baking

Valentine’s Day Festivities

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day!

My favorite kind of chocolate!

I enjoyed time with my favorite kind of chocolate on V-Day, chocolate lab!

I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day. I think because it was always a special day for me as a child. I can remember decorating my Valentine’s Box for school each year, picking out specific Valentines for everyone in my class (they pretty much always had dogs on them!), and my mom always giving me a small gift like a stuffed animal or chocolates to celebrate.

This Valentine’s Day was lovely, and I feel blessed that I was able to spend time with Jimmy in the evening! He surprised me with the sweetest gift–he called me after work to inform me that he was making dinner for us. This was a big deal because Jimmy had never cooked for us before!

He went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients and told me that he didn’t trust himself to cook everything. I offered to be his sous chef, and we had such a nice time in the kitchen together.

linguine-with-shrimp-scampi

Jimmy’s menu included:

Impressive, right?! The menu was very gourmet and everything tasted absolutely delicious. The best part was that Jimmy had planned everything out and thought of such a special dinner.

valentines-dinner

On the work side of things, the family I work for had me bake cupcakes and assemble treat bags for their kids’ Valentine’s Day parties at school. It’s really fun for me to feel like a part of a family with little ones. I think kids just make holidays extra special.

valentines-treat-collage

I have to share some pictures from my parents, too! They ran a Valentine’s Day 5k together, which I thought was adorable. They finished in 32:00 minutes, which I think is quite impressive. Go mom and dad!

valentines-5k

Lastly, my sister and her fiancé received some great news on Valentine’s Day. The offer they put on a house was accepted! Congrats on becoming homeowners Hannah and Josh! They’ll move in after their wedding in June! I can’t wait to see their home in person 🙂

Tell me about your Valentine’s Day!

Past Valentine’s Day Celebrations
Valentine’s Day 2016
Valentine’s Day 2014
Valentine’s Day 2013
Valentine’s Day 2012
Valentine’s Day 2011

Mint Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

What do browned butter, pure peppermint extract, and dark chocolate chips have in common?

Combined with your typical cookie dough ingredients, they make an amazing cookie. The fresh minty taste, along with rich dark chocolate has quickly made these cookies a staple in our household.

mint-dark-chocolate-chip-cookies mint-dark-chocolate-chip-cookies-2

If you’re a fan of Thin Mints and chocolate chip cookies, I have a feeling you’ll love these!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
2 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter forms browned specks on the bottom of the pan. Pour butter into a large bowl and allow it to cool for a few minutes.
3. Add sugars and peppermint extract to butter and beat on medium speed with a hand mixer until combined. Add eggs, one at a time and mix on medium speed until well blended.
4. Slowly stir in flour mixture with a large spoon. Add chocolate chips or chunks and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Bake 9 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Cool on cookie sheet for two minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

mint-dark-chocolate-chip-cookies-3