Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Cinnamon)

After yesterday's blueberry debacle, I wanted even more to bring something to work to share.

Even with the safest of cookies -- chocolate chip -- I still do not feel comfortable. I've come to this realization after batches and batches of them, and it is perhaps due to my reluctance to measure ingredients -- ironic, as I am an engineer. Perhaps I am too used to cooking, which requires much less accuracy.

But! These certainly came out better than the blueberry mess.

Cream:

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

and then mix in:

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

sprinkle salt

dollop of cinnamon

The cinnamon, I think, is what makes these interesting.

Dissolve:

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp hot water

and stir in. Then add:

1 1/2 c. flour

and then stir in:

more than 1/2 c. chocolate chips

handful of chopped walnuts

and bake in spoonfuls for 10-14 minutes at 375 degrees. When they came out, I added a sprinkle of raw sugar for visual appeal.

We will see tomorrow, in the public eye, how they fare.

Cookies en Masse

Moth asked me to make several batches of cookies for her meeting tomorrow night. Busy busy busy; strangely enjoyable.

1. chocolate chip

2. snickerdoodles

3. sugar cookies rolled in green

Huge Cookies

Having the urge to use up the Ghirardelli chocolate chips from Nana's truffles, I made these cookies, and in doing so finally veered away from my tendency to make tiny blobular shaped morsels. For these, I took about golf-ball sized lumps and flattened them out before baking, and they came out like any you'd see in a delicious bakery.

Slight variation in the ingredients, too. Cream:

1/2 c. softened butter

1 1/2 c. white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

and beat in

2 eggs

and mix in, all at once:

2 1/4 c. flour

1 package vanilla instant breakfast mix (a stray)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

sprinkle salt

and then

1 milk chocolate bar from Bean; chopped

~3/4 c. Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

They were very popular, because big cookies look far more appealing than tids. I sent three home to Moth; she should be receiving them shortly. For Mother's Day, perhaps? :D

Pig Cookies

These cookies were supper one night; I got out of class at 10 PM and didn't feel like making real food. Consequently, of course, too many were consumed by me...

I made two batches of the following recipe, but to one I added a bag of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, which Bean had purchased to make muffins with (HA!).

Cream:

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

Add:

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

And then:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

a sprinkle of salt

The plain sugar cookies were allowed to cool for about an hour, which made them very easy to roll out and shape with the pig-and-man cookie cutters which I pilfered so long ago from my parent's house. Less than 24 hours later, all of the chocolate chip cookies are long gone, and a few lonely pigs linger on the kitchen counter.

We tried to bake.

Bean made Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins, and I attempted to use up some ingredients that I will otherwise never get rid of.

So! We embarked on a simultaneous baking adventure.

For mine, I used a sugar cookie recipe and added in some shit. The final recipe was as follows:

3/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 package instant pistachio pudding mix

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 bar chopped white chocolate

1/2 cup dried cranberries

For chocolate, I used the rest of the bar Hannah had brought back as a souvenir from her trip to Israel.

First, cream butter and sugar, and then add in milk and vanilla until it's fluffy. Then blend in the beaten egg, and then the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the cranberries and white chocolate.

Bake on greased sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Bean's came out delicious, and he put mint-chocolate on the top of half of them for a nice flavor. But! Mine were flat and undercooked. I combined the first batch into a meal, and the second batch into one giant cookie, and even though at least half of it got eaten by various household members, it was still considered a failure (it is important to consider the fact that Jesse will eat anything).

Valentine Scones

I love British food. These scones were for my dearest Mother's birthday, which happens to be on Valentine's Day. That's the only reason she could stand something sweeter-than-toast for breakfast.

This particular scone was blackberry-lemon; the following recipe was split in three and flavored with:

1. Blackberries and lemon juice

2. Maple syrup and chopped walnuts

3. Chocolate chips, cocoa powder and vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

4 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup (total) of add-ins above

First, blend the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Then, mix flour / sugar / baking powder / cream o' tartar and salt in a larger one. Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it's crumbly and pie-crust like. Then stir in the sour cream mixture and beaten egg until it's all moistened.

At this point, I split the dough into three smaller bowls, and added the extras in no precise quantities. They were extremely dry and not sticking together at all, so like with pie crust, I added more water. It appeared to have been a problem of not-enough mixing, though, because in the end I had to knead in extra flour to make up for the added liquid.

I formed each round into a disk about an inch tall, cut them into 6 triangles each, brushed with egg white, sprinkled with sugar, and baked on an ungreased sheet at 400 degrees for probably around 18 minutes. My large-appetite family seemed to like them alright, and we offered leftovers to guests that appeared throughout the day, but there were still enough for me to take one of each back to school with me. FUEL FOR STUDYING? If I did any, that is...