Everything in moderation. Including moderation…
Maybe it's something to do with training tirelessly for a ½ ironman last weekend or maybe it's to do with the fact that I am headed to Africa for a month where there I am sure to go through a major food withdrawal…but in the past few weeks, I have basically eaten my weight in food. I’m eating like it's going out of fashion.
And the number one tasty food on my list currently…chocolate chip cookies.
Who ate all the cookies in the cookie jar? Jenny ate all the cookies in the cookie jar.
I've been making these cookies for ages and it was love at first sight when I saw these wee little morsels of delight come out of the oven the first time years ago. They've become my go-to cookie recipe when I need to whip up a baked good in a hurry or I have a pint of vanilla ice cream that needs a warm gooey friend. Or just when I'm craving cookies. These puppies are dangerously delicious and so addictive I’ve made 3 batches in the past week. Yep…3.
But, don’t be alarmed…they are not all for me. My bestest friend Sarah is selling them are her new shop, Mission Cheese (you may remember from my previous blog and I sure hope you have been by to try it by now…best cheese shop on this side of the Mississippi). $2 for happiness! And happiness is what you will get!
Chocolate chip cookies are the cure to any bad day or any long day. They can warm the heart and bring a smile to even the darkest or sternest of faces…guaranteed. No matter what has gone on in my day…I come home and bake cookies and I am removed, for the time, from the worries and the stress of it all. There is only one goal…chocolate chip cookies…and I know I can not fail…and it feels good…real good.
So…what’s the trick to delicious chocolate chip cookies you ask? Do I have some sort of very special secret ingredient? No is the answer…not really.
The trick is…creaming your butter and sugar…and I mean really really creaming it. I have said it before and I will say it again…in any baking recipe, the first thing you do is cream your butter and sugar for about 10 minutes…until it becomes light in color and very fluffy.
Oh…and of course…the other trick is to add a whole lot of LOVE. But, I am sure you have that covered.
So, roll up your sleeves, break out your flour, leave the negativity at the door, and turn on the oven…bake some cookies people…bake some darn cookies…the world needs more cookie loving people filled with warm gooey love.
Jenny Lou’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened (not melted in microwave, but softened to room temp)
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) of semi-sweet chocolate chips (and don’t use Nestle folks…that chocolate sucks…it really does…sorry to say. I use Guittard.)
Preheat oven to 350
CREAM the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar in a large bowl for about 10 minutes.
Gently WHISK the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl until combined…then slowly add (about a Tablespoon at a time) to the butter mixture and mix fully after each addition.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in small bowl and then gradually beat into wet ingredients.
STIR in chocolate chips. (as a small note…I do not like to use the whole bag of chips, because I personally think that makes for too many chips in my cookie…but add as much as you like).
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheet…and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Easy as pie…but even easier than pie.
A man walked into Sarah’s shop the other day…bought a cookie…and then returned to say, “That was the best cookie I have ever had.” And…that made me feel good…just to bring that one happy moment to one man is well worth it.
So…to all you cookie bakers and lovers out there…savor the moments of happiness.
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