Cooking for Seven

Why is that something as ordinary as chocolate chip cookies is one of the most delicious treats? Perhaps its very familiarity is what makes it so scrumptious. They bring back days spent at Grandma’s as a child; afternoons spent mixing up cookies with my sisters; sneaking spoonfuls of dough.

Here’s the recipe that we have used for years. Just within the past months my sister & I have modified the recipe to our tastes: reducing the sugar and adding some toasty pecans. They were a splendid hit, even with our critical Dad. He informed us that they were the best cookies he ever ate. He freaks out if we suggest changing the recipe slightly.

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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Mrs. Fields’ recipe

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarse

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350° F.

2) Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer set to medium-high. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips & nuts.

4) Place golf ball sized pieces of dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, or just until the edges and bottoms begin to brown.

5) Allow to cool on the cookie sheets a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 30 cookies

Yesterday, I had a completely new experience: homemade hot chocolate. Not the kind made with cocoa powder and sugar. No. The Kind made with REAL chocolate.

Oh my. It was like drinking chocolate pudding; it was so rich I couldn’t finish it in one sitting!

Notes: I used maple syrup for the added sweetener and bittersweet chocolate chips for the chocolate. I also added a bit of cream to the milk. Perhaps next time I will use only milk as it was so rich.
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Homemade Hot Chocolate

Adapted from Elise Bauer

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces chocolate, preferably dark
• 3 teaspoons maple syrup or natural sweetener of choice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) Chop the chocolate very finely.

2) In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

3) Add the chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Whisk vigorously until all of the chocolate has melted. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, whisking constantly.

4) Serve with maple whipped cream (recipe follows) if desired.

Serves 4 generously

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Maple Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (more if you like your whipped cream very sweet)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until stiff.

And now for the Frigidaire Accessories winner:

Commenter #90: Diana!

Congratulations!

I have contacted Diana and sent her the coupon code.

Thank you all for participating in the giveaway!

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A few weeks ago Tate’s Bake Shop asked me if I was interested in tasting a few of their cookies. Um, yes. Who in their right mind would refuse cookies?

Overall I was quite impressed with the quality of their products. Let me share with you what I found:

Packaging:

The cookies arrived in this lovely box.

Inside are three beautiful boxes of cookies: Macadamia Nut, Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Chip. I love how festive the packaging is.

Inside each box are two sealed packages of cookies. Which brings me to my only quibble with the packaging: there were at least one broken cookie in each top package. However, the taste completely makes up for this:

Taste/Texture

I must admit that I generally avoid pre-packaged cookies. These are an exception to that rule. There was no strange, chemically taste as there usually is in “store-bought” cookies.

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed all the flavors of cookies, even though I usually steer clear of oatmeal raisin. The macadamia nut were perhaps a bit sweet for my taste, but they had a lovely flavor. And the chocolate chip faintly reminded me of cookies my grandma makes.

The list of ingredients is also impressive. No weird ingredients that I wouldn’t add to a batch of my homemade cookies.

The texture of all the cookies is crispy. I enjoy both chewy and crisp cookies, so if you’re a chewy fan, keep this in mind.

I also had the privilege of testing out the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook.

There are some really fun recipes that I’d like to try.

There’s a pretty photo section.

And a section on healthy alternatives!

I have generously been allowed to share a recipe from Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook with ya’ll! I baked these chocolate biscotti as written in the recipe. Another time I would add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla. But they were overall very easy and had a good texture. They have a not-too-sweet, grownup flavor. My little brother really enjoyed them.

Chocolate Biscotti

From Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processes cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup chopped milk chocolate
• 3/4 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used all bittersweet)
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped small, blanched or unblanched

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets or line them with Silpat.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars till the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder and beat it in for 2 more minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition

3) Stir in the flour and baking powder until they are just combined. Stir in the chocolates and almonds. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

4) Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll each piece into a 10-inch log. Place the logs on the prepared cookie sheets and flatten them to 1-inch thick by pressing them gently with your fingertips.

5) Bake them for 25 minutes. Then cool them for one hour on the cookie sheet.

6) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut each log into 1/2-inch-wide diagonal slices. Place the slices on an ungreased cookie sheet, cut side up, and bake them for 10  minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake them for another 10 minutes. Cool them on the cookie sheets.

Makes approximately 40 biscotti

And now for the giveaway!

The folks at Tate’s Bake Shop are allowing me to host a giveaway!

You’ll have the chance to win the delicious package of cookies pictured above, plus the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• [Mandatory] Leave a comment on this post, telling me about your favorite kind of cookie.
• For extra entries, become a fan of Tate’s on Facebook. Come back and leave a separate comment saying you became a fan.
• For more entries, tweet, blog, or post on Facebook about this giveaway. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry.
• For more entries, subscribe to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

Rules:

Only U.S. residents are allowed to enter.

Giveaway ends Friday, December 17, at 11:00 p.m. Central Time. No comments will be considered after that time.

I will select one (1) winner using random.org.

Good luck!

Even if you are not so fortune as to win this giveaway, you can still purchase some cookies of your own at a 15 % discount by using coupon code cookie valid through December 31st. They would make a lovely Christmas present for a foodie friend, or anyone who enjoys cookies!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. No further comments will be considered.

Why is something as simple as chocolate pudding so delightful?

Smooth and creamy, intense and rich.

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What do you do when you have an abundance of fresh raspberries + a desire to bake something scrumptious? Make these Raspberry Cheese Brownies, of course! Dark chocolate brownies on the bottom, cheesecake batter, swirls of brownie batter, and raspberries poked in.

Many thanks to Kayleigh of Kayotic Kitchen.  When I asked the twitter community for a delicious raspberry recipe, she promptly replied with a link to this recipe. It is certainly a keeper.

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