Over the summer, we celebrated with our wild crew of Party Animals! We served the food buffet style, so it was easy for everyone to help themselves. To keep the littles entertained, we created Cricut coloring cards and set up water activities in the yard!
Our Menu
- Sparkling Water Bar
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Veggies with Ranch Dip
- Fruit Salad
- The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
For the Sparkling Water Bar, we created three different juice and herb simple syrup combinations for guests to mix with sparkling water. To make the simple syrup, combine equal parts of water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add in a handful of herbs while the syrup cools. Once cooled, remove the herbs and carefully pour the simple syrup into an airtight container and store in the fridge.
The juice and syrup combinations we made were Peach & Mint, Watermelon & Basil, and Grapefruit & Rosemary. We poured each into a carafe and placed on a large serving tray with glasses, garnishes, ice, and sparkling water. We kept the sparkling water chilled in a marble wine bottle cooler.
Party tip! Use reusable silicone baking cups for individual servings. We used these for the Mac & Cheese and the Veggies with Ranch Dip.
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies were a huge hit with the kids and adults! These cookies are easy to make and have the perfect chewy center. We love to top our cookies with flaked sea salt.
Recipe adapted from Joy Food Sunshine.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (we recommend: Nielsen-Massey)
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt flakes for topping (we recommend: Maldon)
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt).
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Remove bowl from the stand mixer and stir in the chocolate chips.
Using a cookie scoop (we recommend: Oxo Medium Cookie Scoop), scoop onto a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 8-10 mins until the edges are starting to crisp, but the middle still looks gooey.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the sea salt flakes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 mins and then remove to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Yields 36 cookies.
