Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let's just put it out there-I hate chocolate chip cookies. I hate eating them, I hate the way they smell, I hate making them. I just hate them.

Everyone has they're own particular idea of how the cookies should be-soft, crunchy, crunchy outside, soft inside. So for years I wouldn't make them, because it stressed me out thinking that everyone would hate them-and what kind of baker are you if you can't make good chocolate chip cookies?!

Well I still don't feel like I can make good ones, I still hate making them, but the difference? Someone pays me to make them. That's right, I have literally been comissioned with cash money for make chocolate chip cookies. Yesterday was the second time I made them for pay, and I have three more  times coming up in the next 6 weeks. It's unreal! I always think people won't pay for something they can easily make themselves, but apparently that's just not the case. Sometimes ease outweighs the cost of having them made.

I've decided not to spend my time rewriting recipes from other blogs that I can easily just link to, but I will give a few pointers, or tips that I follow.

• Use good quality chocolate. It doesn't have to be something hand made in Incan Mexico that's only available online two weeks every year. I just mean, don't use Nestle. I stick with Ghiradelli Bittersweet with 60% cacoa. It's easily purchasable just about everywhere, and it's good quality. Valrhona is also a good brand, but I don't have anywhere Whole Foods near me.
• Be organized. One of the two keys of this recipe that divides it from others is the resting period on the dough, and the salt sprinkle. So plan ahead when you know you'll need them, and make them 24-36 hours ahead of time and let the dough sit in your fridge until you're ready.
• Salt! It sounds gross and counter-productive, but sweet and salty is the best combination ever. That little extra sprinkle of sea salt makes all the difference!

So there it is. The tricks of the trade using the New York Times recipe they published a few years back. One batch makes about 3 dozen medium/large cookies.

To be honest, like I said about hating them and all, I'm not totally in love with the final product. I always take them out earlier than suggested and still end up with cookies that are crunchier than I would prefer. But the women paying me likes this recipe, so it's staying around for now. But in the future, I think the three tips above, used on a different base recipe will kick them up a notch!

Monster Pocket Muffins

I've learned the biggest hurdle for me in my lack of blogging recipes is pictures. I bake pretty often, at least enough to get one recipe up a week. However, I generally tend to make things the day they're headed somewhere, and whisk them out the door without getting a nice picture of them. Plus, I have no idea what I'm doing, and care more about the food than getting the gorgeous pictures I see around the web.

I've seen plenty of posts, however, where people don't take pictures for whatever reason and still post. So I should probably just get over it and continue blogging!

Today is a double win, though-blog and accompanying pictures! And...they're gluten-free and vegan! Total nuts! The son of the couple who leads my small group has a crazy long list of allergies, and I bring dessert every week. I like regular baked goods-full of butter, eggs, flour, sugar, the works. But I felt bad always carting the gluten-full desserts around in front of the gluten-free boy. So I worked way outside of my comfort zone, and brought these babies!

Gluten-free Vegan Apple Cinnamon Pocket Muffins! That's a mouthful! So what are pocket muffins, you're surely wondering? Originally these muffins had a base, and two toppings-fruit and struesel. However, the second they entered the oven, the muffin base rebelled and swallowed the toppings whole. Some turned out completely flat on top, giving no hint of what was inside. Others however, look like mini muffin monsters. There's just little hints of apple cinnamon attempting to dig it's way up and out to freedom.

Apple Cinnamon Pocket Muffins

Adapted from Never Bashful With Butter (no longer active)

Muffin

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plain applesauce

1 tsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup soy milk

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the margarine and sugar, then add applesauce, oil, vanilla, and soy milk. Pour the wet ingredients, into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Fold until just combined, being careful not to overmix-muffins are meant to have a less refined texture than cakes.

Apple Filling

1 apple, cored, and chopped into small pieces

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until soft.

Streusel Topping

1 Tbsp margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Mix together until crumbly.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add batter to pan lined with cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Divide cooked apples evenly over batter, and top with about a Tablespoon of streusel. Bake for 10-15 minutes, and enjoy!

Falltime!

Today is officially the first day of September! Falltime!! For those of you who aren't aware, I'm a tad bit obsessed with Christmas. I start listening to Christmas music in late July/early August. My Christmas decorations are up on the first Saturday in November. Mind you I lived at home with my parents, and had 4 boxes of decorations just for my bedroom! But that just means I'm extra prepared for my first Christmas in an apartment. Luckily I already have a full sized Christmas tree!

However, November technically falls into the spectrum of fall. So in order to find time for fall decoration, fall baking, and fall scents, I officially start the fall season on September 1st. Part of that is my tradition of having pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and making pumpkin bread on September 1st.

It was rather hard to find pumpkin up here though! In Phoenix, the Safeway by my house carried canned pumpkin year round, and in the big sized cans, too. It took me four grocery stores before I was able to find pumpkin. One had only pumpkin pie mix, two had absolutely nothing, and finally the fourth has the small sized cans of "organic" pumpkin. For $2.59 a piece! I felt swindled, but I also didn't feel like driving to another store, since the closest one would be 10 minutes away. No thanks.

The pancakes are quick, and delicious. The don't overpower, and they're so soft and moist. Yummo. I like to make a whole batch, eat a few, and freeze the rest. I place them in plastic bags with squares of wax paper between each. That way I can pull out a couple someday when I'm craving them, and pop them in the toaster for a quick fix!

Pumpkin Pancakes
From Sandra Lee

1 cup pancake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

These are literally the easiest. Simply mix all the ingredients together, then cook like normal pancakes. Done and done!

Now, for those of you like me who have no pancake mix, and are to cheap and hungry to buy any, you can make your own! The Domestic Goddess herself, Nigella Lawson, has an easy recipe for instant pancake mix.

1 cup flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Mix, add pumpkin, spices, and 1 cup milk rather than water. (I used milk instead, since this mixture wasn't for buttermilk pancakes).

Now onto the pumpkin bread! This is Martha's recipe, that I tried randomly a few years ago. I love the strong ginger flavor, it's one of my favorite spices. Somehow over time this recipe evolved into my fall baking standby. It makes two loaves, and you can add a powdered sugar glaze on top, but I choose not to.

Ginger Pumpkin Bread
Martha

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups pumpkin
3 eggs
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two bread load pans.

Mix together flour, baking powder, ginger and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Divide the batter between the pans. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool for a few minutes, before removing them from the pans and cooling on a rack. After the loaves are cool you can, 1. add a glaze, 2. add powdered sugar, or 3. dig in. I choose the third option...

On a side note, if your oven timer beeps three times and simply shuts off when it's finished, do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch an episode of Doctor Who with excessive shooting or beeping. You'll simply add the beeps to the show background noise, like adding your alarm clock sound into dreams. Luckily I think I only over cooked it by 2-3 minutes. But still, regrettable...

S'mores Cupcakes

Taking such a long break in the beginning is not the best way to start a blog. But having a friend in from out of town, and still working everyday, sort of took it all out of me. But I'm back, and ready to go at it again!

So for my second start, here's s'mores cupcakes! Little did I know that it was National S'mores Day when I made these. But it definitely let me celebrate!

They're especially s'mores-like with the graham cracker crust and the melted chocolate chips under the cake.

The recipe (found here) is from Trophy cupcakes, which is a cupcake shop up here in Seattle. I recently stopped by one while I was downtown, and it's so adorable! Like a cute, friendly version of Sprinkles. I had a Samoa cupcake, which wasn't mindblowing, but it was fresh and clearly not mass produced, and yummy. :)