Best Cookies Ever

I have a special treat for you today! And you can thank yesterday's craving {brought on by a Facebook post of Chantal's} for this. =)

Anyway, I've had bad luck with chocolate chip cookies...and other cookies lately so I was reluctant to try it. But the craving was there and I had everything I needed so I started searching online for a good recipe, with good reviews. After a few minutes of searching, I found a good recipe from my allrecipes.com app. So I've decided to share with you the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. You can thank me later. ;-)

Never Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir with fork so all ingredients are mixed together. [Set aside.]

3. In large bowl, combine sugars and butter. Mix until smooth. [Mine was still a little clumpy because of the brown sugar, but just make sure it's mixed well.] Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy.

4. Add 1 cup of dry ingredients at a time to [wet] mixture until all is incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. [I cooked mine for about 11 minutes because my oven tends to run a little hot.]

I didn't take pictures of the process because, honestly, I wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Oh, and I used 1 cup of semisweet chips and 1 cup of white chocolate chips because I didn't have enough semisweet. It was definitely a win. This is how they turned out:

Last batch baking in the oven. Looking good!

Mmm-mmmm good!!

I've never been so happy after baking cookies in my life! I'm a little proud that I didn't have another epic fail on my hands, but I mostly attribute that to the recipe. =) Go bake some now! You know you want to!

Happy Weekend!

P.S. If you have fall photos, feel free to send them anytime!! And for those of you who've wondered where to send them {and don't have your reply-to email set, shame, shame}, my email address is on the left side of the page under my photo.

It's Me Again, Margaret!

I have been one busy girl this evening! Wednesdays are my "there's not much on TV nights" so, I usually end up being some kind of productive. Or watching Grey's on DVD. =P Tonight was a productive one. I'm sure you're all relieved. 

After I finished at the museum, I headed off to the commissary again to grab a couple things I forgot yesterday. *sigh* That's like the worst thing ever. Especially around pay day. Luckily, I got in and out of there before things got too crazy. Self checkout = lifesaver. Anyway. 

I had planned on making these Gingerbread Cookies (thanks, d.a.r.!) yesterday... And I had no idea that I was lacking anything for a while. I added flour, spices, and baking soda into a bowl and then I read "1 1/2 cups brown sugar." Noooooo! Honestly, I didn't even remember reading this in the recipe the first time. *sigh* I really should know by now that gingerbread cookies are made with brown sugar. You'd think, right? Nope, not me! So, I put my ingredients in a baggie and got the brown sugar today. 

Some of them got a little burned because the recipe I found doesn't list a temperature for the oven. Before I even researched anything, I just assumed you'd cook them at like 400. That's the temperature for most cookies. Not these. So, after 8ish minutes in the oven some of them came out on the crispy side. Then I went a-Googling and found that they should be cooked at 350. That helped, but because my oven was already so warm some of them were still crispy. Just a warning for you. Other than that, they turned out great! I'm kind of impressed with myself. =)

Mmm, they are SO good!

You DO NOT want to forget this yummy stuff!!

After I sat down and had a few cookies (it's like a requirement to eat warm cookies after you bake them, I think), I went to my craft room/spare bedroom to do some sewing! I finally decided that I would make Nana some potholders. I was rummaging through the drawer I keep fabric in (I don't have a ton yet) and I found the fabric that I used to cover my chairs this past summer. Perfect for any kitchen! Woo! So, I cut out the fabric and ribbon, did the ironing, pinning, turning it right side out and sewing. And a little while later I got this result:

Whaddaya think?

I like them. =) I want to get her something else, but I'm not sure what. I mean, I'd get her a cookbook or something, but she's Nana. Pretty sure she knows how to cook by now, lol!

While I was in the middle of photographing my handiwork, I caught this guy playing around with his favorite toy.

It's rare that I can catch him doing this with my camera in hand, so I figured why not?! =) Crazy dog. 

I'll give you a little hint on my next project (well, unless I come up with something between now and then =P).

Any guesses? =)

So, I'm sure some of you are wondering about the title of my post. Well, there's this singer/comedian that my parents used to listen to. His name is Ray Stevens. We had cassette tapes of him if that tells you anything. For some reason, the name of one of his songs popped into my head as I sat down at the desk. Sometimes, if I've called my mom a bazillion times in one day (which totally happens) I'll say, "It's me again, Margaret!" As with most things, the video of It's Me Again, Margaret is on YouTube. Personally, I think you should watch it. It's pretty funny. =) And while you're there, you should definitely watch the video of his songs The Streak and The Mississippi Squirrel Revival. I laugh my butt off every time! =) Could just be because of the memories, but I like them!

