Chocolate CHIPPERS

I love baking way more than cooking. I am better at it. After many trial runs, I have found the perfect recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They are just the right balance of salty & sweet and according to my sister, "they are un-real" hot out of the oven. Did I mention they look really cute too?

Chocolate Chippers

1 stick salted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

12 oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Prep: Thaw butter. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla until smooth.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl.

Stir dry and wet ingredients together.

Add chocolate chips (3/4 of the bag...or more depending on preference)

Scoop out dough with cookie scooper (this is my secret to making perfectly shaped cookies). Cook for 8 minutes. Transfer hot cookies to cooling rack.

makes about 4 dozen small size cookies

Enjoy!

Healthiest, Easiest, Yummiest No Bake Cookie

Yes, all those "ests" really do live up to this cookie.  You know those times where you are craving a cookie, but you don't want the oven, the butter, or the sugar?  Well, this recipe will do the trick.

A few of the ingredients may cause sighs of, "I don't want to aimlessly search the store for expensive specialties".  That was me at least, but these are staples I tell you and can work amazingly in a lot of recipes, so here you go.  

1- coconut oil (should be a wax like consistency) found at whole foods.

2- agave (found at Tarjay)

3- almond milk (found at tarjay) Oh the wonders of this milk.  I have pretty much replaced it for milk altogether.  It's non-dairy and works in recipes, cereal, etc.

Without further adieu, the recipe:

No bake peanut butter coconut cookies

1/2 cup agave

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/4 cup milk (almond milk works great)

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

In a medium sauce pan mix agave nectar and baking cocoa. Add milk and coconut oil. Stir over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, salt and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. Stick the pan into the refrigerator until the mounds are set, then eat away.

Gingersnaps

Last night, I had a delicious dream. Me in a room full of desserts. Cinnamon desserts. The most memorable one: a cake made of churros. Just churros, piled and curled up in a cake. I admit, I actually googled "churro cake" today in hopes of finding it in real life. No luck. Until I figure out how to make the churro cake of my dreams (and for the record I cannot remember the last time I even ate a churro) I give you these cookies, with their own dose of cinnamony goodness. They are actually not churro-y at all, but they are delicious, in real life.

Gingersnaps

4 cups flour
4 t. soda
4 t. cinnamon
2 t. cloves
1 t. ginger

Sift together.

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups shortening
1/2 cups molasses

Cream and add the flour ingredients. Roll into balls and tip the tops in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.