sometime.

Once again, if you would like to see more pictures of the sculptures, comment below! I will add them in a gallery if there is enough interest.

Sculptures in Confederation Park

Posted in Thoughtful Thursday | Tagged family, Life, Ottawa, Thoughtful Thursday | Leave a comment

February Goal – Time to Wake Up!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by A Pop of Red

In January, I challenged myself to eat less sugar.
No Candies.
No Chocolate.
No Pop.

How did I do? I would say pretty well. For the first 3 weeks, I managed to eat no sugar outside of my 3 treat days, permitted home baking, and a couple hot chocolates.

On the 12^th, I hit a bit of a snag. I instinctively ordered a milkshake at one of my favorite burger joints. I had been saving my 2^nd treat day for a social work event on the 13^th and here I go mistakenly using that freebie to get a milkshake. It was at this point that I decided I could ease up on myself since other than that day I had been doing REALLY well. My compromise with myself…milkshakes can be allowed for the remainder of the month.

After that, things progressed as well as before. I found myself stopping to think before I grabbed something to eat.

Do I really want that cookie?
Do I need a mid-day snack?
What could I eat instead?
How will this pop make me feel? (Hint: not awesome)

With all these questions in my head, I was able to cut WAY down on my sugar intake. I reduced the sugar in my home baked goods recipes like the chocolate chip cookies recipe. I had less hot chocolates even though I allowed them for the challenge. And I learned that I am usually more full than I realize much of the time, and don’t actually need a snack to make it through the day.

February 2015 - Weight Loss Update

There were also two non-food breakthroughs at least partially related to my “sugar-free” month.

One, I lost 5 pounds in January. The main this I changed this month was this dietary change. I added a little bit of yoga and exercise and am ramping that up as I go. So I am super happy to finally see my post-surgery weight go down.

Two, my husband said he was proud of what I did. He knows I struggle with mad sugar cravings and he said I seemed happier since I was not angry with myself for eating poorly. He also noticed his own diet changing for the better by association, and that is always great! I really appreciated him saying these things to me, and his words were the highlight of my month.

So that was January, a successful challenge if I say so myself, but what shall I challenge myself to do in February?

My February goal is to wake up on time every day.

My February Challenge

Lately I have had trouble waking up with my alarms. I hit snooze an, well, snooze! I also seem to be completely waking up at 1:00a.m. which is NOT enough sleep! To combat these issues I am committing to waking up at or before 6:00a.m. every day in February. NO LATER!

I am hoping this will normalize my sleep schedule again (it used to be super cyclical). I am also aiming to add some more productive time to my day. For instance, if I wake up at 6, I can:

Prep a lunch
Put food in the slow cooker for dinner
Put out the trash or recycling on pick up days
Make a breakfast for my husband and I
Or even just relax a little bit (shower, read a book, watch the news)

Well, let’s see if I can keep up this habit. 5 days in and so far, so good!

Posted in Thoughtful Thursday | Tagged Health, Life, Thoughtful Thursday | 2 Comments

Craftsy Winter Wonders Sale

Posted on January 31, 2015 by A Pop of Red

I recently became an affiliate with Craftsy, an online shop and learning centre. On Craftsy you can purchase online classes for things like sewing, cooking, baking, and various types of crafting. Right up my alley! Right now I am taking the FREE knife skills course because it is something I was never actually taught. I suggest taking one of the free courses to give Craftsy a try, it made me a believer!

Anyways, I thought I would let you all know that Craftsy is having an amazing sale right now on their fabrics, yarn, and kits with prices up to 65% off! Oh yeah, kits are all-in-one packages for a specific crafting idea. For instance you could buy a sewing kit to make a dress and it will include not only the pattern, but the fabric as well. Same goes for the knitting and crochet kits.

Colorblock Sheath Dress Kit

Personally, I am thinking of picking up this block dress kit (see picture above), it is super professional looking but also seems easy enough to try out my new sewing machine on.

So if you are looking for a new craft project, go to Craftsy’s Winter Wonders Sale to get up to 65% kits, fabric, and yarn!

