"The Best Cookies You've Ever Made"

I had originally discovered these cookies in the midst of distracting myself from studying for finals. The idea of lavender and white chocolate had me drooling in the library. I couldn't wait to get home for the summer to make these!

The lovely Rachel over at Spache the Spatula first made these cookies. Go check out her site because all of her recipes are seriously nom worthy. 

I knew I would love the flavor combination of the cookies, but I was a little nervous at what other people would think, especially boys, especially my dad. He has a broad palate but usually likes to stick to the basics when it comes to cookies. To my surprise, they were a hit! My dad even claimed he thinks they are the best cookies I've ever made! 

They are unusual, but absolutely amazing. The have a really gourmet layer of flavors that anyone would love! These are the perfect spring or summer cookie and would be great at any kind of shower or party!

I had never made anything with lavender before, but I've always loved the flavor. I found a small pouch of lavender buds at Sprouts on an end cap with other peculiar spices. Although, I'm sure you could find them at most specialty or organic grocery stores. 

I love the way Rachel combines the lavender and sugar in a food processor to really perfume the sugar and to insure the lavender gets spread throughout the dough. 

The only change to the recipe I made was using chips instead of getting a bark of chocolate and chopping it. I just add the chips directly to the electric mixer and let the mixer chop the chips up a little. 

The cookies are finished off with a sprinkle of sea salt and extra lavender to really balance out the flavors. I was so pleased with these cookies and so was everyone who tried them!

Sea Salt Lavender and White Chocolate Chip Cookies
yields 2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. lavender
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
1 large egg + 1 large egg white
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
sea salt for sprinkling 

Directions:
In a bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt; set aside. 

In a food processor, process the sugar and lavender for a few seconds until the lavender is chopped into tiny pieces and sugar starts to "smoke" out of the processor. This step perfumes the sugar and ensures that the lavender will be evenly distributed within the cookie!

In an electric mixer, beat together the butter, shortening and lavender sugar on medium for 3 minutes. Add in the egg and egg white and beat for 3 more minutes until fluffy. Add in the flour mixture slowly and white chocolate until combined. 

Using a cookie scoop, generously scoop oversized balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, then preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is preheating, place your sheets of dough in the freezer to let them firm up. Once the oven is ready, bake your cookies for 12 minutes. 

The cookies should look slightly underdone when you take them out. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt and extra lavender if you want! Allow to cool then indulge in one of the best cookies you will ever make;)

To use up the rest of your lavender, try this vanilla lavender granola recipe! 

Annie

Bites of My Life

Summer has been too good for me so far. After getting more settled in the new house, I've loved exploring around Oklahoma City with a new eye. My days have mainly consisted of spending most of the day in the kitchen making breakfast, lunch and dinner or baking, taking a Barre3 class or going on a run, then lounging around enjoying these few weeks with nothing to do!

I mentioned how there are lots of moves going on in the Tucker family. Well, yesterday I got a few things moved into my house in Norman, but now I have to start packing to move again, this time to the glorious Washington D.C. Have I mentioned that I will be interning in D.C. yet? More on that later, but I leave Sunday and will be gone all summer. I can't wait to keep you updated on all the new adventures summer is about to bring!

-My first package at the new house was my second Graze Box! The mango chutney and cracked pepper dippers were so good!

-Stella makes for a great companion while taking a walk down the street to get breakfast!

-Used a recipe on the Barre3 app to make lunch! Whipped up the Spring Kale Salad with Strawberries, Avocado and Maple-Balsamic dressing. Not pictured is the homemade guacamole I made to use up the other half of the avocado! 

-Even with summer's arrival I keep gravitating toward black and white outfits instead of bright colors.

-One of the best breakfast wraps I've ever had at Blue Moon Cafe. The addition of sautéed red cabbage makes it really unique. We had a double birthday brunch in Tulsa to celebrate two of my best friend's birthdays.

-Everyone back together to surprise our beloved Betsy on her 21st!

-I've been on a spaghetti squash kick! One spaghetti squash makes a big batch of "noodles." I used it to make a kale pesto, pea, and tomato dish as well as a veggie almond pad thai! Check my insta for the pad thai recipe!

-Two things I couldn't pass up at Target. A good read and an even better snack!

-Skinny Spinach Artichoke dip for a happy hour snack! I used this recipe. 

Annie

Oh My Darling, Clementine

I have a new favorite website and I have to share it with you. I discovered Clementine Daily after reading Emily's Links I Love post yesterday. She had a link for 5 Skills Everyone Needs To Know. The link took me to Clementine's site and I immediately started browsing around.

Clementine Daily is a women's lifestyle site similar to The Everygirl or The Glitter Guide. What I love about Clementine is how simple and true it is. They have created a space for authentic women to come and get inspired from different leading ladies, fresh recipes, amazing photography and helpful life tips.  

Their manifesto is idilic and I think they were sitting inside my brain when they wrote it. "She loves style,  not fashion. Her best ideas come to her in the shower. She pet-sits for neighbors. Mascara makes her sneeze. She believes that table crumbs are dinner’s confetti. She’s still on the hunt for her signature scent."

