pudding

I know most blogs probably look back at their year, so I am just another cliché. Yet I have to do it. I need to take a moment to ponder all that poured forth out of my mouth and my fingertips. It was fun to look back on some of my favorite posts of the year. A few of my favorites were of course about my better half, who inspires me, keeps me afloat, and well probably the most important, keeps the cranky me away because he feeds me. Other posts were about finishing my first 1/2 marathon, food, farts, and you know those days when your pants are on backwards. These were my top ten favorite posts of 2013 (in no particular order), okay so I could not stop at ten so you get a top thirteen:

Since life is not always about what is MY favorite. I thought I would also share the most read 2013 posts:

I hope you enjoyed my random mumblings, musings, and words this year. It has been an adventure of books, food, introspection, growth, and gratitude. Here is to many more blog posts in 2014!!

Who knew? Adding vanilla pudding to chocolate chip cookies makes all the difference. Now, if you like crunchy chocolate chip cookies, then you might have a different opinion. I am a bit finicky, as I like my chocolate chip cookie to be softer. Usually I make them and only want to eat them warm on the first day. Often I will have one or two and then do not want anymore. Chris usually finishes the rest of them over the next few days. To me they only have a bit of glamour warm and straight from the oven.

my version…

Until last weekend. While at a neighbor’s house watching the Oscars, my neighbor’s girlfriend made cookies. They smelled delicious and a few of us talked about our own amazing chocolate chip cookie recipes. You know how everyone thinks their recipe is the best? His girlfriend mentioned that her recipe had vanilla pudding and toffee bits, and less white sugar. I do not want to admit to how many cookies I had that night. I was not successful at obtaining the recipe from her. I did go straight home and search the Internet and Pinterest until I found a recipe from “two peas & their pod” that looked good to me based on the ratio of butter, sugars, and flour.

This past Saturday night we had friends over, and I decided to make this new recipe. It does not list the toffee bits, but I added them anyway. These cookies are amazing. Who knew that vanilla pudding was the secret? I had one on Sunday (well maybe more than one) and they are still as good. I cannot remember the last time I had a chocolate chip cookie the day after I made them. While my waist might not be too happy about this new adventure, my mouth is ecstatic.

Note: If you decide to make these cookies, instead of using 2 cups of chocolate chips, I used 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of toffee bits. You could really use any amount, you decide.