Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Crisco)

(This recipe is from Crisco, find the original here.)

15 min
20 min
3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup Crisco® Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening (we always use butter flavored shortening)
• OR 3/4 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT oven to 375ºF.


2. COMBINE shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into shortening mixture until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.


3. DROP by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.


4. BAKE 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies, or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove cookies to rack to cool completely.


5. * If nuts are omitted, [you may] add an additional 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
   
   
   VARIATIONS

1. BAR COOKIES
   HEAT oven to 375ºF. Follow recipe above to prepare dough. Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with no-stick cooking spray. Spread dough evenly in pan. BAKE 19 to 21 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and center feels slightly firm to the touch. Cool completely before cutting into bars.


2. LARGE ROUNDS
   HEAT oven to 375ºF. Follow recipe above to prepare dough. Spray small area in center of baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray. Cover with 12-inch square of foil. PLACE one-fourth of dough in center of foil. Form into a small circle with spatula or rubber scraper. Spray 12-inch square of wax paper with no-stick cooking spray. Place sprayed side down on top of dough. Flatten with round cake pan or pie pan to form a 7-inch circle. Remove wax paper.  BAKE 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden color. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove to rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.


3. CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE OR DIP
   DRIZZLE: Melt 1 cup semi-sweet or white chocolate pieces with 1 teaspoon shortening over very low heat. Stir well. If too thick to drizzle, add 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon more shortening to thin. Drizzle from end of spoon back and forth over cookie. Sprinkle with nuts before chocolate hardens. To harden chocolate quickly, place in refrigerator for a few minutes.
   DIP: Spoon melted chocolate into custard cup. Dip one end of cooled cookie halfway up in chocolate. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts before chocolate hardens, or drizzle with contrasting white or dark chocolate. Place on wax paper.

Mom H's Egg Nog

When we have fresh eggs, (eggs fresh from hens in the yard or neighborhood,) we like to make this drink my mom used to make when I was a kid. Non alcoholic, of course!

The recipe is for one serving. I ask how many people want some, and make it in the quantity of those having some.

1 egg
1 C milk (any kind you want, thick or thin)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 T sugar (to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg

Blend this together on high for one minute, and enjoy!

My mom had a huge family and so she'd thin things out frequently.  Here is her recipe for a whole blender jar full:

6 cups milk (the eggs will froth up a lot)
2-3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C sugar (to taste)
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash+ nutmeg

It would be a lot skinnier if I made it that way, so maybe I'll try her recipe today... :)

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Find the original recipe, pictures and fun commentary here.

Rick Bayless Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup very warm tap water

InstructionsCombine flour and shortening in a large mixing bowl.  Work the shortening in with your fingers until completely incorporated.  Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup of it over the dry ingredients.  Immediately work it in with a fork.  The dough will be in large clumps.  If all the dry ingredients haven't been dampened, add the rest of the liquid.  Scoop the dough onto your work surface and knead until smooth.Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a ball.  Set them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes.Heat an ungreased griddle over medium to medium-high heat.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough into a 7-inch circle.  Flatten a ball of dough, flour it, then roll forward and back across it, rotating a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again.  Continue until it is a 7 inch circle.  Flour tortilla as needed while rolling.Lay the tortilla on the hot griddle.  After 30-45 seconds, when brown splotches show underneath, flip it over. cook another 30 -45 seconds more, until other side is browned.  Do not overcook or the tortilla will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin.  Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and stack them on top of each other.Note, cook time is PER tortilla and is approximate.  Go by the way it looks more than you go by time.

Details

Prep time: 50 minsCook time: 5 minsTotal time: 55 mins    Yield: 12

Light Potato Cheese Soup

               

So I took THIS potato soup recipe and THAT potato soup recipe, put them together and came up with my own:

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes diced
• Vegetable and/or chicken broth to cover the potatoes
• 2 cups chopped carrots (I had leftovers already cooked)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup light cheddar cheese, cube
• 1 slice reduced fat swiss cheese
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms, sauted in 1 tbsp butter

Boil the diced potatoes and carrots in the vegetable and chicken broths until the vegetables are soft. Mash with a potato masher. Stir in the cheese until it melts, fold in mushrooms. Serve either warm or cold.  Mine needed more moisture (maybe more milk?) to make it more soupy, but oh, yummmm!

(To make it even lighter, I could have used part cauliflower and part potatoes, but I couldn't find any cauliflower in the fridge tonight.) One of the recipes describes making it in a slow cooker, but I have to plan ahead for that.

Cream of Anything Soup Mix

Marie Ricks

2 cups Nonfat dry milk (I use Morning Moo)

1 cup cornstarch

2 tbsp onion flakes or powder

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp dillweed (opt)

1 tsp celery salt

To use, mix:

1/3 cup dry mix

1¼ cup water

1 tbsp margarine (for coloring)

2 chicken bullion cubes (need 16 for whole mixture)

Cook for 3 minutes on high in microwave, stirring each minute. Cook longer when doubling or tripling.

Yummy Cheesy Potato Casserole

6-10 potatoes boiled (may boil w/bay leaf), grated (Use frozen hash browns for EASY)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pint sour cream

4 green onions, chopped

½ tsp salt

¾ cup grated cheese

6 tbsp butter

 

Topping:

1 cup cornflakes, crushed

¼ cup melted butter

Mix all ingredients (except topping). Sprinkle topping over it all in a casserole dish. Bake 350 for 40 minutes to 1 hour. ( To make dairy free: may use IMO instead of sour cream, and prepared cream-of-anything-soup.)

The Best Tomato Basil Soup

Original recipe found here.

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes

2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of heavy cream (I used evaporated milk)

3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned

parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.  

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich.  Get the recipe for The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich here.