All You Need is Tea & Warm Socks

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Words of Wisdom

Oh, Monday.

Baking is usually a weekend activity for me but I have an urge to bake some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite and I am very excited to use my red KitchenAid hand mixer I got last weekend to bake my French fruit tarts.  

And really, it is quite simple.  All you need is tea, warm socks... and chocolate chip cookies.

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

barely adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen.  Try not to eat them all.

I will let you know the level of heavenly these cookies turn out to be.  

To the kitchen I go!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Paula Dean's Sweet Potato Biscuits

I don't know if it is just the change of season but I am feeling the impulse to bake... a lot!  I'm feeling inspired by all of the amazing holiday recipes and I recently ran across a sweet potato biscuit recipe that sparked my interest.  Needless to say, I ended up making the sweet potato biscuits and they tasted phenomenal and were no chore to make. It is helpful if you have mashed sweet potatoes prepared prior to baking this recipe-- great for using left-overs! Just a few ingredients and a few dirtied dishes later make for a worthwhile baking experience!

Paula Dean's Sweet Potato Biscuits 

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 heaping tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter
• 2 to 4 tablespoons milk (depending on the moisture of the potatoes)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate, large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Then add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture and continue to cut in. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes. (Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature.)

Subsitutions & changes to the recipe:  I did not use a biscuit cutter to form my biscuits.  I just rolled my hands in flour, formed a ball of dough in between my hands, placed the biscuit on a non-greased pan and flattened the top out a little.  I also didn't cook my biscuits for the full suggested cooking time of 15 mins.  Cooking in high altitude sometimes can be tricky but my biscuits came out SUPER moist.  Make sure you don't forget the drizzle of butter on top before you bake, it adds sweet texture and yummy flavor to the end product!  Forget about adding extra butter for serving--the biscuits are super rich on their own.  Dollop a bit of honey on top--presto!

Yummo.