Don't forget to send me your photos for the Fall Foto Contest this Friday! The more, the better!

Adventures in Baking

After a commissary run with Mrs. C today, I got inspired! It's been a while since I spent some quality time in the kitchen. I figured it was time I reacquainted myself with my small appliances, spices, and mixing bowls.

I've been wanting to make zucchini bread for a while and I finally bought a zucchini at the commissary today. Without seeing a recipe. I prayed that I'd find a good one. Actually, Mrs. C told me she'd give me hers while she was here, but she ran off with the recipe in her computer when she left. =) It's ok, though. I found a good one here. And, I totally recommend it. It's not my Nana's recipe, but it tastes basically the same!! There are only two things I do differently. 1) Grate the zucchini into smaller pieces. 2) Add nuts or raisins (like Nana does) or blueberries...or something. I didn't have anything here, so I whipped it up without them. Next time!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, baking powder. 

 I don't own a sifter, so I poured them in one bowl and stirred them. It did the trick.

3. Beat eggs. Add and mix well sugar, vanilla, and oil. Add zucchini to egg mixture. Add dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in nuts if desired [and trust me, you desire].

3.5 Add in flour, and become disgusted with your sorry excuse for a mixer. Swear that before next year, you are going to get a Kitchen Aid standing mixer so you don't have to deal with this anymore:

3.6 Realize you've forgotten to mix in the zucchini - the whole reason to make the bread - and stir in it. Then you realize your stupid mixer might not have had such fits if you'd done it the right way the first time.

TaDa! All mixed. Finally.

4. Bust out your super nice $2 loaf pans, and pour in the mixture.

5. Bake 'em for one hour. Well, that's what the directions say. But I would recommend 50 minutes. Mine came out a little on the toasty side.

Next up on my evening in the kitchen....

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

- Ricotta cheese

- Ziti noodles

- Spaghetti sauce of your choice

- Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles as directed on the box

2. Mix noodles with sauce and ricotta cheese. I used about half of a 15 oz container. {I think this was a little bit much for me, but you can use your own judgment here.}

3. Sprinkle mozzarella on top

4. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350

Yumminess baking in the oven:

The results:

See? A little on the crispy side on top. But perfect on the inside.

A little on the cheesy side, but it was still good. And it's vegetarian friendly!

{Please excuse my crusty pan. Can you tell I've used it a time or two?!}

Needless to say, my tummy definitely enjoyed the results of my reintroduction to the kitchen. =) One plus side of deployment: I can try these new things and not feel guilty if Joe doesn't like it. I don't know if I'll be keeping this up on a daily basis, but it felt pretty good to get back in there!

To Bake or Not To Bake?

That is the question.

Joe's company is having a company-wide (I say that like it's a big number or something...) picnic on Wednesday! While I'm super-thrilled about meeting people in Joe's company (and when I say people I mean women who could be my bff while Joe's gone...), I don't know what in the world to bring! Apparently, there was a sign-up sheet for things to bring. Instead of texting or calling to ask me what we'd bring, he went ahead and signed us up for drinks and dessert. Oh, my sweet husband. =)

Honestly, I might have signed me up for that too, but I think it's just funny that he assumes I can whip something up in a jiffy. I like to plan these sorts of things at least a week ahead of time...call me crazy. =)

So, here's my dilemma: it's a "picnic" which means outside. If I make a chilled dessert, it could end up melted and runny. Chilled would be perfect for a picnic other than that. So, what do I go with? I'd love to make cheesecake or something like that because I'm just awesome like that, but I don't have any good pans here! Do I be all cheesy-like and bake cookies? Do I go against my domestic self and buy something? *sigh* I don't know.

Anyone have any good picnic-y dessert recipes I could steal?

And after we approach the baking issue, what do I wear?!

[mis]Adventures of a Wanna-be Baker

So, trial number 2 of baking and decorating cookies. Ugh.

