Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ladies - It's FRIDAY! You know what would be wonderful for your husband, children, roommate...to come home too? Your home smelling like chocolate chip cookies!

I have wonderful childhood memories of coming home from school and seeing my Mom bake a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. The smell of chocolate filled up the house as I walked through the front door and searched for that plate on the counter with cookies piled high for my sister and I to eat!  "Save room for dinner," my Mom would say. You know my motto - save room for dessert! 

I love baking these cookies for my family and seeing the smiles of my husband and boys as they come out of the oven. Ed will snatch one right off the baking sheet as I'm pulling it out of the oven. Once my boys see Daddy eating a cookie, they want one too but teaching young children patience and that the cookies are "hot, hot, hot" is nearly impossible!

You can always use the good old Toll House recipe and the cookies will come out just as good, but I like my cookies being slightly cake and soft, yet buttery. If you like your cookies like I do (see the picture I took) - this recipe is perfection! If you like your cookies crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside don't put the dough in the refrigerator and leave out the extra egg yolk, and pop them in the oven.  I used an entire bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can use milk chocolate, M&M's, reese's pieces, toffee, etc - the list and combinations are endless!

This recipe is great and easy to make! Just think of how happy your spouse, kids, friends or roomie would be coming home to smell these delectable goodies! It makes 20-24 cookies.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs plus egg yolk
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Use a 1-2 tblsp icecream scoop to Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Put cookies in fridge or freezer for 20 minutes before placing them in oven
4. After cookies set in fridge take out and Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Chocolate Bark

I just posted a granola recipe and had a bunch of dried fruit and almonds left over so I thought I would use them up in a Chocolate Bark recipe.  It's really easy and it's a nice treat to nibble on - chocolate always tastes good but when it has fruit and nut mixed in, it almost feels guilt free! You can also buy cellophane gift bags and wrap these up as favors at a party or give them as a gift.

Ingredients

8 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole almonds or cashews
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries


Directions
Melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Pour the melted chocolate over wax  or parchment (or on a silpat) paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the almonds, apricots and cranberries over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in 1 by 3-inch pieces and serve at room temperature.

Homemade Granola Bars

After giving birth to my second son, I've joined the gym and even started working out with a trainer to get back into shape. These granola bars are a healthy snack to give you that extra boost of energy before or after a long workout.  You could even have one for breakfast along with your cup of coffee. I've added a bunch of dried fruit so they have a lot of fiber but you can add anything you like - chocolate chips, peanut butter, sesame seeds, banana chips or any other type of dried fruit. The recipe makes about 12-16 bars depending on how you cut them. Wrap them in wax paper to take them on the go. You can store them in a zip lock or air tight container for about a week.

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 
1 cup sliced almonds 
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed 
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ 
3 tablespoons unsalted butter 
2/3 cup honey 
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates 
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 
1/2 cup dried cranberries


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well. 


Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Chocolate Truffles

My in-laws from NYC came for a visit and we had some great food and even better dessert! One of the desserts I made were these chocolate truffles. They honestly have to be one of the easiest and quickest desserts to make. Not only that, they look fancy when you serve them and they're small enough where people will eat one or two (or three like me!). This recipe makes about 20 truffles and I dusted them with cocoa powder, confectioners sugar, toasted hazelnuts, and different colored jimmies (sprinkles for all of you not from New England). I didn't add the alcohol because I don't like it in my desserts. These are a must make for your next dinner party and if there are any left, which I doubt, you can freeze them for months!

Ingredients:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate cut into small pieces

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut into small pieces

4 ounces milk chocolate cut into small pieces

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon of instant coffee 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons alcohol - Optional (Cognac, brandy, Grand Marnier, rum, bourbon, or Kaluha)

Different Coatings for Truffles:

Cocoa Powder

Confectioners Sugar (Icing or Powdered)

Toasted and Chopped Nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)

Toasted Coconut

Shaved Chocolate

Directions:

Chop the chocolates finely with a sharp knife. Place them in a heat-proof mixing bowl with the cream. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in the orange flavored liqueur, if using, coffee, and vanilla. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

With a melon baller or 2 tsp ice cream scoop, spoon round balls of the chocolate mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll each ball of chocolate in your hands to roughly make it round. Roll in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, or other dustings listed above. Put them back in the refrigerator before serving. When you take them out, mold them back into a ball if they flatten. These will keep refrigerated for weeks, but serve them at room temperature.

Tuesday's Tips - Baking Must Have's

Here's a list of some baking must have's everyone should have in their kitchen:


Scoopers - 3 different sizes. A 1 Tblsp for truffles, a 2 Tblsp for cookies and an ice cream scoop one for cupcakes.

A set of baking sheets. My Uncle Joe bought me some from Bed Bath & Beyond for Christmas one year and I love them! Nothing fancy...they do the trick.

AND...

Silpat mat and/or parchment paper. This is absolutely essential for making sure your cookies, loafs and brownies, bark, bars, krispie treats, toffee, etc, etc don't stick! You don't even need cooking spray when using these things. Parchment paper is good to use for cakes.

Seive or Sifter. When a recipe calls for dry ingredients...ALWAYS sift. I use a strainer like the one below to sift. I have a Sieve but, man, that thing makes your hand tired.

Disposable Pastry bags & tips. I find them really, really useful- you can even use them to pipe batter into tins, but using them for frosting is what I use them for most.

Mixer & Measuring Cups/Spoons. These should have been first on my list but most people have 'em. Buy good measuring cups & spoons - not ones where the paint scrubs off. I have the all-clad and hear them! I have a kitchen-aid stand up mixer but also have one of these and use it for frosting or when making icing.

Fruity & Cocoa Pebbles Krispie Treats

Yay! I'm back!

Well sort of. Let's see if I can pull this off...again.  And give me your feedback about the info, look and set up.

Every other month I'm charged with the food during the fellowship time at our church and I buy most of the things like bagels, cream cheese, fruit etc but love the chance to bake! Fruity Pebble and Cocoa Pebbles were on sale so I decided to make Rice Krispie treats with them. And you know when you eat the snacks your hands get all sticky...well, I had some leftover lollipop sticks so I made them into little pops. I used a medium sized biscuit cutter. You can use any type of cookie cutter and have your kids help. My son Braedan LOVES helping me!

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter or Crisco Separated (I used Crisco because of dairy allergies in some of the kids at church) 2 packages big or mini marshmallows

6 cups Fruity Pebbles 6 cups Cocoa Pebbles 40 Lollipop Sticks 1 cup of green, blue & orange candy melts

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Use a silplat on a 9x12-inch pan OR Spray an 9x12-inch pan with cooking spray

2.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter or Crisco. Gently stir the marshmallows, and allow to fully melt and blended. Remove pan from heat, and stir in the breakfast cereal until the cereal is completely coated with the melted marshmallows. Spread the mixture out into the prepared pan, refrigerate for 1 hour to set, and cut into shapes. Stick Krispie lollipop stick and dip into candy melts.