Hello and welcome! I’m so glad you are able to join us today. I hope you are all doing well. Today’s topic is COOKIES! I LOVE to bake. But my favorite thing to bake is cookies. I love baking cookies. I have been baking for most of my life, and I started baking with my grandma. I don’t remember how it all started; I don’t know if we were just baking for the fun of it, or if we were baking for a special occasion, I honestly can’t remember… I was little. Before you ask, no I do not make up my own recipes. I either find some new recipes online or in a cookbook. But most of the time I use the recipes my family and I have been using for many years. However, I might tweak a recipe here and there JUST a tad, to kind of make it my own. I’ll explain in a minute.
Now, if you haven’t guessed, today’s cookie is the Chocolate Chip Cookie. It is my all-time favorite cookie. I love the way the kitchen/house smells when they’re baking. The recipe I use when baking chocolate chip cookies is from the back of the Nestle Tollhouse, chocolate chip bag. It’s the recipe we’ve been using for as long as I can remember. I’m sure there are a lot of other great recipes out there, but Nestle Tollhouse is the one I’ve been using forever. As I mentioned a little earlier, I will tweak a recipe a bit to kind of make it my own. I will follow the recipe as it is on the packaging, EXCEPT for the vanilla extract and the chocolate chips. I tweak those two measurements a little bit based on my personal preference. I always add a little extra vanilla and of course I add extra chocolate chips
The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, but I’ll put in 2 teaspoons instead. The Nestle Tollhouse recipe calls for 1 and 3/4 cups of chocolate chips… however, I’ll make it an even 2 cups. It also depends on the size of chocolate chips you use. There are some mini ones available in stores. When it comes to how long you bake them in the oven, it can all depend on what size you roll the dough, or what your cookie trays/sheets are made of. When it comes to rolling the dough, I don’t use my hands as the dough can get a little sticky, so I use two spoons to shape the dough that way. Most recently I started using this itty-bitty ice cream scoop looking thing, to try and help keep the dough similar sizes.
When it comes time to put the dough in the oven to bake, you’ll put it in the oven that is set at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). You’ll set the timer for about 10 minutes. If after 10 minutes they still don’t look done, I usually add another 1 to 2 minutes. For me, based on personal preference, I like to say they’re done when the edges have become a nice golden brown. Once they’re done, take the trays out of the oven and set them on top of the stove, or wherever you have a designated spot to let them sit for a bit, you’ll let them sit for about a minute, while you put the next set of trays into the oven to bake. Once that’s done, you take a spatula and get the cookies off the tray and put them on a cooling rack, that’s off to the side somewhere, to let them cool. Once they have cooled, you’re free to eat them, or pack them, or whatever it is you have planned to do with them.
Fresh baked cookies are THE best. They are nice and warm where it feels like they practically melt in your mouth. I would definitely say it goes really well with a glass of milk. If you don’t like milk or can’t have it, a glass of water will do just fine. It’s safe to say that baking is one of my favorite hobbies. I love baking. The thing I hate most about baking, well cooking in general, is having to wash the dishes. But, if I really think about it, doing the dishes after spending the whole day baking is worth it. The house smells good, and I have a nice treat to snack on and share with others.
Thank you for joining us today! Hope to “see” you next time. Happy baking!
Hanging with Kristina 