I bought an in-oven thermometer to see if that would help the burning cookies issue. It did! =D Although, I did find that my oven likes to pick its own temperature. I preheated the oven before the first batch, and set the thermometer in there. I had high hopes. When I opened the oven to check it about 5 minutes later, what did the temp read? 400 like I had set it? Ooooh no, my dear friends, it read 500!!!!! I was shocked. So, I went back to rolling dough out after turning the temp down to see if that would help. Checked it again...600!!! What on earth?! I don't get it. It just kept getting hotter and hotter. Which helps explain the charred cookies from last weekend. But still, what the crap?! Monday, I think I'm gonna go have a talk with management.  I can't, no I refuse to live with an oven like this. I cook almost every day of the week! I cannot have an oven that sets its own temp, and then refuses to work after an hour.

Good news? I have cookies that are not, I repeat, NOT burnt!!! Some a little more brown than others, but not burnt!

More bad news. Icing. Ugh. First, I tried a plain "jane" icing recipe. It looked good, tasted great...until I added food coloring. It was like the icing just wouldn't hold the coloring. I even beat it with the mixer...and it was a no go. I even enlisted the help of my hubby with this, poor guy. I love him so much...he puts up with me through so much of my supposed "bright" ideas. So, we trashed the crappy icing only after decorating about 12 cookies with it. Oh well. Back to square one. I decided to try out the royal icing recipe* again. I finally figured out how to get 'flooding' icing along with the stiff kind so that the cookies look better. But, before I could decorate with the new icing, we had to wash my decorating bags (gross. I don't like the feel of icing on my hands. bleh.), and then I had to take Joe back to the barracks. More on this irritating fact later. Before we left, I was able to outline the cookies in the stiff icing. When I got back, I put the 'flooding' icing in the decorating bag. When she says 'flooding', trust me she means flooding. I had icing everywhere! On my hands, all over the counters, on parchment paper, on my iPhone cover...yeah. Not good. After having Melissa calm me down, I went and grabbed a hair tie (no time to search for a rubber band when icing is going all over the kitchen) and made sure that icing wasn't getting out of the bag. Gah.

What a night. I did get all of the cookies decorated. The ones with royal icing look very cute! =) The others, not so much. Trial and error, my friends. I do have pictures of them looking very cute sitting on top of their respective Valentine's Day bags. I'm just too tired to post them right now. Sorry. It's been a rough night. After decorating the cookies, and cleaning up the kitchen a little, I took a 2nd shower. I rarely do this, but I was extremely worked up. Once I got in front of a mirror, I realized that I had pink icing in my hair, on my forearms, and on my shirt. Awesome.

Oh, right, I was going to tell you the Joe story. Today, he (along with the rest of the IET students at Fort Gordon) was supposed to be released after evening formation for the 4 day weekend.  Supposed to be released. Apparently, his 1st SGT and Commander ( or something) decided that they would be the only IET company to adhere to the TRADOC policy that says Soldiers should get a full night's rest before being released on a 4 day weekend. What.The.Heck?! Thanks for the notice!!! Not like we didn't have plans or anything!!!! Us? Go to NC for the weekend and want to leave early? Never. Us? Want to sleep in the same bed for more than 2 nights a week? No, we'll sacrifice that. We're only married. They act like all Soldiers in the company didn't have plans, or wives, or families to do things with. Talk about inconsiderate, unprofessional, and irresponsible! You know, if you're going to randomly decide to follow the rule book (which, from what I've seen rarely happens anyway), a day's notice would have been appreciated. Jerks.

With that said, I'm off to bed! You know you're up too late when Letterman is on. =) Hope you all have a good weekend. I'll try to be back to regular programming on Monday!

*I can't find the actual recipe on Confections of a Bake-A-Holic, but I did get it from her. =)

What a Weekend!

I spent most of this weekend making messes in the kitchen, and then cleaning them up. *sigh*

On Saturday afternoon, hubby and I ventured out to the commissary to get the rest of the ingredients for my new-found sugar cookie recipe. 2 hrs later, we were home. I fixed dinner, we watched a short movie, and it dawned on me that I should make cookies! So, off I went to the kitchen to get started. Little did I know I was taking on such a daunting task. My goal was to make cookies for the Superbowl, since Joe had invited friends over. So, I had the bright idea to make football and helmet cookies and then decorate them.

