Oh, yes.
If you know me, you know that for dessert to be dessert, it must have one key ingredient:
CHOCOLATE.
Pie is great. I like cake, for sure. Cookies are delicious. But if given a choice (unless it's Grandma Landin's pie with sugar on top), I will choose the one with chocolate. Every time. Except for when it's Grandma's pie.
That said, these peanut butter cookies have just been elevated from breakfasty-kind-of-cookie to Dessert-Cookie.
The hubby loves oatmeal cookies.
The son loves peanut butter.
I love chocolate.
These cookies are a win.
And? I didn't even tweak the recipe. Not one bit. And I let Joshie stand next to me on chair the whole time and "help" me. The recipe was that easy. It was our rainy day activity. The blah-day remedy. The "fill up a half hour so my son doesn't fall apart because of teething pain" diversion.
What recipe, you ask?
This one. Half brown sugar, half granulated. Butter. Peanut butter. (or "buttah-buttah," as my son calls it) Vanilla. Flour. Baking soda. Salt. Quick oats. CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
I love when a recipe has all simple, everyday ingredients but turns out so deliciously. Mmmm. Nobody ruin my bliss by telling me about empty calories, processed sugar, blah blah blah. I'll go running tomorrow. No, for real. I will. After I eat another cookie.
Go make these! Now. Go.
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, July 23, 2012
oatmeal cookies
Get to know my hubby a little bit, and you'll find out that the guy loves anything oatmeal or bran. Muffins, cookies, breads, cereal - it's a win in his book!
Last winter, he was asking me to make oatmeal cookies, and I diligently searched for a recipe. I had been getting a subscription to Disney's Family Fun magazine - one of those freebies that I didn't sign up for - and the next issue (March 2012) had a recipe for "A Better Oatmeal Cookie." The recipe is by Bill Collins, a personal chef in Massachusetts, whose blog is here. He looks pretty cool, and that's not just because he's a chai tea drinker. (He even has a recipe for chai!) Unlike other oatmeal cookie recipes, this one has such tiny amounts of sugar and fat - it's mostly oatmeal and raisins. I was skeptical, but tried it anyway. Of course, you know that I can't follow a recipe to a "t."
The first time around, I made these with dried cranberries and dried cherries - yum! They come out like granola cookies, not quite so much like a flat, chewy oatmeal cookie. They're delicious, and gone in no time when hubby's home. And, in my opinion, they almost count as a breakfast food or snack.
This time, I had no butter in the house (WHAT?!), so I substituted vegetable oil for the melted butter in the recipe. It might just be the different oven I used, but they came out more moist than last time! Firm on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
Another blogger has posted the recipe, but didn't care for it as we do! You have to realize that this is not ye-old-traditional-oatmeal-cookie. Here is the recipe, with my diversions (haha!) beside:
1/2 cup raisins (or dried cherries, dried cranberries, chocolate chips)
1/2 cup sifted flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (heaping)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (oh, darn. that's what I forgot to buy more of at the grocery today.)
1 egg (I used an XL egg this time)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I guessed, using the lid of the vanilla bottle for a measuring spoon)
1/4 cup butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
3 cups quick oats
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with water, allowing them to soak for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to blend evenly.
Set aside three tablespoons of the water from the bowl of raisins, then drain the raisins, discarding the remaining water.
Whisk the egg in a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract, melted butter, and reserved raisin water. (If you're using vegetable oil, measure that in a liquid measuring cup first, then beat the egg right into measuring cup with the oil. I used a fork to "whisk." Add vanilla and water to these nicely whisked liquids.)
Make a well in the flour mixture, then pour in the egg mixture and blend well. Add the oats and raisins. The dough will be lumpy.
With a tablespoon or 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, place portions of the dough on the cookie sheets, flattening the tops slightly. (I used my hands to portion out dough, squeezed it into a suitably cookie-like shape, and then placed on the parchment. Messier, but effective. And fun.)
Bake the cookies one pan at a time (um, I did both at the same time on two different racks), rotating the pan halfway through (I switched and rotated the pans), until they're golden brown (just barely, at the edges!), for about 16 minutes (14 minutes in my older gas oven without an electronic timer). Allow to cook on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes (or not), then use a spatula to transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling.
Eat them all.
I think these would be pretty amazing with, say, slivered almonds mixed in - perhaps 1/4 c. Maybe I'll try that next time. Or - what if I used peanut butter to sub for the butter? Ooh... or Nutella? And what if I added cardamom, and subbed in golden raisins? I think I'll experiment again, soon!
Last winter, he was asking me to make oatmeal cookies, and I diligently searched for a recipe. I had been getting a subscription to Disney's Family Fun magazine - one of those freebies that I didn't sign up for - and the next issue (March 2012) had a recipe for "A Better Oatmeal Cookie." The recipe is by Bill Collins, a personal chef in Massachusetts, whose blog is here. He looks pretty cool, and that's not just because he's a chai tea drinker. (He even has a recipe for chai!) Unlike other oatmeal cookie recipes, this one has such tiny amounts of sugar and fat - it's mostly oatmeal and raisins. I was skeptical, but tried it anyway. Of course, you know that I can't follow a recipe to a "t."
