Several times last night I found myself looking around pausing small moments in my head. Creating little snapshots in my memory of the kids while they put together puzzles and snacked on cookies and milk. Doug and I sitting their watching and playing along in battleship or finding the corner piece or whatever it may be, we are right there with our babes in the small moments. It's nothing new, I mean cookies and milk alongside a movie and games, in a cozy family room is probably a vision most of us can conjure up pretty quickly. But, regardless of how easy this setting is to envision, it's no less magical and heart warming.
Since I was a little kid, my parents fostered Friday Night Family Nights each and every week. I could NOT wait to pile into the van, ride to Blockbuster and peruse the VHS tapes while eating complimentary popcorn! My brothers and I would argue on which movie we would pick and sometimes we were lucky enough to pick two! Do you ever miss movie rental stores?! Scrolling through movie options that are immediately on demand from my Apple TV leaves something (MAJORLY) to be desired...
Next up was picking up the pizzas and my favorite part- snack slice on the way home! I'm chuckling as I type this to you because of how silly it is to have gotten so excited to have a piece of pizza on the way home before anyone else in my family. I mean, we literally would be home and all enjoying it in about 15 minutes! But, truly I think it really is the small things that form the biggest impressions on us and that slice, and the ride home with my dad with the radio playing Britney's latest, was everything.
So friend, with this trip down memory lane I wanted to offer you a few things:
Don't under estimate the small moments and rituals that can make up massive memories for your family
Make an effort to hold space for a family night. There is something so meaningful and precious about carving out this routine time for your children and yourselves- I promise you will look back in such gratitude you did!
Lastly, make some cookies together and enjoy them. The recipe below is a family favorite and I hope it'll be your too.
Salted Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Yields about 2 dozen / Prep Time 10 min / Cook Time 9 min / Total Time 30 min
Ingredients:
1 cup softened salted butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (got mine HERE)
2 large eggs
3 cups all purp flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
several pinches Maldon flake salt (get it on Amazon here)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and powder, salt) and set aside.
Cream together softened butter and both sugars until lite and creamy, Then add in eggs and vanilla paste. Whisk until combined- I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this with the whisk attachment.
Slowly add in flour mixture and mix on lowish until wet and dry are combined.
Remove whisk attachment, scrape sides and switch to paddle attachment. Pour in all chocolate and mix until combined but don't overly mix!
Once cookie batter has come together, set bowl in freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up the batter- this will prevent your cookies from spreading too much when baking.
While cookies are in freezer, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and grab a spoon to scoop out cookie dough.
After 10 minutes, scoop out cookie dough and gently roll into 1-2tbsp size balls and place on cookie sheet- about 12 per sheet.
Bake for 9 minutes. At 9 minutes the cookies should be lightly baked with no golden edges yet. At this point pull the cookies out and sprinkle a little but of the Maldon finishing salt right on top of the cookies. Bake for another 1-2 minutes until edges are toasty caramel colored and middles are still light brown.
Allow the cookies to rest and cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack and enjoy warm with milk!
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