Merci Montecito

Last weekend. Cruzzie and I spent the weekend in Montecito / Ojai / Los Angeles AKA HEAVEN. All three of those places are my favorite places in the world — they are beyond beautiful and I just love the area so much. So when coming home, I knew I needed to bring a piece of Montecito with me. This trip, it meant cookie dough from Merci — the best coffee, cafe, food (but let’s be honest, everything in Montecito is “the best,” because, truly, it is. But yes, back to cookie dough, yes, I traveled across the country with cookie dough, and lord, was it worth it.

 

Ah, California. I love you so much.

 

This cookie dough is the best thing I have ever tasted.

 

Perfect compact to bring on my carry on.

Peanut butter cookies, too, because I can’t ever turn away anything with peanut butter.

I only got six cookies — and I wish I had bought way more.

And six peanut butter ones? I need to call and see if they ship to the east coast! They are that delicious.

Look at the chunks of chocolate.

So good to eat as dough, too.

But warmed and baked — MY GOODNESS, heaven.

Perfect.

 

Happy weekend! Definitely check out Merci if you are in the area. And follow them on insta, too. So delicious.

Anika Yael Natori, aka, The Josie Girl

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Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

The other day when shopping at a bakery, I bought the most delicious sesame tahini chocolate chip cookie. And so of course, I became obsessed with finding best recipe to recreate my own version of this deliciousness. Sure enough, the NYTimes had the best reviews — and aw man, are they beyond! Run to get the ingredients and make these stat! I just ate TWO in half a second.

 

Ingredients:

 

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Edible Cookie Do

One of my downfalls is that if I go in to a gourmet grocery store searching for one specific item, I leave with a huge bag. Especially if I am hungry. So the other day when I was on the way to my daughter’s school pick up and I went in to a get a watermelon lime juice (yes very specific), I walked out with every new sweet item I could find. My favorite was edible cookie dough, Do! I had heard about this phenomenon, and actually seen the lines at their downtown location, but I had never tried it. And of course, once I tried it, I fell madly in love, and have since returned to buy various flavors. The most recent purchase was their seasonal flavors of Pumpkin and Apple Pie.

 

Seasonal Flavors

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Synful Eats

At the very start of the summer, I was at a friend’s house where she served a plate of the most delicious cookies I had ever eaten. The cookies were all broken in to pieces which made it very easy to eat and sample all the different flavors. Each cookie was better than the last and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Or eating them. They were BEYOND. Thankfully, these cookies, Synful Eats, can be bought in NYC / Hamptons — and hopefully soon nationally. They are the next Levain Cookies — top quality, incredible combinations, the best ingredients. I can’t wait to see what this company does next — and until then, I will continue to support (and eat!) these unbelievably tasty cookies.

 

Since it is local delivery, the cookies arrive in the most beautiful pink box and bag. Even the box is perfection.

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Karlie’s Kookies

So, apparently when you follow supermodels on instagram, you start to think that you yourself are IN FACT a supermodel. Yep, that is right. I strut like one, dress similarly, resemble one, and I am a model now. OK.  Not really, but I *do* eat Karlie’s Kookies which most supermodels boast about chomping down on instagram.  So that makes us similar, right? What is a Karlie’s Kookie? Well, all the celebrities and fashionistas eat them (and post them on instagram), so they must be healthy AND delicious at the same time. And what do you know? They really are. Cross my heart, swear to god, these little cookies are made out of healthy ingredients and are so tasty good, too.

 

My goodie bag.

My goodie bag.

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GP’s Lalo Cookies

Thumbprint cookies (I used blueberry jam and lingonberry jam).

Yep, another Gwyneth Paltrow recipe. I can’t help myself!!!! I love her recipes and ingredients so much!!! Plus if I eat like her, I will look like her, right? These cookies are the bomb (yep, used that word, say what 2003). They are dense, sweet, healthy, and hit-the-spot. They are more like a granola bar than a cookie. But healthy snack trumps oreos anyday.

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Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Chocolate Rolo Cookies, i.e. Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies are AN AMAZING AND INDULGENT SNACK! MAKE THESE FOR VALENTINE’S DAY and you will be sure to get some action. Just joking.

Ingredients

ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups flour
* 3/4 cup cocoa
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 cup softened butter
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 2 eggs
* 3 packages of ‘rolo’ chocolate covered caramels

Directions:

* In a bowl, place the flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.

Doesn't this look delicious already?

Doesn’t this look delicious already?

* Beat butter and sugar until fluffy (you need arm muscles for this one).

Any recipe with lots of butter and brown sugar is heavenly.

Any recipe with lots of butter and brown sugar is heavenly.

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