Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

---

SOFT + CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 2–3 hours
Cook Time: 9–11 minutes
Yield: About 24 cookies
Category: Cookies

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon orange juice

• 1/4 cup molasses

For Rolling

• 1/4 cup sugar

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients:
   In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

2. Cream butter & sugar:
   In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the wet ingredients:
   Beat in the egg until fully incorporated.
   Add the orange juice and molasses and mix until combined.

4. Combine wet & dry:
   Add the dry ingredients in small batches, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Chill the dough:
   Refrigerate for 2–3 hours.
   (If short on time, freeze for at least 30 minutes.)

6. Prep the oven:
   Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

7. Shape the cookies:
   Scoop dough into balls about 2 tablespoons each.
   Roll each ball in the 1/4 cup sugar.
   Lightly flatten the tops so they’re about 1/2-3/4 inch thick.

8. Bake:
   Bake for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers are still soft.

9. Cool:
   Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack. Store in fridge 3-5 days or freeze and enjoy whenever.

10. ENJOY!!

NUTELLA STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

---

So you know how my mum and I made cookies on cookies on cookies a few weeks ago? Well, James and I decided it wasn’t enough and we made two more types of cookies, ha! We went for a basic peanut butter one with a hersey’s kiss and these Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Cookies. THESE ARE AMAZING! I’ve blogged about them before but the pictures were so horrible that I decided to take some new ones…enjoy!

NUTELLA STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

makes two dozen cookies

ingredients needed:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

directions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Brown the butter by melting it in a saucepan over medium heat. start whisking the melted butter. Keep whisking and the butter will begin to foam. Keep whisking. After a long time the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and gives off a nutty aroma. As soon as it gets to this point, pour the butter in a bowl to cool.

3. Mix the butter and sugars in an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. then add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Fold in all of the chocolate chips.

4. Now chill your dough for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. I know!!! This seems like a ridiculous step BUT it is essential for the cookies to taste AMAZING.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After the dough is chilled, measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of it and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough in the palm of your hand and then place 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the middle and fold dough around it. Gently roll into a ball. Place dough balls on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies super gently with your hand!

6. Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 2 minutes and then sprinkle some sea salt on top. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

7. Enjoy!

TOMATO BASIL SOUP WITH ROASTED GARLIC

---

Our church is in the final week of the 21 Day Challenge. This is the fourth time we've embarked on this journey and it has been amazing. Our pastor challenged us to join the challenge by fasting and praying for God to move in 2014. I absolutely love this because it's all about drawing near to God. In the past I've done the Daniel Fast (eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains only), full fasts (juice and water only) and partial fasts (i.e. no sweets).

For personal reasons this year I'm doing a partial fast combined with a few days of full fasting. Already I've sensed a closeness to God that I haven't felt in awhile. Another thing that has helped me draw closer to God is fasting "the scroll". Oh you know the scroll...the "I don't know what to do in this moment so I'll just scroll through instagram, twitter, facebook...oh look thirty minutes have gone by.."  Yeah, I fasted from that and it's been so FREEING. I'm hardcore addicted to my phone so it's nice to break the addiction for a few weeks. I've already noticed two things 1. I'm way more productive 2. my iphone battery lasts almost the whole day! But one thing is for sure, I so miss looking at pretty pictures on instagram and being in the know of all the Christian celebrities I follow, ha. If you have questions on fasting, check out this website or leave a comment below!

So I made some soup for you! Actually that's a lie. James made some soup for you. He's made it the past two Sundays and it is delish. He modified the original recipe to make it vegan. (Just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth all you Daniel fast peeps….ps…here is the original recipe which we've adapted)

happy wednesday!

xo,

s.s.♥.