best EVER chocolate chip cookie

it seems like we're all always on the search for THE perfect chocolate chip cookie. am i right? i have looked high and low for years, and although i've found plenty i like, i've never had one that i absolutely-can't-live-without-gotta-have-more love. you know what i mean? until this. this recipe is the recipe. now, i'm sure everyone has their own IT recipe because we have different tastes, right? like, apparently some people like their cookies crunchy?? i'm not sure such a person exists; i know i've never met them! but i also know plenty of people who love a good, gooey, soft-on-the-inside cookie, and this is it!

recipe found here.

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract (pure mexican vanilla will make these extra delicious! i use this brand as my secret weapon)

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch (pretty sure this is the key ingredient!)

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt (i always think it seems like too much, but it's not! trust it!)

1 c. milk chocolate chips

• preheat oven to 350*

• cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color (very important step! i tried just mixing until combined and my cookies were f l a t and not delicious. take the 2 minutes to get that stuff fluffy!) add egg and vanilla and blend in.

• next add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. mix until combined. stir in chocolate chips.

• using cookie scoop or spoon, drop golf-ball sized dough balls onto a pammed cookie sheet.

• bake for 7-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  mine are perfect at 7 minutes. they won't look done, but if the edges are golden, they are! i promise!

• let cool

i promise you. you will not be disappointed!

Zebra Popcorn

Still wondering what you're going to make for neighbor gifts this year? Feeling a little last-minute? Then you're in luck! And if you're more on top of it than some of us (ME), make a batch of this and keep it for yourself. And if you DO make it for your neighbors, still make a batch for yourself. I promise. It's irresistible! Even better is it's SUPER easy. You'll love it!

Ingredients:

10ish C popped popcorn (scant 1/2 C unpopped)

6 oz milk chocolate (I used Ghiradelli chcolate chips)

6 oz white chocolate or almond bark

1 cube butter

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C Karo syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:

Pop popcorn with air popper. Transfer to a new bowl to ensure the unpopped kernels are left behind.

In a saucepan, over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add corn syrup and brown sugar and cook until boiling, stirring constantly. Once boiling, cook for 2.5 minutes while stirring constantly. Add vanilla and baking soda, stir, and pour over popcorn. Stir until popcorn is coated evenly.

Transfer caramel popcorn to a Pammed  cookie sheet, and bake at 250* for 30 minutes, stirring every 10.

After popcorn has cooked, transfer to wax paper, parchment paper, or brown packing paper (what I did). You could also just divide it onto a couple cookie sheets. Spread out evenly and let cool 5-10 minutes.

Melt milk chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue melting at 10 second intervals intil chocolate is melted. Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn evenly (but a big blob of chocolate every now and then is good too ;)

Repeat process with white chocolate.

Let popcorn sit for at least an hour while chocolate cools and hardens. Then, enjoy!

I put mine in these cute boxes I found at the dollar store and delivered them to my neighbors :)

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Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

A big thanks to my friend Amy and Pinterest for this little bit of heaven! I had to make a cake for refreshments at school on the day we were meeting our new principal. Lucky, Ame had just told me about this little beauty so I was just looking for a reason to make it. Of course, it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty darn sure you'll love it too!

 (picture from here)

You will need for the cake:

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 box of instant chocolate pudding (4 oz.)

3/4 C. hot water

3/4 C. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

For the Filling you will need:

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened

1/2 C. sugar
1 egg

 1 C. chocolate chips

For the frosting:

Your favorite chocolate frosting

(I happen to LOVE Betty Crocker's chocolate frosting so I used that. :D)

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.
2. In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 1 egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly over top of batter. Using table knife, swirl filling through batter. Sprinkle with nuts.
4. Bake 47 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread frosting over cake. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 15 servings

Muddy Buddies

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Um... Why have I never HAD these before, let alone never made them for myself? I got this recipe to use on the 101st day of school (using the 101 Dalmations of course!) and it was called "Puppy Chow," but since that sounds pretty nasty to anyone who is over the age of 7, I decided we'd call them what they really are: Muddy Buddies. These come together SO quick and are nearly impossible to stop munching once you start. So, get making and get eating ASAP!!

You will need:

1/2 C. peanut butter

1/4 c. butter

1 c. chocolate chips 

1/2 tsp. vanilla

9 c. Crispix cereal

2 C. powdered sugar

**Place Crispix cereal in a large bowl.

**Combine peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips in a microwave save bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir to blend ingredients then add vanilla.

**Pour peanut butter/chocolate mix over cereal and stir until well coated.

**Put powdered sugar in a large Zip-Loc bag, add cereal mixture, zip, and shake until coated. 

**DEVOUR!

Homemade Twix

How is it that I have NOT posted these heavenly little morsels? I got this recipe several years ago from my cute friend Stephanie! Wow! These are one of my favorite treats, they are really easy just require multiple steps. Don't let that deter you, the rave reviews you get will be worth it! I made these little beauties to take Visiting Teaching and I hope they enjoyed them as much as I did! Of course they are not EXACTLY like a Twix, but you get the idea. :)

(image from here)

 

Step 1)      Cookie Bottom:

1 C. butter

2 C. flour

     ½ C. Sugar

 **Cut together.  Press into a Pammed 9 X 13 pan.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes

Step 2)      Caramel Center:

1 C. butter

1 C. brown sugar

4 T. corn syrup

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

**Put ingredients in sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, stir constantly with a whisk.  Boil exactly 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, wait 5 minutes, pour on crust.

