My Amazing Chocolate Cookies

My Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are a bazillion chocolate chip cookie recipes out in the world, yet I swear I have the best one. It’s actually not my original recipe, but I’ve been baking it for almost 30 years so at this point, I claim it as mine.

Back when our family was growing, my sister Martha gifted me a copy of The "New" Wallace Cookbook. Inside was a chocolate chip cookie recipe contributed by Roxanne B. With just one tiny tweak, these cookies became my signature treat!

The secret? A very generous amount of chocolate chips. The recipe calls for one 12-ounce bag… I use two. (Because really, is there such a thing as too much chocolate?)

Every time I bring these cookies to an event, gathering, or even one of my open houses, someone always asks, “Can I get the recipe?” 

So here it is with my slightly-tweaked, much-loved version:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cup instant oatmeal

• 2 12-ounce packages of chocolate chips 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.

4. Add flour, baking soda and salt.

5. Add oatmeal.

6. Stir in chocolate chips. 

7. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each.

8. Bake for 10 minutes.

9. Makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen.

Pro Tip:

For gooey cookies, underbake just slightly. For crispier edges, bake an extra minute.

For a bougie cookie, add a finishing salt like Maldon Salt Flakes!

Enjoy warm with a glass of milk or eat them straight from the cooling rack like my family does!

 

Traditions

There’s something magical about the start of softball and baseball season. The smell of fresh-cut grass, the sound of a bat cracking against the ball and the excited chatter of kids gearing up for another season. It all brings back so many wonderful memories. For the Erickson crew, the season didn’t officially begin until we had our Draft Party.

It started when my oldest "got the call" that he made a team his first year in Little League. I wanted to make the moment special, so we threw a little shindig that we call our Draft Party. Before I knew it, it became a yearly tradition for all my kids, marking the beginning of every new season.

Every year, we'd have a special dinner that essentially consisted of snack bar junk food: hot dogs, nachos, Red Vines, root beer, popcorn, etc. The kids loved it!

After dinner, we'd gather everyone in the living room and watch The Rookie. There was something about that movie and about never giving up on your dreams that just fit the spirit of the night. 

Now that my kids are older, we don’t have our traditional Draft Parties anymore, but every season when baseball and softball roll around, we still talk about them. 

My youngest is now playing college ball away from home. I visited him a few weeks ago and delivered a Draft Party in a bag which consisted of Trader Joe's corn dogs, pretzels, licorice, sunflower seeds and a bag of Big League Chew.  He loved it and thanked me for making every baseball season special.

These moments will be forever etched in our family's story.

Filling the Void

When my daughter left for college five years ago, I had a really difficult time. I missed her terribly. I missed her chirpy attitude. I missed her constant singing. I missed her laughter. I was worried about her. Would she like her roommate? How would she do in her classes? Would she make friends? Would she be homesick? I certainly didn't have the same concerns when my oldest son went off to college. I missed him too, but it was different.  It's different sending your only daughter off into the big world. 

To cope with the change, I made treats for her and her roommates and friends.  Being creative for the various holidays was my way of coping. It filled the void. It kept me connected in a weird, distant way. It reminded my daughter and her friends that they were loved and it was good.

This Halloween bucket was one of the things I sent to my daughter and her friends. Just a simple bucket filled with a succulent pumpkin and various seasonal treats from Trader Joes.

 

It's Been a Year!

 

I can't believe that it has been a whole year that we have been "empty nesters"!

The last couple of weeks, social media has been overflowing with posts of kids going back to school...preschoolers to college kids. I have enjoyed seeing all the pictures of the littles with their new outfits and oversized backpacks and the college kids with their poster-clad dorm rooms. 

I knew the day was coming, yet the past year has been filled with a range of emotions. Some of our friends enjoy having their kids out of the house. Not me! I know that it is time for them to launch and start life on their own, yet is unsettling.

Here are a couple things that I have done to help during this transitional time.

1. It's definitely a loss when your kids move out of the house. Give yourself the grace to feel your emotions and time to adjust to your new lifestyle.  You may feel lonely, sad, or have a new zeal for life.  Whatever those emotions are, sit with them as they are neither good nor bad.

2. Stay connected with your adult kids. It's important to maintain a great relationship. My husband and I talk to our kids weekly, if not more.  Make certain to have family holidays together.  The get-togethers may look different than they did when your kids lived at home.  Consider it a great opportunity to make new memories and traditions.

