Caramel Salted Cookies or what I call "Legal Crack"

These cookies are amazing- I mean they are soooo delicious you'll eat 10 before you even realize what you've done. They are also incredibly easy to make, which is not always a plus, because well- I make them at a drop of a hat! So these cookies are adapted from this recipe at Weight Watchers. I'm pretty sure that the things I changed or adapted didn't affect the caloric values etc.... So I'd say whatever the weight watchers recipe says for nutritional info is probably the same- BUT I don't know this for a fact. So here goes: The recipe in pics (ingredients, measurements and baking instructions below pics). :)

a few of the great ingredients!

the packed brown sugar. I leave about a 1/4 inch of the cup to be filled with the maple sugar.

the maple sugar filling the remaining portion of the cup. This is the way I measure it every time so I don't know the exact measurements for the brown and maple sugar. This, is where I am not a rocket scientist!

creaming the butter, sugars, vanilla and egg.

the finished dough, with the all purpose and whole wheat flours, salt and baking soda. (and my ripened bananas in the background ready for this recipe that I found on Pinterest, that I've been meaning to blog about myself)

YUM!!! The finished cookie with the salt sprinkled on. I have a confession- I ate this cookie before it cooled completely. :) oops!

and now for the ingredients list.

1/2 cup butter- I use salted sweet cream butter- the original calls for unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar- this is where I really vary the recipe. I fill the 1 cup scoop up and pack the brown sugar until there is about 1/4 inch left. Then I pour maple sugar in the remaining 1/4 inch in the cup and lightly pack it down.  Maple sugar is my secret weapon in this recipe. I use Coombs Family farms but I just saw the Trader Joes is carrying it. see photos 2 and 3 for an illustration of what I do.
1 Large egg
1 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract- this is also a variation on the original which calls for only 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  I also use homemade brandy vanilla that a friend made for me, so make sure you use a good vanilla, not imitation!
1 Cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt- plus a little extra for sprinkling on the top. Make sure your sea salt is a fine grain, like a table salt consistency
1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

instructions:
pre-heat oven to 400 F
cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.
add flours, salt and baking soda.
beat until combined.

On parchment paper lined cookie sheets roll cookie balls the size of large gum balls and place them evenly on the cookie sheets. bake for 7 mins 30 seconds. Honestly, that's how long! I've tried it for 8 mins and while they are still good, they end up being a little crunchier than I personally like- taking them out 30 seconds earlier is perfect. Of course all ovens vary. They will seem like they are not ready to come out but trust me the are, they will be light golden brown around the edges.

Let them sit on the cookie sheets while you ready your cooling racks and get your sea salt for sprinkling ready. Transfer warm cookies to cooling racks and sprinkle a*small* amount of sea salt on the top. The salt will melt slightly on your warm cookie and stick to the cookie when it cools.

Let cool and EAT!!!! YUMMMMMMM!!!!!! (and just maybe share?!?)

A New Year, A New Me!! (or else!)

I feel like every year it's the same thing- I have a goal to lose weight. Sometimes I succeed and other years I inevitably fail. This is going to be a good year! I know because my attitude has changed. I'm not allowing myself to get discouraged like I would have once before. I started Weight Watchers again, this being the third time for me and the points system. Third time's a charm right?! It worked beautifully the first time around, 30lbs melted off in about 4 months (cue the above photo- me after my 30lbs weight loss and feeling healthy)- but I got lazy, went off of it and lived my life how I wanted, which in turn caused me to gain each and every pound back over a two year period. I didn't even notice it coming back on because it was so gradual. It took my clothes no longer fitting for me to realize what had happened.

So rewind to Jan of 2010. I started Weight Watchers for the second time, with really high hopes, as the first time was just one success after another! How wrong I was this time! Did I happen to mention that I had turned 30 in those two years and my already horrible metabolism was even worse??? I was having weeks where my weight loss was a measly half a pound AND I was working harder this time around!! The first time with WW my weight loss all came from food- no exercise (cuz I'm lazy and I hate exercise!!). The second time around I added exercise in for good measure when I saw such disappointing numbers. That didn't change a thing, then I came down with pneumonia- finally a big weight loss- OH but did I mention it was because I was so sick that I lost my appetite and it took me one whole day to eat 2 slices of toast!! So yes, I lost 6lbs in one week but not the way I wanted and certainly not the way that would make it last. I was so screwed up from the pneumonia (probably scar tissue or possibly I'd developed temporary asthma, with did happen when I was in the throes of the pneumonia) that I had a hard time catching my breath for simple things and I was tired all the time- which meant absolutely not getting back on my exercise plan!! It took me a good 8 months before I started to feel even kind of normal!!

And now we fast forward to November 2010. I had gained back all but 1 lbs of the original weight loss from the beginning of that year. I was despairing and needing inspiration. Enter my old friend Carey. We were friends in elementary school but lost touch after. I never thought I'd see or speak to her again, but alas Facebook is a wondrous thing!! She has been on her own weight loss journey for about a year now and has been so successful!! She really is amazing! I saw what she was doing and the big light bulb went on! Aha- here's the inspiration I've needed, wanted and craved!!!!!!!! She made everything pop into place for me and I made that critical mind adjustment that we all need when committing ourselves to a new way of life!

So I stared Weight Watchers again for the third time (just before the holidays which is dumb BUT when you're feeling it you have to do it!!!). I haven't lost much, I'm pretty much having a repeat of the second time but this time I'm not letting it get to me. Sure it's disappointing when I look at the scale and it's barely budged BUT my clothes are fitting better and most importantly I FEEL better!! I workout 5-7 days a week depending on what my work schedule has been and I'm challenging myself to do harder and longer workouts than I've ever done. I'm sore, I'm getting sweaty and I think I need a new pair of Ascics shoes already!! This feels GREAT!! For the first time in my life I'm not dreading exercise cuz I love the way I feel when it's over!

I know now that I work best when I have a specific goal or challenge (and I don't mean a weight goal but a life goal, like a vacation I want to look good for etc....) . So here's the challenge I have set up for myself (well there's 2 acutally)

1. walk and jog a 10k fun run that's happening locally in May. I know I can easily walk it, that's not a question BUT I'd like to jog a good portion of it and that's going to be the challenge for me. I'm not a jogger or runner- but that's the goal I'm setting for myself and I know I can do it!!

2. the above mentioned friend Carey is going to be visiting from Nashville where she lives, in the summer. We both want to be at our goal weight (or as close as possible- which by the way is exactly the same number for both of us!!) by then so we can wear bikinis (or in my case at least not be embarrassed to be in a bathing suit)

These goals are keeping me on track!!! I'm so excited for what this year is going to bring in my personal growth! I'm ready to be fit and to be healthy and to love the way I look!! I've been there before and loved every minute of it. It's hard to imagine I let myself get back here, but it happened and I'm not letting myself dwell on that!

So here's to a brand new year- pressing that restart button and embracing my new future!!!!!