Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies

This was one of those, let's see what's in the pantry then check Pinterest for something using only ingredients I already have on hand so that I don't have to go to the store, kind of baking adventures.

I woke up at my parent's house Sunday morning after house sitting for them while they are galavanting around London and Paris (Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Pops!). I always take advantage of their kitchen and food when I'm home. After watching a solid hour of Sunday morning Food Network shows, I was itching to bake something. I walked to the pantry and found a random abundance of chocolate chips. This was only random because no one bakes at home now that I'm gone. 

Regular chocolate chip cookies were not going to cut it, so I checked the chocolate recipes I had pinned and decided on these Double Chocolate and Coconut cookies. They are described as having a brownie like texture, and use cocoa and coconut. It wasn't going to take much more to convince me. 

Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies: Recipe adapted fromToday's Mama
yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp (straight out of the fridge then microwaved for 20 seconds also does the trick)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut, extra for sprinkling on top  

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350º F.  Line 2 cookies sheets by with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides as needed. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat in the brown sugar and white sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer off and pour the sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until combined.  Slowly add in the chocolate chips and coconut.  Beat until well combined–do not overmix.

Form into about 1 1/2 Tbsp. size balls and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten the balls of dough slightly and sprinkle with a little more coconut. Bake for about 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies (1 Tbsp of dough will take about 8 minutes, 2 Tbsp of dough will take closer to 12 minutes). 9 minutes was perfect for me!

Let cool for about 2 minutes on the sheets and then slide the parchment paper off the cookies sheets to finish cooling on the counter. Eat and enjoy! Store extras in an air tight container for up to 3 days, store in the freezer for up to one month.

The cookies were baked and Food network was still going strong on the TV, but it was time to pack up these chocolate and coconut sweet treats and head back to Norman. I brought these to my Homecoming pep rally dance practice for a Sunday pick-me-up. The cookies went over swimingly. I heard someone compare them to an Almond Joy, and I got a "these are actually amazing."

I love when random deliciousness can be stemmed from ingredients already in the pantry. I also think these would be cute at Christmastime because the coconut kind of resembles a dusting of snow. These may be a repeat offender come Decemember.

Annie

Witty & Delightful

Target has been rolling out an amazing collab this year. They partnered with some of their favorite pinners to create Pinterest party worthy products, and I am so on board. 

They first caught my attention when they partnered with Joy Cho of Oh Joy! She has continued to design whimsical party goods since her initial collection last spring. They also did work with Jan Halvarson of Poppytalk, and most recently released their witty & delightful collection with the wonderful Kate Arends from Wit & Delight.

Pictured above is the wonderful Kate. I had never read her blog until my sister helped me catch wind of her Target collection. I instantly found myself completely distracted in my capstone class and completely enthralled in her blog. 

These are a few snapshots from the rustic and whimsical launch party Kate threw for the September 14th launch of her collection. The Minneapolis based blogger filled this studio space with good food, better people and her great products as the focal point. I wish I could have been invited to the party so I could eat the luscious cheese board in front of Kate. 

Kate's collection is perfectly described by using the title of her blog, it is witty and delightful. She uses black, white and gold to create party goods and barware. My favorite pieces include the Oh Beer! bottle opener and her funny phrase pencils (click the link to see all the phrases enlarged). The "beerly beloved" one really gets me. Below are more of my favorites! 

beverage bucket/bottle opener/decks of cards/serving tray/pencils/chalkboard labels

Kate and Joy's party products are available on Target.com. Jan's Poppytalk products are sold out, but you can see all three of the pinner's collections on Target's Pinterest page. I'm now brainstorming different party ideas so that I have a reason to buy all of their goodies! 

I must say, everything is so well priced and so darn cute I'm just going to have to buy it all. This always seems to happen...darn it, Target strikes again.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week I tried to detox from my smartphone, it went terribly. I sort of came to the realization that if I want to pursue a career in social media than maybe that can be my excuse for being attached to my phone. I'm working on being better, but there is just so much going on in the virtual world, right?

