White Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookie

So I don’t really do New Year’s Resolutions… Wait, what?! Am I still on this topic?!.. it’s almost February.

Yeah, I know. It is a little late to be bringing this up but just hear me out.

Instead I made a list of 25 things I wanted to do with my 25th year on my birthday last year. I am a little more than halfway through my list and my 25th year. And the twelfth thing on my list was to make 12 small monthly goals. My goal for January, you ask?

Prioritizing my life. Sounds a little out there I know, but it was something I needed to do.

Mainly because I had four jobs, two of which were not in any way related to my career aspirations but I was keeping them on because I “liked” them and I am was not really good at quitting things (or being an adult).

But by prioritizing my life I have become a better adult (at least I think so). What are my priorities?

My career.

My relationships (especially with that special boy in my life).

And my health.

I decided if I am doing something that does not support these three things then it is out of my life. At least for the mean time. So I quit one job, a hobby (yeah you can do that), and stood up for myself in my relationship with my room mates. Yeah it has been an adult filled week for me.

But something this week and (new-ish) year has caused me to focus on is mindfulness. Something I have always struggled with.. especially in the realm of compromising myself and my goals.

So yes this is still going to be a mental health post (and luckily I consider this blog in the priority realm of my career). Mindfulness is something that I have come to realize is a huge gigantic concern when you think of mental health. I consider it a step beyond awareness. In a sense, the practice of awareness.

So mindfulness is what I have been doing. That is how I am now approaching life and all that I do, including my baking! (and can I just say that it has been a huge help in the kitchen?!?)

Mindfulness in the kitchen (and in life) requires you to get off autopilot and actually approach things with a different perspective. It causes you to think and plan and assess at every stage. It is also is a huge stress reliever – especially when it comes to baking.

The first thing that I began practicing when it came to mindfulness in the kitchen is just slowing down. I began prepping my ingredients (think mise en place) and making sure I actually had everything I needed before I started. Yeah, because running to the store to get some more sugar, butter, and/or eggs in the middle of mixing things together is not ideal (see above – serious stress reliever).

You would think this process would cause more stress. I always did. “Do I seriously need to measure everything out and put it in separate bowls so that I can add the right ingredient at the right time. I don’t want to do all of those dishes! Yeah I am just going to throw things in and see what happens.” Cue forgetting to add the vanilla, salt, and/or oil to a recipe and being more than a little upset it didn’t come out the way I wanted. Not to mention cleaning up the flour that was all over the kitchen and myself because I was flying through the baking.

No more flying. I actually enjoy the process of baking. Why was I trying to speed through it? Begin serious life reflection. (And to be perfectly honest clean up is significantly easier than before!!! BONUS!)

White Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookie

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips

To make cookies:

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended.

Combine flour, soda, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for one hour and up to 24 hours.

Scoop dough with an ice cream disher (you can use any size, I prefer a bigger one) onto prepared baking sheets (either use parchment paper or silpat).

Bake at 350 F for 8 to 14 minutes, depending on how done you want them. Enjoy!