3. Get a new hobby or start a new career. Since you're no longer "cooking for an army" or doing endless loads of laundry, you've got more free time on your hands. Take a class, volunteer or if you're like me, finish all your scrapbooks that you started and didn't have time to finish.

4. Enjoy just being a couple. Go on dates, travel, and rekindle what may have been lost during the child-raising years.  Remember, your spouse may be experiencing the empty nest season differently than you. Talk about it and process the change together. 

Our first year has been challenging and it's definitely been a time of positive growth.  Stay connected with your spouse and adult kids, get a hobby, and enjoy this new season!

Firmly Established Over Time

settled 1 of 2
adjective

Definition of settled

1

as in rooted

firmly established over time

A very wise friend told me "You don't need a home to be settled". This was shared with me in the middle of selling our home and moving to a rental home with the future mostly being unknown. I was taken aback by this comment. As a "nester", I felt I needed a home; something that was familiar, a structure that was comfortable, a space where my family could come together, rest, and be happy. 

Homeownership is an American dream and as a realtor and investor, I fully believe that owning one or multiple homes is financially wise.  After selling our previous primary residence, and renting for a short period, my husband and I did indeed purchase a primary home last year. 

Great, we have the home, but are we settled?  Yes, we have a place of shelter and comfort which is sufficient for our current needs, but settled? 

My friend was absolutely correct that "you don't need a home to be settled"! The notion that owning a home will make you feel settled is not reality. Feelings of instability and uncertainty are feelings that we struggle with. Adding an "empty nesters" status makes it doubly difficult; however, our intention is to focus on stability and comfort in other areas of our lives whether it be our careers, family relationships, travel, or service to others. 

Through wrestling with this thought, I have come to know that feeling settled is not a house or a living situation. Regardless of our homeownership status or our circumstances, it is truly possible to be content and peaceful! 

Feeling settled is a choice!

Why?

 

Why a blog? 

Why "Confetti and Paprika"?

This is not my first blog. In fact, this is my second. Back in 2007, I created The Erickson All-Stars, as a way to keep family and friends updated on my family's adventures. I wasn't a huge fan of Facebook at the time and honestly, blogging was far more fun for me. 

It turns out that The Erickson All-Stars was more than just a blog. When my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, it was a way to keep our family updated and it was extremely therapeutic for me. I was hesitant to photograph her journey, but an online friend who I met through a photography course encouraged me to photograph all of it...the good, bad and ugly. So I did and documented it in my blog. I did not know what the future looked like for her and our family, but I was determined to not let the unknown stop me from documenting life and accepting every single second of it.

As life moved forward and got back to "normal" (if that is really a state), the documentation of my family through The Erickson All-Stars slowed down. I went from posting many times a year to posting once a year. I loved blogging; however, those years taught me something. Being fully present with my family mattered more than documenting every detail. With our kids growing and life wonderfully full, the blog took a back seat.

Fast forward nearly 16 years.  My kids are grown, working, and attending college, and my husband and I have stepped into the "empty-nester" life.  So here I am again. I am ready to write. Life is still busy but now I have a little more space to share stories.

The name Confetti and Paprika came to me in an unexpected moment. One Easter Sunday, I was texting with a friend. We had just returned from church, dinner was in the oven and I was in the garage attacking what seemed to be a 3-foot-high pile of smelly, dirty clothes. As I shared with my friend that I was doing laundry, she told me that she was relaxing by her pool after her family took her out to a lovely brunch. Ugh! There I was pulling stained baseball pants right side out in my garage. (That's another story...I dreamed of having a laundry room inside the house rather than in the garage.)

I put my phone down and looked at the pile of dirty clothes. I immediately had a shift in my thinking.  The dirty laundry was no longer a burden or a chore, but a gift. The dirty clothes with all the different colors were proof of life; colorful evidence of sports, theater, school, jobs, and vacations. Most importantly, it was proof of three healthy kids. Just a few years earlier, one of them was given a 30% chance to live. It represented us having lived through the most difficult time in our lives. That messy, colorful pile suddenly looked like confetti. A celebration of survival and togetherness.

And Paprika? That came from my dad, who nicknamed me that when I was little because of my red hair. Over the years, the nickname stuck and grew on me. Paprika is bold, a little spicy and full of character; kind of like my personality.

So, there it is...Confetti and Paprika!

It is my hope that as you follow along, you will laugh, cry and even grab a nugget or two for your own journey.