Yummiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

So this is a recipe my co-worker tried and we all fell in love. The sea salt is the key to the magic :) Here's the link to the blog, or I copy/pasted the recipe itself below.

http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-only-chocolate-chip-cookie-i-will-ever-need-to-know-how-to-make-for-the-rest-of-my-life.html

She has a lot of super picky tips, which I didn't follow...and I thought mine turned out just fine. Enjoy!

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt or kosher salt for garnishing

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Yields about 24 5-inch cookies.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Crunch

I had forgotten how tasty this Gigi treat is...

1. Mix together and press into 9x13 pan:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 stick softened butter

1 cup chopped nuts

Bake 20 minutes @ 350

2. Cream well:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

Fold in: 1/2 of a 9 oz. tub Cool Whip, and spread over cooled crust.

3. Mix 2 small or 1 large pkg. instant pudding according to package directions. (Chocolate is best.) Spread over cream cheese layer and top with remaining Cool Whip.

4. Refrigerate overnight. Sprinkle nuts over the top if desired.

Butterhorns

1 Tbsp. dry yeast

1 cup very warm water

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup milk, scalded

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, well beaten

4-5 cups flour

1/4-1/2 cup softened butter

Combine melted butter and milk. Stir in sugar, salt and eggs. While that is cooling (I put it in the freezer), soften yeast in water. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top. Once it's big and bubbly and the egg mixture is room temperature, stir it all together. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Don't add too much! Cover and allow to rise for 3-4 hours, or until doubled. turn out onto lightly floured board, knead just to coat dough with flour. Dough is very soft and should remain so. Divide in two. Roll each half into a circle. Spread each circle with softened butter. Cut, pie-fashion, into 16 pieces. Roll each piece loosely from large end to small. Place on greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise to double in size. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375.

Lemon Zucchini Fetuccini....say that ten times as fast as you can.

Heavens knows Shell-bo and I didn't have the exact amount of any of the ingredients when we made this in BL, but I think it tasted decent. Just know it's very much open to improvisation. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 lemons, divided

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 medium zucchini

Salt and pepper

5-6 cloves garlic

8 ounces of fettuccine

Fresh basil (about 1/2 cup)

Fresh oregano (about 1/4 cup) or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place chicken in a ziploc bag with the juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the red wine vinegar. Seal the bag and gently squish the bag to make sure the ingredients are incorporated and surrounding the chicken. Set aside for 15-30 minutes.

In a large pot, bring water with about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small saucepan on the stove, place 1/4 cup olive oil and add garlic. Turn the burner to medium-low heat. It shouldn't be popping and frying, the oild should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When the water is boiling, add the pasta.

Remove the chicken from the bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place the chicken and zucchini on a grill.

WHile the chicken and zucchini are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs, and prepare the cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn't been juiced.

When the zucchini and chicken are done, remove them from the grill. Allow the chicken to stand for 5 minutes and then chop the zucchini and chicken.

Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and immediately place in big bowl. Place the chopped zucchini and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and the garlic-olive oil mixture.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water or a little more olive oil.

Death by Chocolate Cake

(a.k.a. Andrew's Birthday Cake, or "Goopy Fall-off Cake")

¾ cup sour cream

4 eggs

½ cup water

½ cup oil

1 chocolate cake mix

1 sm box instant pudding

1 cup chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Best sour cream, eggs, water and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Place in greased and floured bundt pan. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted comes out clean. While still hot, invert cake onto a serving platter. When cool, sift powdered sugar over top of cake. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.

It's Time

Hi Family. The deliciousness of our food at Bear Lake convinced me that it's time to start sharing our recipes officially. I took the bold step of creating a ... blog. Feel free to tweak it how you like - all I really care about is the actual information!

So I'm calling for all the best - the blueberry pie, the Rolo cookies, the Frito dip, the lemon pasta...

Next up: recipes!