COOKIE CHRONICLES - Craving Chocolate Chips

Hello, Ms. Chips!

What's one of the most popular goodies on your cookie plate year after year?  In our house, it's Chocolate Chip Cookies, hands down.  There's just something very special about them....recalling childhood days of cool cups of milk and crunchy/chewy morsels packed with chocolate bits; a year-round cookie that never falls from favor and is an absolute MUST for the holidays!

There are about a ka-zillion recipes and adaptions - ranging from simple to extraordinary.  Each person, each family has their own likes and dislikes. For the most part, we can agree on one thing...Chocolate Chip Cookies rule!

Someone recently asked the question -  
What's the difference between Toll House and regular Chocolate Chip cookies? 
After some research and with much thanks to the Nestle website, here's the answer:

Chocolate chips ready

They are one in the same!  These cookies were invented in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield of Cape Cod, who was making a batch of Butter Cookies for the Toll House Inn, the hotel she and her husband operated.  She cut up bits of a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar into the Butter dough, thinking they would melt completely, but they didn't.  Instead, those chips became chewy and yummy, retaining their self-hood amid the oven's heat.

The resultant treat was an instant sensation and soon the Nestle company was contacted by Ruth and started making chocolate bits for the home baker with Mrs. Wakefield's recipe on the back.  This is a very abbreviated version of the tale, for a more detailed version go to http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/tollhouse.htm

Choco-Jalapeno Cookies

Through the years I've experimented with and had the opportunity to sample several interpretations of Mrs. Wakefield's invention; including but not limited to Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Peanut Butter Cookies, Choco-Mint Chip Cookies, Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies (made with chunks of candy canes) and even Chocolate Chip Jalapeno Cookies. Personal favorite? The Jalapeno, of course!  I wonder what Ruth would think of all these variations.

For Christmas baking, I usually stick to the basics.  Plain CC (Chocolate Chip).  Due to dietary considerations I use Splenda.  This year, I'm trying some Crisco Butter flavored vegetable shortening too - no transfat....another dietary adaptation.

Crisco Butter Flavored Shortening

This Chocolate Chip recipe involves use of Crisco's Butter Flavored Vegetable Shortening. Mom used original Crisco in her Chocolate Chip Cookies years ago. She'd use butter or margarine in many of the other cookies, but for some reason always went to Crisco for her 'Chippers.  I remember her teaching me about measuring the stuff into a metal measuring cup.

I'm using "regular" brown sugar here, partially because I couldn't find any Splenda Brown Sugar in my local stores, and partially because I'm not sure how the sugar substitute will work with the Crisco.  I'll do a little research and report my findings to the blog....naturally this will involve a recipe, so stay tuned!

One important thing to remember - If you're hoping to substitute Crisco Butter Flavored shortening for butter or margarine, just follow the suggestion printed right on the product! 


CRISCO CHOCOLATE CHIP 
or TOLL HOUSE COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 1/4 cup firm packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup Crisco Butter Flavored Shortening
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

Double spoon method

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.  Cream Crisco and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, add egg, beat until mixed in, add vanilla and milk. Mix together.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until fully blended. Add chocolate chips a bit at a time, making sure to distribute them easily throughout the dough.  Let dough rest a few moments.

Using the "double spoon" method, put 1/2 to 1 spoon of batter per cookie onto ungreased cookie sheet, spaced about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies, 11 to 13 minutes for crunchy cookies.  This recipe makes about 3 dozen.  Recipe doubles easily.

As usual, feel free to share your ideas, thoughts, memories and recipes here via the comments box.
And as always....Enjoy!

Crisco Chocolate Chip Cookies

  

COOKIE CHRONICLES - 'Tis The Season! Cookie Bake-A-Thon PROLOGUE

Blog wallpaper - last year's Bourbon Cookies

December 1 marks the start of a major cooking frenzy in our house.  I know what you're thinking....didn't we just go through one of those with that Turkey Day thing?
Yes, we did.
But hey!  I didn't invent the holiday schedule! Like everybody else, yours truly is merely a cog in the machinery.   So with wheels still spinning from the previous endeavor, we're off to the races again!

Christmas (or Holiday if you prefer) cookie baking time is a feat of planning, imagination and even a bit of fun. Through the years I've developed a mental checklist to help bring sense through the chaos.

