My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I love to bake cookies, enjoy a couple of them and then ship the rest off to others! But when someone from my husband's department requested plain ol' chocolate chip cookies, I panicked! In all my baking years I had never discovered a chocolate chip recipe that I really liked. (and I'm not interested in gifting cookies that aren't totally scrumptious ;o)

This started me on the search for a GREAT chocolate chip recipe and after a bit of looking I found it! I'd like to share that recipe with you. Ready? Here goes....

First off, a few things you should know before baking these delicious cookies:

• The secret is in the instant vanilla pudding (not "cook and serve", sugar-free or any other variety)
• Making these cookies larger than your usual recipe calls for will allow them to become soft and pillowy in the middle, and a tad chewy around the outside (and overflowing with chocolate chips!)
• Also, it's super important to refrigerate the cookie dough (2-3 hours) so that the cookies bake well without spreading out too thin. (I whip up the batch of dough in the morning and bake them in the afternoon.)
• Be sure to spray your cookie sheets with oil so the cookies don't stick when you remove them. 
• Baking the cookies for only 11 minutes works perfectly! Allowing them to cool for another 10 minutes ON the cookie sheet will help them finish baking on the hot sheet and transfer better later. (don't bake them over 12 minutes).
•  Each batch makes about 16 - 18 cookies, depending on how large you make them.

 Now that you know what you are getting yourself into, here's the recipe! Really, once you make these cookies, you won't ever want to go back to an ordinary chocolate chip recipe again!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
As shared by Averie
 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
one 3.5-ounce packet instant vanilla pudding mix 

1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
one-12 ounce bag (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix together the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
2. To that, add the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.
3. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
4. Using a 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 16 equal-sized dough balls and flatten each mound a bit.
5. Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. (I have even formed the balls after refrigerating  the lump of dough)
6. Preheat oven to 350 F, Spray each sheet with cooking spray. Place dough balls on sheets at least 2 inches apart (I bake 9 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 11 minutes. Remove from oven before they begin to brown. Don't over-bake.
7. Enjoy one or two and share some with a friend! 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

for they shall be satisfied."

Matthew 5:6

Have a very blessed day,

 

I'm linked up with some beautiful bloggers over at:

 

Award Winning Apple Pie Recipe

One memorable summer of my childhood, my family was planning to visit our local county fair. Before we headed out to enjoy the sights and sounds that come with a fair, my father had the great thought of my mother entering her apple pie into the pie contest. I think he had to convince her to enter it, as she wouldn't have done so on her own. We all knew that Mom's pies were the best we ever had and that she would do well in the contest.

The day of the contest, Momma took her apple pie to the display table and filled out her registration card. We left it there to enjoy all the fair had to offer and when we returned to the contest area later in the day, we were all in for a pleasant surprise. Mom's apple pie had won third place!

There was her pie, half eaten by the judges and along side it stood a beautiful basket full of fruit - her third place prize! We were all so happy for her and so proud of her pie-making skills. We knew that she had it in her. After a fun day at the fair, we headed home with hearts full of joy and a basket full of fruit. (Maybe another pie in the making :)



Here is a wonderful, simple apple pie recipe that my mother passed down to me. If pies haven't been easy for you to make in the past or you have no experience at all, try this recipe out! You can do it!

Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup cold butter (2 sticks of the real thing)

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)

5 - 10 tablespoons ice water

Directions:

1. Measure flour into a medium bowl. Mix in salt (if needed).
2. Cut butter into pieces as you add it to the bowl, then mix into flour using pasty cutter until crumbly.
3. Add ice water, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork, until the dough sticks together.
4. Form a rectangle log with your hands and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 20 min or longer (overnight is fine, this dough freezes well too).

Before rolling out the dough, you will cut the rectangle log in half - to make a top and bottom crust.

***A few pie crust tips***

• The less you mix and handle the dough, the better. The less you handle it, the flakier it will be!
•  Before rolling the dough, take the log of dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 10 min or so, just to take the chill off. The goal is to have cold dough, but not rock hard dough.
• When rolling it out, use a well-floured surface. If the edges of the circle break apart, piece them together like a puzzle. It doesn't have to be perfect to look and taste great!
• If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

In order that the pie crust can sit in the fridge a while before rolling it out, here is the order in which I found it best to make a pie:

1. Mix dough and place in fridge
2. Create pie filling and set aside
3. Turn on oven to correct temp.
4. Roll out dough and place in pie plate
5. Pour filling into the plate
6. Cover with top crust (if called for)
7. Place in the oven to bake!

Award Winning Apple Pie

(adapted from The New Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients:

1 recipe for double pie crust (above)

6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (I like to use a mixture of half sweet apples and half tart apples - like Golden Delicious and Granny Smith )

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Prepare crust as directed in recipe above and place it in the fridge.
2. Peel, core and slice your apples and place in a large bowl
3. Add to the bowl sugar, flour, and spices. Gently toss to coat.
4. Turn on oven to 375*. Roll out dough and line the bottom of pie plate with one pastry circle. Transfer apple mixture to pie plate.
5. Cut 5 or 6 small pieces of butter and place on top of pie filling.  
6. Place the second pastry circle on top of pie and pinch edges to seal, trim off the bottom of the edges as needed. Cut slits in top crust (in the shape of a letter if you would like).
7. If desired, brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
8. To prevent over-browning, cover edges of the pie (just the crust) with strips of foil.
9. Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and bake another 20 minutes or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbling up through the pastry slits. Cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Don't let making your own pie crust from scratch scare you. Once you make it and enjoy it, you won't want to ever return to store bought crust. This is a wonderful dessert to share with friends, served with a cup of tea or coffee (or a scoop of vanilla ice cream).


I pray that your home is filled with love, peace, joy and the sweet scent of apple pie!


Blessings,

Summertime Strawberry Pie

Here in Texas we take our holidays seriously. We plan and prepare, gather friends and family around us and enjoy the freedoms that God has given us in this great country - the good ol' U.S. of A.

This year my family got to celebrate the 4th of July with both sets of grandparents and some very dear friends.



It started out cooler and breezy, and once my kids got into the pool it started to pour! I don't remember the last time that it rained on July 4th here in Texas. After the rain (aka thunderstorm) passed, the sun came out and so did the humidity. We all ate our feast of steaks, deviled eggs, corn of the cob, roasted potato wedges, and baked beans indoors.

As the sun began to set we headed back outside to wave sparklers in the air and let the kids run free in the front yard. What a lovely sunset we enjoyed too! It was a great ending to our time together.



Of course no 4th of July celebration would be complete without watching HUGE display of fireworks. So, at 9pm we headed into town to watch the best display of fireworks around. They were great! There was even a slight breeze that kept us cool and kept the mosquitoes away.

We turned in that night full of good food and fellowship. We are blessed indeed!

And now... here's a recipe that I enjoy making for a family get together or two each summer.
It's my favorite summertime pie!

Summertime Strawberry Pie

Shortbread crust:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
2Tbl. water


Blend flour and sugar together, cut in butter and slowly add water to form dry dough. Press into bottom of greased 9" pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 min. or until slightly golden.

Nice and crumbly

Ready to shape into a crust.

 Pricked with a fork and ready to bake!

 Nice and brown at the edges.

Instead of this crust you can use a regular pie crust recipe that you have, or even purchase prepared pie crust.


Filling:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
2 Tbl. sugar
1 1/2 quarts whole berries


Beat cream cheese and sugar, spread carefully over bottom of baked pie shell. Arrange strawberries (cut in half or slices) in shell.

Glaze is bubbling... nice and thick.

 Ready to assemble.

 Spreading the cream cheese mixture evenly.

 Next is berries and glaze.

Ready to refrigerate! Yum!!!

Pour the following glaze over berries:


2/3 cup sugar (or less if you don't want the pie so sweet)
2 Tbl. Karo syrup (light corn syrup)
1 cup water
3 Tbl. strawberry Jell-O mix
pinch of salt
3 Tbl. cornstarch


Cook all ingredients except Jell-O over medium heat until thick. Take off heat and add Jell-O mix. Cool slightly before pouring over berries.

Chill thoroughly in the fridge before serving (about 3-4 hours).

Serve with a bit of whip cream and enjoy!

I hope that you had a Happy 4th of July with family and friends.

Stay hungry,

Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

 

 

Here's a family favorite that I love to make for friends too! We are visiting a neighbor tomorrow, so my daughter and I decided that baking some cookies to take with us was a must.

She helped me whip up a batch before nap time. And then it took her over 30 minutes to fall asleep. I think she was too excited to try a cookie  :o)

Here's the recipe... you won't be disappointed! (I posted this recipe on my blog over a year ago but decided it's time to give it a picture face lift and share it again.)

Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

(my father-in-law's favorite!)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (softened)

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 ¾ cups flour

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

 

To roll cookies in:

3 Tb sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

 

Directions:

 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Cream butter and sugar together.

3. Add in eggs, one at a time, add vanilla, until well-combined.

4. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add it to the wet mix in 2-3 stages.

5. Mix the 2 Tb of sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl.

6. Use your hands to roll dough into little (ping-pong ball sized) balls.

7. Roll dough balls in the sugar mixture until covered. Place on un-greased cookie sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart.

8. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, until they spread out and have JUST started to turn brown. Let sit on baking sheet 2 minutes or longer. Remove from cookie sheets and place on a cooling rack. Don’t let them cook too long or they will be hard.

