Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday I shared a few things that have made me smile this week.  One of those things was a nice, warm, fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies made from scratch.

Several people asked me if I would share the recipe, so that's what I'll do today.  We'll keep it short and sweet so you can go bake some of your own!

First, I should tell you that although I love to bake, and can make even really difficult cakes, I've had a hard time finding a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Often, they would have too much butter, and that butter would melt immediately in the oven turning my cookies into thin, too crispy, flatter than a pancake thingies.  I found this recipe on the back of the package of flour I bought, so I decided to give it a try.  After all, I didn't have anything to lose.  

This time I got lucky, and they turned out pretty great.  Okay... enough babbling.  Here's the recipe from the back of a Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour bag.  (Just to re-emphasize... it's not my original recipe.  You could find it online or on the back of the flour package.)

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I love real Land O'Lakes butter)

1 egg

2 1/4 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I leave these out)

1 bag (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix sugars, butter, and egg.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (Dough will be stiff).  Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

2.  On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft).  Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Hope you guys give these a try and get to enjoy the wonderful smell of them cooking in your oven! 

Glorious Gloomy Days

With all the pretty pictures of fall scenes and beautiful leaves I've been seeing on blogs and Facebook lately, I've been feeling pretty homesick.  As beautiful as Hawaii is, it's hard for this girl from the South to be so far from home and away from the changing seasons.  I was really missing the crisp air, the pretty colors, and wearing comfy, cozy sweaters.  To make all that worse, Kent got a chance to go to Charleston (one of my favorite places) this past weekend for a big family event since he was already doing some training in North Carolina.  I was beyond bummed, and I felt completely disconnected from my family and all the things I love back home.  It was one of those times when the isolation of this island felt very pronounced.  (Don't get me wrong... I was happy for him that he got to be there.)

However, I desperately needed at least a little taste of back home. 

Yesterday, the weather here must have gotten my message.  We had one of those rare, glorious, gloomy Hawaii days.  (Yes, I know that sounds totally ridiculous.  But can you imagine if you never had a lazy rainy day??)

 

I decided that the rain and gloom would be the perfect time to imagine that I was back home in weather that was slowly turning colder.  I cranked my air down, put on some comfy clothes, and decided to make "cool weather food."

Back home, my daddy always makes chili on cold, rainy days.  So what did I do?  I pulled out some ground beef, and got to work.  Before long, I had an incredible smelling pot of chili simmering on the stove all afternoon.

It was amazing.  I needed that little taste of home.  

I also decided to sip on some coffee with a little homemade Irish cream while the chili was cooking.  Warms the body and the soul...

Want to make your own Irish cream?  It's super easy.  Put 1 cup heavy cream, 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk, 1- 1 2/3 cup Irish Whiskey, 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules, 2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract into a blender.  Blend on high for 20-30 seconds, and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

It's amazing what familiar food, cool weather drinks, and a little lazy, gloomy lighting can do.  I may not be home, and I may not be able to make it to every family/friend event that I'd like, but these little "tastes of home" help hold me over.  

What about you guys?  Ever need those little things to make you feel closer to home?  What do you do on a nice lazy, rainy day?

Yum!

The past few weekends, I've stopped at the Hale'iwa farmer's market on the way to the beach on the North Shore.  Each time I've picked up some jam or bread that is okay to sit in the car for a bit, but each time I've really wanted to get this pineapple salsa that one of the vendors is selling.  

This stuff is soooo good.  I mean I wanted to eat a whole container of it by myself. 

I love pineapple, and I love spicy things, so this vendor's salsa hit the spot.  Unfortunately, it couldn't sit in the hot car while I played at the beach, so I decided I'd hunt around for a similar recipe and make some myself.

I think I found a pretty good one. :)  And I thought I'd share. 

I doctored it up with a little more pepper than what the recipe called for, but you can make it however you like.  Hope you like it!

Pineapple Salsa

Great with just chips or with grilled chicken, pork, or fish.

  

1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (I just used a whole pineapple and eyeballed the other ingredients accordingly.)

2 tablespoons finely chopped purple onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper, optional

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon honey

dash ground red pepper, cayenne or chipotle (This little bit of cayenne didn't get it near spicy enough for my taste, so I kept adding and it turned out fine.)

2 teaspoons finely minced jalapeno pepper, optional

juice of 1 fresh lime, about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl, chill for a few hours for flavors to blend, and enjoy!

This recipe came from this website

Thrills to Nil

Well, it's just me and the dogs again for a little while.  I'm not super bummed this time because I go home to Georgia in two and a half weeks, and the hubby will be joining me during my visit.  Then it will be another few weeks, and we'll have a little more time together out here in the middle of the ocean.  

I'm not complaining at all about this little stint.

It is weird, though, when he leaves it's like my house feels different.

I know that might sound really strange, but it's true.  It's like one minute it's lively and filled with laughs, and the next it's quiet and dull... or maybe that's just my mind.  It's hard to tell.  Either way, it feels different to me, and it takes a few days to get used to it again.

In the meantime, I've been falling back into my "alone" routine with the help of the Hallmark channel (gotta have my Golden Girls), my crochet hook, my "emergency" single serve DiGiorno cheese pizza (yes... I keep one of those in the freezer for "those days"), and a milkshake made with homemade Yoohoo ice cream. (side note:  I don't eat crap like that all the time.  I'll be going on a nice 5 mile run to make up for some of it shortly.)  My "jump" back into the swing of things seems to be working, and I'll be fine in my little routine in no time.  

Since I brought it up, and since it's super yummy, I thought I'd share the recipe for YooHoo ice cream.  My mom shared it with me, and we loved it, so we made it a few days ago before the husband left.

Remember this stuff?

Well, if you liked it when you were younger like I did, you'll love the ice cream.  Plus, it's super easy to make!

Here's what it takes:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 quart of heavy whipping cream

and 2 cartons or a 12-pack of YooHoo (or if you live in Hawaii like me and Yoohoo isn't always available in cartons, just buy what you can find and fill the freezer to the "fill line")

Simply mix these ingredients in a 6 quart ice cream freezer, and follow the freezer's instructions. Then, enjoy!

Happy Wednesday everyone!