Batch 6 // Chunky Chocolate Gobs

I woke up with chocolate on the brain this morning, so I decided to search for a great chocolate cookie recipe online. Let me tell you, folks, this recipe is hands down the best I've tried in this project thus far.  If you give these a try, please do yourself a favor and eat one right out of the oven... It will forever change your expectations of what a chocolate cookie should taste like. Yum!

{image and recipe via Southern Living}

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 

1/3 cup butter-flavored shortening 

1 cup granulated sugar 

2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 

2 large eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped (16 cookies) 

3 (1.75-oz.) Mounds bars, chilled and chopped 

1 to 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels 

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended. 

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. 

Stir in cookies, candy bars, and desired amount of chocolate morsels. Chill dough 30 minutes.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls 2" apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until barely set. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Choosing to believe

"When someone (or Satan or my own heart) tells me I am a failure, or worthless, or hopelessly sinful, I have a choice. I can believe what they say and become what they say about me, or I can believe what God says about me. God says that in Christ I am a new creation. He says I am clean and forgiven. He says I have a future and a hope. He says I was chosen to be incredibly fruitful, a world overcomer, and the display of His glory. He says goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ, and that no weapon forged against me will prosper. I BELIEVE HIM." - J.D. Greear


Just some food for thought on this Friday morning. Have a happy weekend, y'all!
{Image credit}

Reason #12

...Reason #12 why I'm a pediatric nurse...

{via}

4-year old dude: "Hey Jawah, my dad has a shot gun. Cool huh?"

Me: "That's awesome. Guess what? I have a shot gun too... My dad gave it to me."

4 year old dude (with great enthusiasm): "You've shot a gun before?!?!?!?"

Me: "Yeah buddy, I have."

4-year old dude: "Jawah, you are the coolest nurse in the whole hospital!"

Gotta love those little dudes.

Batch 5 // Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

{Recipe via Cup-a Cup-a}

¾ cup Crisco

¾ cup butter, softened

1 ¼ cup brown sugar 

1 ¼ cup white sugar 

4 Tbsp milk 

2 Tbsp vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

3 ½ cups self-rising flour 

2 tsp salt 

1 ½ tsp baking soda 

2 cups oatmeal 

3 cups chocolate chips* 

Blend together Crisco, butter and sugars. Add milk, vanilla and eggs. Add in remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips. Mix until blended. Add chocolate chips. 

Drop by spoon (or scoop) onto un-greased, cookie sheets. (I like to bake them on parchment lined sheets for ease and clean up). Bake 375 degrees 9 to 11 minutes (until golden). Remove from oven and let sit on counter for a few minutes. Remove from cookie sheets to cool. 

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. 

*or whatever mix ins you choose- M&M's; pecans, raisins, peanut butter chips, or “kitchen sink”style: craisins, chocolate chips, pecans

a bad day.

{via}

Yesterday was a a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

It started with an early morning phone call from work (never a good thing).

My schedule had been switched and no one told me.

So I flew out of bed, threw on scrubs and sped to work.

Once I got there I found out that I was assigned to the transplant (my first solo transplant, no less).

To spare you from too many details, I ran my little legs off the entire time.

One kid screamed for 12 hours. The other was puking all. day. long.

I was going on 4 hours of sleep and no food.

At 3 in the afternoon, I took 5 minutes to choke down a sandwich.

I stayed until 9 p.m. finishing up my charting. 14 hours of complete & utter craziness.

Before I left, I went to visit another one of my patients who had just received terrible news & was put on palliative care. I hugged him and his parents and shed a few tears over the loss that's coming.

As I was walking off the unit an older nurse chewed me out for a solid 10 minutes for writing her up after a big mistake on her part.

I got out to my car and had a $50 ticket waiting to greet me on my windshield (my fault).

I sat down and it felt like my whole body was throbbing... my feet, my knees, and especially my head.

Like any bonafide grown up would do, I picked up my phone and called my Mom & Dad.

They listened as I recounted the awful day I'd had through sobs and tears.

I told them that I was broken and tired and ready to pack up my car and come home.

And like any good parents would do, they told me to hit up Chick-fil-a on the way home, pop a couple of tylenols, and go to bed. 

They encouraged me and prayed over me and told me they loved me. I felt my anxious heart begin to settle.

After taking my parent's advice, I settled into my bed and proceeded to throw another temper tantrum as I talked with God. He listened and told me that never once in my day was I walking alone. And He reminded me that I have a choice on days like this - I can hold onto the junk and all of the hurt or I can choose to hold onto a bigger hope, to cling to Him. I pulled out my journal and quickly jotted out a note to my no good, very bad day: 

"Dear Wednesday,You can thwart my plans, work my bones until they're weary, hand me 14 hours of stress, fear, & anxiety, break my heart & my wallet, but you cannot shake my hope. God is the victor of this day, and I'm choosing to hold onto to that. His grace is enough and tomorrow is a new day."

With that, I turned out the light and slept for a good 10+ hours. I woke up this morning remembering a conversation my mom and I had before I moved to North Carolina. I remember her telling me that there would be bad days and I'd have a choice on those days to turn to God or to run from him. Let me be honest with you, blogging world, there have certainly been a number of bad days where I've chosen to run to everything but God. When everything that is comfortable in your life is stripped from you, it's very telling to see what you turn to for comfort and approval. In this season of life, God has been showing me so much about myself, about the idols I cling to to medicate my heart. He's slowly teaching me to loosen my grip on those things and run to him on days like yesterday.

I'm stubborn. I'm a slow learner. And I'm prideful.

But God is so patient with me.

And He walks by my side in the good days and the bad.

Reason #11

Reason #11 why being a pediatric nurse is awesome.

{via}

Sometimes a little saggy-diapered boy will come up, look at you with his big chocolate brown eyes and say, "I want to snuggle you."

So you pick him up and put him in your lap while you're charting.

Somehow you feel like he's lovin' on you more than you're lovin' on him.

And it makes you realize that the bad day you've just had is all worth it.

Batch 4 // Snickerdoodles

Apparently this is Mrs. Fields' snickerdoodle recipe... who knows if that's really true or not. Either way, these snickerdoodles were perfectly classic and simple. Definitely a must.

{image and recipe via Lovin' From the Oven}

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.

Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

Makes 16 to 18 cookies.

{I would recommend doubling the recipe for a hungry crowd}