The first time around, I made these with dried cranberries and dried cherries - yum! They come out like granola cookies, not quite so much like a flat, chewy oatmeal cookie. They're delicious, and gone in no time when hubby's home. And, in my opinion, they almost count as a breakfast food or snack.
This time, I had no butter in the house (WHAT?!), so I substituted vegetable oil for the melted butter in the recipe. It might just be the different oven I used, but they came out more moist than last time! Firm on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
Another blogger has posted the recipe, but didn't care for it as we do! You have to realize that this is not ye-old-traditional-oatmeal-cookie. Here is the recipe, with my diversions (haha!) beside:
1/2 cup raisins (or dried cherries, dried cranberries, chocolate chips)
1/2 cup sifted flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (heaping)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (oh, darn. that's what I forgot to buy more of at the grocery today.)
1 egg (I used an XL egg this time)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I guessed, using the lid of the vanilla bottle for a measuring spoon)
1/4 cup butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
3 cups quick oats
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with water, allowing them to soak for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to blend evenly.
Set aside three tablespoons of the water from the bowl of raisins, then drain the raisins, discarding the remaining water.
Whisk the egg in a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract, melted butter, and reserved raisin water. (If you're using vegetable oil, measure that in a liquid measuring cup first, then beat the egg right into measuring cup with the oil. I used a fork to "whisk." Add vanilla and water to these nicely whisked liquids.)
Make a well in the flour mixture, then pour in the egg mixture and blend well. Add the oats and raisins. The dough will be lumpy.
With a tablespoon or 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, place portions of the dough on the cookie sheets, flattening the tops slightly. (I used my hands to portion out dough, squeezed it into a suitably cookie-like shape, and then placed on the parchment. Messier, but effective. And fun.)
Bake the cookies one pan at a time (um, I did both at the same time on two different racks), rotating the pan halfway through (I switched and rotated the pans), until they're golden brown (just barely, at the edges!), for about 16 minutes (14 minutes in my older gas oven without an electronic timer). Allow to cook on the cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes (or not), then use a spatula to transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling.
Eat them all.
I think these would be pretty amazing with, say, slivered almonds mixed in - perhaps 1/4 c. Maybe I'll try that next time. Or - what if I used peanut butter to sub for the butter? Ooh... or Nutella? And what if I added cardamom, and subbed in golden raisins? I think I'll experiment again, soon!
 |
| Why only one cookie in the picture? Because the rest are tightly sealed in a plastic zip-top bag. If I take out more than one, more than one will disappear, if you know what I mean! |
Monday, February 27, 2012
friendship bread
Yes, the notorious, delicious, friendship bread. Or shall we say, "fiendship" bread? Don't get me wrong: I love my friends. I love to bake. Friendship bread, though, is a little much for me.
Maybe you haven't heard of it. Here's how it works:
Your friend gives you an innocuous looking bag of batter that, over the course of 10 days, you allow to ferment, adding milk, sugar, and flour to increase the amount of batter. On day 10, you divide the batter between four bags, keeping one for yourself, and giving the others away. This batter is called "starter."
This can quickly get out of hand if you're not on top of the baking every 10th day thing.
So, being the resourceful grad student I am, I decided to use all the starter to bake over break. Ta-da!
First, I made the "classic" friendship bread. But you know me - I just can't stick to the printed recipe if I think I can make it better! One of my goals was to use up the batter as quickly as possible, too, so I doubled the recipe. Here's the recipe, with my changes:
my version (original)
Set the oven at 350 degrees F. Grease four (two) loaf pans. Mix 1/4 c. granulated sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon, then dust the pans with half the sugar mixture. Reserve the rest of the sugar mixture.
In a large bowl mix:
6 eggs (3)
1 c. vegetable oil (1 c.- no doubling)
2 c. granulated sugar (1 c.)
4 tsp. cinnamon (2 tsp.)
3 tsp. baking powder (1.5 tsp)
1 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp.)
4 c. flour (2 c.)
no pudding (1 large or 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding)
2 c. starter (1 c.)
Mix well, until no lumps remain. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan, sprinkling the tops with the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour, remove from pans, and cool on wire racks. Mine came out a little crunchy on the outside, and I like that. Maybe bake yours at a lower temperature, or for less time, if you don't want the crunch.
On to recipe # 2: Snicker doodles. I found the recipe here and didn't make any changes to it. Helpful hint: be sure to use real butter, and that the butter is soft enough to stir easily if you're going to mix by hand, as I did! I cut the butter into pieces, and then added the sugar and eggs, creaming the mixture. Then, I added the starter and gradually added the flour mixture. So yummy!
At this point, it was dinner time, and my dear friend, Nicki, called me. We chatted for an hour, and I abandoned all plans of using the last cup of starter. It was actually rather freeing to toss it in the trash can...
