I'm very excited to tell you about our new blog. The Sweet Side of Finance! So, please tune in at the end of each month for a sweet surprise!
What will you find in this new blog? Recipes! You may or may not know, but I started my career as a pastry chef. Yep, you read that right. I combined my love of science, math, and baking into a fun and creative career. But one day I realized I could roll (no pun intended—who am I kidding...yes it is intended) my math and science talents into a new career, one which would help people's wallets instead of their waistlines. So, I went back to school to become a Certified Financial Planner® and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach. From this new dream Ella Financial Advising LLC was created.
But to this day, people still ask me about recipes. So, I thought I'd combine my love of baking with my love of finance and provide you, my lovely readers, with the Sweet Side of Finance.
This month, we've been focusing on Financial Fitness. I've written about 7 ways to get your finances into shape and offered many tips and tricks on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Just like your food is broken down into fat, carbs, and protein, your finances needs to be looked at from different lenses as well—like cash flow, savings, and retirement.
But I also believe in celebrating your accomplishments and treating yourself on occasion. Financially, that means planning for special events, which you can do with savings buckets. And physically, that means indulging in sweet treats every once in a while. Finances and physical fitness can't be an all-or-nothing game. It's about balance.
I'm starting this Sweet Side of Finance off with my favorite cookie recipe because I want to begin this journey with something I really love.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup butter (I prefer salted butter for this recipe since I like more salt in my cookies)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup walnuts (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Place ½ of the butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter, stirring frequently, until the butter is browned. It will start to smell a little nutty and look browned.
3. Add the other ½ of the butter to the browned butter and stir until all the butter is melted.
4. Add the sugar and brown sugar to the pan and stir until smooth
5. Transfer the butter and sugar mixture to a clean bowl then add the egg and vanilla and stir until smooth
6. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir until just combined.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts until combined
8. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
9. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are browned.
The finished result...
This is my go-to recipe that I make all the time. I love to eat the batter, but my wife loves to have baked cookies. So, I usually compromise and save half the batter and bake the rest!
This recipe originally came from a children’s cookbook that taught me a lot of my baking and cooking essentials. The original recipe was amazing and is still the recipe that my brother swears by to this day. I, of course, had to change it and make it my own.
I love a slightly saltier cookies and browned butter in any recipe, but I especially think that it brings out the caramel undertones of the brown sugar and vanilla in these cookies. I found that using 100% browned butter made the cookies a little oily, so that is why only half of the butter is browned in this recipe.
Thank you so much for joining me for my very first Sweet Side of Finance. If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! And if you need a financial advisor, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Until Next Time,
Ella
