Between Dreams and Reality

I just came back from a stress-free weekend visiting family in Southern California. It was sunny and 75 degrees outside. I wore a skirt and sandals to the beach. There were strawberries in the farmer's market - both local and seasonal. Is it any wonder my entire being was screaming "No!" at the idea of coming back to the reality of work and several months before spring?

These whole wheat chocolate chip cookies helped ease me back into real life, without slapping me in the face too harshly. They are comforting enough to harken to that dreamy land of suspended reality, yet they have enough nutrients to fit into the real world where calories count and fiber is a necessary part of life.

They taste great, a little nutty from the whole grains, a little bitter, a little salty, and just enough sweetness to keep you reaching for one more. Chocolate Chip Cookies that are 100% whole grain? It's a perfect balance of escapism and what your body really needs. (Need pictures? Check out these.)

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Based on a recipe from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain

3 cups whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into ¼- and ½-inch pieces, or bittersweet chips (I used Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate chunks - perfect!)

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. (If you have no parchment, you can butter the sheets.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend.
Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl, and blend on low speed until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate, stirring in with a wooden spoon. Refrigerate the dough until cold, about 30 minutes.

Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons in size onto the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie. (I made smaller cookies; about 1 inch balls of dough.)

Bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes (check after 12 minutes). Transfer the cookies, still on parchment, to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: about 20 big cookies or 36 smaller cookies

Blue Ribbon Oatmeal Cookies

Cool fall weather puts me in the mood for comfort food. Tonight, I made my husband's day when I presented him with the prospect of good old-fashioned cookies, warm out of the oven.

I still use the recipe that my mom made for me growing up. I don't know who won the blue ribbon originally or where my mom got this recipe. All I know is that it yields amazing, soft in the center, crunchy on the outside, perfect oatmeal cookies. You can go plain regular oatmeal (I prefer old-fashioned oats for their more chewy pronounced texture, although quick oats work as well); or, add raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips for variety. My mom is a chocolate nut and always added the chocolate.

Blue Ribbon Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/c c. chopped nuts/raisins/chocolate chips (optional)

Cream the butter; add both sugars, eggs, vanilla. Mix well. In another bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients together and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Shape into 1-inch balls and place about 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool.

No Bake Cookies

Today, in honor of the weather being too hot for casual use of ovens, I will share my recipe for poor man’s crack- aka No Bake Cookies. The glory of this recipe is manifold- the simplicity and common nature of the ingredients; the easy method; and the perfect consistency of the peanut-butter chocolate combination.

Everyone falls in love with these cookies. When I went to college and introduced my roommates to "No Bakes", they became so infatuated that they often couldn’t wait for the cookies to harden to partake. With spoons poised over the still warm pan, they would scoop the remaining batter into their impatient mouths.

One of my roommates even mailed No Bakes to me when I was in a training center preparing to go to Hong Kong to be a missionary. (She lived down the street and was able to get them to me the same day while they were still fresh.) I hope you will have your own cherished memories of these cookies too someday!

The Ultimate No-Bake Cookies

2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
½ c. cocoa powder
½ c. milk

Combine above ingredients in a saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil. Boil for exactly 2 minutes. Do not stir while boiling. Remove from heat after 2 minutes and stir in the following:

½ c. chunky peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. quick oats

Spoon the mixture onto 2 cookie sheets lined with wax paper or aluminum foil. Cool in refrigerator until set, about 30-60 minutes.

Christmas Cookies - Part Two!

Here is the recipe for the Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints that we made for Christmas. They are pretty tasty - Paul loved them! This recipe is adapted from one that appeared in Cooking Light magazine (my favorite). I strongly suggest that you use the leftover Nutella to make banana/chocolate crepes. :-)

Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints
Yield: 28 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

Preheat oven to 350F.Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.

Inside the bowl, knead dough 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350E for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.