1) Make a list of the cookies that "worked" the previous season.  Decide which ones you want to make again.
2) Make a list of recipes you want to try. It can be fun to add some variety to your cookie plate. Be realistic though.  If the recipe is complex (like the Bourbon Cookies) be mindful of how much work will be involved and be sure you're able to commit to it!
     The holidays are a busy time and unless you have an army of kitchen elves around you may stretch yourself too thin and be too exhausted to enjoy the season.

Allergy alert!

2 a) Some suggest making cookies with similar ingredients to help keep the costs down.  This is a good idea, but remember that if you're baking for someone with gluten or nut allergies or diabetes for example, you'll still have to buy the right fixin's for the job.
     Be sure to include these and any other variations in the budget!
 2b) Be very sure not to allow nut and non-nut cookies to intermingle. Some people's allergies are so severe that even a bit of nut dust can send them to the hospital!
    Clean all tools and utensils thoroughly between batches!
3) Make a list of all the people and events that will be needing your cookies...include what you know about likes and dislikes, allergies and other dietary restrictions too, if possible. See item #2a. 
4) Clean the kitchen - make sure the oven has recovered from its time with the turkey! (There's nothing like a bit of burning charred guck on the oven floor to ruin the flavor of a perfectly good cookie!)
5) Take inventory of your ingredients. See items 2 and 2a.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

6) Make sure your baking equipment is in good working order.
6a) Make sure you have enough waxed paper, release spray or other anti-stick agents of preference, cooling racks, potholders and storage containers.
     For the "main storage," I use coffee cans with their snap on lids.  Each cookie type gets stored in its own can and I label each can. This makes keeping stock and gift-making time a lot easier! I even make a can for the "pogens," those odd-shaped Chocolate Chip and amputated portions of Gingerbread People that are an inevitable by product of the process. These come in handy for household snacking.  They can even be ground up in the food processor and used for making things like pie crusts.  No lie! A Pogen Pie Crust recipe will appear in an upcoming blog entry.
7) Make sure cookies are thoroughly cooled and dry to the touch before storing!
7a) Put waxed paper between layers of cookies that are filled or in any other way have a tendency to get sticky.
7b) Don't pack stored cookies tight!  It's better to use more than one container than to have an entire batch ruined!
8) Look at the calendar...plan baking accordingly - plan for shipping dates, party dates, etc.
9) Consider making this a group or family event.  Kids love to bake, so do some adults.  Besides, it could help cut work-time in half.  Baking parties can be fun!
10) Relax. Plan baking for a time and day when you can really enjoy the process. Spread it out over several days or evenings if you can.
11) Reserve some cookies for yourself!  Your family will love you for it!
12) Consider holding a cookie swap! It's a great way to compare notes and get ideas for your next Cookie Extravaganza.
I'm sure there are other things that can be put on the list, so please feel free to send your ideas!

Anyway....with recipe books, notes and a few cook books serving as "wing men," I began my holiday baking earlier today with a large cup of coffee while taking an inventory of supplies.

After the review it was apparent that we needed to restock. Food store time again!  Thanksgiving had taken a major toll on the staples, but that was to be expected.  While writing the shopping list I thought about which delicacies would be made this season. 

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

"These cookies will be more than 'hostess fare,' they will be gifts for friends and family."  I mused.
I've been kind of planning for months but as the sun lifted itself over our city's skyline I sorted through the ideas and came to some final conclusions. 

First thoughts of course - what worked and what didn't work last year.
One thing's for sure, the Bourbon Cookies were a big hit with the adults!  The Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin and White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cranberry ones satisfied everybody and the Sugar Cut Outs had all the kids happy...admittedly the older crowd loved them too. All these went to the final list....although I have been re-thinking the Bourbons and may do a drop cookie with a Bourbon/Chocolate drizzle if time gets too dear.

Gingerbread People are essential. If time gets too tight, I thought,  I may opt to make Ginger Snaps rather than Gingerbread People, but will cross that bridge when I get to it. 
Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter are a Holiday necessity, at least in my household.  In truth, I could keep our larder stocked with these varieties year 'round and there'd be no complaints!

