Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday. He earned major points by deciding that as an anniversary gift to each other, we would refinish the trellis we were married under and would secure it on the side of the house, surrounded by climbing rose bushes. His one other request for our celebration was for a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. (I might have accidentally planted this idea by stocking up on chocolate chips I recently found on sale... he just found the stash in the pantry!) I have to admit that I am normally the one reading the Toll House recipe off of the back of the bag of chips whenever making a traditional chocolate chip cookie. Don't get me wrong-- the reason I do this is because those cookies never fail! They are always delicious! For this occasion, however, I decided to try the recipe out of Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours cookbook. She completely converted me over! Dorie calls these cookies her 'best' and it is easy to see why. These were easy to throw together, as most chocolate chip cookies are, and they baked up within 10 minutes. I was a little cautious when I saw how much they spread in the oven. Be sure to leave plenty of room between your cookies when baking! By spreading so much, they got very thin and delicate and provided the perfect combination of chewy center with a crisp, crunchy shell. Each batch makes about 45 cookies... they are disappearing so quickly that I will probably have to double it next time! :)

(Another nice element of Dorie's recipe is that she gives tips for freezing dough balls for quick use later on. Really good information!)

My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips* (I used semi-sweet)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (I omitted)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Working with a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about a minute (or until smooth). Add the sguars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about a minute after adding each. Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients in three stages, mixing each stage only until incorporated. On low speed, or by hand, mix in the chocolate chips and nuts. Spoon dough by slightly rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, and rotating the sheet midway through the baking time. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center. They might be a little soft in the center, and that is okay. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for about a minute, then carefully, using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling baking sheets between batches.

*Dorie recommends buying a better quality chocolate and creating your own chips if your time permits.

Source: Baking From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

I knew once I saw these cookies on Donna's blog, they would be a popular item in my home. Oreos tend to be my husband's favorite cookie and he is quickly turning my son into an addict as well. I am sure that as soon as my daughter is allowed solid foods, he'll have her jump on the bandwagon. This was a bit of an experiment for me. . . traditionally I can have a big plate of warm, freshly baked cookies sitting on the counter and he will still go into the pantry for the Oreos. How conflicted he must have been once seeing these! :)

(One note is that Donna's recipe says this will make 50 cookies. I don't know if I made mine too big or not, but I only got 36 cookies. If you want more, which you will once tasting them, I'd go ahead and double it.)

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies
1 stick softened butter
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 oreo cookies, broken into pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla until mixed well. Place flour, baking soda, and salt in large bowl and stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix. Add your oreos and chocolate chips, stirring just until combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto parchment or silpat lined cooie sheet. Bake for 7–9 minutes, or until cooked, but still soft. (My cookies took more like 12 minutes to get nice and brown.) Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a cookie rack.

Source: My Tasty Treasures

Cookie Bouquets

I'm so excited to share pictures of our new business venture! My good friend Christy and I decided to take our love of baking to the next level by selling hand-crafted cookie bouquets, as well as other cakes, cupcakes, cookies, muffins, pastries, etc. I think Christy said it best with, "If you can dream it, we can bake it!" We took advantage of the Valentine's Day weekend (given that it is a personal favorite of both of ours) and opened up for business. We sold many bouquets, each with our signature raspberry-flavor iced sugar cookies (the icing flavor that we specially designed for Valentine's Day) and a hand-painted pot.

The bouquets were a hit and we are so excited to continue to share these delicious treats. Keep an eye out for our adorable St. Patrick's Day and Easter bouquets, both of which can be ordered for those you love! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

Typically, I wouldn't think to blog about a dessert made primarily from boxed mixes. . . but this particular one was so good that I had to share! Bakerella listed these brownies as the perfect way to blow your New Years' Resolution, and I couldn't agree more! We had some friends over for dinner and I wanted to come up with a quick dessert that I could throw together inbetween the kids' naps. This one was quick to make, but it did require a lot of time to actually set up properly. I ended up serving them with the tops still a bit gooey, but after the ganache had time to set they were much more easily managed.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker Hershey's Original Brownie Mix (plus ingredients to make the brownies as directed)

1 bag Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (plus ingredients to make the cookies as directed)

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

6 tablespoons butter

Make the brownies according to the package directions. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish. In a separate bowl, make the cookie dough according to the package directions. Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoon into the brownie batter, spacing evenly. Lightly press the cookie dough balls into the brownie batter. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool completely (for about an hour).

In a small saucepan, heat the 6 tablespoons of butter with the heavy whipping cream. Remove the pan from the heat just before it boils. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate chips to melt. Stir the chocolate until smooth. Pour evenly over the brownies and let set before cutting.

Source: Bakerella

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Welcome to my new blog! I was inspired by a great friend to begin sharing recipes through this blog format. Some of the recipes you find on this site will be 'tried and true' favorites, while others will be new recipes that I have found to share with my family. With a picky toddler at home, I am always looking for new things to try that will give my little one the nutrition and calories that he needs-- without becoming a short-order cook at every mealtime. :)

This first recipe falls into the 'tried and true' category. I remember both my mother and my grandmother making these cookies when we were little. They are a quick, no-bake recipe made from ingredients that are most often on hand in the pantry. The one thing to keep in mind with this one is that while they do come together quickly, they can also be a finicky cookie. You can make them the exact same way each time, but sometimes they firm up very quickly and sometimes they need some refrigerator time in order to keep their shape. They are simple and my little one loved them! This particular batch was made while my mother was visiting, and working on them together certainly brought back a lot of great memories. I look forward to making them together with my little ones in the future!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

3 cups quick oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt in a 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil until thickened--about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the quick oats and vanilla. Mix well. Drop by heaping teaspoon-full onto wax paper. Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.