Tag: Magnolia

Joanna Gaines’ Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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Growing up in Utah meant that chocolate chip cookies were (and still are) a staple. I was blessed with a mama who made them almost on-demand. 😇She also passed down the art to us kids so we could pay the cookie-giving-happiness forward. Together, we have experimented with several variations and really, all of them are good. It’s pretty difficult to mess up chocolate chip cookies, afterall.

BUT. Two years ago, I found a recipe to trump them all from the marvelous Joanna Gaines. To give it a try, see the picture below (which comes from the Southern Living magazine ) or you can find it in her delightful cookbook, Magnolia Table.

What I love:

  • There’s no white sugar, only brown in this recipe. It creates a richer taste with the perfect amount of sweetness
  • The cookies don’t turn out cakey, nor are they too dense
  • Fast and easy. 👌🏻You can whip these up in under 20 minutes, baking time included. Side note, I like my cookies a touch underdone so I bake them for 9 minutes instead of 10.
  • One batch makes a lot in real life… about 4 dozen
  • Made from “normal” ingredients that you almost certainly already have in your pantry
  • Less butter than most cookie recipes and somehow it creates more deliciousness. Don’t ask me why.

Almost everyone I’ve made these for have gone out of their way to ask me about the recipe, which I find a pretty good sign (especially for something as simple as chocolate chip cookies). My favorite moment was when a good friend said indignantly to her husband, “I think this recipe is better than mine!” I hope this recipe brings joy to your heart and your belly. Happy baking! ❤

Home Body

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This beautiful and luxuriously thick book created by Joanna Gaines is full of resonating principles and tactical advice to transform your living space into a sanctuary of family, good vibes, love, and comfort. Whether or not you are riding the farmhouse wave, this book is a fun read filled with wisdom that can be adapted to any style.

What I love:

  • In this book, each potential room and functional space in a house is outlined and brought to life. It 100% changed the way I think about simple spaces like the bathroom and my 3′ x 3′ entryway.
  • Joanna focuses on blending practicality and live-ability with aesthetic appeal. She emphasizes harmony between form and function. It’s consistent with her approach to life that values being present and allowing grace for yourself and your home.
  • This book presents a powerful and simple paradigm shift, consistent with the one found in Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Instead of surrounding yourself with pretty things you pick out in bulk to match, or trinkets you’ve been carting around forever but don’t actually enjoy, Joanna advocates adorning your home with objects that have meaning and tell the story of you and your family.
  • One lesson I found encouraging is that you can be patient and frugal and still create a home you absolutely love. Joanna includes some “troubleshooting” strategies to help you work with what you have. She also shares her own experiences of slowly putting together a room one piece at a time to make sure it was exactly what she wanted.

  • The book itself is a decorative piece. It has great heft, high quality pages, and lovely photographs to give you ideas and demonstrate principles and styles.
  • Personally I like a bit more color and accents than the typical farmhouse look, and the book helped me figure out how to take the elements of farmhouse that I love and blend it with my favorite colors. It presents an overview of many different styles (traditional, boho, farmhouse, modern, etc.) and shows how they can work together. I love that it gives you the means to adapt your style to your unique taste while still keeping some consistency.
  • At the back, the book includes notes pages and design templates. I appreciate that the book itself is consistent with it’s own philosophy to combine beauty and practicality.

The best part is that Joanna somehow makes this book all about you. She helps you discover what your style and story is and gives you the tools to pour that into the true heart of life, the home. If you want a copy for yourself, you can find it on amazon or your local library. I hope you find it as helpful and enjoyable as I did. Happy reading! ❤