August Bakin' Friends - Chocolate Shot Oatmeal Cookies

This month, I decided to join the Bakin' Friends group from the lovely Stephanie of Steph's Bite by Bite. Every month, she pairs interested persons with each other and then they bake something for their new friend using a secret ingredient! This month our secret ingredient was oatmeal, which for me meant lots of possibilities and a good case of decision paralysis!

I was paired up with Katie from Sweetness Hunter and I spent a good week anxiously awaiting her package of baked goods! Thankfully, she ended my torment by letting me know when she had shipped it and when I should receive it!

Culinary Orientation and Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Today was the culinary program orientation, which in my mind was going to be a magical experience, full of wonder and amazement. I left work early, thinking I would have spare time to wander around and find my way to the correct room.

Instead, I got there 10 minutes before the start. No big deal - still plenty of time! I pulled up to the staff parking gate, entered the code...nothing. "Hmm, maybe the star sign at the beginning will work!" Nope, nada. "Well maybe they said sometimes it's the pound sign." Access...denied. So I sat digging through my purse, desperately trying to figure out where my work badge disappeared to, because I own not one, but two of them! Then, the unthinkable... someone pulled up behind me!

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am always on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Well, the perfect cookie if I'm being totally honest. I prefer somewhere in between chewy and crispy - something with a chewy center but crispy edges that crumble in your mouth as soon as you bite into it.

I also really love BIG cookies - and that's where this recipe comes in. I get tired of making little cookies that only take a few bites to devour. And although mini cookies would be cute, it would probably end with me eating like 72 of them, and no one wants that! So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a try.