Yet another chocolate chip cookie. I wonder how many there are out there?? I made the Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies by Martha before and said they were the softer more cakey cookie recipe I use. This one is the opposite. These are crunchier, softer in the middle and crisp on the edges.  After coming home from the gym (yea, gym and cookies? not a good combo! But I’ve got another membership, and been going everyday this week! good for me right?) my mom requested some chocolate chip cookies that were crispy and thinner than the last ones I made. So I grabbed my book and got a recipe. Her and my brother consumed the entire first batch.. yes the entire cookie sheet. Alright I may have had one..or two. Sorry mom. I’m sure it was mostly Nick… right? So if you’re looking for a crunchy chocolate chip cookie I suggest you give these a try.

So you think that I would know by now, from baking so many things, the proper way to add ingredients. Sadly I have proved myself wrong. As I was making these last night (post gym) I thought it would be easiest to quickly make them(so I could go shower, change and eat them, obviously..and undo all the hard work at the gym.) But in doing so I made a mistake. While adding the eggs, one at a time, I thought what the heck, why not crack them on the side of the bowl, while the paddle attachment is on low. Why not indeed…Oooh maybe because half of the egg shell fell into the bowl and continued to beat into the cookie dough. Yes, this happened. Luckily my instincts kicked in and I turned the down the mixer to off, or so I thought. The swtich turned out to be the locking swtich, so I quickly pushed the (right) switch to off, and proceeded to dish out the hunks of shell. Luckily they hadn’t been smashed to little bits and I got them all out safely. Please, don’t do this. It is not fun.

Recipe from: Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips or 2 cups store-bought chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, or pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well-blended.
4. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. On low speed, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate and nuts. ( The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen. If you’d like, you can freeze rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, ready for baking. Freeze the mounds on a lined baking sheet, then bag them when they’re solid. There’s no need to defrost the dough before baking – just add another minute or two to the baking time.)
5. Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.
6. Bake the cookies- one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point- for 10-12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may still be a little soft in the middle, and that’s just fine. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully, using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.
7. Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Enjoy with a nice tall glass of milk!

After having the baby shower this weekend, I think I need to stay away from cupcakes for a while (we’ll see). I had wanted to enter the Iron Cupcake Challenge this month, but never got around to it as I was busy with the baby shower. But please vote for the people that enterered! I really wanted to, I loved the Coffee theme! I was going to make Mocha Cupcakes.. maybe i’ll have to make them sometime anyways.

xo Bakeaholic

First off I’d like to say that I have a peanut allergy. Crazy, I know. So why would I want to whip up a batch of Peanut Butter cookies? Because I’ve convinced myself I can eat a small amount without breaking out in hives. And really, who can stay away from peanut butter?? Especially Reese’s. So when my brother asked me to make cookies again, and when I saw we had a large jar of Peanut Butter I decided I wanted to make some good old peanut butter cookies. Something I haven’t done in three years! Of course I didn’t really eat any, and let the taste testing up to my mom and brother. But I did nibble on a small one..or two, topped with Nutella. That should cancel out all the peanuts right? MmMmm, oh well. These are really yummy and taste just as a peanut butter cookie should. Crunchy on the sides and soft and pea-nutty in the middle. Martha pulls through once again. But then why wouldn’t she, she’s Martha.

These cookies were originally supposed to be chilled for several hours before baking, but I didn’t read that far before beginning and didn’t want to wait. So I modified it a little. If you would like the original recipe click here. These ones looked good also!

These were the December 28th Cookie of the Day: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used KRAFT * Read note below about Peanut Butter Products Recall)
• ** I added about 1/4 cup granulated sugar as well

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Sift together flour, salt and baking sodea, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add peanut butter, and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture, and beat on low until combined.
3. Form each cookie into a ball using about a tablespoon of dough. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Place cookie sheet in freezer for about 10-15 minutes to chill.  If they stay in the freezer too long they will be hard to flatten, so place them in the oven for a few minutes, and then take them out to press them.
4. Remove from freeze and flatten them slightly with your palm or the bottom of a cup or spoon. Then dip a fork into flour, and tap off excess. Press fork slighty into the cookies to make a decorative top.
5. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Check and if needed, bake about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, and place on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Just a note

Peanut Butter Ingredients Update:

Kraft is NOT recalling any products in connection with the recent salmonella outbreak involving peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). Neither we nor our suppliers purchase peanut butter or paste from PCA for any of our products, including those sold in the U.S. or Canada under the Kraft, Nabisco and Planters brands.

 Happy Holidays! It’s baking time. And here’s one from Martha Stewart’s Cookie of the Day! With these delicious Chocolate Thumbprints!  I have been baking up a storm today! I hope this makes up for my absense for most of december! But again, I’m a busy student! (not a starving student, clearly!) But all the exams are finished and all the gifts are wrapped! So enjoy all my christmas baking and hope you have a wonderful holiday! (Scroll down for all the latet baking posts for christmas!)

These little babies are melt in your mouth good! Especially when you eat them straight out of the oven and place the toblerone on top..mmmm. OK back to the recipe. I make these every year, and I think they’re my moms favorite! The recipe comes from Kraft Canada, but they used segments of Terry’s Chocolate orange. Im sure either way would be good!

Toblerone Shortbread

Ingredients:

I love the Martha website, and I visit it often for ideas and inspiration. I love checking out the cookie of the day! I found this weeks cookie of the day, Nov. 2nd, ”Cowboy Cookies” and it looked de-licous! I have been wanting to make it since Sunday!..But I thought I would wait a day or so after eating so many chocolates leftover from Halloween! I also happened to have all the ingredients on hand..so that was a plus! These weren’t too sweet so they were just right after the weekend. I would recommend you whip up a batch for your cowboys! (and cowgirls!)

The little cowboy hat was the added touch! Jordan bought me a necklace that came in this little cowboy hat jewelry box for a Christmas present when we first stared dating! I added some ribbon to it for the photo =)

Try these! And you’ll be sure to roundup a group of hungry people!

From the Martha Stewart Living: Cookie of the Day

Makes about 5 dozen ( I didn’t even come close to 5 dozen..so unless you make them really tiny don’t think it will get this many cookies!)

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup)
• 3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

I also added some Raisins.. to trick me into thinking their healthy! I also used about 2 tbsp. apple sauce as I didn’t have quite enough butter. These are yummy!