Day 1470 | Brownie M&M Cookies

/
FullSizeRender.jpg

I really like making cookies. What I don't like is how many of these cookies I end up consuming. Therefore, I rarely make cookies. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I did. 

Luckily, since we're living the week of extravagance leading up to school starting, I decided to be crazy and let the boys pick out a new cookie recipe to try. And it's a good one. We found a solid brownie cookie recipe and then decided to kick it up a notch by adding M&M's. Chase even did all the ingredient collecting and most of the mixing (even cracking his first egg...all over his hand, but still!). 

They are super delicious. No doubt about it.

BROWNIE M&M COOKIES

Ingredients:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips 60-70% cacao
1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder not Dutch-processed
1/2 cup mini M&M's

Directions:

  • Melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and well-combined. Remove from heat, and set aside.

  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugars, vanilla, baking powder, and salt on high speed 5 minutes, or until the batter is thick and creamy. This step is key, so make sure to beat the mixture for the full 5 minutes.

  • Reduce the speed to low, and mix in the melted chocolate until well-combined.

  • Stir in flour and cocoa powder just until combined.

  • Add mini M&M's (saving some for sprinkling on top). Stir in to combine. The batter should be the consistency of a thick brownie batter at this point. Cover the batter, and chill for 30 minutes.

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

  • Drop batter by rounded 1.5 tablespoon-full onto the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and sprinkle with remaining M&M’s, about 7 or so per cookie (push them in a bit so they stay put).

  • Bake cookies 8-10 minutes. The cookie will look set at the edges but still be a little wet looking in the center. Don't overbake, or the cookies won't be crackly and fudgy. The shiny, crackly crust will develop as the cookies cool on the baking sheet.

Modified from this recipe.

Day 1469 | End of Summer Extravaganza

/
IMG_1951.JPG

Today was the boys’ choice. We’re inching towards the official end of summer and I wanted to give them a day where they could pick the activities. 

Here’s what they chose: 

  • Blueberry muffins for breakfast
  • A special treat from Shift (with an inspiration photo walk on the way) 
  • A movie in the morning (what?!?)  
  • Lunch at McDonald’s (obviously) 
  • Naptime and piano lessons (not optional) 
  • Video gaming (this is a new additional to their list of desires) 
  • Breakfast for dinner (French toast) 
  • A trip to Menards to get supplies for the long-awaited fort project (not necessarily their top choice of activity but they’re excited about the fort so I’m going to count it) 

Not too bad for a day in the life of a four and six year old. And I enjoyed them living their dreams, too. A win-win!

Day 1467 | We're Back!

/
WhistlePig.jpg

It's been a lovely week-long break from blogging. Things that have happened in our world since we've last talked: 

  • Both boys had some weird 24-hour fever. There were no other symptoms. I guess as far as sicknesses go, I'll take this one.
  • It's been raining non-stop in Wisconsin. I don't mind it. I actually kind of love it. Especially thunder. Thunder is the best.
  • We had a nice visit from Grandma Bibi. She had to deal with a bunch of rain and sick boys (see above), but she managed it all with a smile on her face. 
  • The wildlife has taken over our yard. I'm not sure what's happening but the squirrels are going extra crazy lately, we have a surplus of bunnies roaming around, and a stubborn mole has pretty much annihilated our whole yard. Also, there have been extra whistle pig sightings (as featured in the photo above). Fun fact: a whistle pig is an alternative name for a groundhog. Fancy, right? He might be our favorite backyard friend right now. There's lots of excitement when he shuffles around. Maybe that's just because he's the only one of our furry friends who isn't wreaking havoc on our grass (yet).

There. Now you're all caught up. Let the daily updates commence.

Day 1466 | A Summer Break

/
blog-freeBigDays.jpg

It's been a long time since my last official blogging break. I need this. The summer is winding down (less than two weeks left!), I'm swamped with graphic design work, my house is *less than* spotless, and my to do list keeps growing. I'm going to enjoy this break and be back on the 28th ready to share our final activities of this completely ordinary and extraordinary summer vacation. 

In the meantime, enjoy this graffiti mural collage from our trip to Denver. Chase and Robbe *made* me take all these photos of them. None (except for the one of our whole family, of course) were forced. They really loved the graffiti. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Day 1465 | Denver: Day Five

/
IMG_1893.JPG

We made it back to Wisconsin after a quick visit to Blue Bear and an uneventful day of travel.

A big [HUGE] thank you to Matt and Marisa for being the best hosts our little family could ask for. It was truly a relaxing and rejuvenating vacation for us and you two are the sole reason that was the case. Thanks for taking such good care of us, hauling us all over the city, feeding us, and tolerating two wee ones in your space for the last five days. We’re already planning our return trip (but we’ll give you some time to recover). 

Day 1463 | Denver: Day Three

/
IMG_1833.JPG

It was a big day around here. We started with a trip to a candy factory and then we headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to admire their rock collection (among other exhibits). We also took in a 3D Panda IMAX movie (a first experience for the boys and me)—everyone loved it. Oh, and don’t worry, we also stopped into the gift shop to collect more rocks for our house and some mini-geodes (because Robbe has been asking about them for months). 

We headed back home for some rock-crushing (afterall that’s what geodes are for) and grilling before the biggest news of all: Chase lost his first tooth!! I facilitated the removal with some floss and it was about the craziest thing I’ve done as a mom. It popped right out and flung across the room. Luckily, Chris captured it on film:

Day 1462 | Denver: Day Two

/
IMG_1798.JPG

it was a big day in CO. We headed to the mountains this morning to experience our first “14er”. It turns out that it’s pretty cold at 14,000 feet and we were significantly under-dressed. After making it through the cold, Chase came down with altitude sickness and ended up throwing up...twice. A total dream for a trip to the mountains. Ha!

After a quick siesta, everyone recovered and we had a lovely afternoon and evening. We managed some playtime at a park across the street and enjoyed graffiti art and dinner in the Rino neighborhood of Denver. And, for the record, the boys LOVED the graffiti. It may have been the first time in their lives that they requested to be in a ton of photos. Oh, and there was ice cream. Of course. Finally, the evening ended with two close euchre games—and Marisa and I even won one. It was a good day. 

Day 1451 | Beep Baseball

/
IMG_1579.JPG

Eau Claire is hosting the Beep Baseball World Series this week. That’s baseball for the blind, if you’re unfamiliar (like I was). Here’s an article with some photos. The boys and I met a friend to watch part of a game this morning and it was fascinating and totally inspiring. What a cool event to share with the boys (who were really into documenting it, by the way). I love this city.