Brownies...

Alright, so I've been making brownies from scratch for a long time. And they're always delicious, because what brownies aren't? But recently I tried out a new recipe, hoping for a different kind of brownie, and it was an overwhelming success. The recipe is almost identical my old one, except the ratios are slightly different and half the cocoa is melted chocolate chips. This makes for a very rich and fudgy brownie. (The only thing I do differently than the recipe is I use semisweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.) Enjoy!

Lemon Cookies

I have a fondness for baking, which obviously means that I save recipes all over the place with little expectation of actually using them. Well, last night I decided to finally make one of those random recipes, and it turned out well enough to save on here for posterity!

These cookies are similar to sugar cookies, but very lemony and soft. They were easy to make and oh-so-delicious! And they had nothing in them that Claudia couldn't eat (which is saying something).

 Obviously my pictures don't make them look as scrumptious as they are. They are really good with and without glaze--depends on how sweet you want it.

Easter

At last! Alleluia! I may be biased because of my spring birthday, but Easter is a favorite holiday of mine. And this year we drove to church amidst plenty of ice and a few inches of snow, but by the afternoon it was sunny with no snow in sight.
After three Easter Masses, we headed home for some much-appreciated relaxation and sugar. Lots of sugar. I made a coconut cake with coconut frosting, and it turned out really well. And now it's Easter season and we can eat all the chocolate we want!!

the coconut cake recipe

Easter morning after the third Mass.

After Easter Vigil. We had two baptisms and 10 confirmations!

The stunning parentals!

The respective snapchats of Tessie and me. We were counting the times of singing for church.

Happy Easter from our family to yours!