*Note: This post contains affiliate links

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Liebster Award Nomination and Answers

Posted on January 31, 2015 by A Pop of Red

I’ve been nominated by Britney of Live Love Army Life for the
Liebster Award!

liebster award

This award helps build a blogger community and shine a light on who we bloggers really are. The rules of the nominations and posts for the Liebster Award go something like this (I changed a couple things so it worked better for me):

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you
2. Answer the questions from your nominator
3. Nominate 5 bloggers who have about 500 followers
4. Create 11 new questions for your nominees
5. Notify your nominees through social media/ blogs

Here are the questions I got from Britney and my answers. Feel free to ask me more in the comments below!

1. How long have you had your blog?
I’ve had my blog since September 2014. I started it while I was on bed rest after my surgery. I had been working on it for a while but took that bit of extra time to get it off the ground.

2. Where do you see your blog going in the future?
I hope to see it as a site where people go to for ideas and inspiration whether it be food or crafts. I want to inspire people to create even if they don’t feel like they have the skills because the action of creating is very fulfilling.

3. What’s your number one tip for sharing your blog/ gaining more followers?
I would say my number one tip is to pick the social media sites YOU enjoy personally, and promote there. That way you know what people like to see because you have been the one liking, or pinning, or +1-ing other peoples blogs!

4. How did you decide to get into blogging?
I have always wanted some kind of outlet where I can share one or more of my hobbies. It ended up coming down to either a gaming Youtube channel or this blog. I decided that I had more to give in the food and craft areas than I did for gaming and so I am here.

5. What’s your “day job”?
My day job is a economics and statistics research analyst. Entry level for the moment as I just finished school. And that is all I will share about that.

View from our favorite place

6. What’s the most interesting place that you’ve visited?
I haven’t been many places…YET. So far my favorite place is Lake Placid, NY. That is where I took my first vacation with my husband and where we plan to get back as soon as we are able. The hiking, the food, the small town feel, the pedestrian friendly downtown. I cannot wait to go back.

7. Where would you love to visit but have never been?
I would love to visit basically EVERYWHERE. My top two destinations right now are probably Italy (Voglio practicare Italiano) and Greenland. Italy because I have always wanted to go there, ideally on a working holiday doing organic farming. Greenland because I want to see the beauty there before it is gone, and unfortunately it seems like it is changing all to fast.

8. What’s your favorite feature/ characteristic about yourself?
I like my happiness. I always find something to smile about, on the rainiest day I can don’t feel the gloom, and when sadness strikes I try to see past the pain. I like to notice the little things that other people pass by, it is like little secrets placed for me. And I love it when people around me perk up when I am near!

9. What article of clothing do you own that you couldn’t live without?
There isn’t any particular item I couldn’t live without. I am not much for sentimentality around my clothes. However, I couldn’t live without SOCKS. I don’t really like feet, I find them weird, so if I was not able to cover them up when I wanted I might go a little insane.

10. What was the last thing you splurged on?
A camera. For the blog. All my photos before the new year were taken with a little digital camera with had ZERO field of view and really grainy images. I decided to splurge on a DSLR so that I can start taking some quality photos and so far I am really happy with my purchase. In case you are wondering, I got a Nikon D3200*.

Nikon D3200 - Amazon

11. What advice would you give to your fellow bloggers in general?
Don’t give up. Even if you are in a rut and it seems like no one is reading your blog, keep posting and making awesome content. It just takes one amazing post to remind people how great your ideas are!

My nominees are going to be:
The Chunky Chef
The Organized Dream
Make Something Mondays
Living the Lovely
The Cosy Cook

And the questions those nominees have to answer are:

What is your favorite past-time/hobby?
What is one thing you would like to do on your blog this year?
Who or what is your biggest inspiration for being creative?
Name something you like about your town/city
Are you doing what you imagined/planned as a child?
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
What is your favorite season, and why?
Do you ever plan for worst-case-scenarios?
What is one skill you want to learn?
What is one big life goal that you hope to achieve?
A dragon appears, what do you do?

