Chocolate Chip Pomegranate Cookies

Over the years, I've developed the tendency to build a community every where I go. Perhaps it comes from my small-town, everyone-knows-your-name upbringing that I navigated for 18 years. Maybe I'm just co-dependent. Who knows. Either way, I've cultivated a sense of family in some of the most unlikely places.

At the gym, I've managed to befriend those that see me at my worst--tired, sweating and grunting my way through a strenuous workout. Or, even worse, watching me air punch my way through complicated choreography that I can never seem to get down, no matter how many times I do it. We've gone from just casually waving as our paths cross to running races together, having happy hours and even celebrating a wedding.

At volleyball, again, a time when I look beyond terrible, I've created a network of fun, supportive ladies. Outside of Queen of the Court, our paths would never cross--we are unlikely friends, but all manage to cheer on and support one another on Wednesday nights. Our mix has a little bit of everything, from spunky college students to our everyone's favorite sassy grandma, Jean.

At school, I've built an army of minions in my yearbook and newspaper staffs. You walk into my classroom at any given point during the day and there are dozens of kids who call Room 516 "home." It's standing room only at lunch and I have to herd students out the door at the end of the day to be able to go home. Who would have thought that a classroom was THE PLACE to hang out at school?

Beyond that, my coworkers have become family in leui of my actual family, which is over 1,000 miles away. They question my sanity. Test my baked goods. Laugh at my stories. Tease me endlessly. And, most importantly, care about and support me. In return, I bring in a weekly rotation of treats to keep their sweet tooths satisfied. 

A few weeks ago, my on campus mommy brought in a box of pomegranates that one of her neighbors had given her. I was thrilled with the possibilities and set out to find recipes to put the fruit to use. After hours of research (damn you, pinterest), I decided to modify a cookie recipe and see what happened. The result? Deliciousness.

Chocolate Chip Pomegranate Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
• 1 cup pomegranate arils (about 1 pomegranate)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease lightly and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chunks, then gently stir in pomegranate arils.
4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a couple minutes before removing to racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

There are some natural combinations in life that just work. Peanut butter and jelly. Mac and cheese. Sunshine and flip flops. Romey & Michelle. They are duos that have roots so deep that trying to separate them just doesn't make sense—they go together (cue the closing dance scene and music from Grease). These combos have become ingrained in the way we pack our lunches, they ways we survived the poverty of college, the way we dress ourselves and the way we define our friendships.

Even if mac and cheese or a perfect beach day aren’t in your repertoire, chances are you have pairings of your own that have come to define the way you do things.  Something feels wrong, out of balance, if your duo isn’t complete. Your mojo is totally out of whack if you don’t have the perfect shimmy to go with your shake.

When you are introduced the perfect pairing, it’s like an epiphany. How did harmony ever exist before this combination was defined? It’s one of those things that you didn’t know you needed—but now that you have it? There is no chance you could live happily without it.

Not every match in my life is material. As I’ve mulled over this idea of sweet harmonies, I’ve realized that the concept extends far beyond my culinary, pop culture and fashion realms.  My personal life is full of things that I didn’t know that I needed, but now that I’ve experienced them, I’m not sure I can survive without them. My friends run the gamut of personality types, from over protective and motherly, to something of a loose cannon here and there. And each one of them offers me something, some aspect of themselves, which I can’t live without.

Since the Fall I’ve seriously struggled with understanding who I am and what I want. I made a lot of choices in my personal life that I wasn’t proud of, but I was not thinking long-term or practically. I was thinking, ‘What will make me feel better, right now?” I guess I was an embodiment of the instant gratification generation. I didn’t want to wait to heal. I wanted my life to implode, to sweep up the pieces into a tidy pile, forget it ever happened and instantly go back to being Jess. I didn’t need to grieve, or process or recoup… Or so I thought.

Turns out, running full speed ahead, without a break, without a breath to process, without time for yourself means you basically slam into a brick wall that you never saw coming. And that hurts. Probably more than what set you off running in the first place. I hit that wall after the New Year and I realized that if I didn’t chill the fuck out I was going to miss out on the chance to let something good happen for me.

What I had to realize was that I needed to LET it happen. I had to get out of my own way and for, probably the first time in my adult life, stop planning everything and just let my life happen to me. I needed to experience my own life, instead of driving it. And once I accepted that I can’t plan for every what-if scenario and guard myself against every emotion I may experience, good things started happening.

And now? I’ve discovered all kinds of things that I didn't know I needed in my life, but now they have the perfect place. You could say I have all the things I knew I wanted (and deserved), plus all kinds of bonus stuff. And the bonus stuff? It’s the best part.

When things finally go right, after they've felt wrong and forced for so long, it’s better than an epiphany. It’s like taking a huge breath, when you didn't realize you’d been holding yours in for who knows how long. You don’t always know that it’s right, until you stop trying to figure out what it is and just let it be. And then, if you’re lucky, the pieces fall into place… And you find yourself happier than you knew you could be, with your life going in a direction you never fathomed you’d have the courage to face again.

Relationships aren’t supposed to be hard. Connecting with another person is supposed to be sort of a basic instinct, right? We want companionship. So why do we make it so complicated? Why do we concoct a complicated formula for what should really be a simple, perfect pair? And when we finally find that match, why question it? Let it be. When you find that one thing that you didn’t know you were missing, but suddenly you have and can’t imagine life without? Don’t fuck it up.

I’ve had this recipe for chocolate chip cookies for ages. I’ve understood the concept of a cookie since I started baking in middle school. But I never found the perfect balance of ingredients until I started playing with this recipe. And once I stumbled across the addition of pudding to the mix, I realized I had a winning combination. And I don’t mess with that. You never knew you needed pudding in your cookies, but once you have it, you’ll never turn back. The chocolate chips are just the bonus stuff.

Pudding Plus Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups butter, softened
• 1.5 cups brown sugar
• .5 cups sugar
• 2 (3.4 oz) packages instant pudding mix (whatever flavor you fancy... I usually use vanilla or butterscotch)
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift the flour and baking soda together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Add the pudding. Blend in the flour mixture.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 9—12 minutes.