In honor of the new #CookiePitch, silly pitching event on Twitter, I thought I'd share my famous chocolate cookie recipe with you! ​

GENNIE’S  QUARANTINE COOKIES! 

(A chocolate chip cookie recipe perfected during social isolation in 2020) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla bean paste (extract works, too, but the paste is SOOO good!) 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch (This is the secret ingredient!) 
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I use whatever chips I have around the house. I love combining chocolate chunks, mini chips and regular semi-sweet chips)
• Sea Salt Flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

*NOTE: I LIKE TO MAKE THE DOUGH BALLS AND PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE. THEN I JUST TAKE 6 OR SO OUT OF THE FRIDGE AT A TIME TO BAKE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. THEY ARE ESPECIALLY DELICIOUS AFTER BEING REFRIGERATED FOR 2-4 DAYS.

1.   With a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla paste, and mix for about 30 seconds. 

2.   In the same bowl (!!) add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt and mix it around a little using a fork, then use the mixer on medium-low speed to combine the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Don’t over mix. Stop while you still see some flour, because mixing the chocolate chips in the next step will mix the rest. 

3.   Mix in the chocolate chips until they are evenly combined.

4.   Using a dough scoop (or a large tablespoon), make double scoop sized cookies and roll them into balls. (Yes, they're really big!) Refrigerate for as long as you can wait (overnight is best, but an hour would be fine). 

5.   Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6.   Then place the dough balls on baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Using a spoon, pastry brush or clean fingers, put a little bit of water on each dough ball, then sprinkle a few salt flakes on top. 

7.   Bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are slightly crispy and the tops of the cookies are very lightly golden.  The centers may look slightly undercooked. (Note - if you make smaller cookies, start checking them at 9 minutes.) 

8.   Remove the cookies and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes. Enjoy the cookies while they are warm!  Or, transfer to a sealed container and store for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that my Spring Flight Kidlit Writing Contest entry, Grandad's Butterflies,  placed 12th!

I have been entering Kidlit writing contests for about a year and this is first time I've placed. The last writing contest I won was my 5th grade DARE essay contest... which was many, many years ago. 

I was beginning to feel discouraged about my writing, but now I understand what it means when people say that "failing forward" is all part of the journey. 12th place may not seem so impressive to you, but it's transformed my writing self-esteem! All of the entries were UH-MAZING!!! You can check out the other winners, as well as all of the wonderful entires here. 

Winners were given a choice of prizes. I picked a manuscript critique from author extraordinaire Ana Siqueira!

Thank you so much to Kaitlyn and Ciara for hosting this wonderful contest. 

My favorite place in this big, beautiful world in the Coronado Monarch Butterfly Preserve. 

I've always dreamt of bringing my children to see the butterflies. But there is a HUGE problem: The monarch population has seen a 99.9% decline since the 1980s! This is due to climate change and deforestation affecting the growth of milkweed. Milkweed is where they lay their eggs and is the ONLY food for their caterpillars.

Luckily, these gorgeous invertebrates aren't extinct yet!

You can help the monarchs! Here's how: 

• Try and plant as much milkweed as possible!
• And, if you have the means, you can donate to the Xerces Society, an invertebrate conservation group. 

I wrote this piece with my monarch friends in my heart. I want my children and my children's children to feel the same flutter of joy I felt when visiting the thousands of butterflies at the monarch preserve.

​Together, we can save this species! 

Click here find out more about the Spring Fling Kidlit Writing Contest! 
Thank you to Ciara O'Neal and Kaitlyn Sanchez for hosting! :) 

Grandad could talk about butterflies for hours. I knew his stories by heart. 

He spoke of springtime visits to the monarch preserve. 
And of the near-silent fluttering of tens of thousands of monarchs, resting there before heading north. 
Grandad said the butterflies looked like confetti decorating the sky.  
He’d use my black and orange crayons to draw the wing patterns that danced in his memories. 

Finally, my footsteps crunched the same path my grandfather walked as a boy. 

I approached a clearing and prepared to be amazed.

Then--
        my arms drooped
                                      like
                                            broken 
                                                      wings. 

Where were all of the butterflies? 

There were some, but it wasn't like the photos on Grandad’s wall. 

Grandad was gone. His butterflies... disappearing. 

I wandered down the trail and collapsed onto the grass.

There, I found a milkweed plant. Tiny butterfly eggs dotted the underside of its leaves. 

Grandad’s butterfly story wasn’t over yet.

I did it! I entered my most challenging writing contest yet! This one was a real DOOZY!! 

Vivian Kirkfield's 50 Precious Words Contest challenges the writer to create a story using 50 words or less! I was afraid to enter, very afraid. But, a little cheerleading from my critique partners went a long way... and suddenly I was *inspired!*

I wrote one. It wasn't good enough.
Then I wrote another and another.
Eventually, I had five options and still felt very unsure of myself. 

I finally settled on FOODIE FAIRE. 

This piece was inspired by my pre-pandemic travels. I love-love-loved going to unique food markets and faires around the world! While writing this piece, I remembered the sights, sounds and smells of one market in particular: Mercat De La Boqueria in Barcelona. It had stall after stall of fruits, meats and treats! And there were little bars peppered throughout the market where visitors could sit down for a meal. 

This piece was originally posted on my other site on February 12, 2021. 

BEE BRAVE 
by Gennie Gorback
(214 Words) 

The hive was a-buzz about this year’s Valentine’s day writing contest. Well, except Beatrice.
Two years ago, Beatrice had an idea for a poem. She’d call it: “The Pollen Not Taken.” But thinking about someone else reading her work made her knees knock and her stripes wobble. She broke out in hives and never finished a first draft. 
​
Her cousin won that year:

Bee Mine 
by Bartlebee

​BEE Mine. 

It was sweet. It was succinct. It was bee-utiful! 

Last year was even worse. She considered entering her poem, “Buzzing Through the Woods on a Snowy Evening.” But doubt wormed its way into her brain and stuck like honey. She never even submitted it. 
​
Another cousin won: 

Bee My Valentine 
by Shelbee

BEE My Valentine. 

The judges thought it was genius. 

This time would be different. Beatrice spent the entire year busily building up her confidence. She joined a critter critique group. She attended Snail Silverstein’s writing courses and a webinar hosted by Laura Ingalls Spider.
​
She was determined to be brave and enter the contest. Her antennae shook as she finished her poem, “How Do I Love Bee?” She was filled with fear… but she submitted it anyway. 

​Beatrice was proud. It didn’t matter what the judges thought, she already felt like a winner.