Got to dress up like my girl Zenon on Friday for my sorority's date party. My inner 7 year old had "zoom zoom zoom, make my heart go boom boom," on repeat in my head all night. 

Spent Saturday night at home housesitting for my parents. After a visit to my favorite, now Oklahoma City shop, I relaxed with red wine, a best friend and the OU game. 

Finished the weekend with homework, a comfort food roomie dinner and watching The Fault in Our Stars for the first time. Wowza is that movie good, yet so sad. A must see if you haven't already. Not to mention it's incredible soundtrack. 

-Homemade tofu cashew curry for Monday night din.

-Pomegranate chips and Jesus on the back deck. Never tasted anything like them, but they are kind of rocking my world. 

-Cookie decorating with my Big Brothers Big Sister's little. Love sharing what I love with the little sis I never had!

-A lovable breakfast post date party! I'll never get tired of this meal!

-Pulled out my calligraphy stuff since I hadn't practiced in months. Turns out it's more like riding a bike than I thought! 

-Double Chocolate Coconut cookies for my homecoming group. Turned out better than expected. 

-New goodies from Chirps & Cheers! They are officially open in Midtown and the store is more wonderful than ever!

-Roomie dinner minus one. Zucchini Lasagna with pesto, pea and corn salad. 

-Dreamy Nighttime drink to wind down with on Sunday. 

Annie

Time to Unplug: A 7-Day Smartphone Detox

Not your normal juice cleanse or a whole foods detox, but a relevant detox none-the-less. I'm way to attached to my smartphone and other technological devices. I check instagram, Facebook, snapchat, email and even Yelp far too many times during the day. First thing when I wake up, again while I eat breakfast, on my way to class, during class, last thing before I fall asleep...you get the idea. I can't even put my phone down to watch a TV show these days, I'm in a constant state of multi-tasking and it's time I get a grip. 

I think everyone can relate to this addiction. Join me this week in a little smartphone detox. If you are one of the lucky ones getting the new iPhone 6 this may be hard for you, but let's take on the challenge. POPSUGAR created a 7-day detox giving you a small step each day to help weed you off being on your phone so much. I started yesterday, but jump in with me today and let's give it a whirl. 

Monday:

Unfollow people who aren't your real friends, unsubscribe from unwanted email lists, and delete apps you don't use.

Tuesday:

Turn off push notifications.

Wednesday

Resist the urge to look at your phone first thing in the morning.

Thursday:

Set up a charging station outside of your bedroom, and don't look at your phone an hour before bed.

Friday:

Go out to dinner, and leave your phone at home.

Saturday:

Spend the day not looking at or posting to social media.

Sunday:

Turn off your smartphone for the entire day.

Think you can do it? I'll check back in a week and we can both see how we did! 1-2-3 detox!

Annie

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Bites of My Life

A great post-DC week. Some cooking, some studying, and a sneak peek at fall weather. It was a wonderful week, but a more wonderful weekend.  OU playing Tennessee brought a lot of people back in town.  A weekend well spent with new friends, old friends and family.

-Baked from the book for Monday night dinner. Did you catch my Blogging for Books post? More on this great cookbook and recipe! -@dcdining still regramming my pictures even though I'm back in OK! My 5 second claim to fame. So what if I obnoxiously tag them in my DC foodgrams, they seem to like it. -Something blue showed up in my mailbox last week. Sara Kate Studios is expanding from online to a brick and mortar shoppe and it opens  this weekend! If you live around OKC make sure to visit the opening of Sara Kate's shoppe. She is my cousin's cousin so we are practically related. -My take on pad thai. Shirataki noodles, almond butter sriracha sauce, tofu and cashews! -My first try at an egg baked in an avocado. YUM. 450 degrees, 15 minutes. Scrape a little of the avocado out, crack your egg inside then top  with salt, pepper, sriracha and basil out of the oven. Perfect lunch.  -Tailgate success at MAMAS house. Love living under the same roof with these hoodlums. -A barbecue feast made for a fabulous game day. Not pictured are the abundance of sweets and chips and dips. It's not a party without food.  -There's only one Oklahoma.  Annie