nutella cookies

These are out of this world amazing! I'm not a big chocolate/cookie/dessert girl (go ahead, revoke my right to call myself female. I'll understand.) but last weekend I had a giant sweets craving that needed to be filled. Enter, nutella cookies. They're really thin, but not crispy. Three days after I made them, they're still deliciously soft and chewy, with a swoon-worthy, close-your-eyes-and-imagine-you're-in-heaven combination of chocolate and hazlenut. Rather than feeding my fix, they practically turned me into a chocoholic ;-D

Here's what you need:

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 c. nutella

1/2 c. butter/margarine

Preheat the oven to 350'. Melt butter in the microwave, then mix with both sugars using an electric mixer on medium. Then turn the power to low and add the egg and vanilla. Once that's all mixed, add the nutella and mix until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour + baking soda + salt. Add dry to wet, and mix on low speed until it's blended. I don't know if my mixer is just on its last leg, or if this mixture is really that thick, but I had a hard time combining it. Considering my mixer was like $10 at Kmart about 10 years ago, I'm thinking it's the mixer...

Once it's all smooth, scoop teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll them into little balls. Space about 1.5 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. The original recipe called for freezing the cookie sheets for about 10 minutes before baking, but I skipped this step since my cookie sheets don't fit in my freezer. I'm glad I skipped it, though, because the thin flat cookies were exactly what I was going for. If you want more puffy cookies, go with the freezer method.

Bake 6-7 minutes (or 7-8 if you put the sheets in the freezer) -- then let them cool for 5 minutes before removing from the sheets. That last step was really important. The cookies came out slightly undercooked, but the last five minutes on the hot cookie sheet finished the job :)

ps. I have NO clue where I got this recipe from! I know it's from the internet somewhere, but I can't find the original recipe. If you know the original source please let me know so I can add a link! :)

testing ... testing ...

(via)

I don't know why my blog is being such a pain in the neck. First I had complaints that Blogger commenting wouldn't work, so I switched to Disqus.. then that didn't work either. I was able to replicate the problem with Disqus (the comment form just didn't show up at all sometimes) and Disqus didn't reply to my emails asking for help, so I had to switch again. This time I'm using intense debate.

So, could you do me a small favor? Even if you're not a regular commenter, could you just leave one comment today to help me see if it's working? And I'm especially asking this of anyone who had trouble with Blogger or Disqus. I'll be ever so grateful!

If you don't know what to say, just answer this question and I'll know the comment form worked for you: Which is the funnier word -- EGG or WAFFLE?

ps. If you still can't comment at all with Intense Debate, you can let me know on twitter or facebook.

two's company

dress - charlotte russe

sweater - old navy

shoes - marshalls

crinoline - amazon

I got a second crinoline slip! This one is pink, and a little shorter & less full than my black one, which unfortunately isn't listed on amazon anymore :( But this one will probably get more use, since it doesn't add as much volume, and works better for everyday wear. It adds just the right amount of pouf! ;-D

Anyone else wear crinoline slips? I feel like such a princess when I wear mine.. it's so much more fun than a plain old satiny one (which I wear too, but I just feel less frilly in them lol)

Style Idol - Sophia Loren in Arabesque

Sophia Loren is really one of a kind. She looks at home playing earthy, natural roles but fix her hair and clean her up, and she's the most regal looking movie star of them all. In Arabesque she has her fair share of messy, but for the most part she's seen donning gorgeous frocks (the feathers!!!), incredibly chic hats, blindingly sparkly jewelry and amazing sunglasses. And her red raincoat needs to get in my closet, pronto.