Chocolate Chip Cookies

The other night I didn't have all the ingredients to make my usual go-to Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I had to find a different recipe (as cookies were a must on this given night). I found this new recipe and I ended up liking them more than my own recipe...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 325 F. 

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Beat together butter and sugars for 1 minute at medium speed. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium-low for 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and mix on low for 30 seconds. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Pull apart dough into equal halves with fingers then place back together so that jagged side faces top and smooth side is facing down. This creates the bakery look on top.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Take out when edges are hardening but centers still look puffy and soft, cool on pan.

Makes about 18 cookies

Oreo Truffles

We had a potluck at work last week and I signed up to bring dessert. I initially just thought I would throw together some cake cookies (recipe to come someday - SOOO easy and delicious) but then decided to be more ambitious. Cameron suggested/requested:

 Oreo Truffles.

Anything with the word "truffles" in it sounds daunting to me, but I decided to take up the challenge. Turns out, it's incredibly easy. Try 'em.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:

1 16 oz package of Oreo's

1 8 oz package of Cream Cheese

12 - 16 oz white chocolate

Any adornments you might like (melted milk chocolate - as shown, saved oreo crumbs, etc)

Directions:

- crush Oreo's in a blender/food processor until they are fine crumbs

- mix with very soft cream cheese until it makes a dough

- roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls

- place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for an hour

- melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in the microwave

- dip balls in chocolate and return to a wax paper lined cookie sheet

- add adornments

- return to freezer to set (eventually move to fridge to store if you like them cool like I do)

Makes about 35 truffles

Tips/Ideas:

* for making these for the first time I thought they went pretty well - but I did read some tips on how to dip (the hardest part in my opinion) and I used a bamboo skewer to dip - they popped off pretty easy onto the sheet.

* I used white chocolate with milk chocolate on top - but you can use dark chocolate or milk chocolate - or any chocolate you want really.

* for a twist on this you can use mint Oreo's - which could be delicious.

* only make these when you are taking them to share otherwise you might eat them all!

enjoy.

French Delight: Palmiers

Elephant Ears or Palmier's

Ingredients:

1 package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground ground cinnamon 

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

THAW pastry sheets at room temperature 30 min (mine take a bit longer to become workable) Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix egg and water. Mix the 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon.

UNFOLD 1 pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Brush with egg mixture. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. sugar mixture and a fair helping of plain sugar. Starting at short sides, fold (or roll) pastry toward center, leaving 1/4" space in center. Brush the top of the folds with egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tbsp. sugar mixture and more sugar. Fold one side over the other, making 4-layer rectangle. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet.
 

CUT each rectangle into 12 (3/4") slices. - IMPORTANT - this is crucial to these turning out (in my opinion), get a plate of sugar and flatten each slice with your palm (pushing one side and then the other) into the sugar - this helps them cook more evenly, look nicer, and adds even more sugar that cooks to a nice crunch on the outside 

 

PLACE cut-side down 2" apart on baking sheet. Brush tops with egg mixture (I nixed this part due to the sugar coating).

BAKE 12 min. or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack (remove from sheet immediately while the sugar is still soft/melted otherwise they will stick to the baking sheet).

Makes 24 Pastries

Jill's Tips 

• I've indicated my own take in italics above
• These can be made with just plain sugar and then dipped in chocolate
• Chopped walnuts can also be added to the inside, wherever you add sugar add the nuts