This past week I moved into my first forever home. The first home I can make my mark on, I can make plans in, and no one can make me leave.

Until now I felt like I have been drifting above the earth in the wind, touching down here and there for a while before being blown away again at the whims of fate and misfortune and my own mistakes. Each time I landed outside of Alaska, the air and the soil felt foreign and strange, and in those few times I landed here long enough to send out tender roots in the hopes they would take hold, I was ripped out again to continue my wandering.

The first night in our new house, after I put my boy to bed in his very own room for the first time, I walked through our spaces in silent awe of this blessing. I allowed visions of our family’s future here to wash over me, and I shed tears of relief and gratitude that my children will have roots, that I am finally safe to dig mine into this ground, and that we will all blossom here together on the strawberry patch.

We baked some cookies together (I baked; he ate chocolate chips) to bring to our new neighbors. I have been working on this recipe for a long time now and am finally ready to share my chewy chocolate chip cookies. This recipe requires no equipment, no pre-planning, and is done from start to finish in one hour.

Ingredients for two dozen cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

½ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cup (minus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

1 egg

Splash of vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (more or less to your taste)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine your cooled, melted butter and the sugar and brown sugar. Beat vigorously with your spatula until the mixture has lightened in color and has increased in volume.

Add your egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat for another 5 minutes. The goal is to incorporate as much air into the mix as possible. This will improve the texture of the finished cookie.

In a separate bowl, combine your flour, baking soda and salt. Make sure there are no lumps or solid chunks of baking soda. A whisk works well if you don’t have a sifter.

Dump the dry ingredients on top of the butter and sugar and gently combine. Mix just until the dough is homogenous. Do not over mix or the cookies will be tough.

Add the chocolate chips and stir just enough to evenly distribute the chocolate throughout the dough.

Use two spoons or your hands to portion the dough into balls that are about the size of pingpong balls and arrange 12 on a tray. There should be just enough for 24 cookies.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, rotating halfway, until the tops are cracked, and the edges are browned. The centers should still be a little soft, but they will finish cooking on the pan. If you cook them completely before removing, they will be hard when they cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Pro tip: To revive a dry cookie, wrap it in a damp paper towel and microwave for 10 seconds before serving.

Our new sprout of a home was planted in the shade of the giant tree that lent its seed, so the roots will inevitably be intertwined and strengthened by the solid, far-reaching system of its parent. Without the stability and support of those roots, our little tree might not have ever seen the sunlight, and I will be forever grateful.

He’s too young for it now, but someday soon I will send my little boy alone down the quiet dirt road, dressed ready to help Grandma in her garden, to deliver these cookies to his Grandpa who, thanks to them both, he will be able to see whenever he wants.

Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion These chocolate chip cookie require no equipment, no pre-planning, and are done from start to finish in one hour.