But, now I have (so many) cookies and four loaves of tasty sweet bread! Anyone want to come over for tea?
Maybe you haven't heard of it. Here's how it works:
Your friend gives you an innocuous looking bag of batter that, over the course of 10 days, you allow to ferment, adding milk, sugar, and flour to increase the amount of batter. On day 10, you divide the batter between four bags, keeping one for yourself, and giving the others away. This batter is called "starter."
This can quickly get out of hand if you're not on top of the baking every 10th day thing.
So, being the resourceful grad student I am, I decided to use all the starter to bake over break. Ta-da!
First, I made the "classic" friendship bread. But you know me - I just can't stick to the printed recipe if I think I can make it better! One of my goals was to use up the batter as quickly as possible, too, so I doubled the recipe. Here's the recipe, with my changes:
my version (original)
Set the oven at 350 degrees F. Grease four (two) loaf pans. Mix 1/4 c. granulated sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon, then dust the pans with half the sugar mixture. Reserve the rest of the sugar mixture.
In a large bowl mix:
6 eggs (3)
1 c. vegetable oil (1 c.- no doubling)
2 c. granulated sugar (1 c.)
4 tsp. cinnamon (2 tsp.)
3 tsp. baking powder (1.5 tsp)
1 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp.)
4 c. flour (2 c.)
no pudding (1 large or 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding)
2 c. starter (1 c.)
Mix well, until no lumps remain. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan, sprinkling the tops with the reserved cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour, remove from pans, and cool on wire racks. Mine came out a little crunchy on the outside, and I like that. Maybe bake yours at a lower temperature, or for less time, if you don't want the crunch.
That was delicious!
On to recipe # 2: Snicker doodles. I found the recipe here and didn't make any changes to it. Helpful hint: be sure to use real butter, and that the butter is soft enough to stir easily if you're going to mix by hand, as I did! I cut the butter into pieces, and then added the sugar and eggs, creaming the mixture. Then, I added the starter and gradually added the flour mixture. So yummy!
At this point, it was dinner time, and my dear friend, Nicki, called me. We chatted for an hour, and I abandoned all plans of using the last cup of starter. It was actually rather freeing to toss it in the trash can...
But, now I have (so many) cookies and four loaves of tasty sweet bread! Anyone want to come over for tea?
Friday, February 10, 2012
a little love
Early last month, I began preparing for The Valentine's Day Card-Making Girls'-Night-In.
It didn't work last year - no one could be there, and admittedly, I started a little too late to find a free night in most ladies' schedules. But this year, it was successful. And so fun!
First, there were cupcakes. They were confetti cupcakes covered in homemade chocolate icing. Linnea tasted and saw that it was good, but then decided that they most certainly needed handmade heart-shaped picks to be complete. True?
True, indeed.
And then there was the trip to the dollar store for conversation heart candies, which found their way onto these sugar cookies:
Here is the point at which I am most grateful for the Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix packages. They're so easy. The cookies don't require refrigeration before they can be rolled out, either = genius.
I had fun choosing the candies for each heart to say something creative, as you might imagine.
Here are two of the ladies that joined me for card-making and consumption of copious amounts of chocolate - note the counter full of goodies.
We enjoyed chocolate milk (thanks, Sally!), chocolate coconut cupcakes (delicious, Jamie!), amazing cream cheese sandwich cookies and jelly-filled heart shaped cookies (many thanks to Jennifer), in addition to the two treats I showed you above.
We also had time between bites to create Valentine's Day cards. This was guise under which we got together, and it was quite an effective ruse for the eating of chocolate and the neglecting of homework and the hours of conversation.
See? Productive. And cute! Look at Jennifer's card for her hubby:
And Jamie's for her husband:
Sally left before we could get a group picture. It was, admittedly, rather late at night by this point.
I love how they turned out! Sally brought some really beautiful paper that she made, and I loved adding that to my cards. I did some hand sewing to add an extra special detail to the lace, too.
It didn't work last year - no one could be there, and admittedly, I started a little too late to find a free night in most ladies' schedules. But this year, it was successful. And so fun!
First, there were cupcakes. They were confetti cupcakes covered in homemade chocolate icing. Linnea tasted and saw that it was good, but then decided that they most certainly needed handmade heart-shaped picks to be complete. True?
And then there was the trip to the dollar store for conversation heart candies, which found their way onto these sugar cookies:
Here are two of the ladies that joined me for card-making and consumption of copious amounts of chocolate - note the counter full of goodies.
We also had time between bites to create Valentine's Day cards. This was guise under which we got together, and it was quite an effective ruse for the eating of chocolate and the neglecting of homework and the hours of conversation.
Still silly and sugary sweet.
Here are the cards that I made for my sister, sisters-in-law, MIL, and my mom:
I love how they turned out! Sally brought some really beautiful paper that she made, and I loved adding that to my cards. I did some hand sewing to add an extra special detail to the lace, too.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies
The new recipe book from Grandma is seeing some more use!
I tried the recipe for "Hershey's Double Chocolate Mini Kisses Cookies." You know me: I just can't stick exactly to the recipe!
