Soccer 2013

Coffeehouse Cookies

You know the giant homemade, slightly chewy chocolate chip cookies that they serve in coffee houses???? Or the ones they used to sell at the student store in jr.high/high school? Is it just me? I LOVE those cookies. So do my littles. On cold fall/winter mornings, one of our favorite things is to make a pitstop at the coffeehouse for hot chocky & giant cookies! I came across a blog the other day that had this recipe. It was a pretty normal recipe, but then they started twisting the "regular" things into other ingredients instead. It was so intriguing I HAD to try it. Plus-the kids were at school & I was feeling nostalgic. I can remember MANY days coming home from school and smelling fresh chocolate chip cookies in the air. So, with it being the first week of school, I wanted that same excitement for my munchkins.

TWIST #1-half butter & half cream cheese (we only had unsalted butter in the fridge, so I had to add a little more salt when I made these-no biggie)

TWIST#2-beat sugars, egg, butter, etc. on medium speed for 5 MINUTES! Mixture becomes light & fluffy-like frosting but not as dense.

 TWIST #3-Replace baking powder with cornstarch! I normally make vanilla pudding cookies....the kind where you add a box of instant pudding to the recipe. It makes them chewy with a nice vanilla flavor. Doing a little research, the reason pudding cookies turn out soft is because "modified food starch" is one of the first ingredients in the pudding mix! So, using cornstarch here basically serves the same purpose :)

We like to use quality HUGE MILK chocolate chips in our cookies. Go big or go home right!?

 After whipping all the ingredients together, almost FOLD in the dry ingredients & chocky.

 TWIST #4-Use a 3" cookie scoop! HOLY MOSES!!!! I fit 6 on a tray-and the recipe only made a dozen cookies! Granted, they are 12 DOUBLE SIZE cookies.

TWIST #5-Form into balls, flatten slightly with palm of your hand and REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS before baking! This ensures that they bake thick & fluffy!

These cookies did NOT disappoint! Even Mike-who prefers every cookie over chocolate chip- came in smelling the "something is freshly baking air" wanting some!

After they cooled for 5 minutes & set up a bit, they were devoured....and I am pleased to announce-they were DIVINE! I mean come on-look at that thing! One cookie is almost the size of a salad plate! I packed one in everyones lunches today. They are perfectly chewy yet not under-baked. Soooooo good!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (use cream cheese in a block or spreadable, don't use fat-free, light or whipped)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (I used 1 cup chips and 1 1/4 cups chunks)

DIRECTIONS:

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese (measure it by smooshing it into a 1/4-cup measure), sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use an electric hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
3. Add chocolate chips and chunks, and beat momentarily to incorporate, or fold in by hand.
4. Using a medium 2 to 3-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat or spray with cooking spray and place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark. They have chewy edges with soft, pillowy centers). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

So proud

On Bryce's first day of school, this was his first assignment. He was to fill it out as he waited for everyone to get situated before class began & families straggled in. I was so proud of him. Not only did he work WONDERFULLY amidst the chaos and huge distractions, but he went above & beyond and attempted to write his first "words"! I've never seen him do this on paper. He often does it on the computer as he searches for NETFLIX (but it also comes up on cookies so he doesn't have to type the whole word.) I had to photograph his completed book because he was so dedicated to it & I was one proud parent!

 Keep in mind that everything is completely phonetic-so no short sounds....

Favorite color: Orange

Favorite Cartoon: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Age: 5

Pet: dog

Favorite thing to do: Wii (he drew a wii remote in his favorite color)

What I want to be: doctor (he told me that is the doctor and a patient on the bed. ha ha ha)

Favorite food: bananas and "chicken on the bone" (bbq pork ribs ;) )

New friends: Dominic & Josie (the teacher rang the bell to start class just as he grabbed his pencil to write his friends names-so he was quick to shut the book & put it away. I was shocked at his immediate direction following! Good for him!)

Bryce Dominating

Mike and I had to work a wedding last weekend, and it just so happened to be the first day of soccer games-which is kick started by a massive jamboree! This posed a HUGE problem since I am Bryce's coach & Mike is Emma's coach=2 teams missing coaches on the first day of games. Niiiiiiice. Luckily we both found reliable replacements for the day to fill in for us! Not only did my subs do the coaching, they also took picts for me! That is going to be REALLY hard this season. How will I coach & get picts of E & B playing...on 2 different fields at the same time!???? Rut Roh.
I felt pretty guilty missing the games but more so because I wasn't there to see my own 2 kids playing. When we got home late that night from the wedding, we received an email with the subject line "Bryce Dominating", the message that said:
 "It wasn't really the brutal takedown it appears to be (I think she just tripped), but it is a great sequence leading to a goal :-)

Todd"

with THESE picts attached... 

ha ha ha. I LOVE IT! Mike loves it more though ;)

The kids have been loving their soccer season. We love fall!

