Cookie, cookie

We are not always "good". Shocking, isn't it? Many of David's clients and  most of our friends seem to expect that because David is a naturopath, and because we advocate a grain-free, refined sugar-free diet, we always, without exception, stick to said grain-free, sugar-free diet. Well let me tell you right now, that is not the case! Friends and clients alike both seem extremely pleased when they discover that "even" we choose to eat sugar or grains from time to time. Sometimes both at once! *gasp* Unfortunately some people take our occasional, intentional splurge as permission to do the same, and to do it often and without much thought. I wish I could convey to everyone how important it is not to do that very often, and most especially when you have significant health problems you are trying to control or reverse. David and I are both very healthy individuals, for the most part. And we stay that way because we rarely stray from our healthy diet! But, as I said, we do occasionally choose to have something that is most assuredly not beneficial for our health. For Valentine's Day, that something was chocolate chip cookies.

Now these are not just any chocolate chip cookies. Oh no. We try to never "waste" a splurge with anything less than fantastic. These are some of the biggest, fattest, yummiest chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. The recipe itself is pretty basic, but it is the method of preparation that is unique and supposedly makes the difference between these being ordinary cookies and the extraordinary cookies that they are. I got the recipe from a friend years ago, and haven't made any other chocolate chip cookie recipe since (well, I mean, I have my grain-free recipe, but as for "real" chocolate chip cookies, I don't feel the need to ever try another recipe after this one). Sadly I've fallen out of touch with this friend, but I'll always remember her for many, many reasons, and this is only one of them. This recipe was sent to me nameless, so in memory of our friendship, I will call them: Little Tong's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Little Tong's Chocolate Chip Cookies


2 cups + 2 tbsp unsifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 tbsp *butter, melted and cooled (original recipe called for unsalted; as a rule I prefer salted butter)
1 cup **brown sugar (dark or light, doesn't make a big difference)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 cups semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.

By hand, or with an electric mixer, combine butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate to taste.

And here is where we come to the unusual method of preparation I mentioned! In the eloquent words of my friend (who, at the time was maybe 15?), "it's amazing, it's what makes the cookies sooo much better and not so smushed and brown looking like they normally do." She says, "Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal parts. Turn smooth rounded edges towards floor with jagged surfaces towards the ceiling, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough's uneven surface." Place dough onto cookie sheets (she says 9 dough balls per 20X14 sheet, lined with parchment paper -- I'm too lazy to do that, and don't actually own a cookie sheet, so I just put as many as I think I can fit without them touching, onto whatever baking dish I'm going to bake them on. I've been using my Pampered Chef casserole dish and it works just fine). Bake for 15-18 minutes, reversing the cookie sheet half-way through baking. Cookies are done when the cookies are very lightly golden brown on the edges but the centers are still soft and puffy.

Serve warm with a glass of cold raw milk (ok, so any milk will do, but I cannot abide the gross aftertaste of pasteurized milk, whether it's organic or not), or store in an airtight container (and good luck trying to make them last long enough to store!).

Dough can be frozen for up to one month, or stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. I stored mine for three days and now have really dry dough to try to roll into balls. No fun. Heed my warning. Eat them faster than I did. ;)

*The original recipe called for butter, I didn't have that much butter this time, so I used 1 stick of butter and then 4 tbsp coconut oil, and I couldn't tell a difference compared to when I've made them in the past, so if you need or want to substitute some, that's fine!
**I had no brown sugar so I used all white sugar and added 2 tsp molasses. This gave the cookies more of a molassesy smell and flavor than I intended, but was still good. To more closely replicate brown sugar, I would suggest 1 tsp molasses.

An Inexpensive Christmas

There are tons of blogs out there giving tips on how to have an inexpensive, but still merry holiday season. I won't try to out-do any of them, because I know that I can't. I have limited ideas and at the moment limited time, so I'll just give a couple quick tips that I've employed myself to help keep the holidays as budget friendly as possible!

Make your own gifts.
This isn't possible for everyone on your list most likely, but for those you can? Do! This year I made Socktopuses for my younger nieces (which they all seemed to like!), homemade liquid hand or dish soap for a variety of friends, and I also plan on making some body scrub (probably like the scrub I made here) for others. For my sisters and their husbands I made Andes Mint Fudge and No-Bake Oreo Truffles (which I can say here because we already "did Christmas" with my side of the family!).

Shop at dollar stores!
For much younger children, a dollar store can be a great source of fun but inexpensive toys and personal care items (toothbrushes, fun wash cloths, hair clips, brushes, etc). They can also be helpful when attempting to fill stockings for older kids or even adults (again, toothbrushes, combs, small candles, clip-on booklights etc).

Don't go overboard with the food.
I know the holidays are considered by most to be a time for constant feasting but trust me; you'll enjoy those cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning a lot more if you haven't been living on junk for for the entire month already! Pick a few special items to have through the season and make them last! Sure, 10 cookies in one setting taste yummy, but your budget and waistline will thank you for stopping at 2 or 3 instead.

Reuse and recycle!
There's no need to spend a TON of money to make your home look cheery this holiday season. All the latest lights and decorations simply aren't necessary. Instead consider decorating with things like paper snowflakes (a great project to do with your kids; everyone will have a great time and there's something even more special about hanging decorations you made with your own hands!), or turn an old tomato cage upside down, wrap it in lights, and viola! You have a perfect lighted tree for your home or yard for the cost of a string (or two) of lights instead of $20+ for the "real deal". Also consider making your own ornaments, using old T-shirts in holiday colors, cutting into whatever shape you desire and stuffing them with cotton balls and gluing together with fabric glue, or making cut-out ornaments with applesauce and cinnamon (which happen to pull triple duty; great holiday project with the kids, fun gift to give, or beautiful on your own Christmas tree!). Also consider bundling up and taking a nature walk with the kids. Gather up sticks, pine cones, etc., paint with a thin coat of watered down Elmer's glue and dust lightly with some white glitter. Once dry, place together in a pretty bowl for a simple holiday centerpiece!

Here's a photo of our tree and mantle area -- all these items (including most of the ornaments!) were either bought after Christmas at seriously reduced prices (think 75+% off!), were hand-me-downs, or gifts. Even the tree was purchased several years before I married David for something like 80% off the original price!

Here's an ornament I made with my MIL a week or two ago, using little ornament forms (99 cents Hobby Lobby), torn up Pier 1 catalog pages, and high gloss glue: