Archives for posts with tag: vanilla

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies For Nik

May 9, 08 //
5

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nikki’s only request from me while she was stuck in the hospital trying to hold in her baby this week were some soft chocolate chip cookies she could enjoy while she’s on bed rest. I actually only have crispy chocolate chip cookie recipes (’cause that’s how I like ‘em), so I searched allrecipes.com for a soft cookie recipe and found this highly rated one. I went through page after page of the comments, reading up on all the suggestions .. so at the bottom of this post you’ll find my modified version. I did the research so you don’t have to :)
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The Best Peanut Brittle

December 5, 07 //
0

This is seriously easy .. and so good. The hardest part about it is having the patience to do it correctly. My last batch took a half hour of stirring over a hot stove, which gets annoying. Tip #1 have help standing by, you’ll only need them for 2 minutes tops, but when it comes to pouring and spreading the brittle the more help the better. Tip #2, measure out all your ingredients before you start. Once things get going you wont have enough time to measure out your baking soda or peanuts. Tip #3, use a candy thermometer, dont even attempt this without one unless you’re a pro candy maker. It’ll make this so much easier! Oh! and don’t be afraid to try this .. its really easy if you’re prepared, and its sooo cool to see all the different stages of boiling the sugar!

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup peanuts (I use spanish peanuts and omit the salt. If you use salty or roasted nuts, forget the salt)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  1. Place a large cookie sheet into your oven and preheat to 200 degrees.
  2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat bring sugars, corn syrup, salt and water to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking, stirring frequently. Use a wooden spoon, don’t even try to use plastic, and if you use silicon (which I use) be careful that the end doesn’t get loose and come off in your brittle (happened to my first batch last year)
  3. Once temperature reaches 250 degrees add peanuts.
  4. Once temperature reaches 300 degrees remove from heat and add in the butter, vanilla and baking soda. Combine well, but dont over mix.
  5. Here’s where an extra person comes in handy. Take out the cookie sheet from the oven, spray with Pam and pour candy all over the pan (one person pours the very hot candy, the other handles the cookie sheet). Then shake the pan to spread the brittle out evenly.
  6. For cleanup, place all utensils and pots in hot soapy water and let them sit for a little while. Eventually the sugar will break down and cleanup will be much easier.
  7. Once the brittle has cooled feel free to crack it anyway you like!

I’ve doubled the recipe before, it filled my cookie sheet and made much thicker brittle, I prefer it thinner, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.

Mom’s Sour Cream Walnut Coffee Cake

August 18, 07 //
0

Mom’s coffee cake is our favorite breakfast cake for holidays. We usually treat ourselves to a slice or two as we open our stockings and enjoy the first cups of coffee on Christmas morning :) I’m not a big fan of the walnuts .. but if you dont chop them up too much they’re easily picked out.

  • ¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 pint commercial sour cream
  • ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
  • Powdered Sugar Glaze

Combine butter and sugar, creaming until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powered, soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, missing well after each addition.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts, mixing well.  Spoon about one-third of batter into a greased and floured (Pam works) 10 inch tube pan or bundt pan; sprinkle with one third of nut mixture.  Repeat layers twice; bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done.  Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Place on serving dish, and drizzle with glaze.

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

  • 1-½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 TBL water
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients, mixing well.