Chocolate Chip Cookies After a Long Break

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've posted!  The truth is, sometimes life gets in the way of posting.  I think of things I want to share (like my favorite tomato soup recipe), and then Laela wants to finger paint, or Kyle actually has a few hours to spend with us, so the recipe and posting gets pushed to the back of my mind, and my family takes precedence.

So where to begin...well, Kyle worked 16 hours shifts, 7 days a week for about a month.  My mother-in-law and her husband came to visit for a week.  Then Kyle went to Shanghai and Laela and I hitailed it to Siesta Key for some sun and fun on the beach for a week.  Now we're awaiting Kyle's return from Shanghai after an entire day of delayed flights.

Delayed flights are not the easiest thing to explain to a two year old.  Thankfully, Laela's is easily made happy by finger painting, making play dough, dressing up, playing hairdresser, and playing with her princesses and princess castle. 

While we were on vacation, we met a really nice couple named Patty and Christopher from Kentucky.  They told me how they always played with their kids, and did their best to be present in every moment, because they knew that one day, their little ones would be grown ups, and they'd miss that time.  I think sometimes, it's very easy to get caught up in the day to day, and forget to really put some time in with the people that we love.  Life goes by too quickly.  I find that Gretchen Ruben says it best:  "the days are long, but the years are short."

While parenthood is a lifelong job, children aren't "yours" forever, so I intend to continue to do my best to really enjoy every moment that I have with my little girl.

Today, while we wait (and hope) to find out when Kyle will be home, we're going to make some chocolate chip cookies, pepper soup, and some of Kyle and Laela's very favorite anniversary chicken with macaroni and cheese and broccoli.  A very dear friend of mine once told me that the memory of licking the spoon while baking with his mom is one of his favorite memories.  I hope that Laela remembers baking and cooking with me as fondly as that.

So you might be wondering...what chocolate chip cookie recipe do I use?  Tollhouse!  This really is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the whole wide world.  I usually use twice the amount of chocolate chips.  Remember two things:  1.  Cookies are still baking for a few minutes when you take them out of the oven.  2.  If you can smell the cookies, they are probably done baking.

Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (I use two packages)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:


PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:

PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.


**If you want the cookies to stay chewy, put them in an air tight container while still slightly warm.

Enjoy!!

She's ONE!!!

One.  A little over a year ago, I gave birth to the most perfect little girl in the world.  Well, maybe I can't speak for the whole world, so I'll just say in my world.  And Kyle's world..and our parents, and I'm pretty sure that list goes on a little bit, but I digress..  I gave birth to this perfect, smiling (so what if it was gas?  New parents don't care, it's their baby and she's smiling!!  Whooo!), chubby cheeked little creature that filled me with so much love and emotion that I thought I was going to burst.  Thankfully, I didn't burst and I got to see her grow into this adorable little toddler who loves to jump in the waves at the beach, zoom around the yard while carrying one of her little purses, pat and hug her baby dolls, and pig out on pretty much anything and everything in front of her.  It's amazing how three months ago she was cruising furniture and crawling, still sticking everything in her mouth, and now, she eats off a plate like a little lady (we're still on frisbee watch, don't worry!), drinks with a straw, and likes to eat her food on her own.  As I write this, she's sitting at her little table, playing with her wooden Montessori peg toy, pushing the beads up and down the wires.  It's firsts like this that tug at my heart strings with both pride and sadness as I watch my beautiful little girl become an independent little person.  She amazes me everyday and I just can't believe how quickly the time goes.

Anyway, now that I've totally mushed out, I'm ready to get back to business.  I had big plans for Laela's first birthday, and while I didn't get to do everything I'd planned because of time constraints, visitors, and Kyle leaving on a business trip for a few days following our vacation, I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out.

Ms. Laela had a yummy pumpkin birthday cake with buttercream icing.

I think she enjoyed it, don't you?

I made some basic chocolate and vanilla buttercream cupcakes for the partygoers.

I also made some lemon sugar cookies with royal icing.  I was a bit rushed, so they didn't come out as exciting looking as I'd planned, but everyone seemed to think they were pretty good.

For the favors I made chocolate covered pretzels.

I really tried to keep the decorations more fun and whimsical instead of pink thrown up.  We had butterflies, dragonflies, bees and ladybugs hanging from the trees and plants in our yard.

We even decorated the gift table...

It was a great party.  We had a wonderful time, and it was really fun to see Laela smash her cake and toddle around with her little buddies and our family and friends.

See you Wednesday for Laela and my next foodie adventure!

Catch Up

Whew!  It's been a rollar coaster ride the last week and a half!  After finally recovering from strep, my peanut got a little cold, and we had to drive down to Charm City for our great friends Thomasina and Poirot's wedding!  While the wedding was beautiful and great fun, Ms. Laela was a little listless and sleepy, instead of her super-fun lively self.  Poor kid couldn't sleep the night before the wedding because of her cold and sleeping in a strange place, so of course, I didn't sleep much either!   Thanks to lots of coffee, some help from the fabulous Lizy and Wyatt, and driving Laela around Charm City so she would nap, Laela was the sleepy version of her sweet, social self.

After this crazy weekend, I realized that I never posted any of my Labor Day goodies photos!  So here they are!

The trouble with writing this post is that my husband is looking at the pictures going "hey now!  When are you making me some goodies?!"

Guess I'd better get myself back in the kitchen!  (Whoa!  That was very 1950's of me.  Do I need to burn a bra or something?)

Starting Wednesdays I'm going to have a recipe a week.  If you have any recipe requests or questions, just email me and I'll post the answers to your cooking and baking questions.

Have a great Monday!!