Cookies and Community

I've been exploring the importance of community, because it truly is one of the most powerful tools we're given!  Last summer was a little rough because I lacked community until I started working at the Bodyshop, which is hands down one of the best working environments with incredible people. This is my first summer staying in Clemson, and as we all know, it can be a little ghost town at times when everyone's gone home for break. I wanted this summer to be full of encouragement and growth, luckily, Alex and Emily had a similar summer in mind!

Alex, Em, and I at a wedding a few weeks ago!

A girl's community had been put on all of our hearts, so we decided to be obedient and move forward. We didn't want it to be exclusive or to put any maximum number of members. Naturally, creating a Facebook page was necessary, and our small group quadrupled into a massive small group of 43 girls!!! The Lord has blessed us all so much, and I'm so excited to meet new girls each week.

Instead of doing a book, our vision was to discuss a topic each week. The first time we all got together we each gave a topic, some of the topics we'll discuss this summer are contentment, what does conviction look like, finding joy in every season, body image, resting in the Lord, etc. This week we kicked off with what God is doing in your life right now - wow, each of us are in such different seasons / stages of life and it's so eye-opening at how BIG God is, and how he reaches us all in different ways. I am beyond excited to see how this summer unfolds, the Lord has huge things in store for this big group of wonderful girls!

Alright, I don't know about yall, but I love me some cookies! I recently used this recipe to make Braden a cookie cake for finishing up his second rotation at BMW. Even though it's a simple recipe, I was still super impressed at how good and moist the cookie turned out!

Giant M&M Cookie Cake Recipe

You will need:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt

8oz unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

1 bag M&Ms

Start by preheating oven to 300°F

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together - set aside

2. Mix softened butter and both sugars, then add in eggs and vanilla with mixer

3. Add in flour mixture and stir

4. Add in chocolate chips and M&Ms

5. Put all the batter in the pan and press into a circle

6. Bake on center rack for 32-35 minutes

Mmm cookie cake goodness!

Smore cookie heaven

I've been going on baking kicks over the holidays, so once I found this recipe I just had to try it! Not only do these ridiculously sweet cookies look good, but they are DELICIOUS. Surprisingly they are super easy to make!

What you need:

2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup (white) sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup mini marshmallows, plus 1/4 cup for adding on top (as directed below)

2 regular sized Hershey bars, each piece printed with "Hershey" cut in half

2 packages graham crackers- broken into squares (1/2 of a full graham cracker sheet)

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 375*F

* Break graham crackers in half, so they are squares.  Lay crackers next to each other, in a single layer on a baking sheet (the size of your baking sheet will determine exactly how many crackers you need).

* Bake graham crackers in pre-heated oven for 4 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

* Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer.

* Add egg and vanilla.

* In a separate bowl stir flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Then add to butter mixture and mix until just combined. 

* Fold in chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows.

* Use a large cookie scoop to scoop dough onto graham crackers (on baking sheet). 

* Bake for 5 minutes.  Then remove pan from oven and press about 2 pieces of chocolate and 2-3 marshmallows into each cookie. 

* Bake for 5-7 minutes more. 

* Cool completely, then cut cookies into squares (where the graham crackers meet).