Baking with Sherlock

Considering my long hiatus, there are so many things to document, and so many random stories in my head right now.  However, since it was Conference weekend, I thought I'd start with this story.  Conference - and Sunday afternoons in general - seem to bring out the inner chef in me, and today I decided to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies while watching Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Funny story.  Because Sherlock had a opium problem, he's actually high at this particular moment.  Not exactly the kind of "baked" I was going for.

So my younger brother Randall got engaged this last spring, and he got married May 29th.  Very exciting!  My mother put together this huge, amazing open house following the wedding, and a few weeks prior she asked  me to help provide baked goods that we could freeze and then serve to guests along with plenty of other delicious items.  Challenge accepted!

This became a perfect excuse for me to purchase this industrial strength Kitchen Aid from Costco I had been eyeing for the past several months.  I figure that "adults" need to have some sort of mix master, or bread maker, or food processor to complement their baking collection along with a crock pot.  What better way to break in my new acquisition than to whip up about twenty batches of cookies!  I spent a good portion of that Sunday afternoon baking while watching The Princess Bride, and one of my personal favorites, Sherlock.  Apparently Benedict is my designated baking buddy!

Hooray for Costco!  And free sample Saturdays.

Ready to bake with my trusty apron and spatula.

I have to admit that the only prior experience I had with a Kitchen Aid was my friend Zach's, and I might have broken a beater once…  So the fact that I managed to explode flour all over the counter and myself was, all things considered, only a minor mishap!

I did manage to concoct up an unsettling amount of melt-away cookies, and my own special favorite, coconut lime sugar cookies.  (The secret ingredient is lime zest from about twelve limes!)

I'm a pro zester by now.  Just look at all that delicious, tangy zest!

Okay, okay, I may have stole the idea from Pinterest, but whatever.  Anyways, I may have made myself slightly sick today from eating a whole bunch of cookie dough.  Whatever, it was totally worth it, and what is Conference Sunday without delicious goodies?  Besides, there were absolutely no baking mishaps worth mentioning today, or yesterday (I made red velvet vampire bite cupcakes on Saturday).  Hooray!

Am I the only one who finds Conference inspires you to do all kinds of crafty activities while listening to the Prophets?