Several of you responded to yesterday’s rather ambitious to-do list with sheepish comments like: “Gee, Abbie. I don’t know how you do it. I’ll be lucky to get my teeth brushed and keep my kids alive today.”

To which I thought I’d reply with an updated list from yesterday.

  1. Feed twins

  2. Home-school boys

  3. Change three consecutive diapers

  4. Organize garage (again…why doesn’t the dang thing stay clean??)

  5. Feed twins

  6. Make this week’s dinners, which include:

  7. Change 3 consecutive diapers

  8. Feed twins

  9. Finish painting breakfast nook (which, yes, I posted about over a week ago, and, yes, has been languishing in an unfinished state since its first coat).

  10. Exercise

  11. Change 3 consecutive diapers

  12. Feed twins

  13. Write 2 blogs posts

  14. Feed twins

  15. Change 3 consecutive diapers

Notice the two big projects I was hoping to get done didn’t happen. And my exercise session was pretty lame (1/2 of a BODYCOMBAT class in my living room). And my blog posts didn’t get written. But the important stuff (schooling, meals, children getting fed/cared for, cleaning up a kitchen that looked like it had been ambushed by flour and tomato sauce wielding lunatics) got done. And it was a very full day. So, I’m going to call it a success and put the big projects back on my list (today is not a homeschooling day, so there’s a better chance of their actually happening).

And that, folks, is how I don’t “get it all done.”

I tried to think of a nice dovetail from a to-do list update into today’s post, but I can’t, other than to say that projects and entire days spent by a stove make me want cookies.

What kind, specifically? (So glad you asked).

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Chocolate chip cookie recipes are as plentiful in the blogosphere as a 2-year-old’s tears when she misses nap time (not that I’ve ever experienced that), but the one I’m sharing today comes from my ultra-talented (seriously, she runs marathons, has 2 books published, is completing her PHD, has a little boy, and is 2 years younger than I am) friend, Ashley, who so perfected the art of this iconic treat that she earned herself the nickname “Cookie Girl.” (Which she despises; if you ever meet her, please don’t call her that; she’ll come after me).

In other words, it’s good stuff, y’all.

I had pictures of the ingredients and process taken and stored on my old laptop, but it just bit the dust (along with 18-month’s worth of pictures and other goodies—pray for me) before I got them off, so I’ll just sum up with the little recipe card below.

(Just hover over the recipe card—or any other image in this post—until you see the big red “P,” and then click it to pin that image if you’d like).

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The genius of this recipe is in 4 things:

1) The large amount of vanilla—it give the cookies a very “full-bodied” flavor.

2) The Karo syrup. It’s combines really well with the vanilla to make the flavor even richer.

3) The Ghirardelli chocolate chips. You can certainly use another brand, but these chips are huge and have a much more buttery texture and taste than most others I’ve tried. It really makes the cookie that much more special.

4) The Heath bits (especially the chocolate-covered variety). Need I say more?

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The texture of these cookies is somewhere between chewy and crispy (the center is soft and chewy, and the edges have just the right amount of crunch), which is exactly how I like them.

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Great. Now, I’m craving cookies. I guess I’ll just have to add them to the to-do list (higher up than the painting, of course).

So, where do you weigh in on the crispy vs. chewy debate? Or are you just happy if you’re snacking on a cookie?

Do you have a go-to recipe? This one is my favorite so far, but—I’ll be honest—I’ve met very few cookies that I couldn’t force myself to try at least once (or twice).

P.S. Don’t forget about our tote + polish giveaway. It ends at midnight!

11 Comments

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  2. I did that too Elizabeth! I was like “Yes, finally!” And then my heart sank when I found out they weren’t very healthy. =(
    Abbie, I tried the recipe and it was awesome! I can always go for some chocolate chip cookies. And the ghirardelli chips are alot better than normal ones. Thanks for the recipe! =)

  3. The recipe looks amazing! Although, I gotta say, I’m kind of weeping right now because I read the blog post title as Chocolate Chip HEALTH Cookies (yes, my brain added an L) and I was excited to find out how to make a cookie healthy. Looks like I’m going to have to wait for another day to solve that mystery. 😀

  4. I like them like you like ’em – chewy in the middle, crispy on the edges. Those look fantastic and don’t take this the wrong way but I won’t be making them. You want to talk about a “red-light” food? I refer you to above pictures. I could and MIGHT eat the whole batch, so no thanks, I won’t be indulging…today.

    🙂

  5. You did pretty good on your to-do list – I’m impressed! And I like the idea of putting extra vanilla in cookies – I love a good vanilla flavor!!

I love hearing from you guys!