Baking

Apparently I'm not quite as committed to this cause as I thought I was going to be... Sorry for the 3-day delay! I've been bless with work again. Mad Science has me scheduled for camps for the next four weeks! My blog posts may be infrequent for a while...

Today, though, I am thankful for another one of my skills: baking! First, a little back story.

When Noah and I came to Portland for his interview with Ziba, they out us up in a nice hotel downtown for the weekend (after paying for both of our flights up here!). I went to check in while Noah was at his interviews. Upon entering, I found a lovely box of chocolates (among other things) sitting on the bed. Of course, I ripped it right open and began devouring these little pieces of heaven. I instantly fell in love, and decided that this was how we needed to break the news to family that we were moving to Portland: with chocolate.

This little local company is called Moonstruck, and they make the most sinfully delicious morsels I've ever tasted. All their chocolate is so creative, in flavor and appearance. Noah's not much of a chocolate fan, and even he appreciates the beauty of Moonstruck! We found the nearest shop, and ran down to stock up on a few boxes. I'm not sure the chocolates made it OK for us to move to Portland, but it perhaps softened the blow.

About a month later, after Noah had already moved here, Erin, Cody, and I came for a visit. In the midst of our citywide coffee tasting, we stopped at Moonstruck for a little chocolately delight and discovered something new: salted caramel hot chocolate! The perfect blend of salty and sweet, it was exactly what we needed on a chilly fall afternoon!

A few days ago, I thought it would be delightful to translate this cup of perfection into a cookie. So I searched for a nice chocolate cookie recipe that could easily be altered, and went on a hunt for caramel chips. I had to settle for toffee chips, so if anyone knows of a place to get caramel chips, I'm open to baking these cookies again. That being said, they are DELICIOUS! It's nights like these that I'm thankful for my love for and ability to bake!