The Best and Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip CookiesThese simple, delicious cookies (from BraveTart) are not made with your standard, everyday chocolate chip morsels, but instead are chock full of coarsely hand-chopped chocolate bar pieces, so I guess technically, they should be called chocolate chunk cookies.They come out of the oven (which, by the way, is the best time to eat them) chewy with crispy crunchy edges. One of the best things about these cookies, besides the speed and simplicity of the preparation, is that you can use a wide variety of chocolates…any kind you like. For these, I chopped up a dark chocolate bar, a milk chocolate bar and milk chocolate with hazelnut bar. The cocoa butter in the chocolate bars thickens the dough and flavors it so the cookies don’t taste, and the dough doesn’t behave, the same as if store-bought chocolate chip morsels were used…and that’s a good thing because they end up tasting way better, with a great, but subtle, butterscotchy flavor. Read More …

DIY Girl Scout Cookies – How to Make Them at Home

It’s that time of year again…Girl Scout Cookies are on sale! For those of you that are still bummed out over the news last year that the Girl Scouts cut back on the varieties (it was huge national news…just check out The Wall Street Journal), there is help online. One of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites, has a great post on how to make your own. And if your favorite cookie isn’t covered in that post, check out Chow. Fijis, Slim Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs…they’re all there for the making. Even if your favorite wasn’t scratched from the line-up, you should give these recipes a shot. Not only do they taste better when you make them yourself, but you also get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment that helps negate that horrible feeling you get when you look in the mirror after gorging yourself on them. And after you’ve had your fill of Girl Scout cookies, check these out, the Best Chocolate Chip cookies ever invented!

Everyone Loves Mom’s Amazing Pinwheel Cookies

Pinwheel cookiesEveryone loves these cookies…that’s because they can be made to everyone’s taste. The basic recipe is really simple, but the beauty of it is that you can add any filling you like, so everyone gets what they want. From raspberry jam to cinnamon and sugar to chocolatey goodness, no one goes away disappointed…and they not only taste great, but they look incredible. The secret to slicing them into neat, perfectly round cookies before baking is to use dental floss (unwaxed and unflavored…although I guess you could go for a minty floss to accent the chocolate cookies…or not!). Just wrap it around the cookie logs and tighten it as if tying a knot to make a perfect, round cookie.

Please click here for the printable recipe.

Girl Scout Cookies…Recipes to Make Them At Home

For those of you that are freaking out over the news that the Girl Scouts are cutting their cookie line-up down to six varieties because of the stale economy (this is huge national news…just check out The Wall Street Journal), there is help online. One of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites, has a great post on how to make your own. And if your favorite cookie isn’t covered in that post, check out Chow. Fijis, Slim Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs…they’re all there for the making. Even if your favorite isn’t being scratched from the line-up, you should give these recipes a shot. Like most things, they really taste better when you make them yourself.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

The Best Chocolate Chip CookiesThis is, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookie I (or anyone else) ever tasted! The recipe has been around for awhile…I believe  it was originally printed in The Frog Commissary Cookbook, published in 1985, and named for a restaurant in Philadelphia that was popular in the 1970’s.  It has just the right balance of flavors and textures. I don’t love most oatmeal chocolate chip cookies because it seems the oatmeal flavor is usually overwhelming and the texture is dry, but not with these cookies. They’re crispy on the edges and moist and chocolatey in the center…the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of milk. One of the best things about this recipe is how well the dough freezes. I chill the dough a little and roll it into 1½” diameter logs (like the ones you can buy in the supermarket), wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them. Then, when the urge strikes, I just slice off a few 1″ pieces and pop them right in a 350Ëš oven, and you have fresh, hot homemade cookies in about 12 minutes. You can also roll them into 1″ balls, freeze them and stick them right in the oven when you absolutely, positively immediately need a hot, homemade killer chocolate chip cookie.

Please click here for the printable recipe.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies For those of you the regularly follow this blog (and I mean both of you, so pay attention!), you know I usually post my own recipes or my take on other recipes with my tweaks, tips or suggestions added, but I really don’t think you can improve on this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated for your basic, delicious chocolate chip cookie.  I made these last night and they were, as the title suggests, pretty close to perfect! The browning of the butter before it’s added to the recipe adds a depth of flavor you don’t find in other chocolate chip cookie recipes, or as CI puts it “A chocolate chip cookie that’s moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness.” I do have one other recipe that I think compares to this for a chocolate chip cookie made with oatmeal (I think it’s actually much better!), but for now, if your jonesing for a killer cookie, try this recipe…you won’t regret it (until you try and fit into your pants the next day).