Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies and Nutty Wheat Bread

This post consists of two baked goods: one full of nuts and healthiness, the other full of cocoa and deliciousness.

1. "Brownie Roll-Out Cookies"

Borrowing this recipe from the great smitten kitchen blog, I embarked upon a dark chocolate journey. These cookies demand to be soaked. Milk is great, but ice cream (as in, ice cream sandwiches) are even better.

2. Whole-Wheat Bread with Sunflower & Flax Seed

This one came from a peer-rated recipes site that I like to visit. The recipe called for 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 bread flour. However, I wanted to make this whole wheat for my diabetic father.

I tried increasing the yeast to 2 teaspoons, and decreasing the overall amount of flour to 2 1/3 cups. Apparently this was not enough, since it was still rather dense and didn't taste as much of yeastiness. I'd try an entire yeast packet and 2 cups of wheat flour next time.

The too-dense batter. Looks like bread already!

Oh well. It was very nutty, as my parents like, so I'd consider this a step towards success. (Rather than a complete failure.) I would have tried to make it better, but I was packing and ready to leave for Swarthmore!

I want to try to make more bread! It's fun and rewarding. My little sister points out that it's not very cost-efficient (as it is for other baked goods), but what the hell. It's vastly more delicious than store-bought bread.