3)      Chocolate Top:

1-2 bags Milk Chocolate Chips

1 tsp. vegetable oil

**Melt together in a saucepan and pour over top.

Cool completely (I stick them in the fridge) before cutting.

English Toffee

i think it is pretty cool that we can go 3 whole weeks without even posting on this here blog. wait. kidding. it's not cool. it's actually pretty lame of us. the truth is, i haven't really thought about it. the holidays are crazy and we've been eating out more than we should, so cooking has taken a back burner. no pun intended. ha! okay. it was totally intended. but if i say it wasn't, maybe you won't think i'm so lame.

anyway, i am re-posting this recipe from last chritmas because it is my favorite holiday treat to make. it is super simple and so so yummy. this is what i always make and take as neighbor gifts, and everyone i take it to loves it.

ingredients

1 cube butter

1 cube margarine

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp. water

chocolate chips (must me ghiradelli or guittard)

in a sauce pan, combine ingredients and bring to a boil. It will be a bright yellow color. while you're doing that, try not to mock the ridiculousness that is my used-a-million-times-for-everything-from-mac-and-cheese-to-toffee well-loved pan.

let it boil for 6-8 minutes while stirring (almost) constantly. use a wooden spoon. i have ruined more than one plastic spoon. when it is almost done, it will start to turn a light amber color and will start to smoke (you have to look closely for the smoke). i usually watch for it to change colors, and just when i think it's done, i let it cook another 30 seconds to a minute. below is the color it will be when it's done.

pour onto a buttered cookie sheet. i just pour mine on top of the cookie sheet, but candice and our mom coat the pan with chopped pecans before pouring the toffee mixture. if you like nuts, go nuts with it. ha. i'm killing myself here.

let it cool for 1-2 minutes until it is barely firm but still very hot to touch, and then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. just a handful or so of chocolate chips. if you want the chocolate to be thick, add more.

spread the chocolate with a rubber spatula. just keep spreading it until the chocolate is all melted. every single time i make this i think my chocolate isn't going to melt all the way, but it always does. so it will; i promise!

 let it cool (i like to do over night so that the chocolate is completely set up), and then use a butter knife to break it into 2-3 inch pieces.

wrap it up however you'd like, and take it to me your friends and neighbors! or, go my route, and eat it all yoursefl :)

chocolate chip cookies

it seems like everyone has the perfect cookie recipe, right? or so they claim. the problem, however, is that everyone's idea of the perfect cookie is different. some like big and fluffy, some like chewy and gooey, and some like crunchy (these people are crazies). i myself prefer chewy in the middle and firm on the outside (not firm as in hard. firm as in the 'firm' edges of a pan of brownies). you with me? good. because these cookies are just that! i got them from this blog, and every time i make them i am impressed with how delish they are!

 ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2-1 bags chocolate chips
Directions:

mix dry ingredients together and set aside. next , mix butter and sugars together, then add egg, yolk, and vanilla. add dry ingredients and mix until combined. stir in chocolate chips. the dough will be kind of runny and sticky. 

you can use a cookie dough/ice cream scoop or just two spoons to form dough balls (they won't really stay in perfect balls), then bake at 325* for 11-14 minutes (i sometimes bake mine at 350* for 10-11 minutes) until the edges are just barely golden brown.

yummo!

and here is my husband 'sampling' his 7th cookie the goods.

Scotchies

I got this recipe from my new favorite friend, Alison. Apparently they are also referred to as O'Henry Bars, and she calls them Scotch-a-Roos, but I endearingly named them Scotchies. As Alison said, "Call them what you want. It still doesn't change the party in your mouth." And it may or may not be because I'm teaching Romeo and Juliet to my 9th graders that I say to you: A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Enjoy these yummies.

What you need:

1 C. Karo Syrup

1 C. Sugar

1 C. Crunchy Peanut Butter

Approx. 7 cups Rice Krispies

1 pkg. chocolate chips--gotta be Ghiradelli or Guittard

1 pkg. butterscotch chips

In a saucepan, combine karo and sugar. Bring to a slight boil, add peanut butter, and boil/stir until peanut butter is melted. Once all ingredients are mixed together, pour measured Rice Krispies right into the pan. I've tried adding the mixture to the krispies, and it cooled to fast and wouldn't mix well, so I add the krispies to the hot mixture right in the pan. Stir together and press* into a 9X13 pan. SLOWLY melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in a sauce pan, pour over krispie mixture, and let cool. Be careful on the chocolate/butterscotch mixture. It burns easily!

Yum!

*Note: Run your hands under cold water before pressing the krispie mixture into the pan in order to be able to press them and not singe your fingers off :)

Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Growing up, Nicki and Kim always made cookies on Sunday afternoons. So every Sunday, after dinner, I am in the mood for cookies. I don't end up making them very often, but when I do, this is my favorite recipe. 

Ingredients

1 yellow cake mix (I have used yellow, lemon, and white and they always turn out great)

1 small pkg. instant butterscotch pudding

2/3 C. rolled oats

Mix above ingredients together.

Add in:

1/2 C. oil

1/2 C. sour cream

1/4 C. water

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 bag Chocolate chips (I usually use more. You be the judge)
(Good chocolate chips are a must. I recommend my personal fav, Ghirardelli)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins

Do NOT over bake! It's hard to tell when they're done since the color is already golden, but don't ever bake them longer than 10 minutes. Unless, of course, you like a crunchy cookie. 

Happy Sunday baking!