I thought that it would take a little longer, that it might not be this early on but it's undeniable... it's noticeable, it's real and it's happening.... the days here in Canada are beginning to get longer.
This is good.
This means that soon I'll be able to run again, even in the rain, without feeling totally frozen.  It means that I'll be getting out the bike and tuning her up for our first ride of the year.  It means that someday soon it might not take 5 minutes just to get dressed to go outside (double that if you have kids, at least).  It means that soon I might actually entertain the thought of going out to do something fun after I've come home from work rather than staying home and curling up on the couch (although, that's really fun too).  In short, it's the first sign that we get here in T.O. that winter just might not last forever.
As you can tell, I'm feeling more upbeat than I have in a long time.  The fact that we've gotten more sunshine in the last three days than we did throughout the entire month of January is contributing significantly to my mood.  Also a big contributor: February is a blessedly short month and we're almost halfway through.  It also means that Valentine's day is almost over with...
I'm going out this weekend to purchase Valentine's day cards for Kid #1 and #2 to take to their class on Monday.  Thankfully, their teachers are not holding any big party or anything.  I haven't made anything special for the day and I don't plan to.  You won't find any heart shaped cookie, cake or confection here. I'm not making a special dinner for D or anybody else.  We aren't buying flowers or chocolate or motorcycles for each either, in case you were wondering.  And really, I'm totally fine with that.


I did, however, see this recipe posted on a site that did more than catch my eye.  It caught both of them and a couple of limbs too.  I had to make this cookie.  Aimee's cookies look awesome... perfect... mine don't.  The taste though made me forget about how they don't look perfect and once they're in your belly you won't remember either.  In the post, Aimee told us to try hard not to eat all of the dough.  Let me qualify here that I'm not a 'dough-eater' at the best of times... like never.  This dough?  Well, it was all I could do to keep it from walking into my mouth... I'm already thinking about cookie dough ice cream with this one.  It takes a little while for the cookie dough to set... think, 24 - 36 hrs!  Totally worth it though.  Even though every time I opened the fridge the dough was begging for me to take a little taste, just to see if it had totally set yet...



Chocolate, White Chocolate, Macadamia nuts, Browned Butter Cookies... adapted from Under the High Chair (thanks Aimee!)

1 cups unsalted butter
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla (YES!)
2 tbsp milk
100g milk chocolate, in chunks
100g dark chocolate, in chunks
100g white chocolate, in chunks
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, crushed into small bits

On the stove top, melt and cook the butter over med/low heat until it turns golden brown - will take about 7 minutes or so.  Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.
In another bowl, cream together the cooled butter, brown sugar and sugar until it's well mixed and the sugar is dissolving just a little.  Add in the egg and egg yolk and mix till it's nice and frothy.  Add in the vanilla and the milk and mix well.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until everything is incorporated.


Stir in the dark, milk and white chocolate and the nuts.  mix well.

Observe said irrisistible dough

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 24 hrs.  36 hrs is best though (don't be disappointed though if, like me, you couldn't wait that long)
Preheat the oven to 375.  Spoon out the cookies and form them into balls which could be challenging with the choco chunks.  Place on a greased or lined cookie sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes but check things after 9 - just in case.
Remove from the oven and cool for a little on the cookie sheet.  Remove to cooling rack and cool completely.

Here you are, putting one into your mouth.