My Chocolate Fantasy

Just like the traditional New York cheesecake, the chocolate chip cheesecake recipe is ripe for modification. It basically involves just one modification to the traditional recipe: adding chocolate chips.

Once you’ve broken that “addition barrier,” the dam can break.

Think about the first time you added applesauce to pancakes (or even the aforementioned chocolate chips). It was as if you’d been standing in front of a white canvas and suddenly gotten the courage to pick up a paint brush full of red paint and make a few bold strokes, marring the previously pristine surface but at the same time making it something infinitely more interesting. Suddenly, you had the refrigerator open, pondering.

How about pecan pancakes? They eat those down South, right? Maybe some savory pancakes! I could add some ham and cheese or maybe some jalapenos or habanero peppers! Do you remember the rush of creativity? Do you remember how you made pancakes for dinner on a weeknight just so you could test out eight or nine different flavors?

Well, you likely won’t be making eight or nine chocolate chip cheesecakes on a weeknight, but once you start experimenting you might find yourself buying a spare spring form pan to allow for double batches.

If, by chance, you’re stuck for ideas, head back to basics. What do you know that goes with chocolate? I seem to recall a certain oft-parodied commercial from years ago, wherein one person eating a chocolate bar slammed into another person eating peanut butter. (Did people always walk around eating peanut butter out of the jar?) The result of the collision was the confection now known as the Reese’s Cup.

What else goes with chocolate? Mint chocolate chip is traditionally one of the more popular ice cream flavors. Snickers bars have chocolate and caramel matched together. Are you getting any ideas? You should be!

Now, go cook!

Chocolate and cookies go together like air and breathing, they are a perfect match. Now imagine those cookies are soft and chewy with a glass of milk or a couple of scoops of ice cream. Hmmm I have your mind going and dreaming about these cookies. And yes that’s what they do to you, make your feel good and that’s why chewy chocolate chip cookies are so popular. Once you have them you keep coming back for more, but be careful you don’t want to eat to much save some for later or my be a few for family and friends if you want to be nice. Companies have gain market shares in the cookie world because they started making these chewy chocolate chip cookies. Did you know that 25% of all cookies baked in the United States are chocolate chip cookies. As you see Americans love chocolate chip cookies, my be you want to make your own, my be you want to show your kids or friends how to make some really good chewy chocolate chip cookies. If you want a big chewy cookie like the kind you see at bakeries and specialty shops, then these are the cookies for you.Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Cookies will spread as they bake and this ensures a more even spread. Allow cookies to cool before removing them from the baking sheet. It gives a tiny bit more tooth, and, I think, keeps the cookies chewy longer. It’s not the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ll use, but when you want a “big, fat, chewy chocolate chop cookie,” this is awesome. I have tried quite a few chocolate chip cookie recipes, and this is by far the BEST! Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are just turning brown, leave on cookie sheet for a few min, and then let rest a bit longer to ensure best results. If you want these cookies to stay moist, put in sealed container after baking. Learn from my mistake Use (margarine) rather than butter in this recipe if you want thick cookies. This may be the perfect way for cookies to be, but all cookies are good fresh from the oven. Recipe Pre heat oven at 375 degrees in a large bowl beat the cooled melted butter with the sugars. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until well-combined. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the margarine, sugars, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the egg Scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat for a few more seconds. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Reduce speed to medium-low and add in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated. Reduce speed to lowest setting or gently stir by hand , gradually add in dry ingredients, scraping down bowl as necessary, and beating until just incorporated, don’t over mix. Ingredients 2 1/8 cups unsifted all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 12 T. margarine, melted and cooled until warm 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg plus 1 yolk 2 tsp. vanilla extract (pure, real!) 1-2 cups semi-or bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks 2tsp. corn syrup Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Makes 1 1/2 dozen very large cookies. For more information go to http://www.Teegoes.com

The chocolate chip cookie is an American classic. It’s the favorite cookie of many people, and the New York Times even produced an article about them which is still getting ‘buzz’. It’s no surprise that this cookie is such a big favorite, it’s very down-to-earth, and is often a comfort food. It’s also easy to make at home, if you don’t try to get overly exotic with it.