My sister requested Pizelles (those Italian anise cookies made with a special press or iron). I don't have a real Pizelle Iron so when the time comes I'll be using our ancient waffle iron.  Stay tuned to this blogsite for further details and coverage of the event. Including pictures!

As you can see, there's a lot of work ahead and a limited time to get it all done.  But with a little planning, a little attention to detail and a lot of humor the whole Cookie Bake-A-Thon can be a beautiful thing.

As always, please feel free to share your ideas, recipes and memories on this site.  Just use the handy comments space below each blog entry.  You'll be properly credited, I promise.  Try to include a photo of the finished product if you can.

And above all else.....Enjoy!

What's With Wednesday? Chicken In The Middle Of The Week

Chicken used to be a Sunday kind of thing....there'd be a huge roaster in the oven, started right after coming home from church and breakfast was cleared. The bird was so big, almost like a little turkey.
Sometimes the hen was stuffed, sometimes not-but always roasted with a bunch of potatoes, carrots and onions. I remember those days clearly!
The chicken even tasted different back then; it was fresh.  It had a slightly sweet flavor...even a bit buttery if the hen was younger.

These days, between hormones and other forced-growing methods, caging, beaking and other horrendous practices, our very own chicken seems to have become a shadow of its former self.  Relegated to fast food menus, frozen, breaded patties and ground meat one would hardly recognize the venerable centerpiece that once only graced the Sabbath table.

We are fortunate however, that there are still a few poultry companies out there that have a conscience.  The result of this is a chicken that tastes right, smells right, cooks right and is one that you'd be glad to offer as a main course dish, whole or cut up.

Mind you, I've not seen many the size Mom used to get for our family meal-those things were BIG! But none the less, the quality is there.  When I shop I look for two things....healthiness and affordability. They are first and foremost in my mind as I view my list and trawl the aisles.

Safeway's Natural Brand

Safeway offers "Open Nature" brand poultry....meaning it's not been fed with anything nasty like hormones and antibiotics....given whole grains and so on.  It's a bit more pricey than the other varieties, and I'll confess that I can't always get "Open Nature," but I have tried it and it tasted really good...almost brought a tear to my eye.

But my wallet has the deciding vote. Mostly I'm left with Foster Farms...and when even that is priced too high, I get the lesser grade store brand. Fine quality, don't get me wrong. But you do get what you pay for. I've often been able to get the higher quality via the Mark-Down Bin, so that's a good place to start for poultry shopping excursions.

Be careful though!  Bring the meat over to your shopping cart and look at the color there-away from the special pink lights.  Smell the package. Feel the package.  If you can smell it, or the package feels sticky make sure it isn't opened somewhere.  If it is, don't - repeat DON'T buy it!  Return it if you can to the meat counter attendant.  Wash your hands soon as you can!

With so much of it available and so many different ways to cook it, Chicken doesn't have to be for Sunday anymore. So what's with Wednesday?  Why not chicken?

LEMONY CHICKEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK

2 or more lemons
2 TBS Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh parsley chopped fine
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried rosemary

black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Garlic powder for extra flavoring
1 whole chicken about 3-4lbs
1 1/4  lbs small red potatoes cut in half

Preheat oven to 350
Squeeze lemons, set squeezed lemon halves aside for later use.
Combine parsley, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice, oil, pepper, salt, mustard and garlic in a bowl and blend well.
Set aside 2 TBS of this mixture for later use.

Put the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan-hint-use release spray or oil on rack and on pan for non-stick and easier clean-up! Gently slide your fingers between the meat and skin all around the bird, including breast, thighs and so on...careful not to tear the skin.  Spoon the remaining (larger amount not the 2 TBS reserved) between the skin and the meat all the way around.  Give it a rub while you're at it.
Sprinkle the outside with Garlic powder if you want to.
Place the lemon halves in the cavity.  Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the potatoes with the remaining lemon/parsley juice.
Slice additional lemon(s) into disks. Set aside 'til the last 10  minutes of cooking.
Arrange around the chicken and put back in the oven to bake for an hour, or until juices run clear.
During the last 10 minutes, add the lemon disks to the top of the chicken and put it back for the reminder of the baking time.
The internal temperature of the chicken should be 180 degrees.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Serve with rice, sweet green peas and a nice salad.

Lemony and light...Chicken on Wednesday. Why not?