Homemade cookies takes minutes to mix, bake, and to eat. The difficult part is finding a good recipe that creates a cookie that is appealing to your taste buds. Some people like flat cookies, some people like perfect store bought looking cookies, and others want cookies just for the holidays. I've taken the time to develop a basic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. I'll also include a basic oatmeal cookie recipe too.
First let me discuss about an ingredient that causes confusion to many people which is the decision to use margarine or butter. Margarine is a mixture of solid fats. When using it in a recipe, I found that cookies stay in a solid clump and do not spread while baking. On the flip side, cookie recipes that use only butter will have cookies that spread to a thin layer. So I figured out that I wanted my cookies to have a balance of both. For example if the recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine or butter, my rule of thumb is to split the following way: 3/4 cup margarine and 1/4 cup butter. This allows the cookie to spread just enough. The bottom line is if you want a tight cookie use less butter and more margarine.
Another question on some minds is "What type of pan should I use?" It may seem like a silly question but it does make a difference. Using the right cooking utensil or vessel is just as important as using the right ingredients. A recipe is a guide to get from starting point A to Z but in order to get the same results as another person is use the right cookie sheet. My best cookie result is to use a pan labeled an AirBake. It is designed with two-layers sandwiching a layer of air in order to provide consistent cooking results.
Incorporating general cooking principles of using certain ingredients and using the best cooking utensil or vessel will help in cooking ideal cookies.
Jubilee's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Recipe
Created: December 2001
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix until well blended the following ingredients in a large bowl or mixer:
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of margarine
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
The above mixture should be creamed together. This is the base of the cookies. It will not hurt the texture if this is over blended.
Next add in the following to ingredients:
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 egg
Mix well.
Next add in the following items:
2 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Only stir in the dry ingredients until it is no longer visible. Do not over mix this part.
Last ingredient is to fold in a 1/2 bag of miniature chocolate chips.
Grab a flat cookie sheet and line with parchment paper for an easy clean-up.
Place scoops of dough onto the sheet evenly spaced apart. They will spread a little.
(**Storing or Freezing Cookie Leftover Dough**
If you do not want to bake all the cookie dough at this time there are a few options with the leftover dough:
- Storing in the Refrigerator-
Place leftover dough to use within the week in a tupperware container or ziploc bag.
-Storing in the Freezer-
Place the leftover cookie dough on a sheet of wax paper lengthwise. Roll-up carefully like a tootsie roll. Try to have the cookie dough evenly spread across to have a cylindrical shape of dough. The reason is to create cookie circles once it is removed from the freezer just like store bought cookie dough. I like to wrap my dough in a layer of saran wrap and finish it off with aluminum foil. )
Place in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. Check the cookies to see if they brown around the edges and top of the cookie is solidifying. They might need another 2 minutes depending on your oven. Once the top and edges are brown, remove from oven and let it sit for 1 minute. Then remove from the cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack.
Let cool or eat immediately with a refreshing liquid- typically milk but why not with a cup of coffee or tea.
Basic Oatmeal Cookie Dough Recipe
This recipe can have raisins or craisins added to it. Depends how you like your oatmeal cookies.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the following ingredients until well blended:
1/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of margarine
1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
Beat in the following ingredients:
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 eggs
Combine in a separate bowl:
1 1/4 cups of flour
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of old-fashioned oats
Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until well blended.
At this point raisins, craisins, nuts, or chocolate chips can be added to the mixture to create the ones you like.
Scoop onto the cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Appetizers on the Menu
In today's world of super size, we all need more amouse bouche on our menus. Each food tasting should be a single bite of explosion in the mouth. Sometimes that single bite of flavor will leave you craving more but also be so fulfilling like a truffle. In creating or preparing appetizer recipes, it is important to keep this thought in mind.
An appetizer can be a downgrade of a large scale item to a minature scale. Like instead of using a whole sausage dog for each guest, a little mini sausage can be implemented. At restaurant minutaure food items are also called sliders. (I havent found the mini hot dog buns at local stores but the mini hamburger buns are at Trader Joe's.)
