perfect chocolate chip cookies

 

Gooey on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside, hint of coconut and little melted chocolate morsels.  That sentence perfectly describes my experience as I chomp down on these.  When people first start baking they usually start with cookies or easy sheet cakes.  I was the cookie person.  I absolutely love great cookies and a real classic is the chocolate chip cookie.  This cookie goes great with coffee, hot chocolate, or black tea.  I believe because the chocolate chip cookie goes so great with all three of these drinks this makes it the ultimate comfort food for a cold, wet, night.  Like I stated before it was the cookie that I first started baking when I was new to the science of baking.  I have tried multiple variations and finally I have the recipe which is just perfect.  First you will notice there is no granulated sugar.....brown sugar just tastes better.  Other than that the recipe isn't that different.  A bit more vanilla, flour, and less chocolate chips.  The reason I have less chocolate chips is because I like to enjoy the flavor of the cookie itself with a hint of chocolate.  Some recipes put so much chocolate in there the true tase of the cookie is lost.  For this recipe you will need:

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp baking soda (if you are at a high elevation make it a scant tsp)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed

2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chops

1 cup coconut

1 cup walnuts (opt)

My butter is cubed in the photo, but I found out later that it works better melted. mix melted butter with brown sugar.  mix it until you can't see the butter anymore and the mixture is creamy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs.

Sift all of your dry ingredients into a bowl.  If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see where I dropped my small camera into the flour....oops!  Switch to a paddle mixer before adding the dry ingredients.  While the mixer is on low, slowly add the flour mixture.  If you go to fast you will have a flour mess.  After the flour is completely mixed in, add the coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts if you are using them.

Now this next instruction is very important.....don't eat all of the cookie dough!  I snagged a couple of bites but I was able to retrain myself so I would have enough room in my belly for the cooked cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet and scoop onto the sheet leaving about an inch of space between them.  I use a cookie scoop, it makes everything so easy and all of my cookies are the same size so I don't have to worry about uneven baking.  Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes and allow to cool a bit before eating.

 

Serve with your hot drink of choice.  This is a picture of my coffee and all of my cookies.....just kidding I had help eating these.  These cookies store really well in the freezer, or the refrigerator depending on how long you want them to last.  I suggest storing them in the freezer cause they will taste fresh for a lot longer, just let them warm up on the counter for a couple of minutes before you eat them :)

cookie dough truffles

I got this idea from Paula Deen.  Her recipes are always so good and they are easy to make.

You will need:

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 can of sweet and condensed milk
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips
1 package of Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate (60% cocao)
a hand full of white melting chocolate
1/8 tsp of maple syrup extract

Cream together the brown sugar and butter.  Add the sweet and condensed milk and flour.  Mix on medium for a couple of minutes until creamy.  Remove the bowl from your mixer and add the chips.  Fold in the chips using a spatula.  Using a cookie scoop, scoop out little balls.  Flour your hands and roll the scoops into smooth balls.

Place all of the balls in a container, cover it, and place it in the refrigerator.  Leave them in for at least two hours.
When the balls have firmed up in the refrigerator start melting the chocolate.

To make a double boiler, get a medium sauce pan and fill with about 2 cups of water.  Allow the water to boil, and then place a metal bowl on top.

Fill the bowl with your chocolate and stir it with a whisk or spatula until completely melted.  Remove from the stove and dip the chocolate chip cookie dough in the chocolate using a fork or your fingers.  If using your fingers, be careful because the chocolate can be very hot.

Place the chocolate truffles on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  When you are done with the truffles place them in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

To make the decoration, place the melting chocolate and the maple syrup extract in as mug and place in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Continue to leave the mug in the microwave for about 10 seconds at a time, stirring the chocolate in between each 10 seconds.  Be careful not to burn the chocolate in the microwave.  As soon as the chocolate is melted get a plastic bag and fill it with the chocolate.  Cut the tip of the bag off and pipe on a dot on top of each truffle.  Store in the refrigerator and try not to eat all of them in one sitting.

Snicker 'heath' doodle

 

My favorite cookie is the snickerdoodle.  I decided to do a little research because I wanted to know where the name originated from.  Needless to say.....I was dissapointed.  Once source said it came from the German word, schneckennudeln, which means snail noodles.  That can't be right, first of all snail noodles makes me think of snail poop...and why would you name such a good tasting cookie after snail excrement?    Another source stated that the word schneckennudeln referred to cinnamon rolls, which makes more sense because they look like snails,  and snickerdoodles taste similar to cinnamon rolls.  At this point I stopped looking for the meaning of schneckennudeln and  was satisfied that the meaning had been lost in translation.  In this recipe I  tried to make it more like a Snickers bar by adding heath bar toffee bits, that way, in my own head the name snickerdoodle made more sense.

Snicker 'heath' doodle
1 cup unsalted butter cubed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup heath bar toffee bits
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment cream the butter.  Gradually add the sugar with the mixer on high.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.
In another bowl sift in the flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.  Because I live at such a high elevation I used a little bit less than 2 tsp cream of tartar....about 1 3/4 tsp.  If you don't make this adjustment in a high elevation you will end up with flat and crispy cookies.
Blend the flour mixture slowly into your mixer, 1/2 cup at a time.  After you have added about 1 1/2 cups of the flour mixer switch the attachment on the mixer to a paddle, or flat beater and add in the remaining flour.  Scrape the sides and add your toffee bits, and mix for another 2-3 minutes on a medium speed.

Shape the batter into balls, I like using a cookie scoop because that makes my cookies more uniform and therefore they cook more evenly.  Using the same bowl you had your flour mixture in, add the 3 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of cinnamon.

I usually do three at a time because it goes faster.  Just  throw the cookie balls in the cinnamon mixture and swish the bowl around until the balls are completely covered.

Place them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with PAM about 1-2 inches from each other.  Place on the middle rack of the oven and set your timer for about 6 minutes.  When the timer goes off and the cookie looks done, check it by lightly pressing down with one finger on the cookie.  If the cookie springs back up it is done.  If you don't trust yourself to judge if the cookie is done this way you can put a tooth pick through it.  You may have to leave the cookies in for another 2 minutes.

When the cookies are done pull them out and let them cool for a minute on the sheet.  Then take them off of the hot cookie sheet with a spatula and let them cool on a rack for about 10 minutes.  They may be a little gooey on the inside right when they come out of the oven but if you let them cool for about 10 minutes they will just be soft and fluffy on the inside.

To store them keep them in an air tight container on the counter top.  They will last even longer if you store them in the refrigerator, but I don't think these cookies will last that long in your kitchen.  I've eaten five already.....