If you saw my Game Day post, you know that I intended to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies a couple of Sundays ago, but because of everything working against me I wasn’t able to. So, the other day when I left work  in a sour mood; I decided to go home, watch Moulin Rouge and make the bars. Luckily they turned out great and Ewan McGregor’s awesome voice was able to cheer me up!

If your worried about people liking this rich treat – don’t, folks around the office and in my yoga group loved the combination of flavors and texture. Since the recipe makes a 9x 13 pan of bars, I would plan to share them with friends or make them for an event. Also, I didn’t have everything that the recipe called for, so I’ve included my recipe alterations below, but I don’t think they are necessary if you have all the materials on hand.

For the Brownie:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
4 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the Cookie Dough:

¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons half and half
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups chocolate chips

1. Prepare the Brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil, with enough to hang over all four sides. Butter the foil. In a medium glass bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the melted chocolate until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and mix just until combined (don’t over-mix). Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

2. Prepare the Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to combine the butter and both sugars. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Spread the cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about an hour. Use a sharp knife to cut the brownies. Store the brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This Saartje’s baby booties pattern has been in my Ravelry queue for over a year, but it seemed like every time I was planning to make them something came up. Like, the yarn wasn’t the right color for the baby or those needles were being used with a different project… you know how it goes. Anyway, it seemed like the star aligned this past week because I was able to knit them for my friend E’s work baby shower.

You can download the bootie pattern here or go to Saartje Knits on Ravelry to download.

Tips for this pattern: even though they knit up fast you have to weave in a lot of ends and add buttons so make sure you give yourself enough time and having circular and double pointed needles on hand worked really well when knitting up the straps.

Over Christmas break I began to help my friend plan her wedding and after about five phone calls to hotels, I began to call myself a “wedding planner.” Now, I’m not saying I’m going to be the next J.Lo but I do think I’ll be able to help throw a pretty great wedding celebration. I’ll plan to keep you all updated on different diys but for now, here are a few great blogs that I have been looking at.

joy ever after, great for inspiration and diy projects

tie that binds, great for styling and invitations

etsy’s handmade weddings, great for seeing the whole wedding and you can purchase what you love

my wedding pintrest board, great for all the little things I find