Six years ago, my {now} husband and I had been dating for about 6 months. We were living in Seattle and my birthday was approaching. When the day finally came, my only “hint” about the day was: “wear something nice and bring warm, comfortable clothes to change into.”
What?!?! Were we going camping?! Was he taking me to a show and then a walk afterwards and wanted to make sure I finally brought enough layers to not be complaining about how cold I was every 5 minutes?! I had no idea what he had planned for the evening!
After a car ride that seemed to take way too long, we arrived at a well-known seafood restaurant (Salty’s) with a reserved table overlooking the water. We enjoyed a fabulous meal complete with drinks, appetizer, entrees and dessert (a rarity for us…especially then!).
At the end of the delicious meal, I did what all the other classy ladies dining at the restaurant were doing: I took my bag filled with gym shoes, sweatshirt and jeans into the bathroom stall with me and quickly went from my dress and heels to, well, a “more comfortable me.” Yeah, I may or may not have gotten a few glances leaving the bathroom exiting in my hooded sweatshirt.
I thought we would be getting back into the car to drive to our next destination. But instead, my handsome date took my hand and led me to a park bench along the water as he started unloading his bag of supplies: watercolors, paintbrushes and paper.
Yes, we spent the rest of the evening painting the Seattle skyline that we both kept gawking over during dinner. This date was so simple and fun, yet so creative, and ended up being one of our favorite dates. We still have those paintings with us today.
So, the other night, when we were trying to come up with a plan for our weekly date night, I suggested watercolor painting! We dug-up the old paints and hopped in the car. It started raining so we had to find a place with a a roof; soon, we ended up at the Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain.
This is one of the most simple and inexpensive dates we have done, yet it remains one of our most memorable and fun dates, and is an instant stress-relief to put the paintbrush to the paper. I highly recommend doing this on a date, on your own, or with a friend!
Oh, and do you know the best part of a date after you’ve been outside on a chilly night and caught in the rain? Coming home to homemade chocolate cookies! These cookies are incredible! They are fudgy, sweet and oh-so-chocolate-y! This is the first time I have baked cookies that use egg whites and powdered sugar as the base, rather than flour and butter. Because of this, the cookies have a unique flavor and texture. They were a hit in our home as well as everyone we shared them with!
Dark Chocolate Fudgy Cookies
Adapted from Divine Baking (who adapted recipe from Epicurious)
Keywords: bake dessert chocolate
Ingredients (About 18 cookies)
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips slowly over stovetop, stirring frequently, or in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks (to do this gradually increase mixer speed from low to high over about 3 minutes and then turn off mixer and lift-up beater; peak at end should be defined but slightly bow over). Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. Continue beating mixture until it is soft and fluffy.
3. Whisk together 1/2 (or up to 1 cup if you prefer is “extra sweet”) cup sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue.
4. Slowly stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dough will become very stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator about 1 hour (you can omit this step if you are in a time-crunch, but chilling the dough makes it MUCH easier to work with).
5. Place remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon chilled dough into ball (I used a small ice cream scooper). Roll ball into sugar, evenly coating on all sides. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing dough balls 2 inches apart.
6. Bake about 10 minutes, until cookies are puffed and tops crack. Cool for about 10 minutes then transfer to baking rack. Serve and enjoy!
Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging. You can see our artistic talents below: 
(top: hubby’s; bottom: mine)
~What is one of your favorite date ideas?
