Double Date

On March 27th, Hudson and I had a day date at Magic Mountain. I love spending time just the two of us. I think it really helps Hudson when he is having behavior problems to spend one on one time together doing something fun. We had so much fun! We went on all 3 kid coasters. Hudson was scared on Canyon Blasters. He asked me to hold him tight - I love that kid so much! 

That evening Aubree babysat so Nic and I could have a date night (how lucky am I? Two dates with two very special men in my life all in one day!). I overheard Aubree say let's go babe to Hudson and he corrected her saying, no dada's babe. That made me laugh. Nic and I went to chipotle for dinner then to see 22 Jump Street. It was really funny. We still had time when we got home so we squeezed in a trip to the jacuzzi (which ended up being a trip to all 3 because ours was not heated for some strange reason, the one by the basketball courts was filled with foam pouring out all over the sidewalk (I'm assuming teenagers had something to do with that-so we ended up at the main pool). After Aubree left I baked some vegan chocolate chip cookies (which are delicious and awesome to have on hand because you can eat spoonfuls (or entire tubs) of dough without worrying about salmonella. The recipe is below in case anyone is interested.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

Yield: Approximately 18 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ¼ cup dark chocolate chips (I use enjoy life-I'm not a fan of dark chocolate)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water
Coarse-grained sea salt, for garnish

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips to the flour mixture and toss to coat.

In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugars briskly with the canola oil and water until smooth and incorporated, about 2 minutes. Note: use fresh, soft light brown sugar. If there are clumps, break them up with the back of a spoon or your hand before whisking.

Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, and then stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until just combined and no flour is visible. Do not overmix.

Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. Do not skip this step.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to portion dough into 2-inch mounds. We recommend freezing the balls of dough for 10 minutes before baking as the cookies will retain their shape better while baking.

Sprinkle the balls of dough with coarse-grained sea salt (if freezing, remove balls of dough from the freezer first), and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Do not overbake.

Let cool completely before serving.