Chocolate chip cookies come in two basic textures, chewy and crispy. This recipe is for the chewiest, most melt-in-your-mouth delicious chocolate chippers you’ve had. If you like crispy cookies, stay far away because these bake up puffy, light and never oily. The soft moist cookies are full of big gooey chocolate chips. They taste fantastic hot from the oven, and keep well in sealed containers. However, because they are moist and rich-tasting with no preservatives, they should be refrigerated after a few days to prevent mold. (Much like a bakery-fresh moist bread, these cookies need care to not go stale)

Extra fact:Most cookie recipes only make cookies of ONE size. If you attempt to make the cookies at a size that is not described in the original recipe, you’ll run into problems such as undercooking while edges burn, or over-done cookies despite the bake-time. These cookies can easily be made in ANY of THREE sizes!

From ¼ cup scoops of dough at once for giant cookies…to1.5 tablespoon sized medium cookies…and1 .5 teaspoon size regular cookies

With this recipe the size is totally up to you! Just adjust the baking time accordingly. (seen below) A big chocolate chip cookie can make a nice ‘thank you’ gift for someone you know. When it’s home made, it really shows you care…and you only need to spend minutes making them!

How could a chocolate chip cookie get even better?What if it had HALF the fat of an ordinary cookie?What if it tasted richer and chewier than an ordinary cookie?And what if it had fiber, and healthy nutrients as well?

The seemingly impossible becomes possible with this fantastic chocolate chip cookie recipe. In one easy batch, these could become your new favorites. Chia Gel is your secret to a better tasting, lower fat cookie that has extra nutrition. You can find the recipe for Chia Gel below.

Ultra Chewy Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you’ll need:

Dry Ingredients2 cups flour½ heaping tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt¼ cup white sugar1 cup brown sugar2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients8 tbsp butter (works best if melted first)4 tbsp chia gel¼ cup apple sauce (unsweetened)1 tbsp vanilla1 whole egg1 egg yolk only

First, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and grease your cookie sheets. Mix the melted butter, and both sugars until well blended. Then add the vanilla, applesauce, whole egg and egg yolk. Stir again until thoroughly combined. Last add in your chia gel and stir again. In another bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips. (Flour, baking soda, salt) Once the dry ingredients are mixed, add them slowly to the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon. Stir only until just combined. Last, add in the 2 cups chocolate chips.

Suggestion:If you’re making large or medium size cookies, you can use Jumbo chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.If you’re making regular or small size cookies, regular-size chocolate chips work best

Sizes:If you use ¼ cup batter per cookie bake for about 15 minutes (Large)If you use 1.5 tbsp batter per cookie bake for about 12 minutes (Medium)If you use 1.5 tsp batter per cookie bake for about 10 minutes (regular/small)

When done baking, the cookies will become golden brown. The edges may appear lightly toasted but the centers will still be soft and puffy. Be careful not to over bake.

Make Chia Gel (a video)

Chia gel is super easy to make, and it’s the key to the healthy kick these cookies pack. Due to its unique gelling property, it replaces half of the butter in this recipe, without changing the flavor. Chia seeds have no flavor of their own when you make the gel with filtered water. You won’t even know they’re in the cookies.

