Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Having a cat around and being productive are two things that do not go hand in hand. Each key stroke is in competition with pets and nuzzles. This little dry nose keeps smashing into my arm. Every day, I learn something from these creatures, the most important being "it can wait- love is more important." I'll try to shove them aside but they insist in obstructing the keyboard or exam prep books. Cuddles. Now. It's all about being in the moment. 

These cookies were a random executive decision in the middle of World Market. They have an eclectic selection of packaged food in the back. While hunting for low-priced home goods, I stumbled on a bag of guittard mint chocolate chips. 

I've never seen such things and didn't realize the chips themselves are green. I was too mystified at the pastel green packaging to pay attention. So yah. The chips. They're green. By the way.

The question remained of what the heck to make with these confectionery cuties and the answer struck like lightening: cookies! This in part lies with my love for mint green being paired with light brown or gray. It conjures images of thin mints and my old favorite pair of pumas. God those were sexy shoes.

Rather than going with a standard chocolate cookie recipe and substituting chocolate chips with the minty ones, I used this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. It's simple, quick, and easy. Plus, there is no egg involved which piqued my curiosity. The chocolate isn't overpowering because it's all cocoa powder and maintains a very smooth balance. It's strangely calming. However, I did not use the entire bag of chips because that seemed like a bit much.

The only thing I would do differently is split the chip ratio into half dark chocolate chunks and half mint chips. That's just me! Add a little richness to the calm. 

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
from Two Peas and Their Pod

1-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa-make sure to use dutch process for a rich/dark flavor
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed and room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 bag of mint chips (Guittard)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line baking sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa, and set aside. Beat the butter on medium-high until light and add sugars, creaming well. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Stir in the mint chips. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes. You can make the dough a few hours or 2 days before baking and it will be fine. Just wrap it up and keep in the fridge.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment- or silpat-lined cookie sheet, press down on them slightly, and bake for 14-15 minutes…for a normal size cookie. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet, they will set up as they cool. Store in an air-tight container, they will stay fresh for a couple of days.

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Stuffed French Toast

Weeks back, the idea of French toast pranced in my mind. Soft, luscious bread coated in a cinnamon and egg, grilled to perfection, warm, drizzled in maple syrup, and stuffed to the brim.

That's right. Stuffed.

Maybe I'm just really late to the party, but I hadn't heard of stuffed french toast until a few years back. I was channel flipping when I came across an episode with Bobby Flay (boo hiss) and a New Jersey spot called La Isla.  This place renown for it's guava and strawberry stuffed french toast. The sheer thought makes me feverish with desire! 

With some challah bread we happened to pick up at the grocery store, I decided to take a run at the stuffed French toast game. One quick google image search for "stuffed french toast" took me to Tasty Kitchen.  I'll admit, the pretty pictures drew me right in! No guava lying around... nor cream cheese.. nor strawberries.

 

Apples. Victims of circumstance. 

Made a few quick adaptions and came out with these scrumptious  Cinnamon Apple-Yogurt Stuffed French Toast. Is it french toast if challah bread is used? Is that some sort of technical foul?

Either or. It's tasty and simple. They key is making a good cut in the bread to make a pocket of flavor. Stuff as much filling in as possible. The bread lovingly soaks up the flavor.

The moral of the story: stuff your toast kids.

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Stuffed French Toast

inspired by Tasty Kitchen
 
2-3 medium sized honey crisp apples, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
spritz of lemon juice
1 loaf challah or french bread

3-6 tablespoons apple butter (you decide)
8 ounces plain yogurt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
½ cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the Apple Filling: Peel, core, and slice the apples into small cubes. Toss the apple pieces with the sugar, raisins, and lemon juice. Bake the apple filling in an 8-inch square baking pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. 

Heat skillet or electric griddle to 325 to 350 degrees.

Cut challah into 2ish inch wide slices. Then, with a paring knife, go back and cut halfway into each slice, in the center, creating a ‘pocket’ that your fruit mixture can be stuffed into.

In a bowl, mix the yogurt and three tablespoons of apple butter. Add the baked apple/raisin mixture.

In a separate bowl, break 2 eggs; add cinnamon and milk and combine well.

Now, take fruit mixture and stuff into the ‘pockets’ of your french bread slices. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

When done stuffing each piece of bread, completely coat each piece in egg mixture. Make sure all sides are covered. Do all pieces before starting to fry.

Put 2 tbsp of butter into a hot skillet and melt completely. Add all of the bread to the skillet and cook roughly about 3-6 minutes on each side, until it reaches a nice golden brown.

When done cooking, serve immediately with maple syrup. Dust with powdered sugar if you're feeling fancy.

Wanted: A Warm Home for Kittens

It is with great joy and a heavy heart I introduce two of the world's finest kittens: Chamo-O (ying yang) and Kit Kat (icee).

 

Last year, we began volunteering with animal non-profits in hopes of helping those in need and enriching our own lives with positivity. The boy and I both have soft spots for animals, though truthfully he's more of a dog person. I'm an equal opportunity lover of living things (well minus most bugs... and sharks...). We hitched our wagon to Homeward Trails and got the idea to be a foster home. There's a guest bed room upstairs that is rarely used- why not turn it into "kitty hotel?" It's better than forcing an innocent animal to live in a cage. Last week, we received our first assignment: a pair of 7 month old brother's from the DC Petmac location. We were told that they were cuties. Talk about false advertisement...

They are so much more than that.

They are 2 beautiful souls.

Chamo-O's adoption name is ying yang- take a wild guess why.  Every time you pick him, he says "hello" by slamming his adorable face into yours in a funny "kiss punch." He is initially a reserved gentleman that's cautious and curious. It doesn't take long for him to want to play and bask in attention. We called him Oreo until one night, we heard the strangest soft sing-song sound. It was the cat, meowing at curtains. He sounded like a whale! We jokingly called him "Shamu." It turned into "Shamu-Oreo" which sounds like the Portuguese word Chamo: you call me. With that, he became Chamo-O. "You Call Me O."

And then there's this little guy... Kit Kat, known as icee. Where they came up with icee is beyond me- there's nothing cold about him. Maybe that's the joke? This guy is so sweet it will give you diabetes. It doesn't matter what you're doing, he will climb into your lap and cover you with kisses. Literally. He was weened from his mother too early and find's comfort in suckling your arm. I've seen cuddly creatures- but this brown kitty takes the cake. We like to say he's training for the Kitty Olympics high jump division cuz boy has ups.

They are a joint package as they are brothers and were raised together. It would be too cruel to separate them at this point. They are very low maintenance. They are playful, cuddly, chill, and in great health. They have been raised as house cats so no outdoors! Remember, they're only 7 months old and agile so you need to kitten proof the house.
 
If you're interested in adopting them, check out their page: YingYang & Icee

Please do not hesitate to contact myself or Homeward Trails if you have any questions.

PS Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! Many more to come- you're my inspiration and heart.