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These are a masterpiece as far as cookies go. I first found this recipe on orangette.com and made them by the recipe the first time. They were good. I made them again three days later because, well, they were good. Out of necessity, I had to substitute some of the cocoa with melted chocolate and they were wonderful. And then there was that fateful third or tenth time, I lost track; when turbinado sugar was added and our star was born. The raw sugar gives these ordinarilly soft cookies a wonderful crunch inside the softness. I have found nothing like it.

Molly from orangette also uses plain yoghurt and a full cup of sugar. I use vanilla instead of plain and because of its sweetness, I can cut the cup of sugar down. My version calls for a scant 1/3 cup of each of the three sugars: white, brown, and raw, or turbinado. You can use as little as 4 tablespoons of each and have a wonderful dark chocolate cookie. Adding more sugar is also good and wonderful.
There is one more plus to this recipe on top of having great cookies: the dough has no eggs in it. You can each it without reservation. By the time I get these cookies in the oven I have usually satisfied my sugar craving with dough, then I eat four or five baked cookies, and get a nice sugar headache. I then have to eat some sort of fruit or vegetable shortly after (typically baby carrots) because of “the law of food negation.”

Crunchy Sugar Chocolate Cookies

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. (½ stick) butter

scant 1/3 cup white sugar

scant 1/3 cup brown sugar

scant 1/3 cup raw sugar (turbinado)

4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips, must be Ghirardelli brand, 60% cacao chips

1/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, Mountain High brand is the very best

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup chocolate chips, must be Ghirardelli brand, 60% cacao chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Mix the sugars and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Place the butter in a microwave-safe measuring cup, and microwave briefly, until just melted. Pour into sugars. Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips to measuring cup and carefully melt in the microwave, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add melted chocolate to the butter and sugars. Stir with a fork to blend well. The mixture will be somewhat thick and pasty, like wet sand. Add the yogurt and vanilla and stir to mix thoroughly. Add the dry flour mixture, and stir to just combine. Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

4.Eat some dough.

5. Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. (I use my tablespoon-size ice cream scoop to scoop and shape the dough into little domes.) You should be able to fit about 8 or 9 cookies, nicely spaced, on a standard sheet pan. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies have crackled slightly and look set. Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack, and cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer them to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Tulips were on sale last week at Fred Meyer; I could not resist them. 

With a house still in the demolition stages of remodeling and the house we occupy belonging to others, nesting is somewhat out of my grasp. Laundry, bed-making and general cleaning up, currently do not satisfy. I am naturally unable to control these maternal urges and am required to satiate them with domesticity. My inner being was craving a needle and thread. I will be honest, I made a completely purposed trip to the fabric store. Pushing the kids around the bolts of material I found peace. I also found some golden cotton and a super cheery, lemon-printed cotton. I added some white polka dots to the mix. After craving sewing for days I made my purchase knowing this was the end of my nesting quest, for the time being. I began cutting squares that evening.

I must briefly mention the wonder of rotary cutters. My mom has quilted for decades and before she purchased a rotary cutter and mat, weeks would be spent tracing cardboard squares and hand cutting fabric. With a rotary cotter you have straight lines to check your fabric lines and big rulers to make long cuts. I marvel at the speed for a beginner like me with one of these nifty tools.

The next night I began to sew the squares together; deciding it in my best interest to keep the pattern simple. It’s a random pattern of 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch squares. I spent two days sewing it into long stips and then sewing the strips together; stopping to iron the sewed ends down. It felt wonderful to have something to work on during nap time and in the evening. I did realize while ironing that if this baby does turn out to be a boy, this quilt will grace K’s bed. It is just too happy and girly feeling for a baby boy; except just after delivery because we are not going to find out the gender beforehand that moment. 

Wednesday I thrifted around town to find some inexpensive batting and backing for the blanket. I was pleased when I found a white flannel sheet and a vintage bed sheet for backing. Amazingly the yellow/gold color of the backing is close to the front’s color scheme. And because the sheet is so old it feels really soft. A perfect mix for a spring project and a summer baby; happy colors and soft vintage cotton. I spent that afternoon at my mom’s cutting out two layers of the flannel sheet for the batting and a single layer of the striped sheet for the back. Then I did a basting stitch around the outside to hold it together.

Currently I am hand quilting around the squares. My mother has hand-stitched her quilts through the years. This can be one thing I choose to do like my mother (one among many really). I do think it entirely possible however, that if I venture into the land of king-sized quilts, a sewing machine will be employed for the stitching. I am enjoying the romance of hand stitching on my very first quilt.

This project has been so enjoyable. When I hold the quilt to hand stitch it, I love the weight of it, the softness of the sheet, and the sunny colors. Yesterday, in the morning sun, I made tiny orange-threaded stitches around the squares and I was overwhelmingly thankful. Something to occupy me while I wait for moments to work on our house and for my new baby. 

The lounge all framed in, complete with a new floor windows to come.

This amazing framing job done by my dad, Dave Hamilton. Thanks Dad!

This is the progression the main bathroom has made thus far, and the layout of the future bathroom. We found an old basin tub on the side of our garage that was probably in the house at one time and we’re going to refinish it. This bathroom will feature a small pedestal sink and a brand new, shiny clean toilet, along with some built-in shelving my dad ingeniously thought of. Our flooring choice is 12×12 slate tile and for now our walls will be all sheetrock with hardy-backer. We plan on adding more tile around the bathtub in the future.  We’re starting simply in this bathroom but plan on jazzing things up a bit in the future.