White Chip Island Cookies

Happy weekend!

Today I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t be eating any candy or really any delicious sweets after yesterday when I was snowed inside (literally) all day and ate bottomless amounts of candy. Welllllll I found that bottom, so today I’ve decided to sort of “detox” from all the sugar and really focus in on fruits and veggies again.

With that being said, I was faced with a challenge.

It’s tradition in our family that every Sunday afternoon we have a delicious (read: unhealthy) meal after church with the whole family. Every weekend I get the task to make some sort of delectable dessert. I’m not complaining. I’ve actually been offended before when mom has just made a dessert and not asked me to do it. It’s my favorite part of every meal and everyone in my family knows that baking is “my thing.”

And that’s where my challenge comes in. I just wasn’t in the mood today to be eating sweets and with baking, I’m constantly test tasting.

I. can’t. help. myself.

So what does one do to deter oneself from eating batches of cookies while making them, you ask?

Put on a Proactive facemask, obviouslyyyyyyy.

You do that too, right? It’s completely normal.

Anyway, every week I try to come up with a different dessert to keep everyone on their toes. And because I like all desserts. Duh.

These cookies taste like a tropical vacation….in cookie form. Something about coconut gets me every time.

And if you’re anywhere even remotely cold right now, you probably could use a vacay….and should probably make these….stat!

White Chip Island Cookies (adopted from Nestle)

¾ c (1 ½ sticks butter) softened

¾ c packed brown sugar

1/3 c granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 2/3 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 c (12 oz pkg) White morsels

1 c flaked coconut

1 c macadamia nuts, walnuts, or pecans

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg.

Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into butter mixture. Stir in morsels, coconut and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to foil or wire racks.

Enjoy!

Everybody's Gonna Love Today

Becauseeee we just got hit with the biggest snowstorm of the year and I'm stuck inside all day today, I'm not really feeling motivated to do anything but wrap up in a blankie, hang out in my jammies and cook up something delicious.


I'm not complaining.



I should really get outside and do this....

 ....and I'm not referring to the crack or throwing up.

Welcome to my Nutshell!

Hi everyone and welcome to NutMeg!

If you’re wondering why there’s nothing else on this site yet, you’re onto me……this is my first post! Andddddd  maybe definitely  you’re my first reader…..ok, definitely my first/only reader. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a blog for awhile and just now have finally worked up the courage to do it…..because anyone that knows me, knows I have a lot to say.

But I don’t want to just say stuff, I want to do stuff.

And that’s where this blog comes in.

It’s here that I hope to document my musings in regards to what I’m eating, cooking and how I’m moving. I’m a firm believer that balance is important in all areas of our lives, whether it’s relationships with family and friends, or it’s exercise and food.

With that being said, I love me some good food. There’s not a pizza I won’t try or a dessert I won’t make. I absolutely love cooking and I hope to share my favorites on this site.

As far as the exercise goes, I work out pretty regularly (4-5 days per week), and love the way it makes me feel strong and healthy. Some days it’s a struggle to make myself work out, other days I can’t wait to sweat out my stress.

Soooo, if you’re still with me, I would love for you to follow my journey...and help motivate me! I have a few goals that I’m hoping this blog will help hold me accountable to….and you, because you’re probably my only reader, remember?

Primarily my goals are going to be weight-loss based, with an overall focus on a healthy lifestyle...but I'll get to those as I progressively write more.

Thanks for stopping by!