Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of my favorite creations. My family seriously cannot get enough of these cookies, they are SO good! Slightly crisp on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside!

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

-1 C Butter                
-1 C White Sugar      
-1 C Brown Sugar    
-1 tsp Salt                
-2 tsp Vanilla            
-2 Eggs   
-1 tsp Baking Powder
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1 1/2 C Flour
-1 3/4 C Cocoa
-1 C semi sweet chocolate chips
-1 C white chocolate chips

-Cream butter, sugars, salt and vanilla.
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing each time until combined.
-mix in baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and flour
-stir in chocolate chips.
-chill dough for 1/2 hr in the fridge and then form into balls.
-place on a cookie sheet layered with parchment paper

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A lot of people say that they have the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie recipe. Since everyone has different tastes, I suppose they are all right. So this is my idea of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Crispy on the edges, soft and chewy in the middle.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

-1 C butter            
-1 C white sugar    
-1 C brown sugar  
-1/2 tsp salt            
-2 tsp vanilla
-2 eggs
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-3 1/4 C flour
-Bag of your favorite chocolate chips

-Cream butter, sugars, salt and vanilla.
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing each time until combined.
-mix in baking powder, baking soda and flour
-stir in chocolate chips.
-chill dough for 1/2 hr in the fridge and then form into balls.
-place on a cookie sheet layered with parchment paper

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Bagels

Homemade bagels are really quite easy to make, and they taste delicious!

Bagels

-1 Tbsp honey        
-1 tsp yeast            
-1 C warm water 
-1 tsp molasses
-1 tsp salt
-about 3 1/2 C flour

-Mix the honey with the warm water and add the yeast. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
-Add the molasses, salt, and flour and knead to form a soft dough.
-Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let stand for about 40 minutes.
-When your dough is just about done raising, ready a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. (I add a little honey, molasses and baking soda to my water to give it extra flavor)
-Knead the dough and form into little balls, about the size you would like your bagels to be. Pinch a hole in the center and expand your hole until the dough resembles a bagel.
-Gently drop your bagel into the water and boil it for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. (you don't need to let the bagels rise first, as they will do this in the water)
-Place the boiled bagel on a cooling rack to drain off excess water
-Create an egg wash by beating an egg white. Put bagels on a greased cookie sheet and brush each boiled bagel with the egg wash.
-Place Bagels in the oven 

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown

The Creaming Method

• First, measure out and sift together your dry ingredients. (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa) You want to be ready because you don't want your butter-sugar-egg mixture to loose volume.
• Mix your room temperature butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

• Add eggs (room temp) one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Mixture should be light, fluffy and almost silky.
• Start by adding a portion of the dry ingredients to the mixture and alternately add a portion o the wet ingredients (again, room temperature or else you could change the consistency of your batter), preferably in 3 stages, or until everything is mixed in.
• Once you add the flour, DO NOT OVER MIX or your texture could turn out tough.

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

I discovered this recipe years ago here at: allrecipes.com. I changed it slightly to suit my personal tastes. Since I'm not particularly fond of the taste of oil, I use butter instead of oil. Since I didn't use oil, I also changed the original mixing directions. I also always use buttermilk instead of regular milk as I love the flavor that buttermilk contributes to quick breads.
 

 Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

-1 C Butter                  
-2 ½ C Sugar                  
-1 ½ tsp Salt                
-1 ½ tsp Vanilla            
-1 ½ tsp Almond extract
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-3 C flour
-1 1/2 C buttermilk
-2 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

-Cream butter, sugar, salt, and flavorings together.
-Add eggs, mixing in one at a time until fully incorporated.
-Sift together flour and baking powder
-Add the sifted flour alternatively with the buttermilk, starting and finishing with flour.
-Gently fold in the poppy seeds. 
-Drop into lined muffin tins

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes 

(or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffin)

Chocolate Truffle Brownies

These brownies are a chocolate lovers delight. The basic brownie recipe was formed over the course of my college years as I attempted in trail and error, a countless number of times to make brownies that tasted better than ones from a box. (It wasn't easy!)
These kind of brownies are thick, gooey, dense and chocolaty, and when you add the truffle cream to them, they are absolutely rich and delicious!

Brownies

-1 C butter (room temperature)
-2 C sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp vanilla
-4 eggs (room temperature)
-1 C cocoa
-1 C flour

-Mix butter and sugar together in a bowl until combined
-add salt and vanilla
-Mix in eggs one at a time, until fully blended
-add in cocoa and flour, mixing only until combined


Truffle Center

-1 C milk chocolate chips
-1/4 C heavy whipping cream (if using white chocolate chips, use a little less than 1/4 C cream)

-In a microwave safe bowl add chocolate chips and heavy cream.
-Melt chocolate chips in cream on high for 30 second intervals, stirring each time until chips are completely melted and it makes a nice chocolaty sauce.

Putting it all together:

-Spray a  9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and spread out 1/2 of the brownie batter.
-Pour on the truffle cream and spread it out as best as you can over the brownie batter.
-Add the rest of the brownie batter and then use a knife gently to spread it over the truffle cream.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
(The center will be set and not jiggle. The toothpick test will NOT work on these brownies as the truffle cream does not set up until cool)

Let chill. These are super gooey when warm, but will firm up as they cool. 

Best EVER Buttermilk Pancakes

Growing up, I NEVER liked pancakes. But these pancakes are something else, they are pretty much AMAZING. Ever since I started making these pancakes I found that I actually LIKE pancakes now. These go great with this Butter Pecan Sauce

Buttermilk Pancakes  

-1 C flour
-2 Tbsp sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 egg
-1 C buttermilk
-1/2 C melted butter

-Mix everything together until smooth. Drop desired amount of batter onto a medium heated, greased griddle or pan.
-Flip when there are air bubbles on top and the bottoms are golden brown.

If the batter is too thin for your personal preference, add less buttermilk. If the batter is too thick for your liking, add more buttermilk.