My very long night began at about 7. I starting mixing the dough, adding flour...and then the very thick dough began sticking to the beaters and clogging it up. I tried several times to get it off, but to no avail. After adding 3 out of 5 cups of sugar, I was ready to give up. But, I called my bestie (and wayy more experienced baker) for some help. She suggested that I mix it by hand. Joy. So, I did. It worked! So, I finished mixing, and chilled it in the fridge for an hour. After an hour, we (I had to enlist Joe's help. Hehehe!) rolled out the dough and cut the cookies. First batch went in the oven, and 10 mins later came out smoking, charred, and bleh. =( Joe thinks that the parchment paper caught fire/burnt and I blame the oven. 2nd batch went in (at a lower temperature and less time), and came out looking good! So, they went on the cookie rack to cool. After I'd sat down for a while (this was around 10:30), I asked Joe to taste them. He came back with a very, uh, disgusted look on his face. Oh.my.word. They were disgusting! They were hard...like seriously hard. I would liken them to something sailors would have eaten on board a ship in the mid 18th century. They were that bad. =(

I was so upset! We finished watching Smallville season 5 (I think) on DVD, and Joe convinced me to go to bed. I obsessed over my epic FAIL in the kitchen, and got on the BigOven app to see if I could find a different recipe. Joe took my phone away from me, though. No more recipe surfing for Sarah. So, I sent a text to Melissa hoping she'd see it when she got up. =) This afternoon, she went a-Googling and found a much better recipe! I only made half the recipe, and the dough turned out just fine. The first batch went in and came out looking delish! The second batch, however, did not make it. I think it's something to do with my oven...I seriously don't get it. I think I'm going to have to invest in an in-oven thermometer for the next 2 months we're here. So, I made icing but I only had enough time to partially decorate the football cookies. Oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck this week with my V-Day cookies for the fam.

I'm also extremely upset with the way the Colts played tonight! It's like they just stopped playing after the 2nd quarter! I'm a huge football fan, and I love the Colts. And Peyton Manning. But, not tonight. I "fell" for the Colts when I realized what a huge, awesome Christian Tony Dungy (their previous coach) was. Then he left, but my allegiance still stands. =) My college team is the Oklahoma Sooners, because a country girl's gotta stick to her roots! And I heart Bob Stoops (head coach). =D Anyway, I was seriously upset and I think that if the Colts had really brought their best game, the Saints couldn't have touched them. Sadly, though, the Colts sucked it up tonight. I'm seriously disappointed, and I'm wondering who's taking a pay cut...

All in all, it was a very interesting weekend for me...full of cleaning, shopping, blog-hopping (which was awesome!), way too much baking and failing, a rough night of football, and an interesting meeting with hubby's Army buddies. Next week is looking good so far though! On Friday, we're heading up to NC to see the fam...and most importantly, my niece! ♥ She's getting big way too quickly for my liking! Speaking of...I need to finish the last page of her scrapbook....hmmm. Add it to the list!

Have a good week, everyone!

Play Dough Cookies...Yum!

As I said in my last post, on my visit "home" I spent a fabulous afternoon with one of my very best friends, Melissa. =) To help pass the time - and get our baking fix - we made Play Dough cookies, using the recipe that I found here.

Basically, you make the dough (which is edible, yes), wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer, if you're impatient like we are. I think about 20 minutes in the freezer is probably best, but if you're one of those recipe rule followers: 2 hours in the fridge. =) Then, take colors from each and roll them into small balls. Here's what you should have by this point.

{Wrapped in plastic wrap...}

{Rolled into balls}

Then, take 1 color from each and roll out into a small snake. Put the 4 (or however many you choose) colors together and roll into a longer snake. Then, coil it! Here's what we ended up with:



**Little tip: roll them and bake them on parchment paper. This was a lifesaver...something only Melissa would think of!!! ;-)**

Once you've gotten your cookies into a desirable shape - or one that you can make work - put those little darlings in the oven for 8 -12 minutes. *See recipe above for oven temp.* You can also put in sticks before you bake them so they look like lollipops. You should be able to get them from any craft store, but we got ours from Hobby Lobby.

Here's the way some of ours came out!
Yes, we did put them in Play-Doh containers just because we thought it would look cute!!! =D Why not?!

Then, to add to the cuteness, we put them in treat bags!
And, of course, we had to take a picture of ourselves with our baked goodies. =)
Just for fun, here's a picture of my nephew about to enjoy one of our goodies!


I hope y'all enjoy making these (and eating them) as much as we did!!!