Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about a dozen

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
Sea Salt (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix together the soda, salt, and cocoa and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Turkey Apple Burgers

Ingredients:

Your choice of cooking fat (Butter, Coconut oil, Ghee, Olive oil, etc.)
1 pound ground Turkey
1 medium Apple peeled and grated
1 medium Onion chopped
3-4 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Vinegar
1 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg

Mix everything together and mold 4-6 patties. Over medium heat, add your patties, and cook for about 4-6 minutes on each side.


Serve with Lettuce Wraps or Buns, add Tomatoes and VOILA: Turkey Apple Burgers!

Eat

Be thankful.

Jesus.

Tobi.

Family.

Friends.

Hearty Laughs.

Flowers.

Baking.

Traveling.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

I made Sweet Potato Doughnuts and a Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie that I look forward to posting. And making by Husband plump with, for the next couple years.

LOVE

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why did I not think of this before? My favorite fruit combined with everyone's most commonly made, favorite cookie. It's almost like it's heathy right? Extremely wrong. Without a doubt, I'm sure you could easily gain a pound with all the butter and sugar in this recipe. BUT, if you have just one, I know you'll be just fine. In fact, I was more than just fine.

This has to be my favorite, simple cookie recipe in quite some time. I finally found THE chocolate chip cookie recipe I will forever use. It's own secret (which really isn't a secret...) is BROWNED BUTTER. Please, don't make another chocolate chip cookie without browning your butter. I can't tell you the difference it makes. I made one with brown butter and one without, and the contrast was incomparable. Back to the strawberries: they don't dry out and turn to mush in the oven. Rest assured, they stay in one piece, hold their form, and stay juicy, even after 10 minutes of heat.

Strawberry (Brown Butter!) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups cut fresh strawberries

Instructions: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, continue to cook until it turns golden brown. Swirl the pan occasionally if needed so that it browns evenly. Watch it fairly closely, as it can go from brown to burned quickly. When the color has turned golden, small flecks speckle the butter, and it has a nutty aroma, remove from heat and poor into your mixing bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.

Beat the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and creamy and ddd the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and strawberries and mix until incorporated.

At this point, I refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour so the dough becomes firm. I made a batch without refrigerating and they turned out just fine, but I could tell the difference.

Spoon by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. And done! They do not store for more than two days with the fresh strawberries.

Eliminate the strawberries, and they are still amazing.

I brought them to my church BBQ and didn't see them after Tobi set them down.

Mmm..

In light of recent events..

My love got his green card and social security number all within the last week. I can't even fathom that all the paperwork is over. So, in of all this, and my favorite color...

green tea macaroons,

a green house,

cute green coffee sleeve

and,

terrarium's that are...

GREEN!

owl love you

WELL, if this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! Who wants to own an owl with me?

Let there be light..

SUNSHINE. It took only 3/4's of the day to actually come out, but its out. On the mornings I get to sleep in, I dream that I'll wake up with a sun filled room. This morning: dark. To fill the void I've began looking at, and sometimes literally saying, "oh wow" to some beautiful, light, open houses. Although I admire a home with lots of bold, rightly placed colors, wood just speaks to me. Oh how I dream of an all white bedroom, with special wood accents. These pictures will do for now..

My jaw dropped to the ground going through the pictures of the house.

WOW. Vacation? I've never considered Montana until now..

Courtesy of Andersson Wise

Saturday finds

What a beautiful day in San Francisco. I love the Lord's grace in allowing me to live here and drink good coffee just a bike ride away. Here's some stuff I can't stop looking at...

Can't wait to see her designs for Anthropologie in September.

Such a fresh, DIY room divider.

I'm in love with this music. It's so enchanting. She's adorable too.

For the man in my life!

Make this rug with me. I already have a place for it.

Oh dear! I can't help but love this! We want this dog. Don't judge me...

With summer on it's way, and blueberries about to be cheap (finally!)

My favorite wedding dress from J Crews old Collection but it's sold out. so one from their new.

and OH, if Tobi and I had a fourth wedding, I would wear this, B H L D N, one.

Just bought a special card for a special lady from local Hello! Lucky Letterpress.

and lastly, Easter at the Herbst Theatre with my church, Reality SF. Beautiful!

Oh yeah, this blog...

So, what happened for a couple months there with this?

I wish I could say I've been on some adventurous vacation. Or do I? I just read San Francisco is the number three vacation spot in the US. Number three! In all of the United States. Thats solves that.

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't continue with this until our immigration interview was over. There was no decision made quite yet, but that's okay. We're hopeful and excited.

Right now I can't help but look at my husband sitting next me. He's been through so much this past year and he's still the God fearing, good looking, incredible man I married just 8 short months ago. Bless his patient heart. I couldn't ask for anyone better. Thats for darn sure...

SO... here's to the start of something new. I take comfort that nothings new to God. He knew all along. He loves us so much...

Tartine's Pecan Maple Pie

What better way to start spend New Years Eve afternoon but to go to Tartine? Great company, good coffee and tea, amazing Pecan Pie and Bread pudding. Just looked up the recipe and thought I would share. OR if you live in SF...GO!

Pecan Maple Pie from Tartine

(Makes 1 full pie)

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons bourbon

pinch salt

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2/3 cup pecan halves

zest of 1/3 an orange or 28g/1oz kumquats, thinly sliced

Flaky Tart Dough:

pinch of salt

3 1/2 tablespoons very cold water

1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

If you make it before me, follow the directions for the recipe from this site. The directions seems a little long so I want to see if I can simplify it.

mmmm... Happy New Year!

Brown Butter Blueberry Cream muffins...mmm

I absolutely love these muffins. You might gain a pound, but it's Christmas! To bad i'll be making these in the summer too though. They're definitely the best blueberry muffins I've ever made. And the first I've converted from European measurements. The original recipe had no sour cream but it really adds to them. 'm taking them to my family in San Diego! If they survive the car ride.

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• (makes 12 muffins)
• 
  
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup browned butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cups lite sour cream
• 1 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375F. Put muffin liners in a muffin tin. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Keep heating it over medium heat until it's foamed and brown bits have appeared and it smells nutty and AMAZINGLY delicous. Make sure you keep an eye on it because it can burn quickly. Take off the heat and leave to cool a little. I always leave the little brown bits, as I think they have a lot of flavor.

Mix the eggs sugar, and vanilla together, then add the brown butter and mix again. In a separate bowl, combine together flour, salt and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. GENTLY fold in the blueberries. Spoon batter into the muffin cups.

For the crumble topping:

2 tbsp cold butter

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

Measure out all the ingredients into a small bowl. Rub together with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Divide between the muffins.

Bake for around 17-20 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Cool before eating!!

The secret is definitely the sour cream. Makes them extra moist even two days later.A-MAZING.All the directions are worth following.

Tobi and I are in SD celebrating with my family this year. Crazy to think last year we were in snowy Germany just dating. Now we're married and I'm showing him around sunny SD. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

the beginnings

recipes. immigration. love. marriage. fun. bike rides. fashion. our apartment. design. painting. wedding. pictures. san francisco. JESUS. books. music. sports. holidays. cleaning. travel. wants. cooking. quotes. tea. family. german. verses. visa paperwork. lessons. furniture. likes. moments. kids. vacations. LIFE.

Just some things you might read about if you click on my blog...

Kristyn :)
p.s. the picture above was taken at our wedding. I love it.