Things are finally beginning to wind down. Hooray for that! I have more free time to myself and time to just relax, although job hunting isn’t very fun. Anyone know of a job available in Southern California? Being a recent graduate really sucks with this economy. :/

Who doesn’t love an easy dessert that tastes amazing? I’m not gonna lie, I love cake mixes and any dessert using them is okay by me. These were of a brownie texture, thick and chewy. It made about 2 dozen cookies. As always, you can throw in whatever you want in them.. in my case, it was nuts and chocolate chips. The perfect combination! If you’re in a rush and want to whip something semi-homemade, give these babies a try. They won’t disappoint! You can also try using different flavors of cake mix for the cookies, if you’d like. Funfetti’s my personal favorite.

• 1 package devil’s food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• handful of chopped walnuts
• handful of chocolate chips

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil together until just blended. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
3.) Roll the mixture into rounded tablespoons and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4.) Bake for 8-10 minutes.
5.) Let cool on sheet after taking them out for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Lately I’ve been baking for people, so I usually turn to recipes that are tried and true instead of trying new ones and risking the chance that they turn out bad. This one is Martha’s Stewart’s chocolate chip cookies recipe found at my previous post HERE. The only difference is that I threw in some walnuts this time around and they made it twice as good! Man, I totally sucked at posting for the month of May. You’ll have to excuse me for that… 🙁 I promise I’ll be better when June rolls around! There are so many occasions coming up in that month that I’ll be sure to be busy baking with baby showers, weddings, bbq’s, and graduation parties. I’m also in the works of starting a fashion blog with my sister just for kicks, so I’ve been busy designing/figuring out the layout for a new site. I’ll keep you posted once it’s up and running!

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips & walnut pieces.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.