Here's a couple recipes up for copying and pasting:
Quesadillas
Easy, simple, quick, and very tasty!
You will need on your shopping list the following items:
Tortillas: Larger the tortilla the larger the triangles provided to guests.
Cheese: A mexican mixture of preshredded cheese helps decrease time grating.
Salsa: Pick up your favorite
Optional:
Pick up a rostierre chicken to add some protein.
Avocado
Olives
Avocado
Fresh tomatoes
Technique:
Heat up a large skillet with medium heat.
Add olive oil to your pan.
As the pan heats up.
Grab a large plate and start assembling the quesadilla.
Add a tortilla and evenly spread salsa and cheese over it (and the optional chicken). Then add another tortilla on top. Carefully place this in the heated up frying pan.
Let it brown on one side and flip.
Continue to the assembling until all ingridients are used up.
Once the quesadilla has cooled a little, cut the tortilla like a pie into halves.
At this point, top the triangle with avocado slice, sour cream, and an olive.
Enjoy!
Double Cooked Baked Potato
This is one of my favorite recipes to eat. It is yummy and fulfilling.
Prepare washed brown potatoes for a 400 degree oven. Let it cooked until a fork pierces through the skin.
Once done, remove from oven and let it cool before handling. This will take about 10-15 minutes at least.
Next cut the potatoes evenly in half length wise. Remove the inside of the potato carefully to leave a shape of a potato shape and place it in a bowl. Continue with each baked potato.
Smash the potato insides with milk, butter, and cheese. Add some seasoning of pepper and salt to taste. As an optional color, cooked broccoli florets can be added for color and texture.
Return the mashed potato mixture to the potato skin shapes.
Sprinkle some more cheese over the top and place them back in the oven to melt & heat up the filling.
Once they are done remove and top with your favorite baked potato toppings.
Seven Layer Dip
Prepare in a rectangular baking dish or pie pan.
Add the following ingredients in the following order:
Refried Beans
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Olives slices
Fresh Diced Tomatoes
Green Onions
Open up a bag of tortilla chips and let your guests enjoy.
Appetizer Deserts
Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits
You will need instant pudding boxes of vanilla and chocolate.
Follow the directions on the box to prepare the pudding.
You will need a tub of cool whip.
A package of oreo cookies.
Clear champagne glasses
Assemble each cup the following way:
A scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, and top with a cookie.
These glasses turn out really cool looking and an elegant desert.
An appetizer can be a downgrade of a large scale item to a minature scale. Like instead of using a whole sausage dog for each guest, a little mini sausage can be implemented. At restaurant minutaure food items are also called sliders. (I havent found the mini hot dog buns at local stores but the mini hamburger buns are at Trader Joe's.)
Here's a couple recipes up for copying and pasting:
Quesadillas
Easy, simple, quick, and very tasty!
You will need on your shopping list the following items:
Tortillas: Larger the tortilla the larger the triangles provided to guests.
Cheese: A mexican mixture of preshredded cheese helps decrease time grating.
Salsa: Pick up your favorite
Optional:
Pick up a rostierre chicken to add some protein.
Avocado
Olives
Avocado
Fresh tomatoes
Technique:
Heat up a large skillet with medium heat.
Add olive oil to your pan.
As the pan heats up.
Grab a large plate and start assembling the quesadilla.
Add a tortilla and evenly spread salsa and cheese over it (and the optional chicken). Then add another tortilla on top. Carefully place this in the heated up frying pan.
Let it brown on one side and flip.
Continue to the assembling until all ingridients are used up.
Once the quesadilla has cooled a little, cut the tortilla like a pie into halves.
At this point, top the triangle with avocado slice, sour cream, and an olive.
Enjoy!
Double Cooked Baked Potato
This is one of my favorite recipes to eat. It is yummy and fulfilling.
Prepare washed brown potatoes for a 400 degree oven. Let it cooked until a fork pierces through the skin.
Once done, remove from oven and let it cool before handling. This will take about 10-15 minutes at least.
Next cut the potatoes evenly in half length wise. Remove the inside of the potato carefully to leave a shape of a potato shape and place it in a bowl. Continue with each baked potato.
