Lemon Lavender Tea Cake

It's been over two months since my last post! Boy does time fly. I honestly cannot believe that I am already a third of the way through my chief year. This year has had its challenges for sure, but has been incredibly rewarding in so many other ways. Aside from working along side some of my best friends and colleagues and having the opportunity to both teach and learn from my residents, I get the wonderful opportunity of trying out new recipes! 

Earlier this summer, the Boy and I had a weekend off together (I know, weird, right?) and spent it at a lavender festival in Highland Springs. I had been DYING to go to a lavender festival ever since this tiny little lavender obsession of mine started and was thrilled that this was only 30 minutes from home. 

A Black and White Affair: Cookies and Cream Blondies

What do you do when you have 10 packs of left-over Oreos? Make blondies of course! Combined with Hershey's cookies and cream chocolate chunks, these blondies are rich, decadent, and truly a guilty pleasure. 

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Blueberry season is coming to an end, but not before I get one more recipe out of them! This recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen is simple to follow, uses basic ingredients and will stay good for a couple days in the fridge. 

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Lemon Tart

Hooray! It's our last month of residency! While we are overjoyed to be done with training, it also means that some of the wonderful friends we have made over the past three years will be moving away. It made me think of the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Although being sad your friends are moving is hardly a lemon compared to the horrific recent events, I'll consider it a relative lemon. But why stop at lemonade? Our friends Jen and Curtis were celebrating their housewarming this weekend so we went ahead and turned our lemons into a lemon tart  to share. 

Blueberries and Cream Cookies

I've been on a bit of a blueberry craze recently if you couldn't tell already. And while the blueberry lemon muffins were quite delightful, I was looking for something more along the lines of a cookie -- a blueberries and cream cookie to be more exact. I fell in love with this cookie the first time I went to Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. It easily became my favorite cookie of all time, to the point where my sister and my friends were bringing me dozens of frozen cookies all the way back from NY as bridal shower and christmas gifts. One of my friends had recently been making batches of these cookies so I figured I'd give it a go myself. I'd have to admit that these aren't exactly like the bakery's own cookies but they come pretty close and are pretty darn good regardless. Although they turned out a little flatter than I would have liked they are mighty chewy and delicious - a nice quick fix as opposed to spending $600 on a flight to NYC. Recipe adapted from Christina Tosi's Momofuku Milk Bar. Note I have tried this recipe using cups vs grams and using a kitchen scale definitely made better cookies so I have listed the recipe in grams below (with US measurements next to it). 

Rosemary Onion Focaccia Bread

Nhan gets all the credit for this beautiful loaf of focaccia bread. It has just the right amount of herbs to give it a beautiful scent and delicate flavor. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are a wonderful accompaniment. What's most impressive is this was his first time baking bread! Hooray! The boy is now the baker.... well, for a day at least. 

Russian (or not so Russian) Tea Cakes

The start of my baking hobby began over a decade ago in elementary school. One of my most memorable experiences was baking endless batches of Christmas cookies with my lovely friend Sarah: anywhere from sugar cookies, to peanut butter surprises, to Russian tea cakes, and harlequin dippers, but the crowd favorite was by far the Russian tea cakes. As to how they got their name, it truly beats me, since I don't think they are even from Russia. Also known as Mexican wedding cakes and snowball cookies, these powdered sugar covered melt-in-your-mouth delights are a wonderful accompaniment to a cup of tea and are the perfect holiday cookies to share. But beware, these butter laden babies are not for the faint of heart. 

Chip Chip Hooray!

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate Chip Cookie

There is nothing quite like an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie as a midday pick-me-up, especially when that cookie is LOADED with chocolate chips. I have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe for the past decade. After years of making just-not-quite-right chocolate chip cookies, I can now confidently say that I have found "the one." This recipe produces melt in your mouth delights: crispy on the outside, soft and chewy through the middle. Simply one bite will have you falling in love and asking for another. What could make it better? A glass of milk.