Springtime At The Vintage Marketplace!

Hi Friends! The Vintage Marketplace is back for the Springtime! Me and my sister will be there along with lovely vendors showcasing their wares! The theme of the show is "Through the Garden Gate" and we have been working on lovely springtime themed items. The show is March 7th - March 9th rain or shine!

Here is a sneak peak of what me and my sis have been up to:

Handmade French Lavender Pouches

Handmade Tissue Pouches

Re-purposed coffee tins and jars (made by my sis!)

Re-purposed Jewelry Box and Lovely Glass bottles

Handmade Herb Markers

Lovely Vintage Vignettes (made by my sis!)

If any of you dear friends are in the area March 7,8, or 9th, please stop by The Vintage Marketplace in Fallbrook, CA. I believe it's going to be a lovely spring day. Oh yes, we skipped winter and went straight into Spring out here in California. How do I know, I saw butterflies flying around the other day!

See you real soon!!

CreamCraft

Happy Heart Day!

Hi Friends! Happy Valentines Day to you!

Image from Free Pretty Things for You

Me and the hubs celebrated valentines the weekend before (to avoid the craziness and high priced dinners!), but he still got me roses today and I baked him the best Chocolate Chip Cookie ever. I got this recipe from the browneyedbaker, which is sourced from The New York Times. I've scoured books, online, everywhere for the best chocolate chip cookie and I swear, this is the holy grail of them. Try it for your sweetheart or heck eat it for yourself (I've been...oops). 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever (via The Brown Eyed Baker/New York Times)

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8½ ounces) cake flour
1 & 2/3 cups (8½ ounces) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 & 1/3 cups (20 ounces) dark chocolate chips, or semisweet (I used these) or milk chocolate chips
Sea salt, for sprinkling - optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Place the dough in a large plastic zipper bag and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours. I actually didnt follow this step because I couldn't wait that long! I did however refrigerated for about an hour and they turned out fine and yummy.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4. Scoop gold sized balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have six mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 12 minutes ( recipe says 18 minutes, but I found 12 minutes is the perfect chewy texture I prefer). Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Browneyed Baker noted she used all-purpose flour instead of the cake flour and hers turned out great. I bake a lot, so luckily, I had cake flour. I probably wouldn't replace the bread flour though, as I think this may be why the cookie is magical (probably to do with the higher gluten content than in regular flour).
 

Enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk!

Next up, I'm working on a lovely quilt for one of my friends soon to be bundle of joy. I'll post the preview soon!

Hearts,
CreamCraft