Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my old stand by recipe that I make most often. Can you ever really go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie? I don't think so.

1 c butter
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
3 cups flour
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Then mix in the soda and salt and last add in the flour. Beat until nicely mixed. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Toffee Sticks

Toffee Sticks

I don't know where this recipe comes from but I remember mom making them for special occasions. They are look like they are so much more complicated than they really are. 

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter                                      2 T shortening

1.2 c brown sugar                            1 6 oz bag butterscotch morsels

1 egg yolk                                        1/4 c light corn syrup

1 t vanilla                                          1 T butter

1/4 t salt                                           1/4 t salt

1 1/2 c flour                                      sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend together the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Then add in the egg yolk and the vanilla and mix in. Add in the salt and flour and mix well. Then press it into a 9X13 baking pan.  Bake for twenty minutes.

Take out and let cool. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the second column list except for the almonds and heat and stir over medium heat  until sauce is smooth. Spread over the baked cookie crust.

Sprinkle with almonds and allow it to cool and set before cutting into 2X2 square

Double Chocolate Cookies

Double Chocolate Cookies

I grew up on these cookies. Mom used to have a cookbook that was all about chocolate and it had some of our favorite family recipes in it. I copied all of my favorites down onto recipe cards when I got married and moved out. I really wanted the whole book though. Unfortunately, the book was no longer being sold. Years later I happened upon that very cookbook at a garage sale being held in the back  parking lot of Layton High School. My husband shook his head when I  got back into the car beaming about my 15 cent find!!

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 c sour cream

1 t vanilla

2 c flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t slat

1/2 c chocolate chips

Grease two cookie sheets and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl,  beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the sour cream and vanilla. Mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the bowl with the creamy mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Drop by teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets and back for 8 to 10 minutes.

Hope you love them as much as I do!

**Note: Sometimes I like to replace the vanilla with peppermint extract OR leave the cookie dough as it is but use peppermint chocolate chips instead. The chocolate mint combination is really yummy!

Sunday Breakfast

Avena

This is a drink that my mother in law taught me how to make. They drink it all the time in Bolivia for breakfast. Avena is oatmeal in spanish.

5 cups of water

2 cinnamon sticks

2/3 c oatmeal blended

3 cups water

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups 2% milk

1/2- 2/3 c sugar or to taste

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add cinnamon sticks. Turn heat down and let the cinnamon sticks simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Take the cinnamon sticks out and add back in 3 cups of water. Once the water has come back up to a boil, add blended oatmeal (I just put my oatmeal in the blender and process it until it is powdery but still has some texture to it) as you whisk the water. Add in the evaporated milk, 2 % milk and sugar and heat until nice and hot. Ladle into cups and serve.

Biscuits

My kids love when I make these for breakfast....they are so simple to mix together and done in about 15 minutes. Add a little butter and honey or jam and you have a delicious start to your day.

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup milk

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt with a fork in a bowl. Cut in the shortening until it is worked into the flour mixture well. Add milk stirring as little as possible with the fork. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and slightly knead until the dough holds together (biscuit dough is much like pie crust; the less you handle it the more tender the crumb) Then roll out and cut with your favorite biscuit cutter rerolling the dough as necessary. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes and serve.

Hot Breakfast for the Kids

My kids are not the "cereal for breakfast" kind of kids. They like to eat a nice hot breakfast before they head out to school. This was done a lot easier when they were in elementary school which doesn't start until 9. Now I have one in high school, which starts at 7:30 and one in Jr. High which starts at 8:00. On top of that, I now work and add the carpool trips and my daily workout....that is one busy morning. Lucky for me I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. This waffle recipe is one of them. I simply cook up a big batch of them on my day off or on the weekend and freeze them in a long sandwich bread bag and set them in the freezer. In the morning, the kids are able to pop them into the toaster and enjoy the same great taste as if I had just made them without me having to be physically in the kitchen.

Waffles

4 c milk

4 eggs

2/3 c oil

1 t vanilla

2 T sugar

2 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

4 c flour

In a large bowl; beat eggs and milk till frothy, add in oil and vanilla. In a seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Stir dry ingredients into milk. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and ladle in enough batter for one waffle. Close and let cook according to your waffle iron's instructions until golden brown. Remove from iron and repeat with the remaining batter. Let all waffles cool before you freeze them. Stack them neatly into a long bread bag and set them in the freezer where they will not get smashed. Once frozen they will seperate easily in order to toast. Don't over toast them...just enough to warm through and crisp back to their original texture.

***Moms, this works great on mornings you want to sleep in too!

Comfort Food ~ Macaroni 'n Cheese

What is more cozy or comforting than Mac n Cheese on a cold winters day. And I am not talking about that stuff that comes in a box that my cousin affectionately calls "Yellow Death" Oh no...not in this house! Once you try this; you will never go back to the boxed stuff...and it is just about as easy!

Start one large pot of water to boil on the stove. When boiling, add 2 cups of elbow macaroni and 2 Tablespoons of salt. Stir immediately to break pasta apart . Bring back to a boil and stir a few times to keep pasta from sticking to itself.

Meanwhile, grate 11/2 c cheddar cheese and set aside.

Drain pasta when it is cooked to al dente. And let it sit aside in the strainer. In the same pot, melt 1/3 cup butter and add 2 cups of milk bring just to a boil. While waiting for it to heat, take 1/2 Tablespoon of cornstarch to 1/3 cup cold water in a cup and stir together till smooth. Slowly stir into simmering milk mixture and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese stirring until smooth.

Add pasta back into cheese mixture and stir together and serve.