#ovenly

Because they're highly addictive and have no medical purpose

These bad boys are dairy free and gluten free, completely by accident. They're incredibly cheap to make AND only use four ingredients that you probably already have, they're super adaptable for dietary restrictions, and you can be eating cookies inside 90 minutes. What more could you want?

I use a 2-teaspoon scoop for these, which makes them just the right size to eat about seven cookies before you even realize what you've done. I recommend a larger scoop for bigger cookies, which will slow you down later. You'll thank me, I promise.

Definitely do not sink four or five chocolate chips into the middle of every dough ball, because then these cookies become legitimately weapons grade.

Recipe by Smitten Kitchen & Ovenly

1 3/4 cups (335 grams) packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature (this is important, because you'll be dissolving the sugar into the eggs - if your eggs are cold, sink them in a glassful of comfortably-hot water for a couple minutes.)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups (450 grams, or one 16.3 oz jar) smooth, cheap peanut butter (just get the cheapest stuff you can find for this, the stabilizers and emulsifiers help prevent the cookies from being greasy. You can use natural nut butter if you want, i guess, but it won't be as good and it'll cost you more, which is unnecessary. If you need to accommodate a peanut allergy, use the closest available equivalent to a Jif-style spread.)

Coarse-grained sea salt, to finish. (I used kosher salt, which works fine. If you have fancy salt, feel free to use it but know it's not strictly necessary.)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown sugar and eggs and beat the living daylights out of it until light-colored, smooth, and ribbony.

Mix in the vanilla extract, then add the peanut butter and mix thoroughly. You'll notice a change in texture pretty quickly, it will magically transform from a batter to a soft dough reminiscent of play-doh.

Pop the entire bowl of cookie dough into the fridge, and preheat your oven to 350*. By the time your oven is hot, your dough will be ready.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment, but tinfoil is fine too if that's what you have. Drop little balls of cookie dough in whatever size you prefer. If you don't have a doser/scooper, flatten the bottoms a bit so they bake more evenly. Then, garnish each one with a sprinkling of salt.

These cookies will not spread in the oven so whatever size you start with is what you'll have at the end; I aim for roughly the size of a golf ball or a bit smaller. For cookies this size, 9 minutes was sufficient for my oven - larger cookies may take anywhere from 12-15 minutes, but your timing may vary. Your cookies are done when beginning to color golden brown and fragrance your kitchen with toasty aromas.

They will be a tiny bit soft, this is fine. Cool on the cookie sheets until you can comfortably handle them, which will finish baking them through if needed, then transfer to a wire rack to cool all the way. If you can wait that long.

If you know me at all, you’ll know I love New York. I think I’ve been there around 15 times, since the age of 15… It could be more. I first went as a teen, and then, when I got my first ‘serious’ job, I was lucky enough to visit twice a year for New York Fashion Week. This time around, we wanted to spend three weeks in the city just doing what we love: eating, drinking coffee and visiting museums. Here are the highlights of our three weeks in NYC…

A visit to Color Factory Intent on filling the first week of our NYC trip with actual excursions, I booked tickets for Color Factory the day it was announced on their Instagram that they were coming to New York. The concept started in San Francisco back in August 2017, and what was intended to be a month-long event ended up lasting another eight months, so it only made sense that it would head to NYC. Basically, it’s an incredibly in-depth study of colour that would keep anyone from age 5 to 95 entertained. It’s colourful (obvs), informative and fun and sprinkled with yummy doses of treats that get you thinking - like, guessing the flavour of the blue ice cream that’s freely available in the blue ball (not sure if that sounds right, but see above) room, and sipping a slushy in the disco room. There’s more than a hint of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory about this experience, and even Daniel, who wasn’t interested at all initially, really enjoyed it. We got to draw each other (tragic) and munch on macarons and the most amazing salted caramel mochi. Highly recommended. Go!

Photographing some beautiful faces… I told myself I would come back with some killer portraits from New York.  1: I was lucky enough to meet beautiful model Alexis Henry, waiting outside of Refinery 29's 29 Rooms event - and let’s just say, meeting Alexis was the only thing that made my ticket price worth it.  2: I came across Gabriella waiting for a train on a Sunday and I had to ask if I could take her portrait. She had this old school Andrey Hepburn vibe about her and these amazing eyebrows…  3: Yaya, I met while she was working on the aforementioned mochi stand at Color Factory. She had the best smile. 4: I loved how welcoming Camilla Ruth Marcus was when we arrived for lunch at West~bourne- and I had no clue she was the founder. While she was chilling outside with a colleague I had to ask if I could take a quick pic because look at that hair. Aside from that, make sure you go - the food is just good. As in, it looks good, it tastes good and you know it’s doing you good. Plus it has a super chilled Cali vibe.

Eating at Miss Lily’s We missed out on visiting Miss Lily’s when we went to NYC at Christmas, so it was a must this time around. We popped in one day for a quick bite and were super impressed with the kindness of the staff and the flavour in the food. It’s a Jamaican restaurant serving up all the things you’d expect, with a hint of twist. We loved the look of the menu so much that we booked in for a second time, this time with my bestie Natalie in tow. Now, I’m going to make a confession here: I’m a vegetarian but I ordered the oxtail and I do not regret it. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of veggie options available. I can’t remember the last time I ate red meat and Miss Lily’s made my sin so worth it. I’d do it again dammit.

Being inspired at the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibition There are few exhibitions that I’ve seen in my life that have gone on to haunt me years later. I say haunt in a positive way; the way the Alexander McQueen at the Victoria & Albert, London, took my breath away; the way the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition (also at the V&A) stunned me with the sheer amount of genius on show - this is the haunting I’m talking about, and The Met’s Heavenly Bodies show is set to haunt me for some time. I could literally go on and on about the beauty of the garments on show - as well as the ridiculous amount of money that the church has spent on adornment over the centuries (while many suffered and died no doubt, but that’s for another day), but I just want to use this blog to urge you to go see it if it ever finds a new home. The exhibition ended October 8th and I’m still seriously upset I missed the Versace section. 

Brooklyn Blackout Cake at Ovenly Check out my Instagram Stories and you’ll see that I bake at least once a week. Sometimes it’s something simple; others, not so simple. I’d wanted to try the Brooklyn Blackout Cake from Ovenly’s book, but told myself to hold off until I’d actually tasted it at their Greenpoint bakery. Put simply it’s like a Guinness cake but 10 times better, as it has an amazingly decadent yet light frosting. Of course we didn’t go all that way to eat one piece of cake; we also consumed an iced mocha, a piece of spiced pumpkin bread - so moreish - and a seasonal cupcake; I think it was peach melba. Very sweet and fruity. And very good. In 2019 I should be interviewing the two brilliant minds behind Ovenly: Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin, so watch this space!

Coffee at Devocion It wouldn’t be a New York blog if it didn’t include at least one coffee shop, right? While we visited a few - including the amazing La Colombe (go check out their draught oat milk latte) and the cosy Sweetleaf - our fave has to be Devocion. I just loved the design of this place - it’s so airy and light, and yet still gives you that coffee shop vibe where you feel you can slide in solo and not feel lonely. Great choice of drinks on offer so take your favourite book and chill TF out.