Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

I don't know what's going on with me recently but I've been searching for delicious cookie recipes a lot nowadays.. It may be because of my husband since I bake for him very often so that he could take them to his office for the breakfast or as a snack. Or may be they are easy to make compared to other baked goods and they require less ingredients thus cost less:))

But the thing is I don't like too sweet cookies although I'm a big fan of Nutella:)) I really believe that the lesser sugar in the recipe, the deeper flavor you get from the cookie. So during my research for different flavored cookies, I found this recipe in Cookies,Brownies & More Recipe Collection Book.

I modified the recipe little bit though..I've included 1 tbls lemon zest to give a refreshing taste, used wheat flour ( original recipe uses all-purpose flour) and reduced the sugar almost to half!!! They came out quite delicious and a healthier choice as well..

Here's the recipe & enjoy:))

• 1 cup Crisco All Vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbs lemon zest
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sliced almonds 

1. Heat oven to 375 F
2. Roast almond slices in a nonstick pan for 3-5 min to boost their flavor and aroma.
3. Combine shortening and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in eggs,vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Combine flour,baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips and almonds.
5. Prepare cookie pan with baking sheet. By using an ice cream scoop,drop dough 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets ( you can use a regular tablespoon as well). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned ( do  not over-bake it!! ). Cool on cookie sheets 4 min, transfer to cooling racks.

Butter Cookies

Sometimes there are some recipes so simple yet incredibly delicious.. Here's Butter Cookies that I made last night after 9 pm!!! Even the smell from the oven when they just start to bake was so good.. There are no eggs in the recipe, just butter,flour, little bit powdered sugar and little bit wheat starch, that's all:)))

The Lafayette Reservoir

We had such a fun day with friends at the Lafayatte Reservoir last week. To speak honestly, it was a truly Turkish experience to because;

• We had a picnic and barbecued enormous amounts of kebabs while watching other people jogging and literally sweating their butts off :)
•  We saw a plum tree and climbed on it just to taste its truly organic plums... By the way, did I tell you that we did this after a few glasses of wine?????
• After the barbecue, we concluded that we ate too much and needed to take a hike but it was just for 20 minutes!!!

Inspirational..

I saw these rocks in a cute art store called University Art in Palo Alto.They remind me over and over again  what is truly important in life..