Here's the recipe, with my alterations:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1 c. softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream these ingredients together until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, mix the following dry ingredients together in a separate bowl:
2 c. flour
2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa - I used special dark, of course
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Add gradually to the creamed mixture. The dough will be rather stiff. At this point, my poor vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster was mastered by the stiff dough and gave up, so I had to mix by hand. I'm calling it my lower arm workout for the day!
Next, fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries:
1 1/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. dried cranberries (Craisins)
The recipe says to add Hershey's mini kisses rather than the chocolate chips, and also requires chopped nuts. I improvised with the chocolate chips and Craisins - excellent.
Next, the recipe said to drop by rounded spoonful onto the cookie sheet. I tried that, and just didn't like how it looked. The dough was stiff enough, so I rolled the dough into 3/4" balls.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are set. Cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool. They say it makes 3 1/2 dozen, but making it my way gave me 6 dozen.
They're a delicious, truly chocolate cookie. The cranberries are just the right addition of tartness, and I love the way the melted chocolate chips add to the cookie. Happy!
I tried the recipe for "Hershey's Double Chocolate Mini Kisses Cookies." You know me: I just can't stick exactly to the recipe!
 |
| Displayed on one of my new floral accent plates from my mother-in-law! |
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1 c. softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream these ingredients together until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, mix the following dry ingredients together in a separate bowl:
2 c. flour
2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa - I used special dark, of course
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Add gradually to the creamed mixture. The dough will be rather stiff. At this point, my poor vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster was mastered by the stiff dough and gave up, so I had to mix by hand. I'm calling it my lower arm workout for the day!
Next, fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries:
1 1/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. dried cranberries (Craisins)
The recipe says to add Hershey's mini kisses rather than the chocolate chips, and also requires chopped nuts. I improvised with the chocolate chips and Craisins - excellent.
Next, the recipe said to drop by rounded spoonful onto the cookie sheet. I tried that, and just didn't like how it looked. The dough was stiff enough, so I rolled the dough into 3/4" balls.
 |
| See the cranberry in that one? Mmm! |
They're a delicious, truly chocolate cookie. The cranberries are just the right addition of tartness, and I love the way the melted chocolate chips add to the cookie. Happy!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
cocoa crinkle cookies
I can hardly contain the chocolaty deliciousness! My Grandma and Grandpa gave me a Hershey's chocolate cookbook for Christmas, and I've flagged some recipes to try. First on the list: Rich Cocoa Crinkle Cookies. Observe:
Oooh, ahhhh....
I am pretty sure this is a new go-to cookie. It might rank justabove below chocolate chip cookies (mmmm!!!). At any rate, it's a new personal favorite!
Here's the recipe from my new cookbook:
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Hershey's Cocoa (I used Special Dark)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
1. Combine granulated sugar and oil in large bowl; add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to cocoa mixture, beating well.
2. Cover; refrigerate until dough is firm enough to handle; at least 6 hours.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (commentary: 1 inch is decidedly too large, in my book. However....); roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled. Cool slightly (2 minutes, here). Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
The recipe says it makes about 6 dozen, but I only came up with about 5.5 dozen, and with making the cookies smaller than suggested. I promise I only ateone two. So far, that is.
And how do they taste? A little like brownies! Slightly gooey, crunchy around the edges, so richly chocolate. A total success.
Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!
I am pretty sure this is a new go-to cookie. It might rank just
Here's the recipe from my new cookbook:
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Hershey's Cocoa (I used Special Dark)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
1. Combine granulated sugar and oil in large bowl; add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to cocoa mixture, beating well.
2. Cover; refrigerate until dough is firm enough to handle; at least 6 hours.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (commentary: 1 inch is decidedly too large, in my book. However....); roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled. Cool slightly (2 minutes, here). Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
The recipe says it makes about 6 dozen, but I only came up with about 5.5 dozen, and with making the cookies smaller than suggested. I promise I only ate
And how do they taste? A little like brownies! Slightly gooey, crunchy around the edges, so richly chocolate. A total success.
Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
baking for music nerds
Hubby and I went to worship band rehearsal on Thursday, and were reminded that the music ministry teams would have a booth at Sunday's ministry fair. "Would anyone be willing to make a snack?" the team leader asked. (Please don't ask me. I don't feel like it.) "Cookies?" (Hubby looks at me with a big smile) "Maybe cookies shaped like music notes?" (Uh, oh. Hubby knows that I have a music-note shaped cookie cutter.)
"Linnea can make cookies!" hubby volunteers. (Darn. Now I have to. And I have to admit that yes, I am a music nerd, and yes, I do have an eighth-note shaped cookie cutter, though it was a gift.)
We went to get groceries that evening anyway, so I picked up the cheater package of Betty Crocker's sugar cookie mix. Add butter, one egg, and we're golden. No waiting two hours for it to refrigerate, and it makes a good number of cookies. Done.
