I love the smell of Christmas

I adore the smell of balsam pine and crisp winter air.  Well, as much winter as you get in Tallahassee, Florida.  Today was a beautiful winter day.  Crisp air, no clouds, 70 degrees.  

After church today, I was able to put a few things away downstairs (it's almost back to normal) and then I baked chocolate chip cookies for my son and his friends.   I have searched and searched for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe .... a chocolate chip cookie must be crisp on the outside but a little chewy in the middle.   About a year ago, I finally found the perfect recipe.  I'm going to post it below; I would reference where I obtained it from, but I copied and pasted the recipe from the internet without getting the website or blog name.  I think the recipe came from a blog I like called Savory Sweet Life, but I'm not entirely sure.  So, if this is your recipe, I apologize in advance.  The plagarisim is not intentional :-)  and yes, they are the perfect chocolate chip cookie.   The house still smells amazing several hours after they are done.    I made a small plate for the construction workers to share tomorrow as well.  Maybe they will enjoy them and work just a bit harder to get my house done by Christmas!

I was also able to get another Christmas project completed today.   Again, I would love to post pictures, but I don't want to give away hints to anyone.    Pictures to come soon.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour
• 3/4 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes on medium-high speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!