Smash the potato insides with milk, butter, and cheese. Add some seasoning of pepper and salt to taste. As an optional color, cooked broccoli florets can be added for color and texture.
Return the mashed potato mixture to the potato skin shapes.
Sprinkle some more cheese over the top and place them back in the oven to melt & heat up the filling.
Once they are done remove and top with your favorite baked potato toppings.
Seven Layer Dip
Prepare in a rectangular baking dish or pie pan.
Add the following ingredients in the following order:
Refried Beans
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Olives slices
Fresh Diced Tomatoes
Green Onions
Open up a bag of tortilla chips and let your guests enjoy.
Appetizer Deserts
Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits
You will need instant pudding boxes of vanilla and chocolate.
Follow the directions on the box to prepare the pudding.
You will need a tub of cool whip.
A package of oreo cookies.
Clear champagne glasses
Assemble each cup the following way:
A scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cool whip, and top with a cookie.
These glasses turn out really cool looking and an elegant desert.
Welcome!
Have you ever wanted to share your thoughts or feeling about a certain subject? My subject is food! I have found joy and passion in creating foods to share with my family and friends. This is my first step in providing a link to the outside world of why I enjoy having food in my life.
First- let's dwell on the subject of recipes. I love using the web to find new food recipes to create in my kitchen. (I intend on filling a book of recipes that I have created over the years.) Finding a recipe and adapting it to be your own is important. Each chef will create a recipe from either using items on hand or going to the store to purchase new ones. It is the transition of shifting the thoughts in one's head to end up written down. Many times the best recipes are ones that have been duplicated time after time but are rarely written. My choice is to try to write down these recipes for future generations.
My approach is to create recipes that are healthy and tasty. I love using fresh vegetables and fruits and ingredients. I think having fresh cookies or bread is an absolute delight. I would rather have someone cook something from home than purchasing it at the store. Although, it is good to have a well stocked pantry for times when you haven't a clue what to make.
For today's recipe let's start with something easy.
Homemade Pizza Dough
This is a one big bowl technique. I have found that using a big bowl to make my dough in eliminates additional clean-up.
First have a semi-warm kitchen. Doughs made with yeast like a warm and moist environment to thrive and make your bread dough double in size. I found that if I heat up the oven at 200 degrees for about 10-15 minutes that my dough will do better especially if the house is cold.
Grab a packet of active dry yeast and add to 1/3 cup of warm water (not boiling.) Add a little bit (about 1/4 teaspoon) of sugar for the yeast to munch on and let it sit for
5 minutes.
Grab a large bowl and fill it up with the hot water tap. Let it warm up while the yeast is in its 5 minute resting time. Pour out the water and add the yeast/water mixture into the bowl.
Next add a cup of flour, a cup of warm water, and about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well with a spoon.
Once it is well mixed you can at this point add any seasonings or flavoring to the dough. I have added a concentrated garlic paste and season salt. This adds a new dimension to the dough's flavoring.
Add about 3 more cups of flour- one at a time until the dough forms a ball around the spoon.
Use some flour to scrap the dough of the stirring utensil. Now it is time to use your two best tools a chef has-your hands. (One piece of advice: make sure your hands are clean and remove any jewelry on your fingers.)
Start kneading the dough in a 1/4 fold method and push. Then again fold and push within the bowl. Add flour as it sticks to the bowl or hand.
After about 10 minutes of kneading, pick up the dough and add a little olive oil to the bowl. Place the dough back into the bowl. Roll the dough within the bowl to cover it with oil and up the sides a little. This will prevent the dough sticking the bowl as it rises.
Cover the bowl with saran wrap.
Let the dough rise in a warm place near the oven. Check on the dough in a half and hour to see if the dough is rising.
It will take about 1 hour for the whole process.
Once the dough is done, remove the dough from the bowl. Separate it into two equal portions.
The choice at this time is to form the dough into a shape you want to it.
The dough should be cooked in an 425 degree oven. The time of cooking depends on the shape of the dough.
My default hoice is to use a circular pizza pan and pat the dough into a circular form. I do not like to use a rolling pin because it flattens the air out of the dough.