I made the cut outs, baked them, and made my own vanilla frosting to make up for the lack of homemade-ness from the Betty Crocker mix. The cookies actually do taste pretty great, and I can't tell the difference. So I didn't tell anyone at church...not yet, anyway. I don't think they'll mind, either.
I borrowed my friend Kristen's rather extensive sprinkle collection to top off these sugary beauties. She has no less than 20, yes, twenty, kinds of sprinkles, including shapes like teddy bears, gingerbread men, snowmen, dolphins, alphabet letters, and cows(!). I decided to go with just the sugars and nonpareils. I became especially fond of the mixed colored sugar, and almost squirreled it away into my cake decorating cabinet...but that would be bad. So I may just have to buy my own!
Here are the cute (and tasty and almost gone) results:
Friday, May 27, 2011
rhubarb pie, chocolate chip cookies, & deviled eggs
Not all together, of course!
It has been a productive couple of days here - I did some speed cleaning so that I could get to the fun stuff (pie and cookie making, of course).
The rhubarb in our backyard is so huge already, with some stalks almost two inches wide! I pulled a bunch of them for this pie, which turned out nicely.
I've been wanting a chocolate dessert (go figure), so my sister-in-law and I made these yummy cookies.
Hubby and I are going to a picnic tonight, so I made these deviled eggs to take along.
It has been a productive couple of days here - I did some speed cleaning so that I could get to the fun stuff (pie and cookie making, of course).
The rhubarb in our backyard is so huge already, with some stalks almost two inches wide! I pulled a bunch of them for this pie, which turned out nicely.
I've been wanting a chocolate dessert (go figure), so my sister-in-law and I made these yummy cookies.
Hubby and I are going to a picnic tonight, so I made these deviled eggs to take along.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
danger: chocolate.
I'm pretty sure chocolate chip bags should carry a warning something like this:
NUTRITION GENERAL'S WARNING: The product you are about to enjoy can be highly addictive, though it masquerades as a mere vegetable product. The health benefits of eating chocolate have been established through study, though mass quantities of said product are not to be consumed on a daily basis. Please consider enlisting the help of trusted friends if you would like to quit the over-consumption of cacao based products.
On that note, almost all of the chocolate chip cookies that I made this weekend are gone. I can't even blame this one on my hubby. It's mostly my doing.
The same thing happens to me when there are cheese curls in the house. Absolutely addicted.
I'm not sure I want help, though... it's so good!
NUTRITION GENERAL'S WARNING: The product you are about to enjoy can be highly addictive, though it masquerades as a mere vegetable product. The health benefits of eating chocolate have been established through study, though mass quantities of said product are not to be consumed on a daily basis. Please consider enlisting the help of trusted friends if you would like to quit the over-consumption of cacao based products.
On that note, almost all of the chocolate chip cookies that I made this weekend are gone. I can't even blame this one on my hubby. It's mostly my doing.
The same thing happens to me when there are cheese curls in the house. Absolutely addicted.
I'm not sure I want help, though... it's so good!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
chocolate chip cookies!
Warm, cozy comfort food for a way-below-freezing Saturday night? Sounds amazing.
So I pulled out the Ghirardelli chips. 80% cacao. Mmmmmmmm.
I first compared the G recipe to the Nestle version (my personal favorite), and found that there are very slight differences. I proceeded to use the G recipe, measuring the flour and baking powder - no, soda - into the small mixing bowl. Check. Find salt. Added salt. Done.
Sugars - 3/4 cup of each. I pulled out the white sugar, measured, and dumped....
...into the small bowl of dry ingredients. Problem! For those of you who don't know this cookie recipe by heart: it says to put the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and sift together, and then to cream the sugars in butter in a separate, larger bowl. Once those are mixed, you add the eggs, vanilla, and very last, the flour mixture.
A mini panic session ensued for this type-A wifey. What do I do? I haven't ever screwed up the chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I've been doing this since I was 10. I can't unmix these, since I'm no chemist. I don't have a sifter. I think I'm gonna cry.
But I have a solution.
The flour/salt/powder/sugar mixture went straight into the big bowl. Added vanilla, eggs, shortening and water (in place of butter). Turned on the mixer. Poof! Dough.
Things were going well. I scraped down the sides of the bowl. And then all of a sudden, the evil dough climbed all the way up the beaters and almost reached the top of the mixer! Darn.
I ended up having to mix the rest of the dough by hand, but that's alright. It's good exercise.
I added the chocolate chips (the ENTIRE bag, thank you) and a handful of walnuts. It doesn't look half bad!
In fact, they look pretty normal. What were the recipe writers thinking? This is actually easier in some ways.
So I figured I would go ahead and bake them. No problems, just a slight cookie casualty as I was putting it on the cooling rack. That's a taste test cookie. :o) Alright! It tastes alright!
So I took a stack of these over to my hubby, who was waiting in great anticipation of these fail-cookies (which were rather successful, I think). I set the cookies down for him, and reached up to touch my hair.
It was then that I realized that I have melted chocolate on my fingers. And in my hair. Seriously?
But the cookies are delicious. Am I overtired? Has it been a draining week? Perhaps, yes.
