Best. Cookies. Ever.

I've been making chocolate chip cookies for most of my life, but I can never seem to master the perfect cookie, especially according to my all-too-picky-about-his-cookies husband. I want my cookies crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and packed with chocolatey goodness. Awhile back I stumbled on a recipe on Yahoo claiming to be an "All-Star Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe," so on Sunday, after some whining encouragement from my band of loyal cookie testers, I set about to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies. According to the hubby, I finally succeeded (yay!) in creating a cookie that is both super tasty and the perfect texture. So, I thought I'd share the love and pass on the recipe. It has a couple of unique steps, but I followed the recipe to the letter, and it passed the perfect cookie inspection so I'd recommend doing it anyway, even if it seems strange :)


THICK & CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:
2 1/8 c. all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 c. brown sugar (light or dark - I used light)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks


1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions.

2. Melt butter and cool slightly. I melted it in a small microwave bowl and then stuck it back into the freezer for a few minutes until it was opaque and creamy again, but still melty.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer (I opted for hand mixing), mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.

4. In a second bowl, thoroughly mix together all the dry ingredients. Stir into the wet ingredients until just combined, and then stir in the chocolate chips.

5. "Form 1/4 c. dough into a ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough's uneven surface." That's what the original recipe says. Basically, I ripped the giant dough ball in half and then smushed the sides back together so that the two torn halves made up the top of the new dough ball. Not sure if that's exactly what it meant, but it worked for me!

6. Place formed dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet, about 9 dough balls per sheet (btw, these cookies are HUGE). Makes about 18-20 cookies.

7. Bake, reversing the cookie sheet's position halfway through baking, for 15-18 minutes until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden, yet centers are still soft and puffy. (Mine actually took 18-20 minutes, just keep a close eye on them).

8. IMPORTANT: Cool cookies on the cookie sheet to make sure they end up with the perfect texture! Dough can be frozen up to 1 month or refrigerated for up to 2 days, shaped or not.

ENJOY!

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Ultimate Blog Party '09

I was browsing some of my favorite blogs last night looking for inspiration and new projects to make with the kids, and I stumbled upon an amazing site called 5 Minutes for Mom. Their site is completely dedicated to everything "mom," and I can say that I browsed their site for quite awhile, and it's AWESOME! I especially love the "Mom Shops" section where they have a directory of everything you can imagine that is Mommy-made by work-at-home moms like myself.

Check out their annual Ultimate Blog Party for a HUGE (thousands!) list of blogs that you can check out - be inspired, make some new friends and maybe score some loot while you're at it (there are TONS of awesome prizes to be won!). Personally, I'd love to win #158 (A KitchenAid Stand Mixer in your choice of colors!), #11 (a $50 package from YouCanMakeThis.com), #19/#20/#21 ($50 gift card to Target - because, really, who wouldn't love free cash to a place I spend so much time at anyway!?), USC#58 (a gorgeous custom apron from boojiboo.etsy.com)...or any of these (Check out the prize list for the specifics!): INTL 41, INTL 61, 41, 104, 76, 89, 8, 16, 106, INTL 2, INTL 8, USC 77, USC 44, USC 16, USC 6, USC 26...or pretty much ANY of the prizes listed lol. What a fabulous giveaway! SO glad I found 5 Minutes for Mom!

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Easter Egg Banner

This Easter egg banner is a great craft for quickly creating a holiday decoration out of little more than paper scraps and glue. First, you'll want to gather up the supplies you need:

This was actually what I gave my kids to keep them entertained while I made my banner, but short of an Easter egg template (I got mine here), this is pretty much all you need. I'd recommend using better scissors than the ones my 3-year-old was using though ;)
If you have an oval cutter and an Xacto knife it will make easier work of creating the inner shapes. Stamp pad and/or ink is optional for a more vintage look.

I didn't think about making a tutorial until I was quite aways along in the project, so I apologize that there are some steps not photographed.

* Print the egg template on heavy cardstock and cut out the egg shape using an Xacto knife. Be careful to cut the egg shape out without cutting through any of the edges as this will be used as a pattern from which you'll cut all your large egg shapes.

* Choose 7 mix-and-match papers (approximately 5"x7") for the large background eggs. Using your cardstock egg stencil pattern, draw the egg shape on the back side of the papers, and cut out.

* Cut seven mix-and-match interior egg shapes. This is the part where an oval cutter really comes in handy.

* Using Microsoft Word or a similar program, print the letters "E-A-S-T-E-R" in any font of your choice. Cut out the individual letters, and use double stick tape to adhere the border of the letter to a smaller scrap of paper. Using your Xacto knife or scissors, carefully cut out your letters using the printed font as your guide.

* Using a coordinating font, print and cut out the word "Happy." Using double stick tape, place the last small egg on top of the cut out word, and then use another piece of double stick tape to adhere both pieces to a brightly lit window. Using the backlighting and a black marker, trace the word onto the egg.

* Assemble and embellish as pictured:

* Now it's time to embellish! You can really go crazy here adding all kinds of trims: glitter, seed beads, ribbons and such. I opted to go for a quick finish since I was trying to complete my craft in the duration of my boys' naptime.

* For my finish I chose to ink the edges of all the layers with a black stamp pad. I only have a large stamp pad, but I don't mind if it gets a little messy. If you do decide to do an ink or chalk edged finish, you'll need to treat each layer before you assemble them together.

* Lay out a length of 7/8" ribbon (approx. 5' long) and space your letters along the ribbon however you wish. When all of the letters are in place, use your Xacto knife to cut a small slit through both the top of the egg and the layer of ribbon underneath it. Use a decorative brad or fastener to attach each egg to the ribbon.

All finished - quick and easy!

I love these little faux chocolate bunnies

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