DAY 1

So here I am! In Seoul, Korea for the next three weeks!
I am so very excited for this trip, even if I've come this past summer!
But last summer was spent mostly at home being sick, so hopefully this time it will be a lot more enjoyable. :)
One thing for sure though, I want to visit lots and lots of nice restaurants and cafes and take lots and lots of photos! And this blog is perfect!

I'm usually horrible with journals and whatnots, but I'm thinking this blog will be handy. :)

Anyways, to start off,
I got here at 4 am which is 2 pm in Toronto time. I was lucky enough to get some more sleep, so I'm feeling very refreshed and not jet lagged one bit! Feels like it's gonna be one good trip.

I don't have photos of today yet,


so in the meantime I will post up the cookies I have baked to bring with me for this journey. :) I baked them to bring to my cousins who always wanted to try my cookies, but I ate a couple too since I've gotte here. hehehe.

recipe:
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(thanks to the Best Recipe)

ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt3/4 cup butter (12 tbsp), melted and cooled until just warm
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, followed by chocolate chips.
4. Drop by (scant) 1/4 cups onto the baking sheet and pat lightly so the cookie is an even thickness, not a ball shape. Cookies will spread as they bake and this ensures a more even spread.
5. Bake at 325F for 15-17 minutes, until just turning light brown all over. The edges should only be very slightly more brown, if at all, from the rest of the cookie. Allow cookies to cool before removing them from the baking sheet.
Makes 18-24 large cookies

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I'm not sure if I made them properly or not, cuz the cookies didn't turn out as chewy and soft as I wanted them to. They tasted great, but it wasn't quite what I was going for. Using chocolate chunks instead of chips, however, made them much more luxurious. ;) I use ghiradelli baking chocolate bars, which are pretty expensive, but I don't think they are as good as Valhorna or other good brands that they don't sell in our Toronto markets. I wonder where I can get them... I also find that vanilla makes a WORLD difference for cookies. I used up all my good vanilla, so I think I'll head to Williams-sonoma to buy some Nielsen Massey vanilla extract. :)

(wow. super long post. i won't do this again!)