Definitely yes. But I'm still laughing!
So I pulled out the Ghirardelli chips. 80% cacao. Mmmmmmmm.
I first compared the G recipe to the Nestle version (my personal favorite), and found that there are very slight differences. I proceeded to use the G recipe, measuring the flour and baking powder - no, soda - into the small mixing bowl. Check. Find salt. Added salt. Done.
Sugars - 3/4 cup of each. I pulled out the white sugar, measured, and dumped....
...into the small bowl of dry ingredients. Problem! For those of you who don't know this cookie recipe by heart: it says to put the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and sift together, and then to cream the sugars in butter in a separate, larger bowl. Once those are mixed, you add the eggs, vanilla, and very last, the flour mixture.
A mini panic session ensued for this type-A wifey. What do I do? I haven't ever screwed up the chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I've been doing this since I was 10. I can't unmix these, since I'm no chemist. I don't have a sifter. I think I'm gonna cry.
But I have a solution.
The flour/salt/powder/sugar mixture went straight into the big bowl. Added vanilla, eggs, shortening and water (in place of butter). Turned on the mixer. Poof! Dough.
Things were going well. I scraped down the sides of the bowl. And then all of a sudden, the evil dough climbed all the way up the beaters and almost reached the top of the mixer! Darn.
I ended up having to mix the rest of the dough by hand, but that's alright. It's good exercise.
I added the chocolate chips (the ENTIRE bag, thank you) and a handful of walnuts. It doesn't look half bad!
In fact, they look pretty normal. What were the recipe writers thinking? This is actually easier in some ways.So I figured I would go ahead and bake them. No problems, just a slight cookie casualty as I was putting it on the cooling rack. That's a taste test cookie. :o) Alright! It tastes alright!
Success.
So I took a stack of these over to my hubby, who was waiting in great anticipation of these fail-cookies (which were rather successful, I think). I set the cookies down for him, and reached up to touch my hair.
It was then that I realized that I have melted chocolate on my fingers. And in my hair. Seriously?
But the cookies are delicious. Am I overtired? Has it been a draining week? Perhaps, yes.
Definitely yes. But I'm still laughing!
Friday, December 17, 2010
first graduate final exam week
Lots of contradictions in that title, eh?
This is the end of my first semester as a graduate student, and I finished my last exam. Whew! It has been a whirlwind - 3 papers, 3 presentations, 2 juries to accompany, 0 juries for me to sing(!), and 1 exam. I have actually had time to clean my house and make cookies. Crazy. I have also had friends over three times this week!
In the middle of all of this, I have been struggling with depression. It's a side effect of the medicine I'm taking, and it's exacerbated near the end of the regimen. I've felt intensely lonely, cried over stupid things, and done ridiculous things to keep myself busy (read: shoveling my whole driveway, thus giving me a large blister on my hand).
It's also the time where I become intensely maternal - even though I know that a baby right now would be a bad idea. It's difficult for me to see friends having their first and even second child right now. There have been two births in the past week! My best friend's daughter is almost 6 months old...it's hard for me to stay motivated to finish school, when I know that my heart longs to be a mommy so much more than to be just a music teacher.
But I will finish. I will earn this degree, because this is likely my only opportunity to study, at least, for a very long time. And it's a great privilege, I do have some talent, and I'm learning a lot of things that would have been difficult to learn on my own time. It has been an adjustment, but I'm doing alright.
And in better news, I just found out that I made an A and an A- on my last two papers of the semester! The first of those two papers was a rather practical assignment, which required me to design a choral conducting recital program, research it in depth, gathering a long list of sources, and then to present my findings in a paper. I decided to focus on settings of the Latin Mass, and especially on the Agnus Dei movement. I chose masses of composers from the 16th-20th centuries, including Lassus, Hassler, Charpentier, Mozart, and Stravinsky. The Stravinsky setting is quite unique - it calls for a double wind quintet for the accompaniment, and the entire Mass takes only 17 minutes to perform.
The second paper was a research project on BWV 147 "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben", a sacred cantata by J. S. Bach. I had chosen this piece for a few reasons, but primarily because I could use my research in a couple of my other classes and thereby save myself some time. I ended up loving the piece, but getting very tired of research! It's definitely not my cup of tea to pull a stack of books off the shelf and to dig through them for the words of other people. Once the paper writing actually began, things came together rather quickly. I enjoy writing - it's the research I don't care for!
Both of these papers were for my Research and Bibliography class, a course that's required of all entering graduate students. I'm pretty sure this is a similar case at most graduate schools. It was a grueling class, though I'm thankful for the information I now have at my fingertips. I was truly expecting to only get a B or a B- on my research, so these grades were a welcome surprise!
I had planned to have tea today with one of my good friends at school after I finished my exam today. Sadly, I realized that I had overbooked myself, and that if I went to tea, I would miss out on precious hours with my husband before he left town for the afternoon to visit my brother. I was disappointed to cancel with my friend, but glad to be able to snuggle with my hubby in daylight hours! This lovely friend also mentioned that she has a gift for me - what a nice surprise! This did leave me in a conundrum, though - I had to find a gift to give her! Why didn't I think of this before? Am I such a bad friend?
