CCC (best craving curber ever!!)

i won't bore you with why i haven't blogged in a bit...I'll just get right on with it! :)

           I've never been a super cookie fan.  Maybe it's because I'm really not that good at making cookies.  Honestly my cookies never turn out!  They're either too thin, lacy, crunchy, etc.  I've just come to accept the fact that I was never meant to make them.

           All growing up the only cookie to ever grace the oven (that I really remember) was that one cookie that surpasses all others.  The craving you get at that time of the month.  The one that reminds you of home when you're so far away.  The chocolate. chip. cookie.  Oddly enough I never really bake something when I'm having a craving.  Only when I want to experiment with a new recipe.  But being sick and hacking up a freaking lung, there isn't a whole lot to do around the house.  And I can only watch so much TV before A) I want to scream and B) start thinking about food (damn food channel).  So the natural thing to do was go to the kitchen!  I used a recipe from my Baking Illustrated cookbook (by the editors of Cooking Illustrated).    Their thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies did not disappoint.  Best cookie ever!  And they came out looking absolutely bakery worthy (which is a must in my book ;).  So i present to you the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  EnJOY!!!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

                        (Baking Illustrated)

Ing: 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
       1/2 teaspoon baking soda
       1/2 teaspoon salt
       12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
       1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
       1/2 cup granulated sugar
       1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
       2 teaspoons vanilla extract
       1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower- middle positions and heat oven to 325 

degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly
blended.  Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined.  Stir in the chips to taste.
4. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball.  Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15-18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time (mine were perfect at about 16 minutes, but everybody's oven is different so i would advise just setting the timer for 15 and then checking to see how they are doing and go from there).  Cool on cookie sheets.



This is seriously the easiest recipe ever.  Maybe it's because i try all these extravagant recipes that literally take half a day to make one dessert --haha.  After making these once you will not hesitate to make these often.  I'm not judging if you make a whole batch and secretly eat them all before the kids get home from school (hey you have to make sure the dough tastes good AND taste test the actual cookie so as to make sure it's eatable. and trust me....these are sooo edible :).

P.S....if you are one who loves cookie dough (ummm as

 in you make cookie dough to just eat the dough, having 

NO intention whatsoever to make an actual cookie) then 

i would say this dough is OK. If you want to make 

dough just to eat the dough then I would go for the 

Nestle Toll House cookie recipe. That dough is a-mazing 

(but i can never get those to turn out!)

my DreAM!

Over a year ago I decided to bake a cheesecake.  A New York Style Cheesecake to be exact, with a strawberry topping, for a girl's night.  That fateful night has turned out to be the starting point of a wonderful hobby.  At least that's how it began.  This hobby of mine grew into a love. That love then grew into a passion.  A fiery passion that feels me with so much happiness I almost can't contain myself opening up a package of butter.  Dreams of pastries, artisan breads, and chocolate ganache are constantly swimming around in my head.  Just the thought of owning my own bakery is...ahhhh...amazing!!!!  It will be something people have never seen before, something that will almost transfer you back to another place or time.  Although I know it will be a while before this happens, the point is I have a dream.  I've never had something I want more badly than this!  Having a dream is wonderful.  It makes you get up in the morning.  It puts a smile to your face and suddenly the day is better and brighter.  It's something to look forward to.

Baking is home.  When it seems like nothing can go right, and the world is against me, I can bake that 3 layer german's chocolate cake, and voila!  Sigh of relief :)  I'm pretty sure there are stress relieving properties in the stirring of cake batter and the whipping of egg whites.

So...my challenge to whoever is reading this: if you have a dream, go for it!  Doesn't matter what it is.  It can be wanting to graduate from college and be a nurse or doctor.  It can be wanting to be an olympic swimmer or fly to Paris.  No matter how big or small the dream, don't let it go!  Hold on to it, nurture it, make it happen!  Want to fly to France??  Learn a new language! Haha...whatever the case, just DREAM!