Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I must have six different recipes for chocolate chip cookies floating around my kitchen, but every single one of them yields the same result ... cookies that are chewy when they are still hot out of the oven, but dry and crunchy by the next day.  I wanted a cookie that would stay moist, so I got to experimenting and came up with the following recipe.  I baked a batch last night, and today they are still nice and chewy ... just what I've been looking for!


Ingredients


3/4 c. melted butter
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 whole eggs + 1 yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (12-oz.) package semi-sweet morsels

Directions


In a large bowl, beat melted butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed of an electric mixer. While mixer is running, add eggs and yolk (it's important that the eggs don't have a chance to rest in the creamed mixture so the heat from the melted butter doesn't start to cook them).  Mix in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture; mix  until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drop dough by heaping teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8 - 10 minutes.  Cool for 7 - 10 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.  (Cookies will be pale when they first come out of the oven; they'll continue to cook a little bit on the hot cookie sheet and will develop more of a golden color as they cool).

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

One of my favorite appetizers (especially when it's chilly outside) is hot spinach and artichoke dip ... I could totally just down a bowl of it and call it a meal.  So I figured ... hey, why NOT turn it into dinner?  I did a little experimenting and came up with this recipe for a pasta dinner:


Ingredients:


1 egg
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
4 small or 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 can artichoke hearts (approx. 14 oz.), roughly chopped
1 (10-oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 lb. penne pasta, prepared al dente

Directions:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat egg in a large bowl.  Add cream cheese, milk, Parmesan, and 1/4 c. of the mozzarella; beat until smooth.  Add chopped garlic, basil, salt, garlic salt, and pepper; beat until mixed.  Spoon in spinach and artichoke hearts; stir until all ingredients are combined.  Add pasta; stir until coated.

Grease a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon mixture into casserole dish; top with remaining 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until just browned on top.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Crêpes

I had a fair amount of cream cheese pecan frosting left over from those cookies I made last night, but don’t worry … it’s not going to waste.  It actually makes a pretty tasty filling for crêpes.  Most of the recipes I’ll be posting on this blog will either be original, or will reflect alterations that I’ve made to someone else’s recipe.  This entry is an exception.  This recipe is totally not mine, but since it’s such a great opportunity to show how you can use that leftover frosting, I’m including it anyway.

Fact:  It is physically impossible to say "crêpe" without also saying "Nutella" in the same breath.

Crêpes

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. milk

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. melted butter

Vegetable oil

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, and milk, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth.  Add eggs and beat well; stir in melted butter.  Refrigerate batter for 1 hour.  (This allows flour particles to swell and soften so crêpes will be light in texture.)

Brush bottom of a 6-inch crêpe pan or heavy skillet with oil; place crêpe pan over medium heat until just hot, but not smoking.

Pour 2 Tbsp. of batter into pan [my crêpe pan is 8 inches instead of 6, so I use about 3 Tbsp. of batter per crêpe].  Quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers pan with a thin film.  Cook about 1 minute.

Lift edge of crêpe to test for doneness.  Crêpe is ready for flipping when it can be shaken loose from pan.  Flip crêpe, and cook for about 30 seconds on other side.  (This side of crêpe is usually spotty brown and is the side on which the filling is placed.)

Place crêpes on a towel, and allow them to cool.  Repeat until all batter is used.  Stack crêpes between layers of wax paper [I just use paper towels] to prevent sticking.

Cream cheese pecan frosting ... er, I mean filling.

Nutella

I like to roll mine up into little crêpe taquitos, but you can also fold them in half or sandwich them crêpe-quesadilla style.

Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookies with Cream Cheese Pecan Frosting

Christmas time is upon us, which means it's time for ... BAKING SEASON!!  This is one of my favorite holiday recipes.  It's a twist on your traditional oatmeal raisin cookie; the dried cranberries give it a festive seasonal touch, and anything covered in cream cheese is just automatically better.  Warning ... these babies are RICH!  (Recipe adapted from The Southern Living Cookbook.)


Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookies


Ingredients:

1 c. cold butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 c. quick oats (uncooked)
1 c. dried cranberries

Directions:

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add egg, and beat well; add water and vanilla, mixing well.

Combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture, mixing well.  Stir in oats and dried cranberries.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges (cookies will still be a little tacky on top, but are actually done).  Cool slightly on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Frost with cream cheese pecan frosting.



Cream Cheese Pecan Frosting


Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped pecans

Directions:

Put cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in chopped pecans.

French Toast with Blackberry Sauce and Whipped Cream

French toast is a pretty standard breakfast staple, which is why I like to find ways to jazz it up a bit.  One of my favorites is to dust it with powdered sugar, then top it with homemade blackberry sauce and whipped cream.  You can use my French toast recipe, or use your favorite.

French Toast


Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 slices Texas toast
Brown sugar


Directions:

Beat eggs in a medium-size bowl.  Add milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla; beat until thoroughly combined, at least 30 seconds.  Pour mixture into a baking pan with raised sides (I use a 9 x 13" cake pan).

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and to medium.  Soak both sides of a slice of Texas toast in the egg mixture.  Sprinkle one side of Texas toast with brown sugar (1/2 - 1 tsp. should be sufficient; I just eyeball it); place toast sugar-side down in skillet.  Sprinkle other side of toast with brown sugar.  Repeat these steps with other seven slices of toast.

Cook until bottom side of toast is golden brown; flip.  Cook an additional few minutes on other side.




Blackberry Sauce


Ingredients:

2 c. fresh blackberries, washed
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. sugar

Directions:

Blend 10 blackberries with water in blender.  Stir in sugar.  Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly.  As sauce begins to thicken, stir in remaining blackberries.  Cook, still stirring, until sauce is warm and berries have softened.




Whipped Cream


If you don't have powdered sugar on hand, make your own by putting regular sugar in the blender.  I use my Magic Bullet blender for this, because the blades are low enough to get all the sugar.


Ingredients:

1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix ingredients; beat at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.