So I knit a snug mug sleeve! It's made of sport-weight acrylic yarn and a wooden button.
The idea of making a button tab was a new development for me. I've made these before, but I had always just squeezed the button in the middle and let the fabric squish under the handle. I think this is a better solution, but it still needs a bit of work. Maybe a loop instead?
Other lovely projects this week included putting some snowy glitter on pinecones and making glittery star ornaments for part of my mom's Christmas gift. (shhh!)
These ornaments are awaiting gold thread to hang them from...hoping to get to a craft store this weekend!
I also had time to make Ginger Cookies - this recipe came from my great grandmother, Isabel's mother...my Great Great Grandmother. My family is Swedish, and these are a traditional favorite for us. My dad requests these every year, and my father-in-law has begun to request them as well! It's a very stiff dough, made with molasses and ginger and other delicious spices. First, you roll the dough into little balls and coat them with sugar. (Favorite part!)
The cookies are baked for about 18 minutes, and the come out with perfectly cracked tops and crusted with sugar:
I multi-tasked big time last night to keep myself busy. I made oven-barbecued chicken, corn muffins, and these cookies all at the same time. Here's a picture of the corn muffins (with raisins! delicious).
And this busy little bee also studied for an exam. I'm pretty sure I did well! The transcript will tell...
Just 9 days until Christmas! Hooray!
This is the end of my first semester as a graduate student, and I finished my last exam. Whew! It has been a whirlwind - 3 papers, 3 presentations, 2 juries to accompany, 0 juries for me to sing(!), and 1 exam. I have actually had time to clean my house and make cookies. Crazy. I have also had friends over three times this week!
In the middle of all of this, I have been struggling with depression. It's a side effect of the medicine I'm taking, and it's exacerbated near the end of the regimen. I've felt intensely lonely, cried over stupid things, and done ridiculous things to keep myself busy (read: shoveling my whole driveway, thus giving me a large blister on my hand).
It's also the time where I become intensely maternal - even though I know that a baby right now would be a bad idea. It's difficult for me to see friends having their first and even second child right now. There have been two births in the past week! My best friend's daughter is almost 6 months old...it's hard for me to stay motivated to finish school, when I know that my heart longs to be a mommy so much more than to be just a music teacher.
But I will finish. I will earn this degree, because this is likely my only opportunity to study, at least, for a very long time. And it's a great privilege, I do have some talent, and I'm learning a lot of things that would have been difficult to learn on my own time. It has been an adjustment, but I'm doing alright.
And in better news, I just found out that I made an A and an A- on my last two papers of the semester! The first of those two papers was a rather practical assignment, which required me to design a choral conducting recital program, research it in depth, gathering a long list of sources, and then to present my findings in a paper. I decided to focus on settings of the Latin Mass, and especially on the Agnus Dei movement. I chose masses of composers from the 16th-20th centuries, including Lassus, Hassler, Charpentier, Mozart, and Stravinsky. The Stravinsky setting is quite unique - it calls for a double wind quintet for the accompaniment, and the entire Mass takes only 17 minutes to perform.
The second paper was a research project on BWV 147 "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben", a sacred cantata by J. S. Bach. I had chosen this piece for a few reasons, but primarily because I could use my research in a couple of my other classes and thereby save myself some time. I ended up loving the piece, but getting very tired of research! It's definitely not my cup of tea to pull a stack of books off the shelf and to dig through them for the words of other people. Once the paper writing actually began, things came together rather quickly. I enjoy writing - it's the research I don't care for!
Both of these papers were for my Research and Bibliography class, a course that's required of all entering graduate students. I'm pretty sure this is a similar case at most graduate schools. It was a grueling class, though I'm thankful for the information I now have at my fingertips. I was truly expecting to only get a B or a B- on my research, so these grades were a welcome surprise!
I had planned to have tea today with one of my good friends at school after I finished my exam today. Sadly, I realized that I had overbooked myself, and that if I went to tea, I would miss out on precious hours with my husband before he left town for the afternoon to visit my brother. I was disappointed to cancel with my friend, but glad to be able to snuggle with my hubby in daylight hours! This lovely friend also mentioned that she has a gift for me - what a nice surprise! This did leave me in a conundrum, though - I had to find a gift to give her! Why didn't I think of this before? Am I such a bad friend?
So I knit a snug mug sleeve! It's made of sport-weight acrylic yarn and a wooden button.
The idea of making a button tab was a new development for me. I've made these before, but I had always just squeezed the button in the middle and let the fabric squish under the handle. I think this is a better solution, but it still needs a bit of work. Maybe a loop instead?
Other lovely projects this week included putting some snowy glitter on pinecones and making glittery star ornaments for part of my mom's Christmas gift. (shhh!)
