A busy Day in the Kitchen

So, with this post I am officially up to yesterday's baking extravaganza. I started with White chocolate chocolate chip cookies....



White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients

* 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks softened)
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/4 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1 (4 ounce) package jell-o instant pudding mix (White Chocolate Pudding)

* Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
* White Chocolate Chips

***Add as many or as few chips as you see fit.


Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. with mixer beat wet ingredients until light and fluffy. In separate bowl stir together by hand flour, baking soda and Jell-O. Gradually add flour mix to wet ingredients mixing until smooth scraping bowl often. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

2. Drop dough with a tablespoon on baking sheets coated with non-stick spray or parchment paper.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. (if you can wait!



THEN....I decided to make the good old Stand by of Chocolate chip Cookies, of which I do not have a picture, but I will certainly supply you with the recipe...

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/3 cups Shortening...I use margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 bag (12 ounces) Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Then add flour, baking soda and salt. When mixed together add Chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake until golden brown.



Next on the list....CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES!


Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Yields: 51 cookies

Adapted from Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate

· 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup canola oil
· 4 ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, melted
· 2 cups granulated sugar
· 4 large eggs
· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
· 1 cup confectioners' sugar


Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, chocolate and granulated sugar and blend on medium speed. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. There may be some small clumps of sugar in the batter at this point. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Mix until just incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

Gather the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

Pour the confectioners' sugar onto a plate or into a shallow bowl. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, drop onto the sugar and roll each ball so that all sides are covered. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, or 12 minutes for crisp cookies, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies are done when the edges are set (but the tops still have a little give to them). Let cool completely on cooling racks. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.


Next on the list was Apple Crisp. I have made this several times and I will continue to do so. The hard part is that fact that I am the only one who eats it....I do however....make half batches!!



Recipe from: www.smittenkitchen.com

Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp

3 pounds* of whatever apples, or mix of apples, you like to bake with, peeled, cored and cut into medium chunks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup flour
2 cups oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, as you wish; I used unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix apple chunks with lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a 9×13-inch baking dish until apples are evenly coated. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the honey. Stir in the flour, oats, almonds, coconut and another pinch of salt until clumps form. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until the apples are softened and bubbly. Should the granola brown before you wish it to, cover the baking dish carefully with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking time, when removing the foil will help the granola recrisp. Cool to room temperature and then stash in the fridge to eat with your morning yogurt.

Next.....Sweet Dinner Rolls!!! I am not sure what the deal was or why I felt it necessary to bake all day long....prehaps it was because Miss B was still home sick and not really up for anything so I kept myself busy cooped up in the house....what ever the reason, I got a lot baked!

browneyedbaker

Sweet Dinner Rolls

(Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:
1) Place water and milk in microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute or until liquids reach (110 degrees F/45 degrees C). Pour liquids into mixer bowl; add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add in yeast and let set for 10-20 minutes to proof (the mixture will be foamy).

2) Mix on low speed adding the salt, butter and egg. Once well mixed add in the flour 1/4 cup at a time. Remove the paddle attachment and attach the dough hook. With the machine, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

3) Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into desired shapes (I cut the ball of dough into quarters, and then quartered each of those, and then rolled each piece into a ball). Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour. Gently brush the tops of the rolls with half of the softened butter.

4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Upon removing the rolls from the oven brush them with remaining softened butter once again.



And that was the end....with the exception of Chicken and squash for dinner, but that was nothing special!