Other options:
Also a rectangular cookie sheet can be use to make a calzone (the pizza dough is folded back over one side and tucked.)
For making small pizza rounds for people- separate the dough into small balls and pat dough. This is great especially good for getting kids into the kitchen to help create what they would like to eat.
Garlic bites can be made by forming the dough into small circles and adding a little bit of fresh garlic topping and parmesan cheese.
The options depends on what you feel like eating and who you are serving.
Leftover pizza dough not used should be wrapped up and placed into the fridge. Then can last for about two days and be used to make a meal.
First- let's dwell on the subject of recipes. I love using the web to find new food recipes to create in my kitchen. (I intend on filling a book of recipes that I have created over the years.) Finding a recipe and adapting it to be your own is important. Each chef will create a recipe from either using items on hand or going to the store to purchase new ones. It is the transition of shifting the thoughts in one's head to end up written down. Many times the best recipes are ones that have been duplicated time after time but are rarely written. My choice is to try to write down these recipes for future generations.
My approach is to create recipes that are healthy and tasty. I love using fresh vegetables and fruits and ingredients. I think having fresh cookies or bread is an absolute delight. I would rather have someone cook something from home than purchasing it at the store. Although, it is good to have a well stocked pantry for times when you haven't a clue what to make.
For today's recipe let's start with something easy.
Homemade Pizza Dough
This is a one big bowl technique. I have found that using a big bowl to make my dough in eliminates additional clean-up.
First have a semi-warm kitchen. Doughs made with yeast like a warm and moist environment to thrive and make your bread dough double in size. I found that if I heat up the oven at 200 degrees for about 10-15 minutes that my dough will do better especially if the house is cold.
Grab a packet of active dry yeast and add to 1/3 cup of warm water (not boiling.) Add a little bit (about 1/4 teaspoon) of sugar for the yeast to munch on and let it sit for
5 minutes.
Grab a large bowl and fill it up with the hot water tap. Let it warm up while the yeast is in its 5 minute resting time. Pour out the water and add the yeast/water mixture into the bowl.
Next add a cup of flour, a cup of warm water, and about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well with a spoon.
Once it is well mixed you can at this point add any seasonings or flavoring to the dough. I have added a concentrated garlic paste and season salt. This adds a new dimension to the dough's flavoring.
Add about 3 more cups of flour- one at a time until the dough forms a ball around the spoon.
Use some flour to scrap the dough of the stirring utensil. Now it is time to use your two best tools a chef has-your hands. (One piece of advice: make sure your hands are clean and remove any jewelry on your fingers.)
Start kneading the dough in a 1/4 fold method and push. Then again fold and push within the bowl. Add flour as it sticks to the bowl or hand.
After about 10 minutes of kneading, pick up the dough and add a little olive oil to the bowl. Place the dough back into the bowl. Roll the dough within the bowl to cover it with oil and up the sides a little. This will prevent the dough sticking the bowl as it rises.
Cover the bowl with saran wrap.
Let the dough rise in a warm place near the oven. Check on the dough in a half and hour to see if the dough is rising.
It will take about 1 hour for the whole process.
Once the dough is done, remove the dough from the bowl. Separate it into two equal portions.
The choice at this time is to form the dough into a shape you want to it.
The dough should be cooked in an 425 degree oven. The time of cooking depends on the shape of the dough.
My default hoice is to use a circular pizza pan and pat the dough into a circular form. I do not like to use a rolling pin because it flattens the air out of the dough.
Other options:
Also a rectangular cookie sheet can be use to make a calzone (the pizza dough is folded back over one side and tucked.)
For making small pizza rounds for people- separate the dough into small balls and pat dough. This is great especially good for getting kids into the kitchen to help create what they would like to eat.
Garlic bites can be made by forming the dough into small circles and adding a little bit of fresh garlic topping and parmesan cheese.
The options depends on what you feel like eating and who you are serving.
Leftover pizza dough not used should be wrapped up and placed into the fridge. Then can last for about two days and be used to make a meal.
Experiment and see what you like to do. Each person can make a choice of what they want to eat.
Fresh pizza dough makes a memorable impression.
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