Valentine Linzer Cookies

The time has come, the Walrus said!

I know it's been about 139,476,000 days since I actually posted with some sort of schedule...and also 139,476,000 days since I claimed this was a new phase for LaraThalice. Well, my intentions were good and I was about to publish my next post back in December, when I took a step back. Things were too sporadic and I was making a lot of empty promises.

Now, just because I haven't been nerding-out my recipes via the cyber trails lately doesn't mean I haven't been cooking away like a mad woman! And, although my word has no meaning behind it anymore because you all hate me...I would like to officially announce the new LaraThalice. New look, new game plan, and a branch to the LaraThalice brand coming in 2016!!

For all of your patience during this ramp-up, I thought it appropriate that my first 2015 post bring you some lovin' in the food form.

Now, I've credited the hubster with numerous talents in assisting me with this blog: dish-washer, sous-chef, taste tester, and extra-camera-man-when-my-hands-are-covered-in-food. However, this post takes it to another level.

For this recipe, I was in a bind because I only own one heart cookie cutter. Apparently, in life, one should own several sizes of the same cookie cutter. So, we took a field trip down to "Pete's World" (aka- the basement) and started brainstorming. All of a sudden, he grabbed a beer out of some mystery crevice and said, "I bet the aluminum would be perfect."

And thus, a mini heart cookie cutter was born. It worked so well, I think I am going to keep it.

Now, go make these for someone you care about...yes, that can include yourself. No one is judging.

Fannie's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been going back and forth for about a week trying to figure out what to post next.  I have a spring soup that I really want to share but then I love me some fish tacos, and have gotten a recipe I use often, to the perfect place.  I don't think it needs any more tweaks and should be ready for you guys. BUT....buuuuut, then there are these cookies.  Oh, for the love of Pete, these cookies.

I had a mini epiphany when I realized I hadn't posted anything about baked goods yet... specifically sweet ones, muahaha.  Now, I am not going to lie, I enjoy cooking much more than baking because it's less science and more "a lil bit o' this, a lil bit o' that." There's plenty of room to play. However, I really enjoy eating baked goods, specifically sweet ones :)

Do you know Fannie Farmer?  OH, YOU DON'T???  You really need to meet her.  It's really all about first impressions so we'll introduce you to Fannie via her oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies.  YEAH, I said it, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE- Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!! What?  Those aren't your favorite? Um... awkward moment. You should probably think about that long and hard.

Whenever there is an opportunity to sample an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, I take it.  I really don't know how many versions of the cookie I have sampled but it may or may not be...a lot.  They are all pretty great, but I have never tasted one that made me say, "Uhhh, this is the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie I have ever had.  I never want another version..." well, until I tasted Fannie's.

At a yard sale a few years ago, I saw a bunch of cookbooks hanging out to the side of all the odds and ends. Fannie was one of them.  The cover was ripped, it was dusty, some pages were yellow, it smelled like a cellar, it was $3...so I bought it.  My mom has another Fannie Farmer cookbook and it always has the greatest recipes, so I hoped this one would offer me the same kind of awesome.

I slowly started cooking my way through the pages (not ALL 527 pages yet, but I am determined) and everything was just as I had hoped- reliable, comforting, easy, and delicious.  Then I got to the cookie recipe, and after making one batch, her little red ribbon bookmark that came attached to the book found a permanent home on page 435.

I will probably be sharing quite a few of Fannie's recipes with you along the way, because she is just the greatest.

With a chocolate chip cookie, cooking time is probably the most important element.  I don't care what goes into the cookie, if you overcook it and it loses that chewy goodness, game over.  That's why I am going to be very specific with you guys on the size of dough dollops I put on the cookie sheet and how long they cook.