The Yummiest Cookies in the World!!!

Well, Ashley posted the best recipe I've had for chocolate-chocolate chip cookies... so I have to post my famous regular chocolate chip cookie recipe. Seriously- these are good. It's definitely the butter. I got the recipe from my grandma, LaRue, a few years ago. I've been wowing people with them ever since. My friends and students beg me for them. It makes a pretty big batch, so be prepared. Also- it's imperative you follow the mixing directions exactly... they taste different when you don't... I promise!

The Yummiest Cookies in the World!!!
(Yes, that's what I titled this recipe when I got it from my grandma.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1 pound real butter (2 cups)
2 c. white granulated sugar
2 c. brown sugar (you don't need to pack it)

Cream together for 3-4 minutes and then add

4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Cream together for 2 more minutes. In a separate, but small, bowl mix

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix that into the creamed mixture. Then add

1 bag chocolate chips (more if you want)

Slowly stir in 6 cups of flour. Add the flour slowly and keep an eye on it. Depending on the weather you may not need all the flour or you may need a little extra. The dough should be pretty thick.

Use a small ice cream scoop to put the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake them for 9-12 minutes.

Yeah, I know. It's a big stretch. You really need to figure your oven out by experimenting. The oven at my sister's house makes perfect cookies at 11 minutes, my mother's oven is 10 minutes, my current oven is 9. To keep them soft I always pull them out when they are still white on top and barely browned on bottom. They are thick, so I pull them right off the sheet and put them on the cooling rack. They continue to cook a bit, but stay soft for several days. If you accidentally overcook them, or want to to be softer for longer, put a piece of bread in the cookie container. They'll soften up in a few hours.

Dunk the cookies in milk and you'll feel like you have a piece of heaven in your mouth!

Double Chocolate Cookie Heaven

Ha! I (Ashley) have been apart of this food blog for a while and haven't posted anything. What is my problem you might ask? Well, I love food so much I just didn't know where to start. So per Anna's suggestion I will start with these babies. I think it would very hard indeed to find a better chocolate cookie recipe or one with more butter (hehe). I got this treasure from my sisters mother in law (that is a mouthful). She was kind enough to share it with me along with a killer cheesecake brownie recipe, but that is for another post.

Double Chocolate Cookies
makes about 4 dozen
Preheat oven to 350

1 1/4c. softened butter
2c. sugar
2 eggs
2t. vanilla
2c. flour
3/4c. cocoa powder
1t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
chocolate chips (as many as your heart desires)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add eggs and beat until combined. Add vanilla and the rest of the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Then add chocolate chips.

I use a small cookie scoop and they come out just the right size. Otherwise make them about tablespoon size.
Bake for 8-9 min. on the middle rack. The cookies will be puffy when you take them out and will flatten out while cooling. Do not over bake.

Chicken Cheesesteak

I went to my cousins for dinner last night and she served up this complete delight of a meal.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-cheesesteaks-with-peppers

I think the possibilities on this could potentially be endless. I'm excited to eat this again ASAP. Hope you all enjoy!

Someday...

...I will try to make this cake. It's close to the top of a long list of foods I want to try to make. I'd need a lot of people to help eat it and from what I read in the article, a lot of patience. But this looks so fabulous.
Sweet and Salty Cake

We've had the good...

I am skipping the bad and going straight to the ugly. I went through every last page of this blog. Some, I am shamed to say, looked tasty, one I'd actually eaten before (in my defense it was free and I didn't know that a creme cake = deep fried twinkie... and it was delicious), but most were disgusting. Regardless, I think the blog's title is perfect.
This Is Why You're Fat

German Gastronomy

This past summer (2008) I went to Europe for 6 weeks. It was fantastic! I was able to try so many new foods while I was there. First of all, the food in Germany is WAY better than the food in England. Sorry Englander's, but it's true. I guess I should say that in my opinion the food in Germany is better than the food in England.

The Germans love to eat cake and coffee. I didn't have the coffee, but I did have a lot of cake, which is so yummy! It's not as sweet as the cakes in the USA, but I like that better. They are rich and solid and so good. They also have the best chocolate in the world.

While in Germany I tried the oldest cake in the world- well it's the oldest cake recipe anyway- called Sacher Cake. It has dark chocolate (which is very dark and has no fillers), cream, cookie crust on bottom, and tasted like a little piece of heaven in my mouth.

I tried the traditional Bavarian cake (known as Black Forest Cake). The real thing is much better than the Betty Crocker cake mix I'm used to ;)

The weather was not very good while I was in Germany. One day I was in downtown Munich and it was raining and I was freezing. I slipped into a Starbucks to use the bathroom (they're the only place that doesn't charge you to use the bathroom) and decided that I wanted to stick around in the warmth. However, in Europe you can't just sit around. You have to order something. I ordered the hot chocolate. It was the most amazing hot chocolate I've ever had in my life! I've ordered hot chocolate from Starbucks in the U.S. since coming home and it just isn't the same.

One day I bought lunch from the open air market in Munich and enjoyed the fresh cheese, bread, and olives. It really reminded me of the food I ate in Israel last year. Yum! The open air market was an experience that cannot be missed and this Mediterranean booth was wonderful.

One of my favorite things I ate was the traditional Bavarian foood... sausages, sauerkraut, and potatoes. I love those things! Hmmmm. Just thinking about it makes me hungry! I went to the Tollwood Festival, which was amazing, and enjoyed some traditional food and culture.

German gastronomy agrees with me. If you're ever in Bavaria, don't hesitate to try anything. I didn't meet any Bavarian food I didn't like!

Cranberry Salsa

At a dinner party a few weeks ago my roommate, Molly, made one of the most original, interesting, and piquant dips I have ever tasted. Molly got the recipe from her sister last Thanksgiving and it is now a family favorite. The dip was definitely the hit of the party, which is saying something because Lindsay really outdid herself with the cheesy mushroom chicken and brussels sprouts.

This recipe was so popular it caused two friends to write about it on their blogs! Mark made some health conscious changes to the recipe. Brian also made some changes. I haven't tried it with their changes, so I can't vouch for them! However, I can vouch that this dish is marvelous and piquant!

Cranberry Salsa

1 bag cranberries
3/4 C. sugar (start with half the sugar- test- then add sugar to taste)
1 green onion
1/4 tsp cumin
1 bunch cilantro
1 medium jalapeno (add more depending on desired heat)
1-2 blocks cream cheese
various crackers (Wheat Thins, Ritz, and whole grain crackers are the favorite)

Mix ingredients (except the cream cheese and crackers) in a Magic Bullet or blender until completely blended. If you put it in the fridge for a bit it will sweeten and also gain heat. Pour blended mixture over the cream cheese and serve at room temperature with crackers.