Hopefully that is a good mix of regular and Emily-inspired questions. I mean, I had to add some of myself to these questions, plus I need dragon-slaying ideas and SHTF secrets!

Have a great day everyone, and thank you Britney for the nomination.

Note: Affiliate link used in post, noted by *

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

G-Anime 2015

Posted on January 27, 2015 by A Pop of Red

This past weekend I spent the day at G-Anime. The Gatineau Quebec convention for all things nerdy. From anime, to video games, to cosplay, to sci-fi, it is all there. I just wanted to do a little recap and share some of the photos I took while there. Most of the pictures are of cosplays as I was accompanying a cosplayer (the Rapunzel you see below).

Rapunzel Cosplay

If you are in one of the images and would like a copy OR would like the photo removed, please contact me at . There are also additional photos that are not posted in this blog, if I gave you my blog info, send me an e-mail and I will give you any photos I have of you.

Anyways, let’s see how my Saturday at the con went.

My Saturday started with an 8a.m. meet up with Rapunzel so I could help her get to the con without ruining the costume as we both were travelling by bus. Once there we spent some time in registration and readied the last of her cosplay before hitting the floor.

First up, a tour of the rooms. Panel rooms, movies rooms, some kind of concert behind closed doors, and my personal favorite…the gaming room. With my Chandra cosplay I am hoping to spend some time in the game room playing my red deck while decked out as Chandra.

After that it is to the merchants/exhibitors hall where various shops sell their wares. Everything from manga, to art, to one of a kind accessories including leather armour and steampunk awesomeness. One of my favorite shops while I was there was The Green Bunny. She makes mini origami BY HAND and places it into small glass jars you can use as décor, jewelry, key rings, etc. I couldn’t decide what item I wanted to I held off on buying but I know I will be back to see her next year!

The Green Bunny Workshop

The Green Bunny Shop

After that it was time to scan the cosplays. I always love how diverse the cosplays are. You have your princesses who take selfies:

Princess Selfie

Your manga metal head characters who remind you of sad things:

Fullmetal Alchemist at GANIME

And your anime favorites who you wish you could be (another cosplay I want to do):

San of Princess Mononoke at GANIME

Your awesome movie or television based cosplays:

Cosplaying at GANIME

Your “let’s frighten the young children” cosplays:

Death note at GANIME

And the children can cosplay cosplays…SO CUTE!

Rapunzel times two at GANIME

Then you have your master level cosplayers who are so amazing you just want to sit and have them tell you their secrets:

A master cosplayer at GANIME

Anyways, hopefully by later this year my cosplay will be complete. I want to dive into the competition aspect of this fun and fascinating convention world. I feel like by watching from the sidelines I am missing part of the experience, and that my friends, is no fun at all!

Are you a convention go-er? Cosplayer? I would love to hear about your experiences, OH and let me know what other cons I should go to in the comments!

Lead us out Rapunzel

And congratulations Rapunzel, my dear friend,
on your Best Craftmanship in the Journeyman category award!

Posted in Thoughtful Thursday | Tagged conventions, cosplay, Life | 1 Comment

Husband Approved Valentine’s Day

Posted on January 26, 2015 by A Pop of Red

Valentine’s Day is coming up fast and a lot of things are going through my mind. Among the top thoughts though is “What can I do for Valentine’s Day that my husband will actually approve of?”

Some men just don’t like this pink-washed day, heart filled halls, or mushy date nights. My husband definitely falls into that category. So I decided to ask him what he would consider “Husband Approved Valentine’s Day Ideas.”

A Husbands view on Valentines

So, I introduced him to Pinterest and had him go over a slew of pins that I thought he might like. So far, he has narrowed the list to 13 “Husband Approved” pins. While mostly food related, there are some gift and décor ideas in there as well. And he has agreed to keep looking to try and beef up the list so be sure to follow along here to see what else he adds.

But, let’s introduce you to some of the husband approved Valentine’s Day ideas and get my husband’s reasoning for his choices!

