Chocolate Brownie Cookies

It's been awhile since we have made cookies because the fairies have been on vacation. But, now we're back and ready to deliver! Today we will be taking cookies to a family I fear I may have inadvertently offended due to a Facebook Group fiasco, and another family who I don't know at all but who I think I should deliver too. We will see- we might get 2 doors thrown into our face. That's the life of Cookie Fairies, though...

These cookies were simple and DELICIOUS!!! Definitely a recipe we will have to try again:

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, water and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-9 minutes; do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. 

An Experiment

We experimented with a new recipe today. I wanted to try something new, and was planning on a certain recipe but didn't realize we need to chill the dough for 24 hours- so we will make that recipe next week instead.

I am a little tired of Chocolate Chip Cookies, after making 100 for church to hand out on Father's Day. I went to allrecipes.com and searched for 30 minutes before I finally decided on this recipe:

Polka Dots Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, combine brownie mix, oil and eggs. By hand, stir until well-blended. Stir in chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake in heated oven for 8-12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from baking sheets.                                                                 I am really impressed with how these turned out. I LOVE that they use a brownie mix, as I have about 30 of them in my basement from when they were on sale. I am not a big fan of cake cookies because they turn out too cakey. These, however, turned out very chewy- and very brownie-esque. I also put some coconut in them, which was a perfect addition. YUM!!!!  We will be taking them to three people today- one who just moved into the area, one who moved in awhile ago but who seems a little lonely, and one who I borrowed something from and am finally getting around to returning it.

Snickerdoodles

Today A and I made Snickerdoodles. I had never made them before, but we were at a little party this morning at a friends house and she had them, so I thought: why not? They turned out well, but I am a little disappointed in my own cookie making abilities. I like a soft, chewy cookie, but once again my cookies turned out crispy. Am I using too much flour? Not enough? I will need to research this further.

I realized today while making the cookies that A forces me to do things at a slower pace. Of course, I have known this. But today while she was doing an excellent, but slow, job putting the cinnamon sugar on the balls of cookie dough, I was reminded again of how grateful I am to be a stay at home mom with her, that we get to make cookies together in an un-rushed pace, and just enjoy each others company. She is such a special daughter of God, and I love being able to spend this quality- and quantity- time with her.

We are delivering the cookies today to Grandma M, because Aunt B just moved and Grandma is sad. We will also deliver them to a lady in the ward who is dealing with shingles. My grandpa has shingles, and they are absolutely horrible, so perhaps some cookies will cheer her up.

No-Bake Cookies

We have been slacking a little bit, but for good reason.

The day we were to make cookies last week, a friend needed me to baby-sit in a pinch. I thought that was more important than baking for the week. Sometimes, the Cookie Fairies need to be of service in other ways, and that is just fine! The trick is just to be available for service in whatever form it takes.

This week we make Yummy No-Bake Cookies, but we didn't have the bags to wrap them in and I am feeling drained of energy. So I am visiting teaching tonight and will bring the cookies to my companion and the person I visit teach. Not as good as delivering them with the girls, but sometimes we got to take what we can get!

UPDATE: I ended up forgetting to take the cookies visiting teaching, so they did not get delivered. Instead I brought them to a get-together with friends where I was asked to bring a side dish or dessert. As it turns out, having homemade cookies on hand can be a wonderful thing in a pinch!

Lemon-Lime Cookies

Today A and I made Lemon-Lime cookies. I actually don't think they turned out very well. They are hard and more sugar cookie like than I had anticipated. I always prefer a soft cookie!

Before we started making them, A was being a royal pill. She was grumpy and whiny, and about to drive me insane. We kneeled down for our prayer to decide who to bring the cookies to. I made sure in the prayer to specifically thank Heavenly Father for A and to express my love for her. After the prayer, she was awesome! No more whining and complaining- just a happy smile and a willingness to help! Just goes to show that when you are at your wits end, a prayer is quite possibly the needed fix!

Also as soon as the prayer was over, the name of our RS President popped into my head. That is one of the people who needs cookies today. That  made me happy, because it made me realize that no matter your position, everybody has bad days sometimes. Everybody. And hopefully cookies will help to make their day better!

And We're Off!

