Chocolate Chip Cookie

 

Having spent a lot of the winter snowed in, I have made a few batches of cookies just experimenting with older recipes.  One recipe that I am constantly tweaking is Chocolate Chip. 

One thing I found while I was searching chocolate chip cookies was the suggestion of adding Cream of Tartar to give your cookies that cracked look.  I added the Cream of Tartar and the cookies did have that beautiful cracked look, however, I don’t know if that was in fact the reason.  I don’t believe the Cream of Tartar had any effect on the taste of the cookie so it could be omitted without harm to the recipe.

 

These cookies, like most any chocolate chip cookie, are best right off of the cookie sheet. 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp hot water

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. 
2. Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and stir in vanilla.  Dissolve baking soda in hot water for several minutes;  in the meantime sift together flour, salt, and cream of tartar.  Add to creamed mixture along with baking soda mix.  Stir in chips and nuts.
3. Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven 9-10 minutes.  Cool one minute on sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Yields 4 1/2 dozen delicious cookies.

Nutty Pancakes

In January, probably when we were snowed in, I made a Nut and Grain Pancake reminiscent of the delicious ones the folks at IHOP make.  Since then I have made these pancakes no less than six times.  I prefer them to any box pancake I’ve ever had but I’ve also been testing out buttermilk pancakes and I keep coming back to these.  They don’t seem to keep as well in the fridge as your run of the mill buttermilk batter but my kids love them so much that we never have any leftovers.

I have altered them a tad since first making them to include three types of nuts and Canola Oil in lieu of vegetable oil.  I also have designated several two-cup Ziploc containers for storing the different ground up nuts and oatmeal so that these are an even quicker breakfast to throw together for the kids.  Don’t let the list of ingredients deter you, these really do go together quickly and make for a hearty and delicious breakfast. 

Nutty pancakes

ingredients

3/4 cup ground Oatmeal

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups fat free buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons ground almonds

2 tablespoons ground pecans

2 tablespoons ground walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat griddle to medium (roughly 350*) and spray with a cooking spray such as Pam or Baker’s Joy.  Spray between each batch of pancakes.
2. Grind outs in food processor thoroughly.
3. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl.
4. With an electric mixer combine buttermilk, oil, vanilla, egg and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients followed by ground nuts.
5. Ladle 1/4 cup batter onto griddle and cook approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Note: You can use any combination of nuts but I wouldn’t add more than 6 tablespoons as it will dry out the batter too much making these pancakes dry and crumbly.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

I have just been swooning for coconut cookies lately, I can't explain it. For so long I have ignored this wonderful food but no more, now I truly appreciate the taste and texture of this amazing food. I keep trying new recipes, especially cookies, to test this fruit and I've yet to find a cookie or bread that had coconut that I didn't like. This new cookie, found on Epicurious.com, was no exception.

I followed the recipe almost exactly only changing a few things. The main differences were simple changes, how the nuts were prepared, the kind of chocolate used, the baking temperature and the baking time. I brought these cookies to my book group the night I baked them and one of the girls who said she usually doesn't like coconut had two. I count that as success in my book.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups packaged finely shredded unsweetened coconut

12 oz semisweet chips (or chunks to stick with the name)

3/4 cup almonds with skins (I used ground almonds)

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.) Beat together butter and sugars in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until just blended, then beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until just blended. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

3.) Arrange 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough about 3 inches apart on 2 lightly buttered large baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake 9-11 minutes.

4.) Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Yields approx. 2 dozen