These ornaments are awaiting gold thread to hang them from...hoping to get to a craft store this weekend!I also had time to make Ginger Cookies - this recipe came from my great grandmother, Isabel's mother...my Great Great Grandmother. My family is Swedish, and these are a traditional favorite for us. My dad requests these every year, and my father-in-law has begun to request them as well! It's a very stiff dough, made with molasses and ginger and other delicious spices. First, you roll the dough into little balls and coat them with sugar. (Favorite part!)
The cookies are baked for about 18 minutes, and the come out with perfectly cracked tops and crusted with sugar:
I multi-tasked big time last night to keep myself busy. I made oven-barbecued chicken, corn muffins, and these cookies all at the same time. Here's a picture of the corn muffins (with raisins! delicious).
And this busy little bee also studied for an exam. I'm pretty sure I did well! The transcript will tell...
Just 9 days until Christmas! Hooray!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
hello, December!
It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through December...my fancy music-themed advent calendar says so:
Whew.
Things were frustrating when we first got here, and my perception of the rest of my life was colored by that. I don't think I began to have a positive attitude about this semester until about halfway through October. Shameful - I wish I hadn't reacted like that. Do you ever wish you could go back and just change?
I have had a good semester, full of great opportunities that I might not have encountered. My husband did finally find a job, though it's 450 miles a week and really demanding hours. We do get to see each other on weekends. I've lost a lot of sleep - he's endured a lot of boredom. I feel like we've skipped over these past four months, like they didn't really happen.
But, oh, does the bank account say otherwise. We are barely hanging on, and I know that it's only God's provision that's allowing us to stay in the black. We have some huge bills looming over our heads, but we still can't pay them. The commute that my husband has is just eating through what he earns. It's so frustrating.
When we do get to see each other, we're both tired and stressed. He needs time to recharge all by himself, and I've been lonely for him all week. Does being a married adult have to look like this?
We did have a wonderful date night just last week. We pulled out some gift cards for the Cheesecake Factory - delicious. It was a brief escape for us, and that was amazing. We walked around the mall and held hands like we were dating. I loved that! We were both so happy and relaxed. I wish sometimes that life had fewer sad, frustrating valleys and more of those happy peaks. I love my husband so very much, and I wish I had more energy to give to him when he comes home so late at night.
Things have slowed down for me as the semester is coming to a close. I have only had to give a few presentations after handing in my papers, and I have one exam on Friday. Not bad! I didn't even have to sing a jury, for which I am so grateful.
I have had time to (gasp!) make cookies and decorate them...
...set up and decorate our tree,
...I've had friends over for dinner, I've finished knitting the Christmas gifts I hoped to make. My presents are wrapped, cookies are in the freezer (don't tell my hubby, or there won't be any left!), and I've actually vacuumed my house. There aren't any dishes in the sink (well, except for tonight's one small pot from dinner), I'm actually going to do a craft tonight, and I've sent Christmas cards. I even shoveled part of the driveway, spent time playing with my cats, and played piano for fun.
God is still good, even in the middle of our frustration. We're going to make it!
Whew.Things were frustrating when we first got here, and my perception of the rest of my life was colored by that. I don't think I began to have a positive attitude about this semester until about halfway through October. Shameful - I wish I hadn't reacted like that. Do you ever wish you could go back and just change?
I have had a good semester, full of great opportunities that I might not have encountered. My husband did finally find a job, though it's 450 miles a week and really demanding hours. We do get to see each other on weekends. I've lost a lot of sleep - he's endured a lot of boredom. I feel like we've skipped over these past four months, like they didn't really happen.
But, oh, does the bank account say otherwise. We are barely hanging on, and I know that it's only God's provision that's allowing us to stay in the black. We have some huge bills looming over our heads, but we still can't pay them. The commute that my husband has is just eating through what he earns. It's so frustrating.
When we do get to see each other, we're both tired and stressed. He needs time to recharge all by himself, and I've been lonely for him all week. Does being a married adult have to look like this?
We did have a wonderful date night just last week. We pulled out some gift cards for the Cheesecake Factory - delicious. It was a brief escape for us, and that was amazing. We walked around the mall and held hands like we were dating. I loved that! We were both so happy and relaxed. I wish sometimes that life had fewer sad, frustrating valleys and more of those happy peaks. I love my husband so very much, and I wish I had more energy to give to him when he comes home so late at night.
Things have slowed down for me as the semester is coming to a close. I have only had to give a few presentations after handing in my papers, and I have one exam on Friday. Not bad! I didn't even have to sing a jury, for which I am so grateful.
I have had time to (gasp!) make cookies and decorate them...
...set up and decorate our tree,
...I've had friends over for dinner, I've finished knitting the Christmas gifts I hoped to make. My presents are wrapped, cookies are in the freezer (don't tell my hubby, or there won't be any left!), and I've actually vacuumed my house. There aren't any dishes in the sink (well, except for tonight's one small pot from dinner), I'm actually going to do a craft tonight, and I've sent Christmas cards. I even shoveled part of the driveway, spent time playing with my cats, and played piano for fun.
God is still good, even in the middle of our frustration. We're going to make it!
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