VIDEO: Magazine Collage + Crafty Destash Boxes + Cookie Recipe

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Happy Easter, friends! It's quite gloomy here this weekend, so I thought I'd do some much neglected organizing of my pandemic stamp purchases, and it felt so good! I probably cleared out about half of what I've accumulated in the last two years, and now you can benefit from my brief flurry of organization. I have (so far) SIX more Crafty Destash boxes for sale. The proceeds from these boxes will go to the Gabby Petito Foundation and to DNA solves - my two favorite charities. For any Texans in the audience, if you are interested in justice-oriented charities, this is another group I've donated to this year - the people running this are friends, and the great people who I feel are responsible for the arrest of Carla Walker's killer after nearly 40 years. If you want to hear about that - it's the first case covered on this awesome podcast. If you win the opportunity to buy one of the boxes, feel free to specify which of these three you'd like me to donate to.

Anyway, if you want to go into the drawing to be able to buy one of these boxes, please fill out this form. Do not send payment until names have been drawn and you've been notified that you are a winner of the purchase opportunity. 

I thought I'd bring you a fun and easy technique for your Gel Press today. This is something I did last year and LOVED - we are all so used to doing magazine prints with faces, but oh my goodness collaging magazine TEXT is so much more fun! I do it in a piecemeal style you will find as fun as I did, I think. It makes SUPER interesting and complex prints! Here are three examples.

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Here is the short video. 

Here are all the supplies I used today - come back for my latest favorite cookie recipe!

TE Gel Printing Kit [ TE ] Speedball Soft Rubber Brayers | BLICK... [ BLIC ] Amazon.com : Eyelead Professional Air... [ AMZUS ] Elephant [ JGG ] Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint 1oz... [ JGG ] Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint 1oz... [ JGG ] Tangerine [ JGG ] Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint 1oz... [ JGG ] Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint 1oz... [ JGG ] Amazon.com : Hammermill 102467 Copy... [ AMZUS | AMZUS ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | SSS | ELH | MFT ] Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth [ AMZUS ] Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer... [ AMZUS ]

I've un-dairied an AMAZING cookie recipe. Prior to this, my fave chocolate chip cookie was my brown butter fleur de sel cookies - but this one is incredible! It is similar in that it's a salted cookie, but the tahini adds a rich taste that is very faintly similar to peanut butter, but much more subtle. The texture is perfect too and I love them because they are not overly sweet!

Original recipe HERE from the New York Times - dairy free mods below.

• 4 ounces/113 grams unsalted butter at room temperature Miyoko’s vegan butter salted

• ½ cup/120 milliliters tahini, well stirred

• 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 grams all-purpose flour, or matzo cake meal (See tip)

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 ¾ cups/230 grams chocolate chips or chunks, bittersweet or semisweet Enjoy Life dairy free dark chocolate morsels 

•  Flaky salt, like fleur de sel or Maldon Maldon

PREPARATION

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, tahini and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing at medium speed for another 5 minutes. I just used a hand mixer.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add flour mixture to butter mixture at low speed until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in chocolate chips. Dough will be soft, not stiff. Refrigerate at least 12 hours; this ensures tender cookies.

3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Use a large ice cream scoop or spoon to form dough into 12 to 18 balls.  

4. Place the cookies on the baking sheet at least 3 inches apart to allow them to spread. Bake 13 to 16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges but still pale in the middle to make thick, soft cookies. As cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle sparsely with salt. Let cool at least 20 minutes on a rack. I did half salted before baking, like my other cookies, and half using their instructions. I think it's better to salt before baking.

Hope you're having a relaxing Easter/Passover/Sunday! Loveyameanitbye.