Tuesday, November 30, 2010

-- Dare to... Eat Cookies --

Though I missed last week, and am definitely a day behind for this week, I am still thinking about and trying to participate in Kim's Dare to Do It Yourself Challenge.


Dare to DIY

This week's challenge was (and lets just say, its one of my favorite :):


"As we begin to attend holiday parties, share your favorite cookie recipe for all to enjoy. It’s like a digital cookie swap. Share the recipe and a review of the cookie. If you can, add a picture. And don't worry about the extra calories. At Christmas, cookies are calorie-free."

For me, I feel you can't ever go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie and around our house, they are a favorite.  But, I do like them hot from the oven.  So, what I do is make a double batch, form all of the cookies and stick them in the freezer between strips of wax paper.  That way, when the mood for a cookie strikes, I can pull out as many as we are planning to eat that evening and stick them in the oven.  

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We use a very simple chocolate chip recipe:

Blend: 1/2 cup shortening
            1/2 cup white sugar
            1/2 cup brown sugar

Add:    1 egg
            1 teas. vanilla

Incorporate:  1 1/4 cup flour (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less)
                      1/2 teas. baking soda
                      1/2 teas. salt

Mix well and then incorporate 1/2 bag of dark chocolate, chocolate chips.

Bake at 325 for 14 minutes

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I've got to admit though, my luck with cookies has not always been the greatest.  Usually they would burn on the bottom by the time I got them fully cooked in the middle.  But, that all stopped when I found these little babies:


These look just like a silpat liner, but they seem to do a different kind of job.  The cookies bake perfectly even and they are soft and chewy in the middle.  Its like magic!  Last year I bought one for every female in my family because I love them so much and now they also rave about them.  I got mine at Canadian Tire for less than $10.  Best cookie-related invention ever!


Next week's Dare is to give homemade gifts.  I have considered doing a little bit of a giveaway at the same time as next week's Dare post, but I'm not sure that there are that many people actually reading.  If I could guarantee that at least 10 people would be part of the giveaway, I could easily find myself giving a homemade, Clark Wood Creations gift to one lucky blog-friend :) Who wants to see a little CWC giveaway?

10 comments:

Littlec said...

I need to get one of those cookie liners. Thanks for the tip. I love all CWC items!

Megan said...

Me, me, me!! :)

I have those cooking mats too and ADORE them!

Amanda @ Little House on the Corner said...

Freezing your cookies and then baking them when the craving strikes is such an easy but genius idea.

I've never tried those baking mats but they look like a pretty good -- and inexpensive -- investment!

And I'm always willing to enter a giveaway. :)

Rachael West said...

OOOH I want a CWC give-away :+) I am on the hunt now for those baking mats thanks for the tip!

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

I just got come cooke sheet liners from Costco - love them!

Kelley Robinson said...

oooh, I want to play! Question about the liners: do you put them in the oven all floppy or do you put them on a baking sheet? Cookies are the best.

Lucky Girl said...

Hi Kelley, not sure if you will check this or not, but with the cookie liners, you do need to put them on a baking sheet. There are fewer casualties that way ;)

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

Love the idea of freezing them and baking little by little. That would help the whole "eating 24 cookies by myself" thing.

Leah said...

love the freezing part. do you freeze before or after you bake??

Lucky Girl said...

Hi Leah! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I actually freeze the formed cookies before baking. Then, when we are craving a cookie, I pull a couple out, put them directly into the warmed oven and just add a minute or two to the baking time.

 
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