The Best Cookies Ever!

Here is a recipe we have recently acquired that instantly became our favorite recipe.  Aubrey insisted this was a no brainer post and she could take it from here...

Hello folks!  Anybody there? ... Oh well, if anyone out there is interested here goes... I am Miss Aubrey Jean!  I'm here today to introduce to you the most FABULOUS Cookie you have ever tasted! The kind you can't stop eating even if you wanted to.  But trust me, you WON'T want to. If you are one of those people, like me, that chubby looks good on, you'll thank me for the rest of your days!  If you're one of those people who is constantly fighting the battle of the bulge you should stop reading right here, right now, and forget you ever saw this post. I really don't want to be hated by anyone. If you fall into the latter category and choose to continue reading, just remember, YOU BEEN WARNED!

Oh wait, this here is a special occasion and calls for some added props.

 First let me slip my tiara on...

 like so.  

Okay, now, lets see...where's my  glasses? 

Now we're talkin' !  I know you're thinkin' "Is this really necessary? Can't we just get on with it already?" or something to that effect.  Well, I assure you it is!  This recipe is fit for kings and queens, princes and princesses, celebrities and superstars...you get the picture. Now please don't interupt me with unintelligent questions. Thank you.

Okay, so ya'all ready for this!?

Off to my right , or your left, (however you want to look at it) we have our bowl of dry ingredients, which is very simple:

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

Pretty basic. Nothing fancy here. Well, to be honest there isn't anything fancy in the recipe at all, it just somehow tastes like more. So now we're gonna put 

2 sticks of softened butter

 into the kitchenaid mixer and beat it around in there with

 1 cup of brown sugar

 and a 1/2 cup of white sugar.

  Then add 1 egg

 and 2 tsp. vanilla to that.

 Now turn your mixer to low speed and add that bowl of dry ingredients that's a sittin' there. Unless you feel the need to powder your face, then go right ahead and crank it up!

Okay, ya still with me?  It's kinda dark behind these glasses. I think I'm gonna go ahead and forego my stylishness and ditch 'em.

 So next up is the last step for what we call Macadamia Nut Cookies. If you consider yourself the Macadamia Nut type then you'll be supremely happy with these.

Just add

 1/2 cup finely chopped Macadamia Nuts (unsalted) 

 and 

1 pkg white chocolate chips. 

These are Uh-Mazing! Even folks who aren't fond of Macadamia Nuts love them.

 We liked them so well we decided they should be chocolate chip cookies, because everything is better with chocolate, you know. So if you want them as Chocolate Chip Cookies here are the few small changes you will need to make.  Use only half as much of the cream of tartar, (just in case math isn't your best subject, that would be 1 tsp.) and leave out the nuts and white chocolate. Instead, put in a package of the real deal. Rich, luscious, smooth, decadent CHOCOLATE. Done!

 So there you have it folks! If you've never tried this recipe before, and you love a cookie that's crispy on the outside and ooey gooey yummy on the inside, then give it a try and tell us if you think its all that we cracked it up to be. :D

 Bake 'em for 7-9 minutes @ 350. Pull 'em out when they're starting to crack on the surface and have touches of golden brown.

 Cool 'em on the rack for a minute...

and have at 'em with your best judges face.

You'll probably need to eat at least 2

...

 or 3...

 or 4...

 or 5...

 or maybe even the whole panful to give a proper assessment. 

So go ahead!

 Betcha can't eat just ONE.

Enjoy!

Notes: 

1.  For best results chop your Macadamia Nuts in a high powered chopper thing, even if they're already chopped. It adds to the excitement. 

2. When you measure out the flour, be particular. If you like to fudge it and eyeball your ingredients, like my mom, you will find that a surprisingly small bit extra can mess up this recipe.  This dough is already fairly thick so if you want 'em perfect, FOLLOW IT. DON'T FAKE IT.

3. If you are not a cookie dough fan this recipe makes exactly 3 pans of cookies, with 16 cookies per pan, for a total of 4 dozen. However, I'll be honest with you and tell you that at our house this recipe always makes one row shy of three panfuls. ;D

4.The recipe these cookies are based on is actually called "Crack Cookies". I haven't decided yet if it is because of their addictive quality, or because of the cracks that form across the top when they are cooked to perfection.  We'll go with the latter just to keep it kosher on here. ;D

It's Weddin' Time Again!

