Cookies Bigger Than Your Head

When someone needs to feel important, nothing says we love you like a cookie that is bigger that your head.   Now sometimes making these are troublesome because they don't cook all the way thru, or you leave them too long, or you think you can fit more than 1 on a pan and then all mold together . . . we speak from experience over here.   We have found the recipe that cures all of these problems and then some.  This is our go to.  This is better than flowers.  This will make anyone smile. Here it is.  We make these often.   We need to feel good too!

Chocolate Chip Cookies Bigger Than Your Head

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

• Directions

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  1. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
  2. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
  3. grease cookie sheet or use parchment paper.  Take baseball sized mound of dough and slightly flatten to about 1/3 inch thick on pan. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. 
  
  
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CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Lee Chipman

YIELD

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

PREPARATION

1. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium speed just until smooth. Add flour and mix at low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 disks.
3. On lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece dough to 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Using fluted pastry wheel or large knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch rectangles. Transfer cookies to baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Prick each cookie several times with tines of fork, then chill 10 minutes. Bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely.
5. To decorate: Line baking sheet with clean parchment or wax paper. In medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt half chocolate. Add remaining chocolate, remove bowl from heat, and stir occasionally until smooth. Pour into small bowl.
6. Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on baking sheet. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Store in airtight container at room temperature. (Do not refrigerate.)

Not Just Anyones Cornbread

Christine Vick was one of the Best people I have ever known.  Hands down. I could go on and on.  If you know me, then you know of my love for that lady.   You'll also know that anything she cooked, baked, or touched came out superb and was always on my list of "ummm, i'll be making that again" .     Enter her Cornbread.  When Heston and I first moved to Marlboro, Ma we were in the Marlboro ward.   The ward was having a trunk or treat, Christine and I had just become friends.  We were put in charge of the Trunk or treat - food - games - decorations - the works - what in the world?!?!   We mass produced this cornbread ( for 200)and it sealed the deal on our friendship.  Without further explanation here it is:

Christine's Cornbread
So Yummy - This tastes Like Cake

1 cup Stone ground corn meal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten


mix it all up.  9x13  in a 350 oven

Sunday means LO MEIN around these parts



At our house we have afternoon church right now.   This means we think we have hours and hours of time on Sunday mornings only to then look at the clock and see that we have to be heading out the door lickety split.   When church goes from 1 -4 you have to start the small people off right with a full belly, otherwise you have a crowd that is "hangry" ( hungry and angry) and things will just not go well. AT ALL!   This is where Lo Mein comes in - it is fast - it can make a lot - you can sneak in vegetables - its cheap - did I mention its fast?   This is the version that we like.  Add whatever vegetables you happen to have in the fridge - it doesn't even matter.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces lo mein egg noodles* Or just ramen noodle if you are in a pinch
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 3 cups baby spinach

FOR THE SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, or more, to taste (we Like Pearl River Ridge light and dark mixed together.)
• 2 teaspoons sugar - ok I dont measure but i'm pretty sure I add more than this
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger and Sriracha; set aside. - *  Go easy on the siracha - i tend to over do it
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions; drain well.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in snow peas and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in egg noodles and soy sauce mixture, and gently toss to combine.
5. Serve immediately.

This recipe is a mixture from a Blogger called Dam Deliscious and A Pinch of Yum

The easiest lo mein you will ever make in 15 minutes from start to finish. It is so much quicker, tastier and healthier than take-out!

Bigger Muffins are Always Better

Currently this is our new favorite muffin.  It is over sized.  It is yummy.  It is eaten by all.  We are trying to perfect this and sell it at the Harvard Farmers Market.

 It is from a blogger called Sallys Baking Addiction and we have modified it a bit.  Stay tuned for more changes - - - if we decide there needs to be.

Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Big, bakery-style muffins stuffed with chocolate chips and topped with a sprinkle of sugar. This recipe is written to make 6 jumbo muffins. For 15-16 standard muffins or 30 mini muffins, see notes at the bottom of the recipe. Baking times differ.

• Ingredients:
• 3 cups (375) all-purpose flour (very careful not to overmeasure)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, room temperature preferred
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240ml) milk* 
  
• 1/2 cup (120ml) canola oil (or vegetable oil/melted coconut oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks; or dark chocolate; or milk chocolate)
• coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Spray your muffin tin of choice with non-stick spray or line with muffin liners. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until all dry ingredients are combined – a 20 second toss to disburse everything together. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined. Mix in milk, oil, and vanilla. Mixture will be pale and yellow. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix everything together by hand with a wooden spoon. Avoid overmixing. Gently mix until all the flour is off the bottom of the bowl and no big pockets of flour remain. The batter will be VERY thick and somewhat lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Divide batter among prepared muffin tins, filling all the way to the top. Top with a sprinkle coarse sugar, if preferred. Bake at 425F degrees for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and continue to bake for 25-26 minutes until tops are lightly golden and centers appear set.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before enjoying. Muffins taste best fresh the same day. Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes:

*Buttermilk is preferred for the moistest texture. 1% or higher milk fat of regular milk would be fine. Almond milk + soy milk are OK too.

*For 15-16 standard size muffins, reduce baking time to 18-19 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at the 425F and 13-14 minutes at 375F. For 30 mini muffins, bake for 11-12 minutes at 375F the entire time.

*

LEMON PANCAKES

This past week we have had Dorraine and Chris Crump out from Utah to visit.  There were our friends in our first married ward at BYU in Provo, the 167th ward with Bishop Tenny.  We have kept in touch on and off for over 20 years.  Yikes!  Any ways, Dorraine is a lemon fan, i saw this recipe and knew we needed to try it while she was here.   We loved it so much that it will be a keeper in our repetoire - with of course the blackberry syrup that we made.  We will include that recipe here as well.  The original pancake recipe comes from the pioneer Woman, so we had no doubt that we were in good hands!

RECIPE

Lemon Pancakes

August 28, 2016 0

PREP TIME:

15 Minutes

DIFFICULTY:

Easy

COOK TIME:

15 Minutes

SERVINGS:

4 Servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 whole Lemons
• 2-1/4 cups 2%% Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
• 3 cups Flour
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 whole Eggs, Beaten
• 1/4 cup Butter, Melted

INSTRUCTIONS

Zest both lemons. Set aside. Measure the milk and add the juice of 1 1/2 of the lemons. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, then gently stir in the vanilla. 

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour in the milk/lemon mixture, stirring gently. When it's halfway mixed together, stir in the eggs, then the melted butter. Finally, stir in the lemon zest. (If the batter is overly thick at this stage, add up to 1/4 cup milk. 

Heat an iron skillet over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons butter. When it's melted, drop in 1/4 cup helpings of batter, smoothing the top to help spread it into an even layer. Cook until golden and sizzly around the edges, then turn to the other side and finish cooking. Remove and repeat with the rest of the batter. 

Serve with butter, syrup, and extra lemon zest. (Can turn this into more of a dessert with a powdered sugar glaze and/or whipped cream!)

Here’s my Blackberry Syrup recipe. I think you’ll love it!

5.0 from 3 reviews

Blackberry Syrup Recipe

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

This blackberry syrup recipe adds that burst of summer flavor to every dish you serve it with! From topping pancakes, yogurt, or cake to stirring into drinks, blackberry syrup is a must have recipe!

Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. 
   Add blackberries, sugar, lemon juice and water to a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before use.
2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks
   .

Notes

If you prefer a smooth blackberry syrup, pour cooked blackberries and sauce into blender and pulse until smooth. Pour through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer and discard any seeds or pulp.