Clementine provides different articles to motivate women in the topics of entertaining, style, decor, cooking and gives great advice for everyday life. 

They post amazing and delicious recipes like this spring green risotto. I also have my eye on these french lentil quinoa cakes, pistachio pesto pasta and their idea for a simple breakfast. These delicious fixes are all courtesy of their amazing food editor Julia. 

One of my favorite things about Clementine is how simple, but beautiful their pictures are. The site is streamlined and leaves space for the content to shine through.

I love their articles like to selfie or not to selfie, how to have better posture or 5 ways to be kind to yourself. 

They have a great group of editors and several notable contributors. Here is an interview with everyone's blogger role model and Clementine contributor Joy Cho of Oh joy!

all images via Clementine Daily

So take a few minutes and peruse around Clementine Daily. I now have it bookmarked as one of my daily reads and I know you will too after seeing what Clementine has to offer!

Annie 

Thai Chicken Curry

Thai food is definitely one of my favorite genres of food. It is right up there next to Mediterranean. Since we moved to the city we had to say goodbye to one of our favorite little Thai restaurants in Edmond. 

Also because of the move, I rediscovered a bunch of recipes in old cookbooks that had gone overlooked. I've pretty much been controlling the kitchen since I've been home, so when I found this recipe for an easy chicken curry I thought it would be the perfect dinner and hommage to our beloved Thai restaurant. 

If you plan to make my coconut cake from yesterday, this is the perfect dinner to use up the rest of your coconut milk! The combination of the coconut milk, curry paste and lime gives this curry a really special flavor!

Before and after. The after picture is obviously the way to go, load on the Siriracha!

Thai Chicken Curry
serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/2-2 lb. rotisserie chicken, shredded
zest and juice from one lime
3 Tbsp. Canola oil
1/4 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp. Asian fish sauce
6 green onions, chopped white and green parts
1/4 cup chopped fresh Thai basil (regular basil works great too!)
2 cups white or brown rice, cooked

Directions:
Cook your rice according to the directions on the package. 

Shred your chicken and zest the lime, then set aside. Cook the green beans in the oil until tender, about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat Add the peas in at the last minute just to warm them up. Remove from the pan and set the veggies aside. 

Stir the curry paste into the same pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the coconut milk, broth and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and stir, scraping the brown bits that form on the bottom. Stir in the lime juice and zest. 

Add the chicken, green beans and peas to the pan and combine with the sauce. Stir in the green onions and basil. 

Spoon the curry over your rice and enjoy! Serve with Siriracha and soy sauce. Use chopsticks if you really want to be authentic. 

Annie

Four-Layer Coconut Cake

Ever since trying the famous 12-layer coconut cake from Peninsula Grill in Charleston, I've had coconut cake on my radar.  Any time I've seen a recipe, I pin it or bookmark it. My mom and I pretty much drooled over the coconut cake at Peninsula, so I knew she would love a coconut cake for Mother's Day. Any holiday should be celebrated with cake. 

A full 12-layer cake sounded a little daunting, so I opted for a four-layer, 6 inch cake. This recipe uses spring form pans, which makes getting the cakes out the pan a snap, but if you don't have spring forms you can find 6 inch round pans at most craft or baking stores. 

Four-Layer Coconut Cake
serves 8-10, adapted from Momofuku For 2

Ingredients:

For the cakes:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used Bob Mill's brand)
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Frosting:
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg whites
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cubed
1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions:

For the cakes:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Parchment line two 6 inch spring form or round pans.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut in a large bowl then set aside. Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating after each addition. In a small bowl combine the coconut milk and vanilla extract. Turn mixer to low, add a third of the dry ingredients, then mix. Add half of the wet ingredients, then mix. Add another third of the dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the wet ingredients, then finish with the dry. 

Divide the batter evenly into your two pans. Bake for 45 minutes. Do a toothpick test to make sure your cakes are cooked through. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:
While your cakes are cooling, whisk egg whites and sugar in a double broiler (A metal bowl over a pot of simmering water). Continue whisking until you can't feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers. 

Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high until it turns white and doubles in size. Add the extract. Finally, add the butter cubes at a time. Add the coconut. It may take a while to come together but once it does, store in the fridge until you are ready to frost. (Because there is so much butter it can get kind of melty).

To assemble the cake:
Using a serrated knife, slice each cake in half. Layer one slice of cake topped with about 1/3 cup of frosting. Continue to layer and frost until you have four layers. (Make sure you save enough frosting to cover the whole cake.) Frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with a sprinkle of coconut around the edges! Keep in the fridge for a nice cold and firm cake until you are ready to serve!

Did anyone ever learn that "I'm a Nut" song at summer camp? With all this coconut talk its pretty much been stuck in my head the whole time while writing this post. 

"I'm a little coconut, sitting under a coconut tree. Everybody steps on me, that is why I'm cracked you see. I'm a nut, in a rut, I'm cra-a-zy."

Annie