Big Bon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Children,

These are dad's favorite chocolate chip cookies.  After 24 years of marriage, he still argues with me that milk chocolate chips are better than semi-sweet.  And walnuts, he loves walnuts!  No other nuts will do!

Hope you can share this with your children's children someday.  

Love, 

Mom 

ps- always use a digital scale to measure out baking ingredients.  It's better than measuring by volume and your baked goods will always be consistent.  Purchase scales that can measure both in grams and ounces.  

This recipe will make about 4 dozens cookies

Big Bon Chocolate Chip Cookies 

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (150 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups (281 grams) all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 package (12 ounces) milk chocolate or semi sweet chips (2 cups)

Heat oven to 375ºF.
With a hand mixer, lightly beat sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl.
Fold in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff).
Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft).
Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Jenna's Gingerbread Sandwiches with Chocolate Butter Cream

 These photos were featured in the Savannah Morning News with Miss Sophie's weekly food column this morning.  Gingerbread cookies with chocolate buttercream frosting; who would have thought of such a combination?  

I was quite skeptical when Miss Sophie told me she was making this for Jenna's party.  I figured since I love chocolate butter cream, I could always lick the filling off the gingerbread cookies, right?
But the moment I took a bite, I tasted all the wonderful flavors of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but even better, with smooth, silky, chocolate buttercream too.  

Improving on the wonderful flavors of Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Yes, folks.  It can be done. 

These are on my 'must make' list of cookies for the year.  

Print This Recipe!

OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD COOKIES

From “White Jacket Required” by Jenna Weber.  

Used with permission by author

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large heavy-bottom pot, combine brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and white pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove pot from stove and add baking soda, stirring to combine well (be careful: the mixture will bubble up here – just keep stirring!). Add butter a few chunks at a time, stirring to combine with each addition. Add egg and stir, Stir in the flour and salt gradually. The dough will be very soft and still warm.

Roll the dough 1/4 – inch think on a floured surface and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter or large glass.

Bake cookies, spaced 2 inches apart, until golden and just set, about 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool. The cookies will firm up as the cool.

To make sandwiches, spread Chocolate Buttercream Icing on one cookie and top with another cookie.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

From “White Jacket Required” by Jenna Weber. This is a delicious and easy frosting recipe that would also be delicious on white or yellow cupcakes. 

Used with permission by author

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of sea salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla for 5 minutes on high speed. Add the cocoa powder and milk and keep beating for another 8-10 minutes until very light, thick and fluffy.

Pizza Making Party with the Girl Scouts and Recipes

A few weeks ago, a fellow homeschooling mom and leader of the Savannah Girl Scouts troop (#30273) contacted me to see if I would be willing to give a tour of my church's kitchen to the girls. I was delighted for the opportunity!

Independent Presbyterian Church is located just across from the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scout USA. It is a common sight on Bull Street to see troops paying a visit to their beloved founder's home year around.

Since it wouldn't take but several minutes to tour the IPC kitchen, I thought it would be fun to make some homemade pizzas and surprise the girls with a special dessert using their famous cookies.

Choose your favorite topping! (I told the girls the most interesting pizza I've eaten was topped with squid and garlic!) From plain cheese to pepperoni, roasted peppers and onions, we all had a great time talking and assembling our own personalized pizzas.

It's just something about cooking and sharing food together...memories are made and friendships forged. I've made more friendships through cooking in the kitchen than anywhere else!

After devouring our pizzas, we had our Girl Scout Cookie Cake Bars! Girl Scout Samosas and Tagalongs can be used as toppings for this recipe. Many thanks to Kevin and Amanda for this super easy and yummy recipe!

Girl Scout Tagalong (or Samosa) Cookie Cake Bar by Kevin and Amanda

For Recipe and beautiful step-by-step photos, Click Here

Homemade Pizzas

*I usually triple this recipe for my family of 6 so we have left overs. These pizzas are great re-heated in toaster oven!

Print This Recipe!

Simple Pizza Crust

Makes 1 large or 4-6" personalized pizza crusts

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups bread flour, more for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, lower the oven rack to bottom third

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, using your hand.

Stir in flour and salt and knead until smooth, 4-5 minutes. Dough should be supple and not sticky. Form it to a smooth ball, place it in a bowl greased with 2 tablespoon of olive oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch or roll into a round. If the dough is hard to stretch or roll, let rest for a minute. Resume stretching to the size to fit your pan or make personalized pizzas.

Place a sheet of parchment paper over a baking pan. Lay stretched dough discs on paper.

Spoon on marinara sauce (recipe below), spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (longer if making a large pizza) , or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Simple Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried organo
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 dried bay leaves

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic, dried oregano, basil, pepper flakes and sauté garlic and herbs until just beginning to sizzle and heat. Add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf and grated parmesan cheese, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 45 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe can be doubled. Portion the sauce and freeze in quart-size bags for future use.