OK, today was our first day as The Cookie Fairies! I took A aside and told her we were going to make cookies and deliver them to whoever The Spirit told us to go to. She was incredibly excited- though admittedly, she also wanted to know if we could eat the cookies!

I decided that we would make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. It's not fall, but I had never made them before- even though I love them- so that's what we made.   

 I think we make a pretty great duo!

 To see this look on her face makes all the effort worth it!

 The finished product:

 And, of course, we HAD to test taste them to make sure they were good! (I am not certain this endeavor will not be good for our waistlines- we will have to do more physical activities to make up for it!)

Overall, I think we are on a good track. It was a lot of fun delivering the cookies, and as you can tell from the photos- A LOVED it!

Why The Blog?

I have absolutely no desire to flaunt what we are doing or to seek the praise of the world- at all. But, I decided to create a blog about our experiences for two reasons:

1. To record what we are doing. I am hoping this is a family tradition that will continue for years, and perhaps be passed onto my grandchildren. I want our experiences on record, and a blog is an easy way to do that. Plus, I can print it off into a book so the children will always have a record of what we have done. I also want them to know that we are seeking the Spirit to guide us in this endeavor, and I want that testimony to be written down so that they know that their mom loved the Lord, loved serving others, and had a testimony that the Holy Ghost hears and answers prayers- even in something as small as who to deliver cookies to.

2. It's possible that a stranger surfing the internet might accidentally come across this blog and be impressed to do something similar- maybe not cookies, maybe nothing that involves baking- just something small that they can do for those around them to make those around them feel loved and valued. If that's the case, please leave a comment and let me know what you are doing to change your sphere of influence!

Goals Of The Cookie Fairies

There are several reasons I finally decided to make a concerted effort to be The Cookie Fairies. Here are some of my goals and the reasons why we are doing what we are doing:

1. I want my children to know the positive feelings associated with serving others

2. I want to serve WITH my children- to improve our bond

3. Everytime we bake cookies, we are going to pray about who we should bring the cookies to. Specifically, we are going to ask the Lord who is in need of a smile or a little extra love. Then, we are going to listen to the Holy Ghost testify to us who we should bring the cookies to. I hope to teach my children how to listen to the promptings of the Spirit and how to HEAR what the Spirit is saying so that they can learn how to follow His voice.

4. Hopefully, we will lift up the sad and bring joy to those who may be struggling.

5. An added bonus is teaching my daughters how to bake- a dying skill, but definitely a worthwhile skill to know (especially if you have a husband like mine who thinks that cookies solve all problems!)

***I am under no illusion that delivering cookies is going to radically change the world. I will not pretend that our level of service is anywhere near that of Mother Theresa. But nevertheless, if we can use cookies to spread our love and also the love the Savior has for each of us, then I will feel pretty good about what we are doing!

Why The Cookie Fairies?

I am a mother of 2 young girls. I am also passionate about serving others. Since becoming a stay at home mom (a position I sincerely love with all of my heart, and by far my #1 "job"), I have not been able to serve in the community as I would like.

Feeling like I wanted to contribute more to the community, I attended a Volunteer Fair put on by our local government. It was wonderful- there were dozens of incredibly worthy causes seeking volunteers. Everything ranging from cleaning the backcountry to tutoring foster kids was available. All of these causes are tremendous- and there are thousands of people doing invaluable service every day.

But none of those quite felt right for me at this stage in life. You see, the thing I am most passionate about is my kids. And, yes, I could get a baby-sitter once a month so I could go and volunteer at one of these fantastic groups and I am certain I would have a wonderful time and I would be able to help others and make a positive impact.

The problem was, there was nothing at the volunteer fair that I was overly passionate about- nothing that I wanted to leave my children to go and do instead of being with them. Again, I am not saying these causes were not worth my time- on the contrary, I thought they were all fantastic. They just didn't quite fit what I am looking for right now in my life.

So I came up with the idea of The Cookie Fairies. This is a service I can do with my children- I can teach them how to love and serve others. Instead of taking me from my children, I am hoping this will bring me closer to my children.

And that is how the idea of the The Cookie Fairies was born.

What Are The Cookie Fairies?

We are a mother/daughter duo who don't necessarily want to change the world, but we do want to possibly help influence those within our sphere of influence. We bake cookies and deliver them to whoever we feel inspired- those who may be feeling down and/or are having a rough time.