Mom's chocolate chip cookies

Careful who you make these for, you may get married
Warm, soft, and gooey. With a glass of milk, there are few things better in this life. When we didn't know where our kids were, we would just make these cookies. By the time they were in the oven for 3 minutes, everyone was home, in the kitchen, waiting for them to be done. We have so many great memories of everyone gathered in the kitchen, laughing, eating cookies fresh out of the oven. When I was in college, a girl in a nearby apartment made me a plate of these cookies with a note wishing me good luck on an upcoming test. She's been making these cookies with me ever since.
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cups of butter flavored crisco
  • 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp of whole milk
  • 1 Tbsp of vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cup of white flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
​
​    Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Directions
  1. Mix the crisco and brown sugar together in your mixer until it's mixed.
  2. Add the egg and mix.
  3. Add the liquids next (milk and vanilla) and mix.
  4. Then scrape the bowl with a spatula to get everything down off the wall.
  5. Add all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) minus the chocolate chips and mix for 30 seconds or so.
  6. Once everything is mixed together then you can add the chocolate chips and mix them into the goodness.
  7. Get a spoon and eat some cookie dough.
  8. Get a different spoon, and line your cookie sheet with little balls of cookie dough.
  9. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.  
  10. Eat two cookies while warm with a glass of cold milk. Now, don't you feel better? If not, eat two more.
Go get a Bosch
When I was a kid my mom had one of these beasts that sat on the counter top. She would make all kinds of stuff with it.  As far as I know, she had the same mixer for 50 years. Few marriages last that long, let alone kitchen appliances. I mean, how many toasters have you had in your life, thirty?
When Sara and I got married, we were too poor to buy a Bosch, so we had to make do. When we moved to Japan, we could finally afford to buy one and it made all the difference. So, when you get married, register for one of these monsters so one of your family's rich friends can buy you one. Just make sure there's a prenup that spells out who gets it if things don't work out.

A recipe for happiness

In 2 Nephi 5:27 it notes: And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness. What a curious phrase! Is there a manner by which we can live our lives that will help us to be happy? Turns out that Nephi left us a recipe, and if we follow it, we really can live in a way that will bring us more peace, joy, and happiness. 
Ingredients ​
​    Preheat home with fervent prayer
Directions
  1. Add 2 Nephi 5:10 to your life. Obedience brings happiness, or as we also know, wickedness never was happiness.
  2. Thoughtfully Mix in Verse 11.  If you make God part of your life, He will lead you to green pastures.
  3. Fold in Verse 12 daily. Studying the scriptures brings the Spirit into our lives.
  4. Reverently add in a pinch of verse 16. The light of the temple brings the light of Christ into our lives.
  5. Vigorously mix in verse 17. As my kids know: Work will work when wishy washy wishing won't. 
  6. A pinch of verse 18. Following the prophet will lead us in the path of truth and righteousness. 
  7. A dash of verse 26: Worshipping God together at church and serving one another sets the tone for a happy life. 
  8. Add in the chocolate chips, because, let's be honest, Nephi may not have mentioned chocolate specifically, but we all know he meant to.
  9. Mix these ingredients together the best you can. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't come together perfectly the first time. Just keep trying until you get the recipe down.
  10. Once mixed, bake it with heartfelt, sincere prayer and in due time you will find yourself living after the manner of happiness.
Note: For further help with this recipe, see Marvin K Jensen's talk: Living After the Manner of Happiness. Or talk with a missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They can help you with the recipe as well.