Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Six Year Olds School Assignment, and a Cookie Recipe

     Hello everyone.
     My son came home from school last week with an assignment. His assignment is to prepare a speech, on a topic he gets to choose, which he is to present in front of his class.
The assignment listed ideas on what they could write their speeches on, topics like "Washing my dog", "Playing with my Lego", "Why my mom should let me have a puppy"....etc. My son chose to write his speech on "Why I like making cookies with my mom". How cute. *my heart melts*
    I took this as the perfect opportunity to bake a batch of these delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies to refresh his memory on the cookie making process (as if his memory needed to be refreshed).
    While we were making these cookies I asked him questions like, "What is your favourite part of making cookies"? to which he responded, "Pouring in the chocolate chips" and "What is the most important part of making cookies"? to which he responded, "Following the recipe"...lol. I just love his perspective on things.
    Since I was in the kitchen baking up these scrumptious Chocolate Chip Cookies, I thought I would share the recipe with all of you. Hope you enjoy it.


Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Delicious Chocolaty Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter/baking margarine, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
(1) Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray.
(2) Melt the butter and place in the refrigerator to cool.
(3) Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

               
(4) In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.


(5) Add the sifted ingredients and mix until just combined.


(6) Add the chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated using a wooden spoon.

               
(7) Drop cookie dough 1 Tbsp at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets.


(8) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are set and lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.               

This recipe makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen cookies.
    There are often times when I don't have a need for 3 1/2 dozen cookies laying around my house all at once. In times like this, I place the prepared cookie sheet straight into the freezer. From here I just freeze the cookie dough mounds, and place them into a freezer safe plastic bag until I have a need for them. They will keep for up to 6 months. Just keep in mind you will need to thaw the cookies before baking them.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

5th Book Club Selection: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

    The Help, by Kathryn Stockett is another wildly popular best selling novel turned motion picture. I have been hearing of The Help everywhere and figured I might as well find out what the hype was about. So I am choosing it as 9er Domestic's 5th Book Club Selection.       




    The Help is 2009 novel about the African American Women in Jackson, Mississippi, working as maids in white households during the 1960's. It is written in the first person, and mainly from the perspective of the three main characters Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter. This book covers the struggles and experiences of the maids, by focusing on their daily lives and the hardships they had to endure as to maintain their jobs and to earn a living.