And the winner is....

Toni!

Congratulations, Toni, and thanks for the brilliant frosting solution for the cranberry cake!

The winner was determined randomly. I wrote the names of all the entrants (there were 11, total) on a peice of paper, my husband picked a number (14) and the person I landed on when I counted to that number was the winner.

You walk the line

You guys are such good, rule-abiding entrants.

All 5 of you.

Yeap, we have only 5 entries so far for the Williams-Sonoma gift card contest. (LMP vs. Swedish apple pie from Paige, Sugar cookies vs. sugar cookies from Deborah, Chocolate Chip cookies vs. chocolate chip cookies from Kimmy as well as Sara, and Lemon Bars vs. Lemon Bars from Blair)

Anyway, I wanted to let everybody know that you've been very good about posting recipes with glaring similarities to mine. However, if you'd rather, your similarities can be a little more abstract (ie: they both contain eggs, they both go well with ice cream, I crave them both at midnight, whatever)

After all, this is really just a way for me to finagle your best recipes out of you.

good luck!

Free stuff- it's better than food!

I might have told a few of you that I would be doing some give-aways. So, without further ado, here is how you can win a $25 gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma (where you can finally get the set of 3 fuzzy chicks you've been dying for!).

It's a showdown.

Pick one of the recipes that I have posted (it doesn't have to be one you have made). In the comments section for that recipe, tell me about a recipe that is similar in some way, but superior to the one I blogged about. And don't forget to post your actual defending recipe.


For example, you could oppose my favorite brownie recipe with your favorite brownie recipe. OR maybe the similarities between my recipe and yours would be less obvious- just explain what they have in common and why you think your recipe is better. Then prepare for my brownie to beat your brownie up, because it will.


The winner will be chosen randomly from all the contest entries. But, since I am making up the rules as I go, if your entry is especially entertaining or convincing then maybe you will be entered twice. The deadline for entries is in one week- March 15th at 11:59 pm.

Thank you, Wendy!

Here's to my all-time favorite dessert.
Go ahead, call me boring, but I don't think there is a dessert that can stand up to the tastiness of a chocolate chip cookie with a cold glass of milk. Or, when I'm feeling fancy, a warm cookie with a scoop of ice cream.

Everybody seems to have their favorite recipe and I have found mine. Actually I found it about a year ago, and I have been meaning to share it with you for a while. I like my chocolate chip cookies buttery and chewy, yet crispy on the edges. I am also a firm believer in adding enough chocolate chips to contrast the buttery dough but not overwhelm it. This recipe accomplishes all of that. The only drawback (in some cases, benefit) is that the dough must be refrigerated before baking. Otherwise, with this brown sugar and butter- heavy recipe, the cookies will just spread too much. I am also a fan of freezing the dough in little balls for later use- with this recipe there is no need for defrosting before baking.

I don't know much about high-altitude baking, but if you are high-altitude I think this recipe might need some tweaking.

This recipe is based on a recipe by Wendy Gaynor that was printed in New York Times Magazine. From what I gather, she used to own a bakery called Ruby et Violette in New York City that is famous for its cookies. It sounds like a fun pit stop for the next trip to NYC to try an exotic cookie flavor or two. But then again, it would be near impossible to beat the classic chocolate chip!

Here she is:

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

8 oz butter, room temperature
1 C brown
sugar
1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp
baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 C chocolate chips

Cream butter. Add
sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.

Mix the flour and
baking soda together. Add this to the butter mixture at a low mixer speed until
it is just combined. Add the vanilla extract.

Beat on medium until
blended, then add the chocolate chips and stir them in.

refrigerate until
dough is completely chilled, then drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie
sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-11 minutes.

If your dough is spreading too much, try freezing it in little teaspoon-sized balls, between sheets of wax paper, then bake it straight from the freezer.