1 tbsp dry chia seeds9 tbsp filtered water

In a seal-able container, simply scoop in the chia seeds and add the 9 tbsp filtered water. Stir with a fork to prevent clumping, and let stand for about 10 to 15 minutes. The seeds will each have formed a thick gel around them. This gel can now be used to replace up to half the butter or oil in almost any baked recipe.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to bake cookies and it is a great chance to make family memories, too. Have your children help you bake cookies and all of you can enjoy the sweet smells as the cookies bake. You can take turns telling stories while you share a cup of hot chocolate. The wonderful family memories will last a lot longer that your cookies will! My all-time favorite cookies are TOLL HOUSE chocolate chip cookies. I can almost smell warm chocolate chip cookies as I am writing about them; they are so deeply imbedded in my memories of Christmas.TOLL HOUSE chocolate chip cookiesNestles has made different types of morsels to suit everyone’s personal desire and taste. They now have white chocolate morsels, swirled milk chocolate and caramel morsels, semi-sweet chocolate swirled with white chocolate morsels, mini morsels and the regular semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Each bag has its own recipe but each type of morsels uses the same ingredient, with the exception of the White Chocolate Chip Cookies which have one additional ingredient for the “dry” mixture (Nestle’s TOLL HOUSE BAKING cocoa). If you want to double the recipe in order to be part of a cookie exchange group, the main ingredients for each type of cookie can be doubled. Then it would be necessary to double the amount of morsels. The basic ingredients doubled are:  4 & ½ cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups butter softened (4 sticks), 1 & ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 & ½ cup of packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 4 eggs.For:White Chocolate cookies you will need to add 1 additional ingredient to the dry mixture. It is 1 & 1/3 cups Toll House baking cocoa to the dry mixture and 2 packages (12oz.) of Nestle’s TOLL HOUSE Premium White Morsels. Milk chocolate and caramel cookies you will need 2 packages (12oz.) of Nestle’s TOLL HOUSE Milk Chocolate and Caramel Morsels (1 cup chopped pecans, if you want). Swirled semi-sweet white chocolate cookies you will need 2 packages (12oz.) of Nestle’s TOLL HOUSE swirled Real Semi-Sweet & White Chocolate Morsels (2 cups of nuts, if you like). After you have gathered all your ingredients, heat the oven to 350*. You will need 2 bowls:  a medium one for the dry mixture and a large one to mix all the ingredients for the cookies. In the medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients (4 & ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda). In the large bowl, add the 1 & ½ cup of granulated sugar and 1 & ½ cup of packed brown sugar, 4 sticks (2 cups) softened margarine, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and beat until creamy. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after adding each one.Now, gradually add the dry mixture. Stir in 2 bags of your choice of morsels (and nuts if you choose). Drop a rounded tablespoon of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Place a few morsels on top of each cookie and bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks. This will make about 9 dozen of the best tasting cookies you will ever have!It is fun to see if someone in your family or a close friend wants to share their favorite cookies with you by becoming part of a Christmas Cookie Exchange. Because many people have favorites of their own, you will be able to enjoy a variety of cookies. It is simple when you double your recipes. You will be able to share ½ of your baked goods and receive ½ of theirs so you will have a bigger selection. My family loves my Christmas cookies but they also love and enjoy eating different kinds of cookies baked by their aunt. In Favorite Christmas Cookies 1, you saw how I made Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. In Christmas Cookies Part 3, you will see another kind of cookie called Swirled Turtle Brownies. You can also see other recipes in the article entitled “Cookie Exchange Will Save at Time at Christmas”. Enjoy the time you spend making Christmas cookies and memories and remember, make it fun.

Perfect for a snack or if you fill them with tons of chocolate and eat them still hot out of the oven with a glass of milk then they become a real luxury. If you like tons of chocolate then you will love this if not then just reduce the chocolate a bit. I hope you like it if you do you can find more cookie and muffin recipes on my website the link is at the bottom of the text.

Ingredients

- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Method

PREHEAT oven to 375° F/ 190° C.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto lightly greased baking sheets, grease with oil. Another great way is to use an ice cream scoop to drop your cookies then flatten with baking paper.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely. Or for those who can’t wait they are best when still hot so once there safe to handle.

Find more fantastic recipes from chocolate cookies to triple chocolate muffins and blueberry muffins that will blow your mind.

http://www.cookiesandmuffinsrecipes.com

Gather your friends and/or family in the kitchen to make your own homemade cookies.  Making cookies doesn’t always have to be a time consuming chore.  Have some fun in the kitchen and make cookies in a matter of minutes.  These Shortcut Cutout Cookies use refrigerated dough that you can decorate for whatever occasion you want to celebrate.  They are quick, easy, and make very little mess to be cleaned up.  What could be better?  Want to avoid decorating but have some tasty homemade cookies warm from the oven?  Try this recipe for Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Is there anything better than a warm chocolate cookie with chocolate chips?SHORTCUT CUTOUT COOKIES1/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 of an 18-oz roll of refrigerated sugar-cookie doughHeat oven to 350 degrees.Knead the flour into cookie dough until completely blended together. Roll out dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookie shapes and put about 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Re-roll the scraps and cut more cookies. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes or just beginning to brown around the edges. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Frost or decorate as desired. PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened3/4 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup packed light brown sugar1 tsp vanilla extract2 eggs2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1/3 cup cocoa powder1 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1 pkg (12-oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips1 cup chopped nutsPreheat oven to 375 degrees.In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until creamy. Add eggs to the sugar mixture and beat well. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly on cookie sheets then remove to wire racks to cool completely.Yield: About 5 dozen cookies Enjoy!