You want a chewy cookie with a crisp outside.

9. Enjoy a few and share the rest!

I got too excited to finish the last few cookies and they got crowded.

Oh well, still so tasty!

 

 

 

Piled high and ready to share!

I love to bless others with home-baked goodies and it's a great time to teach my kids so many things: measurements, how to follow directions (in the form of a recipe), patience (to wait to enjoy the end result or lick the spoon) and that making things from scratch is a better choice every time.

My girl, a baker at heart  :o)

 

Have a blessed week, 

Peanut Butter Popcorn ~ A Childhood Favorite

Do you have a favorite food that brings back fond childhood memories?


This is one of those treats that takes me back a few decades. Memories like listening to my mother read aloud from a good book in front of our wood stove, playing "tickle time" with my dad and sister, and just being together as a family.

And now, when I say that I'm going to make popcorn for an evening snack my daughter asks me, "Can we have sweet popcorn?!" Looks like I have a mini-me on my hands. She has a sweet tooth just like her momma!

Here's the recipe. Hope you enjoy a bowl or two with some of your favorite people soon!

 

Peanut Butter Popcorn
(Thanks to Debbie J.)

Ingredients:
3 bags of microwaved popcorn, or 2 large bowls of air popped corn
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Karo corn syrup
5 Tbl. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan, bring the sugars, corn syrup and butter to a boil.
Allow to boil for one minute, stir the entire time.
Stir in vanilla and peanut butter.
Mix thoroughly and pour over popcorn.
Stir to coat evenly and enjoy!

*Caution: allow to cool just a bit before serving, mixture is very hot at first.*



God bless your weekend! I hope that you enjoyed your 4th of July with family and friends and remembered to thank the Lord for our costly freedom.


In His GREAT grace,

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One Delicious Chocolate Cake

I've had this chocolate cake recipe up my sleeve for a while. I'd LOVE to share it with you!

Actually, it belongs to Kate Sullivan, but I found it on Lick The Spoon. It's been in my recipe binder for two years now... so I guess I can call it mine  :o)

It calls for a lot of eggs and some coffee... adding to the moist, rich taste. And it makes a LOT of batter. Great for cupcakes for a large party.

This recipe made two round cakes, so here's what I made with them for my hubby's birthday:

The tastiest Pac Man ever!

The second cake got whipped cream and strawberries

for our family birthday party.

One Delicious Chocolate Cake (Kate Sullivan)
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 ½ cups buttermilk, room temp
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour sides and bottoms of pans. Set pans aside.

In large bowl of mixer, stir together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and soda. Stir in the sugar.

In small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix into the dry ingredients. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter and coffee. Divide batter evenly among pans.

Bake at 350 for around 50 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack.

 As always, I have the cutest help around!

Easy Foolproof Ganache
18 ozs semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon liquor or flavoring (optional)

Heat cream until nearly boiling. Pour over chocolate chips, cover and let sit 10 minutes. Whisk chocolate and cream (and flavor if using) until well combined; dark, smooth and glossy.

Let sit at room temp until cooled. To thicken, beat with hand mixer for a few minutes. Also thickens over time as it sits.

Refrigerate in airtight container for up to a week. To restore to spreading or glazing consistency, heat and stir over double boiler for a few minutes until softened.

The chocolate ganache recipe was a hit

at Mo's 2nd birthday party!

Sweet face

Served these cupcakes with strawberry-cream cheese frosting.

Princesses MUST have pink everything!

My princess turning 3!

As you can tell, we love chocolate cake! Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.

Have a blessed weekend,



PS - just a few more pics of my girl... cause she's a great baker and such a cutie pie!

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Melting Moments - Easy Christmas Cookies

My sweet momma gave me this recipe and I share it when I can. These cookies are so simple to make and turn out delicious, they MELT in your MOUTH (not in your hand :o).

Made with love...

Hope you enjoy making and eating these! Not the healthiest cookie, but hey - it's the holidays!

I've got all my ingredients together to make another couple batches of these sweet treats to give to our neighbors for Christmas. I just need the self control to get them out of the house! They are so good :o)

Melting Moments

(this is doubled - which is rarely even enough for my family to enjoy and to share!)

Ingredients:

2 cups butter (softened)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 2/3 cup flour

red or green sugar crystals (or any color)

 

Directions:

In medium bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add cornstarch and flour, beating until blended.

Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375*.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in colored sugar. (great job for the kids!)

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until edges are golden.

Cool 2-3 minutes and remove to cookie rack.

***These freeze very well! Great to make ahead.***

My little girl LOVES to help roll the balls of dough in colored sugar.

It's a fun job for a 2-year-old  :o)



ENJOY and many blessings!

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