A gift bag/box of his favorite things

Personalized gift bag for Valentines Day

This brown bag (or gift box) keeps the pinkness to a minimum while ensuring maximum personalization with the gift. Just grab a bag, decorate the outside as shown, and add in some of his favorite things like snacks, books, games, bathroom products, etc. Make sure you really think about what HE likes to show that you pay attention to him and his interests.

Mini love letter in a bottle

Mini love letter in a bottle

My husband isn’t much for love letters, he would rather us just say what we need or want to say to each other’s faces. And heck, it works! But if I ever wanted him to have a little reminder of my love, he approved this mini love letter in a bottle from Shrimp Salad Circus. He said the size allowed for it not to be awkward while still holding the significance of what is inside. Though, he preferred it without the stamped coin, but to each their own!

Heart shaped bacon strips

BACON and hearts

Bacon. Enough said right? My man loves his bacon and whether it comes in a perfectly cooked heart shape or a charred knot, he will approve this again and again. Because it is bacon.

Chocolate words and hearts

Valentines words in chocolate

These chocolate words or hearts can be used to top everything from cupcakes to milkshakes and they were such a simple and sweet idea they met approval. My husband especially liked how easy it would be to personalize a message just by changing the template.

Conversation heart vase

Conversation heart vase

This décor item features a vase filled with conversation heart but with another vase inside so that flowers can be put in as well. This multi-functional idea really peaked my husband’s interest because it was food (awesome), was functional (logic, yay!), and meant that I had some décor to put up (he knew this would make me happy). So approved it is!

Two lovers in a tree

Our love as a tree

This was probably our favorite idea overall. This cute frame is filled with so much meaning, yet is beautiful enough that my husband would actually approve it to be up year-round! In fact, we plan on making our own quite soon (like you will probably be seeing the post in a week or two). Our version will have the lyrics of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Dreamer.” We have not had a wedding ceremony yet, so this is not “OUR” song but it is a song that reminds us of each other. This is the song that we both remember from our first vacation together where it came over the crackly radio on a rainy day.

Heart shaped pancakes

Valentine-Shaped-Pancakes

Gotta have something to go with the bacon right? Once again, so long as it is food, there seems to be a higher chance of approval. Pancakes is a breakfast we both really enjoy so having this fun little twist on Valentine’s will be a cute change in routine.

Well, this is about half of what my husband approved for Valentine’s Day so far. You can see the other items over on the Husband Approved Valentine’s Day board. As mentioned earlier, he will try to add some more items so be sure to comment below if you think of something he may want to add!

Husband Approved Valentine's Day

Posted in Make It Monday | Tagged family, holiday, Life, Make It Monday, relationship, Valentine's | Leave a comment

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Update

Posted on January 23, 2015 by A Pop of Red

So at the start of January I said I was going to eat less sugar as a monthly goal. Thus far, I am doing pretty well with staying on track too. I have eaten more than I planned but less than I ever have before. And that to me is a win.

One of the things I allowed during this sweets free month was home made goods like my sweet chocolate chip cookies. But I decided the least I could do was try to cut down on the sugar so I made the recipe cut took out all the white sugar.

BEST DECISION EVER!

Since I removed the white sugar, I have gotten numerous compliments from my husband and my coworkers whom I treat with baked goods every so often. In fact, I brought some to work today and my manager took THREE, two people were referred to my desk for a treat, and I got countless compliments!

I think that is a win, which means it is time for a little update of my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Version 2

2 ¼ Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
½ tsp Salt
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Brown sugar, packed
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Eggs, large
2 Cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Any additional toppings like nuts

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt
In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy
Beat eggs into the large bowl
Slowly add the dry mixture to the large bowl, stir between additions to ensure consistency
Add chocolate chips and toppings, stir in
Place tablespoon sized amounts of rounded dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes.
Serve with a tall glass of milk.

That’s it! Not too many changes but if made quite a difference for the overall taste. So bake up a batch (or 10) and get ready for the compliments to roll in!

Some comments I have received:

Best served warm!
I like how they have a cake-y texture.
Yum!
So much chocolate! It is perfect!
Can I have another one…or two?

Posted in Foodie Friday | Tagged Food, Foodie Friday, Recipe | 2 Comments

A POP of Red