  We headed out of ML on Sunday afternoon and spent the whole week before the wedding in the Portland/Vancouver area since Mr. Wise Guy was doing some training in Woodland Mon.-Thurs. That week was a crazy blur of good times, frantic times, and family time. We were all sensing that our brains were half fried by Thursday but it ended up that all 5 of us kids were at Mom and Dads for the evening for one reason or another. TOGETHER. Twas good times indeed! I DID mess up the brownie recipe I was making for the rehearsal dinner so we all got brownies unexpectedly and I DID put the ice-cream away in the fridge.  The ring bearers vest came out with NO back (after having been assured that it DID have one) and the bride spent the evening sewing a make-shift one. The mother of the bride was still getting the finishing touches done on her dress and certain family members still hadn't had a moment when one or the other of them wasn't with the bride so they could go over "The Song" together. Needless to say I got home much later than I had originally intended. It brought back alot of memories driving back and forth from Vancouver to Oregon at all hours of the day or night. :)  If it hadn't been for a certain wonderful Aunt in Vancouver I would never have been able to help the feeble amount that I did. I practically became a foreigner to my kiddos and they didn't even care they were having so much fun! Many, many thanks!  This day was as wonderful as we all hoped it would be! (Possibly with the exception of Grandpa D's mishap) Dad was amazing in spite of the fact that I'm sure he was in some serious pain from a little incident on the stairs while trying on his tux and shoes. It makes me shudder just to think of it. I always knew he was tough...but I was impressed that he could still walk and act normal!
Note: It is never a good idea to suddenly slam your full body weight against the lower end of your spine onto the ridge of uncarpeted wooden stairs.)

 So now, without further ado let us get on with the wedding!

Seeing  her in the dress for the first time!

Mr. Wise Guy never ceases to amaze me with his capabilities! :D  He handled the kids alone most of the day  and still got pictures and a video! And let me tell ya, Miss Aubrey is a handful and a half, and most days you'd think Elliott was deaf by the speed of his response to comands. (That kid is truly in his own little world 90% of the time.) Anyhoo, most of these pics are courtesy of my Man and my Mother. (yes, I mooched some off mom since we had a noticeable gap in the events of the day.)

Notice the smudges on the camera lense after being well handled by baby hands...hey, sometimes you just gotta go with whatever keeps them from hollerin.

Thank you Honey, for capturing this while I was captive in the backroom getting ready. I love it!

The arch in the background was an amazing piece of artwork by Grandpa D. made out of pieces of a Birch tree he cut over. Twas very intriguing watching him create it.

We actually did a photo shoot on Monday before the wedding with all of the nieces and nephews and sisters! Twas a lot of fun and I'm so glad it worked out! Thanks mom for putting up with all the extra hassel. And thanks Sistas for the extra effort. :)

 Aunt Susie and her Boys!
(Yes, my boy loves his pockets!)

Back to the actual wedding day... These ladies did a fabulous job on their singing!

I realize that only half of them are visible (sorry Bethany and Holly) but it was all I had. :)

The man of the Day.

He was pleased to be able to carry the actual rings on the pillow.

 Here comes the BRIDE!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the sunshine was streaming down on them through the windows by the time they were announced MR. & MRS!

Sjo did all the verse lettering  and A. Mary Jean did all the extended decorating.  It all turned out amazing!

Of course they were too sweet to do the stuff N smear to each other ! :D 

 A few extra random shots of little hooligans roaring around...

 And thats it folks!  We drug ourselves out of bed the next morning, groaning over the time change. Then came screaming home on Sun. afternoon to make it in in time for gospel mtg. followed by some  visitin with relatives before they headed on home to Aberdeen. I was happy I had stayed up most of the night before we left (the previous week) cleaning house...even if I was so tired I walked into the bedroom doorframe on my way to bed. :D Mr. Wise Guy's only comment when I told him later was "oh, is that what woke me up!" Bahahaha.
I spent the following week focusing on getting my kids and my class ready for our Sunday School Treat, which was alot of fun...even tho Mr. Wise Guy ended up stuck home with 2 of our kids sick and half of the class was missing to perform. We had to improvise a little to fill in the missing days of creation. And Naomi, if you're reading this thanks a million for finding that creation song you sent out back when you were the teacher of our tiny class. :)  It made my job a whole lot easier this year. :) Also, thanks for your patience with your silent student.;)  As the teacher myself now, I do appreciate the kids with voices. :D

 The End
P.S.  I actually have another post I am working on so maybe i'll post again before the year is over! :D