the bare minimum 011: the recipe i used to bake cookies for my daughter's entire class

Recipe of the Week

Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes 4 dozen large cookies

• 2 cups / 454g salted butter

• 2 1/2 cups / 500g dark brown sugar

• 1 1/2 cups / 300g granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 4 large egg yolks

• 4 tsp vanilla extract

• 6 cups / 750g all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 700g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

• Flaky sea salt, for topping

1. Brown the butter in a pan over medium heat until lightly golden and nutty.

2. Pour into a large bowl and let cool until slightly cooled, but still warm is okay

3. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar.

4. Add eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

5. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix until just combined.

6. Fold in chocolate. I like to chop baking bars, because I find it gives them a higher quality feel, but chocolate chips or a mixture of both works great.

7. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. This makes sure the dough is fully hydrated, and probably some other stuff but I’m not a scientist.

8. Scoop into 48 large dough balls, about 85g each.

9. Bake at 350°F for 13-14 minutes, until edges are set and centers look slightly underbaked.

10. Top with flaky sea salt immediately after baking. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the tray before moving to a baking rack to cool fully.

Now, if you just want one batch, these measurements make one 1 dozen large cookies. Same instructions.

• 1/2 cup / 113g salted butter

• 2/3 cup / 125g dark brown sugar

• 1/3 cup + 2 tsp / 75g granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups / 188g all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp + pinch kosher salt

• 175g chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

• Flaky sea salt, for topping

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Bare With Me

Spending our 15th anniversary in Costa Rica

Marriage is hard.

That statement elicits wildly different reactions from people. Half the world vehemently agrees, and the other half will say that it’s not supposed to be. That marriage should be effortless and easy and why be married if it’s hard?

Anything worth building is hard, and that’s exactly why I love it. It might be more appropriate to say “marriage is hard, sometimes.” Here we are 15 years later.

I was 21 when I got married, and I’m not certain what the odds are, but I can’t imagine they’re great for most people in similar situations. Looking back, I was a bit unprepared for the real world and had no idea how things worked. Lindsey had more life experience than she would’ve liked at her age.

As far as our personalities go, we’re opposites. She’s a logical, quiet planner and I’m a creative, often loud person who tends to just wing it. I’m not sure we could be any more different but it works for us. If I’m lacking a particular set of skills (common), she has it and vice versa. I encourage her to get out and adventure and she encourages me to rest. She’s the balance I need.

We spent the last 5 days exploring Costa Rica together; it was just the two of us. We explored local cuisines, hiked, drove 2 hours into the jungle to find sloths in the wild instead of at some tourist “sanctuary”, took a lot of naps, walked a few beaches, drank more than a few coffees, and just recharged. Here are a few standout moments from the trip.

Our first night I went out to forage dinner. I found a lady selling fresh fish out of a makeshift storefront. Sketchy? Maybe, but it felt right. I bought a Mahi filet that was caught by (who I presume to be) her husband. Everything he catches gets vacuum sealed and tossed in the freezer. This one was so fresh, it wasn’t even frozen yet. Cooking is my favorite, but cooking in an Airbnb is one of life’s worst experiences. I put together a mango salsa with the largest mango I’d ever seen.

Our favorite meal of the trip was by FAR our night at Road Less Traveled. Their concept is basically a test kitchen/food lab where there are 4 seats at the counter of what feels like a home kitchen. Every dish was Costa Rican inspired, and I left feeling inspired by not only the food, but by cooking for small, intimate groups. What an incredible concept by the owner Gilberto. A close second place was Galleta de Mar.

Found a sloth in the wild:

We spent one afternoon at Las Catalinas, which is basically a master-planned, car-less community. It’s a great balance between what feels like a town and a resort, and has everything you need. I photographed a wedding here once a few years ago and knew I had to come back with Lindsey. Below you’ll see me very proud of my paddleboarding accomplishment. I circumnavigated that isla. It took me 10 minutes to get to it and 50 minutes to return; the wind was gnarly.

Anyway, I’m not a travel blogger so I’m going to stop now, but we’re back home and feeling refreshed. Grateful for marriage; grateful for life. Back to it.

What I’ve Been Into

Reading: Not much this week, basically just Reddit news occasionally.

Listening: Peripheral Vision - Turnover

Watching: Birds. True birdwatching. Big fan of the Merlin App. Not an ad, I just like birds.

Doing: Enjoying Costa Rica

Let me know if you bake these cookies. Tell me what dinners, lunches, or snacks you’d like to see over the next few weeks!

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