We're in the Newspaper!

Check it out! I didn't figure the guy I was talking to was actually going to put anything I said in the ACTUAL paper-but he did! Go figure. However, he missed the memo that my SON was the one in Kindergarten. Oh well-can't win em' all. At least he didn't misquote something important.

http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/members/ellensburg-schools-welcome-record-number-of-kindergartners/article_7f34b8e0-1bdf-11e3-9d22-001a4bcf887a.html?success=1

FINALLY-he gets his turn!

This kid has been waiting for his turn to go to school ALL WEEK! Emma started last Wednesday-the same day B had his first Parent/Student/Teacher conference. Ever since, he has had to wait for his official first full day. Today was THE day!

 

This was his teacher gift this year. A gourmet caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolates. Teacher was OOOOOOBBBER thrilled with it ;) Way better than getting a plain ol' fashioned apple!

The kids were all too ready to head out the door this morning. They packed their lunches & folders in their backpacks & we were out of there!

Handsome little fella with his teacher gift-to get her through the day with 27 other kids besides B! Ugh.

Sister walked him into school today, but he didn't even need her. He was confident as can be! Why shouldn't he be, he's been coming here since the womb! :)

A quick HI to the principal in the hallway & he did everything he could to stop himself from running to his classroom down the hall. He found his desk, and unpacked his items. There was his first assessment report (from tests done at conferences last week) on the table. He ROCKED IT-considering we didn't do a dang school thing ALL SUMMER. I forgot that they assess him at conference and so he didn't even get a quick review :/ (parent of the year- I know I know). He knows all those lowercase sounds too-but he wasn't having it that day. Such is kids & assessments. I am anxious to see this change at the end of the week-when he is reassessed after getting into the routine of school.

The directions at his spot said to put your nametag on & put away your lunch stick. What a deceptively "easy" task. This concept is going to take a while. So many options for where that stick might go each day ;) ha ha ha

Next he hung up his "packpack" and lunch box in his locker.

One of my first preschoolers, Sienna (now a 4th grader) was standing there ready & waiting to greet Bryce to his first day of school with a big hug! She is such a sweetie. Bryce loved it.

He had completed all his homework so in the box it went-he was SO ready for his homework prize!

Ms. Selzler provided the kids with snack for the first day. He was pretty excited to have some. Captain Crunch Berries & carrot sticks are some of his favorite things!

This is where he starts to get embarrassed with my camera in his face. My reply- "I warned ya dude! I am a camera lovin' momma today-just like I was with sister!" :)

He did such a great job on his seat work. He drew pictures of all his favorite things & then wrote the word next to it. He sounded out each word with help from the letter friend chart on the table. I was SOOOOOO proud of him! What a rock star!

Shannon asked me to make her a "first day of school"sign for her to take student pictures with today-so this is what I came up with.

At the carpet following directions for a silent signal-which meant his ears were "listening to his teacher"

What a good little student. He was THRILLED to have his chance to be a kinder-kid.

Before the parents left, we all did a song & dance to "Boom Chicka Boom" and "Tootie Tah" (songs/chants from summer camp) It was TOOO FUNNY! The kids LOVED it & it was a great way to end a happy send off! 

I got a huge hug & a boot out the door from this kid. He was ready to be the first one back to the carpet to see what adventures were in store for the day!

At pick up, he was just as confident as when I left him. His main concern was finding his sister so she "wasn't lost" ;) lol.

As is tradition-Kirsten came to show her support as a "big sister" figure to the kids :)

He found his sis & they decided that FRO-YO was the perfect spot for Bryce's first day after-school chit chat. With it being almost 100 degrees outside, I must say I agreed!

Over his frozen treat he told us all about music class, seeing his sister in the cafeteria for lunch, 3 recesses, and his 2 new friends-"Dominic & the kid with the tricky name, who has small eyes and black hair" bwhahaha. Can't wait to find out what the translation to that story is! This little man is going to have one heck of a great start to his public education experience!